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A Strong Commitment to Humanity Akaisha Kaderli Some photos compliments of Penny Strong "Be a doer, not a talker"
is her motto. Penny Strong, a one-woman
Peace Corps, walks the talk.
Through a fateful coincidence, I had the pleasure to met this remarkable
woman who
impacts people's lives in the 2nd poorest nation in the world. Penny’s U.S. home may be near mine,
but her heart is in Nepal, a country half way across the globe, high in
the Himalayas, bordering
China and India. Her place reflects this love
and is full of bright colorful rugs, and handmade tapestries. Statues of Kuan Yin, Buddha, and Ganesh
seem to be everywhere. Having
just returned from nine months in
Asia myself, I felt I had been temporarily
transported back to this exotic location!
Woody, still a heartfelt
presence One special altar held photos of
Penny’s late husband, Woody. There was no
question of the love and devotion they shared for each other. On the opposite wall was a photo of
the Dalai Lama giving Penny a prayer shawl in commemoration of her years
of work for the Nepalese poor. My mouth was wide open, and I was nearly
speechless. Not just anyone gets a private audience with the Dalai Lama,
and to be awarded a silk prayer shawl personally by him is even more
rare. I was so fortunate to happen upon this woman and her stunning life’s work. In only
a moment’s time, I realized there
was something quite special going on
here.
Penny would be making her 40th trip to
Nepal this November, checking up on
her foundation’s work, and delivering the hand knitted or crocheted hats
that local women made for the children there. I wanted to get the
scoop. We made
plans to get together the following Monday. Penny is
quite fit, she climbs the ‘fourteeners’ – mountains over
14,000 feet – all over the country. She
lives simply, eats simply, and her
enthusiastic, authentic attitude is obvious. We walked to a neighborhood
restaurant on this bright and sunny morning, and ordered breakfast.
As we relaxed, Penny shared her story
of having met her husband, Woody, the love of her life, in 1974. They
began a friendship based on humor and sharing their love of hiking in
gorgeous places of the world. Woody had been traveling to Nepal originally to hike the mountain ranges there.
A chance meeting with Sir Edmund Hilary changed his life forever. Hilary had
been building schools for the children in remote regions of Nepal, and Woody saw
how this man had been dedicating his energy and focus to help out a nation not
as fortunate as his own. Woody caught this internal fire himself and
the next year, he
returned to Nepal with thousands of pounds of books for these schools.
Dalai Lama giving prayer
shawl to Penny
In 1983, at the age of 71, Woody was diagnosed
with inoperable prostate cancer. He was told by competent oncologists in Denver
that he had one year left to live!
If that was the case, he chose to live it out
in Nepal.
His Nepalese "family"
convinced him to visit a renowned healer in a Buddhist monastery in the
distant Everest region. Being a retired engineer, Woody was skeptical
that a non-tangible method of healing would work, but he wanted to
respect the wishes of his friends in Nepal, so he consented to go see
him. For the next 5 days and nights, he underwent an intensive healing
ceremony, and
the Buddhist healer pronounced him healed.
A typical school in Nepal At a routine cancer checkup back in
Denver, his mystified doctor told him that the cancer was nowhere to be
found! "I can't find the SOB!" were his doctor's exact words. Woody took
this as a personal sign, and in gratitude
to Nepal, doubled his efforts to the people there. "Nepal gave him his
life back, so he dedicated his life to Nepal" Penny explained. Named after both Penny and Woody, the Pennwood
Charitable Foundation #108 has directed over 12 tons of books, medical supplies,
medicines and equipment since its inception. Hospitals, schools, and health
posts have been built. Pennwood promotes ways to help the blind, runs day care
centers, vocational schools, and builds water purification systems for the
communities in this far away land. Woody and Penny personally adopted almost a
dozen children and paid their way to school. Over the years they have visited
Nepal, they watched them mature into young adults. Penny has even "bought" young female children back from indentured
slavery, returning them to their homes in the mountains. The foundation then
provides a piglet or goat to the family which they can raise and sell for the
same price they received for marketing their daughter to a stranger.
Pennwood Foundation
replacement School Woody died in January of 2000, but
Penny continues their passionate work. Her current focus is on the
lepers there, and the mentally disabled. "No one wants to help them"
Penny says. "I don't know why not. They are people too." They donate weeks or longer
giving care to or performing operations on people who never
before
had medical attention. She, and those who volunteer with her, are
changing lives forever, for the better.
Penny
"Be a doer, not a talker" is the motto Woody
and Penny had in common for decades, and she is a living example of what can be
achieved for humanity when compassion, conviction and focus unite. To read more
interviews with Expats, Early Retirees and Interesting Characters,
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About the Authors
Billy and Akaisha Kaderli are
recognized retirement experts and internationally published authors on
topics of finance, medical tourism and world travel. With the wealth of
information they share on their award winning website RetireEarlyLifestyle.com,
they have been helping people achieve their own retirement dreams since
1991. They wrote the popular books, The
Adventurer’s Guide to Early Retirement and Your
Retirement Dream IS Possible available on their website
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