The Karuna Foundation

The Karuna Foundation Australian charity created in 1979 to promote the well-being of children especially those from refugee & other traumatic & disadvantaged backgrounds Australia.

The Karuna Foundation Children's Fund is an Australian registered charity, created in 1979 (Reg CC 24449) and is run by volunteers, to promote the well-being of children, especially those from refugee and other traumatic and disadvantaged backgrounds.The following support projects are among the many the Fund has organised over the years at the Karuna Centre Katoomba in the Blue Mountains:

- Settl

ement and integration program for Vietnamese refugee families in the North Sydney area (in collaboration with St. Marys Catholic Church, North Sydney)
- One month respite stay for children affected by the meltdown of the Chernobyl Nuclear Reactor in the Ukraine (with the assistance of the Rissho Kosei Kai Fund for Peace, Tokyo Japan, Household Financial Services Ltd. St Leonards; and the Rotary Club of Katoomba)
- Ten years of adventure programs for children from Cambodian refugee families in the Cabramatta disrict.
- Camping program for Aboriginal children from Everleigh Street Community Centre
- Excursions and hospitality for East Timorese families staying temporarily at the Villawood Hostel in the Safe Haven Program.
- Camping and picnic program for Sudanese children and families from Blacktown area referred by N.S.W. Service for the Treatment and Rehabilitation of Torture and Trauma Survivors (S.T.A.R.T.T.S.)
- Excursion program for intellectually disabled children from Kurrambee School in N.S.W. All donations over $2 made to The Karuna Foundation Children's Fund are tax deductible in Australia (Tax Claim No. AF1595 CSF6342)

We can receive donations by mail or direct deposit. Please send your donation to:
The Karuna Foundation Children's Fund, PO Box 89 North Sydney 2059 N.S.W. Direct deposit can be made to:
The Karuna Foundation Children's Fund
Commonwealth Bank of Australia
BSB: 062217
Account Number: 0090 7091

In and around the Karuna Sanctuary
24/05/2021

In and around the Karuna Sanctuary

Karuna Sanctuary's ducks love parading to admire the new bridge from all angles!
21/01/2019

Karuna Sanctuary's ducks love parading to admire the new bridge from all angles!

The Bridge at Karuna Sanctuary has settled in well :)
12/01/2019

The Bridge at Karuna Sanctuary has settled in well :)

A Japanese stone lantern has now been set up at Karuna. It stands beside the path that leads from the Lotus Pond to the ...
12/01/2019

A Japanese stone lantern has now been set up at Karuna.

It stands beside the path that leads from the Lotus Pond to the Buddha statue.

Like everything else in the Meditation Garden, the lantern has symbolic meaning -- It symbolises your own inner light.

The lantern is now ready for some landscaping work around the base plus some decorative shrub planting

The annual Buddha's Birthday celebration ceremony and rooftop picnic event at North Sydney on Sunday 29th April 2018
04/05/2018

The annual Buddha's Birthday celebration ceremony and rooftop picnic event at North Sydney on Sunday 29th April 2018

The bridge is on the pathway that leads to the grove of sacred memory trees.Thanks to our friend's kind efforts the brid...
21/01/2018

The bridge is on the pathway that leads to the grove of sacred memory trees.
Thanks to our friend's kind efforts the bridge painting job is finished.
We are now ready to refill the lilly pond with water - and plant water lilies

New Feature at the Karuna Sanctuary! The most recent feature to be built at Karuna Sanctuary is a Japanese style bridge ...
01/08/2017

New Feature at the Karuna Sanctuary!

The most recent feature to be built at Karuna Sanctuary is a Japanese style bridge across the lilly pond.

Welcome to The Bridge of the Six Perfections (Roku Haramitsu Bash)

Waratahs are blooming everywhere at the Blue Mountains Karuna Centre now making the Karuna gardens magically vibrant. Th...
31/10/2016

Waratahs are blooming everywhere at the Blue Mountains Karuna Centre now making the Karuna gardens magically vibrant. The Zen rock garden moss is growing very healthily and making the garden even more attractive with green colours.

At the Karuna Sanctuary Katoomba on 1st & 2nd October, The Karuna Foundation Children’s Fund hosted a bus load of Tibeta...
26/10/2016

At the Karuna Sanctuary Katoomba on 1st & 2nd October, The Karuna Foundation Children’s Fund hosted a bus load of Tibetan children, accompanied by a few fathers, all supervised by Lobsang Dhonden, the Principal of the Tibetan Culture School. Most of the young Tibetans were recent arrivals. Two little girls in particular had only been in Australia for two weeks. The children enjoyed a visit to Echo Point before their bus brought them to the Sanctuary to enjoy lunch.

There were some unexpected incidents in the happy program. A surprise visitor on Saturday evening was Nara’s mother, with just a few days to go before her 103rd birthday. The children were greatly fascinated by her and gave her very warm attention, with several renditions of ‘Happy Birthday to You’.

One other visitor was not so welcome. On the Sunday morning as the children were busily constructing large- scale cubby houses, there was a sudden invasion by a neighbour’s frisky billy goat. Mark, our resourceful caretaker, quickly wrestled the unwelcome invader back through the fence and across a paddock to his home territory. The children then safely completed the building of their amazing bush cubbies.

The camp was well supported by kind-hearted Karuna friends as well as by the small group of Tibetan fathers who came with the children and who joined in every activity with great enthusiasm. A Tibetan chef who lives locally in Katoomba, together with the fathers and other local Tibetan community members made a feast of Momo and their traditional soup for Sunday lunch.

The Karuna Sanctuary Hosts Halinda School Senior Transition StudentsOn 7-8 September the Karuna Sanctuary hosted an over...
19/10/2016

The Karuna Sanctuary Hosts Halinda School Senior Transition Students

On 7-8 September the Karuna Sanctuary hosted an overnight visit by 13 senior students accompanied by 6 teachers and carers from Halinda Special School for Children with Disabilities.

The Halinda students were from a very wide range of cultural backgrounds. All came from the Mt Druitt area and had economic hardship as part of their history. All of the children have an intellectual disability. The Halinda School caters for over 100 such students in classes of about 6-7 pupils. A teacher and an aide is assigned to each class.

Opportunities to experience anything like the Karuna camp are exceedingly rare for these children, and many of those who came to the camp had barely ever spent a night away from home.

A highlight for the students was the unusual experience (for them) of sitting around a campfire. Even more unusual was the opportunity to toast marshmallows. Some found the challenge of that a bit too daunting and the toasting was done for them by their carers.

All of the students seemed very happy to be sharing in a great adventure together. They displayed a great community spirit and eagerly joined in all the activities including washing-up and tidying up the dining room. The school funded excursion from Karuna to Katoomba Scenic World gave them an exciting Scenic Skyway experience.

The costs of the excursion, food and accommodation were met by the Karuna Foundation Children’s Fund, thanks to the generous support that many of you gave to our ‘Exotic Dancers from the Magical East’ fund raising event held a few weeks earlier.

Address

Blue Mountains National Park, NSW

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when The Karuna Foundation posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Shortcuts

Share