Victims of Kashmir Floods
Donation protected
This is a picture of our friend Gulam Dar in Sept, 2012. Gulam is just one of a tight family of craftsmen we've gotten to know over the years in Kashmir, India. Like his father before him, he is a master weaver of stunningly beautiful carpets. He and his father built the loom you see in the picture decades ago, and with it, he produces one or two rare silk carpets each year like the one pictured here.
Two years after we took this picture, Kashmir suffered the worst flooding they have experienced in over 100 years. Gulam's loom, weaving supplies and the home where he lived and worked were submerged in 15 feet of water and destroyed. Here is a picture of the same room after the flood waters receded.
In the six months since the peak of the flooding, Gulam and his family have begun to rebuild. The cold winter has made for slow progress, and even though they have strong family bonds to depend on, it will be years before they are able to recover from this set-back.
Like so many Kashmiris that we met, the Dar family is fiercly independent and reluctant to accept outside help. But since they graciously welcomed us as family when we visited, we have been able to offer some assistance. Now, we want to do more and are inviting you to help. Every dollar beyond the administrative fees collected by gofundme will go directly to assist Mr. Dar and his family, or others just like him.
While we are not asking to be paid back, we understand that they may prefer to treat our assistance as a loan. If they do decide to repay the money we raise here, we will re-loan it to other weavers to pay the cost of materials to continue their trade.
Here's the loom after the floods, carpet in progress.
Here is what your money will buy:
$100 buys food for his family for a month.
$500 repairs his loom.
$1,000 buys the materials he needs to weave a 4'x6' silk carpet.
$10,000 rebuilds his home.
As you can tell, the family lives a very frugal life. Like many Kashmiris, their wealth is in the houses they live in, their family bonds and the trade they practice. They are incredibly generous, kind, and warm.
You have our deepest thanks for anything that you can give.
Two years after we took this picture, Kashmir suffered the worst flooding they have experienced in over 100 years. Gulam's loom, weaving supplies and the home where he lived and worked were submerged in 15 feet of water and destroyed. Here is a picture of the same room after the flood waters receded.
In the six months since the peak of the flooding, Gulam and his family have begun to rebuild. The cold winter has made for slow progress, and even though they have strong family bonds to depend on, it will be years before they are able to recover from this set-back.
Like so many Kashmiris that we met, the Dar family is fiercly independent and reluctant to accept outside help. But since they graciously welcomed us as family when we visited, we have been able to offer some assistance. Now, we want to do more and are inviting you to help. Every dollar beyond the administrative fees collected by gofundme will go directly to assist Mr. Dar and his family, or others just like him.
While we are not asking to be paid back, we understand that they may prefer to treat our assistance as a loan. If they do decide to repay the money we raise here, we will re-loan it to other weavers to pay the cost of materials to continue their trade.
Here's the loom after the floods, carpet in progress.
Here is what your money will buy:
$100 buys food for his family for a month.
$500 repairs his loom.
$1,000 buys the materials he needs to weave a 4'x6' silk carpet.
$10,000 rebuilds his home.
As you can tell, the family lives a very frugal life. Like many Kashmiris, their wealth is in the houses they live in, their family bonds and the trade they practice. They are incredibly generous, kind, and warm.
You have our deepest thanks for anything that you can give.
Organizer
Peter Moon
Organizer
Kirkland, WA
