Author Topic: Russ Hazard - World Shamanic Yoga Institute  (Read 13893 times)

Offline nemesis

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Russ Hazard - World Shamanic Yoga Institute
« on: February 21, 2011, 08:01:48 pm »
I am interested in this individual, who I understand is Canadian, and his business which I believe is based in Peru.


World Shamanic Yoga Institute    Contact: Russ Hazard - Director     
       
Cusco, Cusco    Phone: (519) 884-9616   

      We provide intensive study in Shamanic, Dream, Tantra, Sivananda, Ashtanga, Fusion and Yoga Therapy styles. We also provide regular teacher training.

Personal FB page here
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100001041826284
shows that he is FB friends with Ross Haven, Agama Yoga Mexico (a an alleged tantric THB network - the head is facing charges of THB in Romania), The Tara Yoga Centre (UK and Ireland based subsidiary of Romanian tantric yoga school and THB network MISA), Deutsche Akademie Traditionelles Yoga (German based subsidiary of Romanian tantric yoga school and THB network MISA), these are just what I see from a preliminary glance.  Of course many people "befriend" people and organisations on FB not really being aware of who they are, but I am a bit concerned about these associations.

the "products" of the organisation, according to the FB page are

Shamanic Yoga
Dream Yoga and Lucid Dream Training
Vision Quest
Shamanic Journeying
Social and Environmental Project Development
Shamanic Yoga Teacher Training
Shamanic Apprenticeship
Ayahuasca Ceremony
San Pedro Ceremony
Peyote Ceremony
Hongo Ceremony
Peru Yoga Retreats
India Yoga Retreats
Mexico Yoga Retreats
Thailand Yoga Retreats

website here
www.shamanicyoga.org

FB page here ("interesting" photos)
http://www.facebook.com/Shamanic.Yoga.Institute.International.Community?sk=info

Mr Hazard also owns
http://www.international-karma-yoga-day.org
FB page
http://www.facebook.com/International.Karma.Yoga.Day?sk=info

Posting this as the organisation is involved in karma yoga, tantra and various drug based rituals and I would be interested to gain the opinions of others.

My proxy browser won't let me see too much of his websites so I just wondered if others know of him and can share any insights into his organisation?

Thank you
« Last Edit: February 21, 2011, 08:09:40 pm by nemesis »

Offline educatedindian

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Re: Russ Hazard - World Shamanic Yoga Institute
« Reply #1 on: February 23, 2011, 04:59:03 pm »
Hazzard is a presenter at a "conference" we discussed in here before, a gathering of flakes with a few frauds and franchisees of frauds.
http://www.newagefraud.org/smf/index.php?topic=3015.0

That doesn't necessarily make him as bad as the others at Soga de Alma. His sites make extrmemely vague claims of combining yoga with shamanism, but it's not too clear how, except that he repeatedly claims the first yogis were shamans. What you see more on that site is a very common misperception among Nuagers and other spiritual tourists, that being a medicine person is all about me me me and that person's search for different experiences (esp altered states, sometimes just getting high with pseudo spiritual justification tossed in).

Offline frenzy

  • Posts: 5
Re: Russ Hazard - World Shamanic Yoga Institute
« Reply #2 on: February 25, 2011, 12:40:12 am »
The first yogi's were not shaman, most of them, such as Patanjali, were not even spiritualists. Russ Hazard is vague but he doesn't have anything that is definitely incriminating on his facebook. I don't think you can condemn him based on his facebook friends alone. It is the lack of credible information on his related links and facebook that shows that he is probably a fraud.

Offline nemesis

  • Posts: 526
Re: Russ Hazard - World Shamanic Yoga Institute
« Reply #3 on: February 25, 2011, 05:48:46 pm »
I agree that he should not be condemned simply because of his FB friends and I hope I did not give the impression that he should.

I think he is worth keeping a beady eye on to see how things progress.

My main concerns relate to his interests in shamanism, yoga and tantra when combined together and also the prominence of karma yoga amongst his interests.

Of course, just because criminal networks abuse the concepts of shamanism, tantra and karma yoga and use them as a cover for enslavement and trafficking does not mean that everyone who promotes such things is a criminal.

It is entirely possible that the THB networks approached Hazard on FB simply because of his website "International Karma Yoga Day" and his other interests.  He may have started his websites and organisations in good faith but IMO they are highly likely attract the interest of criminals who will attempt to infiltrate them and use them for their nefarious purposes, simply because his brand is so congruent with theirs.

Something to watch with a sense of detached curiosity and interest I think. 

Offline paulina

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Re: Russ Hazard - World Shamanic Yoga Institute
« Reply #4 on: March 24, 2011, 05:25:50 pm »
Hello,

My name is Paulina Chirif. I am Course Manager and teacher at the World Shamanic Yoga Institute.

I have found your posts on the 6th in the row when searching WSYI on Google and that is why I decided to answer to your discussion... I think you are harming the work of a person without any argument or even good information. From your lines it seems clear you are unable to "condemn" Russ Hazard or his school with the info you have but I also want to make it clear there is no reason for trying to do such a thing.

I know Russ Hazard personally and have been working with him for enough time to be able to assure you there is nothing fraudulent or criminal about his work, but the opposite.

WSYI is a school for consciousness studies that uses medicine plants (not drugs as alleged in your discussion) as well as many other tools (physical yoga practice, meditation, dream yoga, shamanic journeys.. etc.) for helping people open up their perception and release patterns and tensions that don't help us as humankind to be happy in a deep level and harm each other and mistreat our environments and the people around us. Mostly that to make it simple. I strongly recommend you to take a deeper look on the web page (www.shamanicyoga.org) to have a broader perspective as well as read some of the discussions boards where you can see people commenting and even telling something about their experiences with WSYI, mostly positive. I could put you in contact with several students that can support what I am writing here if you wanted.

About International Karma Yoga Day. I am one of the International Coordinators and again, there is nothing tricky or hidden in it. It is a project coming from the heart, from people volunteering their work. No one is being paid for that, not even coordinators. And, no, we are not enslavering people or trafficking....

I understand there are lots of frauds going on out there and I think it is wise to doubt and question before believing, following or just buying something, but could be a good starting point to just ask when you are in doubt and try to contact the main source to give it a chance.

About our fb connections with schools related to illegal affairs (I actually didn’t know about…)... We as a school mostly want to be in contact with as many as possible yoga schools around on the base of innocent approach to make the International Karma Yoga Day community grow. Of course, we can't tell if some of our 7000 fans or more, or our 1500 friends on fb (mostly used for working not for personal affairs) are or not involved in criminal affairs as no one can tell about all the people surrounding their lives...

On the other hand... in relation to shamanism, I just want to add that I am Peruvian and have great respect for traditional cultures and healing systems and I know there is a big market for "spirituality" now. WSYI is also aware of that and is not making business with people that just want to get “high” but that are seeking consciousness transformation and deep healing. I can also tell, knowing medicine since I was a teenager, that I have found in Russ Hazard, a very high level of integrity in his job as a shaman, yoga teacher or any other position I have seen him working at.

I have found a very high level of training and knowledge too. Of course, each person has its own choices and path, so with some things you resonate and with some you just don’t, but it is important to be well informed to make clear statements and judgments.

If you need any further information about our job and school, you can contact me at course_manager@shamanicyoga.org or Russ Hazard itself at info@shamanicyoga.org

I hope my lines bring more clarity about what our work is about and that you get deeper and wiser in your researches and love for the world.

Namaste

Paulina Chirif 

Offline nemesis

  • Posts: 526
Re: Russ Hazard - World Shamanic Yoga Institute
« Reply #5 on: March 25, 2011, 09:35:22 pm »
Thank you for posting here Paulina and welcome to the forum.

Please note that this thread is in the research needed forum and that I have acknowledged that there is insufficient information at this point to draw any conclusions about Mr Hazard, the World Shamanic Yoga Institute and  International Karma Yoga Day.

My concerns were raised simply because the branding of the World Shamanic Yoga Institute and International Karma Yoga Day are similar to the branding of criminal organisations involved in THB.

This of course does not mean that World Shamanic Yoga Institute and International Karma Yoga Day are covers for criminality, just that the branding of these things alerted my attention and invoked in me a wish to learn more. Thus this thread.

Now that you are posting here we can have an open discussion in the public arena and hopefully you can reassure me, and anyone else reading this, of the integrity of Mr Hazard and his projects.

I am a little bit pushed for time tonight and would like to explore things in greater detail, including providing you with a detailed account of my concerns.  

At this point I  just wanted to say hello and reassure you that this isn't a witch hunt, just a thread born out of genuine concerns related to criminal organisations that appear in Mr Hazard's facebook friends list and the themes that these criminal networks have in common with the World Shamanic Yoga Institute and International Karma Yoga Day - namely a combination of yoga and shamanism (Ashman Shambala) yoga and tantra (Ashram Shambala and MISA) and karma yoga (Ashram Shambala and MISA).

I am of course aware that people with an interest in yoga, shamanism, karma yoga or tantra are not necessarily involved in criminality, it was the combination of all these things together that drew my attention, simply because of my association of them, when combined, with criminal groups.  

We can, over time, hopefully get a sense of what the World Shamanic Yoga Institute and International Karma Yoga Day are about and I can also share with you some information about the people traffickers are criminals who are FB friends of Mr Hazard, so that he can make an informed decision as to whether to keep them in his friends list and also be forewarned about the dangers they pose to the demographic of people likely to be interested in his events.

As I said I have limited time tonight, but maybe one thing we could clarify initially is regarding your claim that drugs are not involved at Mr Hazard's events.

The website clearly lists the following

Ayahuasca Ceremony
San Pedro Ceremony
Peyote Ceremony

The above listed ceremonies are clearly involve drugs.

Is there a mistake with the advertising?

I think we should clear this one thing up initially as it perhaps the most obvious thing in your post that doesn't quite make sense and clearly there has been a mix up somewhere.

The other thing that would help to reassure me and others would be clear information about the spiritual lineage of yourself, Mr Hazard and any other shamans involved in the above events.  Specifically it would be helpful to know who your teachers were / are and who their teachers were / are. 

As I am sure you are aware there are a lot of frauds around and it is extremely rare to find genuine people advertising on the internet.  Once you can reassure people that you have not been taught by frauds by providing clear information in this respect then this thread should work to your advantage.

Thanks again for posting and I look forward to hearing from you.

« Last Edit: March 27, 2011, 07:23:54 am by nemesis »

Offline Dreamer

  • Posts: 1
Re: Russ Hazard - World Shamanic Yoga Institute
« Reply #6 on: August 21, 2011, 12:32:26 pm »
Hello,

This is Russ. Sorry it has taken a while but I have been busy training my replacement and have been busy in general.

I know you are doing your best to do something good. I would like to take a moment and clear up a couple of things about the school.

First, there is no sexual contact of any kind. Students are under strict dieta while on course. This is described in detail on the website. That is a normal yogic training principle for intensive work and is also common in the Andes, Amazon, and Mexican highlands. That includes anything up to and including masturbation. The original comment on the website with regards to Tantra was clearly stated as being related to traditional belief patterns in which all things are part of the divine. I am not going to get into a lesson about Tantra here but there would have been absolutely no reason to conclude that sexual practices even MIGHT have been a part of training from the website. Further, the website clearly indicates the presence of dieta. Anyone who took the time to read it would see that clearly indicated and it always has been.

Second, students have never and will never pay for ceremony. Some courses have optional ceremony but the students pay for their lodging, travel expenses, teachers and so on. This is the norm in the Yoga world. The courses cost a lot to run and are basically month long adventures in other countries. There is no reason for them to be free. The course costs are the same or less than other major Yoga organizations and having worked with many I can honesty say it delivers a lot more. This is a Yoga school and the practices are by far mostly non-medicinal with opportunities to explore part of the host culture included.

Third, I am not nor have ever been the owner of the school. I was the field director for years but am moving on now. We have an excellent replacement trained.

Fourth, ceremonies will have a local facilitator present from now on. We often did in the past. The problem with this is that they are generally not trained in all of the methodologies we use. It is a balance. We have had locals train with the school to increase their knowledge. To suggest that people with years of training cannot run ceremony because of their skin colour is not really reasonable.

Fifth, the assertion that shamanic practice are locked in time and do not evolve is a contraversial one to say the least. The same is sometimes said of Yoga when in both cases there is tons of anthropological evidence saying the exact opposite. There are many flavours of practice and I am sure you are aware of the dangers of the term shamanism in the first place. In areas like central and south america where the "shaman" is more likely to be a curendero or healer than a priest many of the basic assumptions of this site fall apart. In actuality there is an overwhelming amount of very good academic research to indicate that the primary means of learning in many traditional groups is directly through communication with the ceremony and liniage has little or nothing to do with it. In cases where it does, many of the local people are beginning to travel themselves and incorporate things they learn elsewhere. This is normal cultural transformation. I am all for fundimentalist sectors keeping traditions "as they always have been". However the human species has always innovated and so has culture. All people have the right to learn and grow and innovate. Natives do too. To say that native people are any different is a clear form of romantic racism which I am sure you would decry if someone else was doing it.

It is an obvious  tautology to suggest that cultures evloved slowly when they were highly isolated or that they did not charge for things before monetary systems were introduced. Cultural evolution and professional pay for people who work in something full time is the norm now in areas where there is broad exposure to other cultures, where monetary systems exist, and when the role of the "shaman" is more that of a traditional medical doctor than that of a priest.

Sixth, I have almost no response to your assertions that the school is "probably" penetrated by organized crime and involved in human trafficking. What possible cause could you have for that assertion other than facebook contacts that number over 10,000? That is a highly damaging thing to say without any possible reason to see it is likely. You have a position of power and responsibility here and you could really use it for good... to bring up issues thoughtfully and genuinely. That is not the same as calling people you don't know horrible names and making baseless accusations. It is hard to even make time to answer for them. Many good people have had their lives postively impacted by this school and I am proud to have worked for it and will support it wholeheartedly in the future. They have taken a lot of time and effort to educate people on many of the same issues you yourselves are concerned about when few enough people do. I respect that and am trying to show respect for you as well.
 
Finally, despite the fact that your conversation here would be seen by many calm people to be very rude and biased I would like to commend you on actually caring about something so important. We live in a world with a lot of apathy. I would like to see more people try their best to initiate thoughtful and important discussions about the direction we are heading as a species. On that note I wish you all the best and hope you continue to try to make the world a healthier place with better communication and intercultural dialogue.

Russ

Offline OneRed

  • Posts: 27
Re: Russ Hazard - World Shamanic Yoga Institute
« Reply #7 on: August 22, 2011, 01:26:33 am »
I would like to add some comments to Russ`s response, although you (Russ) state that it is really unreasonable for those of a different colour to run ceremonies, actually no it`s not unreasonable to state as such when your teachings about said culture can be wrong. How are you to know they are in fact correct if you or others did not learn them the right way. This has been an ongoing battle with Native teachings for hundreds of years, as I`m certain it has been a battle for many other cultures and we`ve seen this happen on an extreme level with the James Arthur Ray case. People`s lives were lost. You claim that by having known criminal organizations and schools befriending your school is nothing more than to maintain ties with their organizations, however when you partake in that mentality, you are in fact putting people at risk of being victimized by those organizations. Facebook has friend suggestions that pop up on the side bar, people see them, they add them, they risk being victimized, it`s as simple as that. If your organization truly is what you are interpreting it to be, then you would disassociate yourself with all said ties and reduce the risk of people becoming victimized.

And your comment, ``to say that native people are any different is a form of romantic racism`` , we are different that`s what makes us different as a people, just as any other culture and it`s hardly romantic, if you knew the true history of native people you would know this. If you don`t respect the culture and a persons way of life, which to us, being Native is a way of life, then I`m sorry, but you have no business teaching our culture and our ceremonies.


Offline nemesis

  • Posts: 526
Re: Russ Hazard - World Shamanic Yoga Institute
« Reply #8 on: August 29, 2011, 10:02:38 am »
Hello,

This is Russ. Sorry it has taken a while but I have been busy training my replacement and have been busy in general.

I know you are doing your best to do something good. I would like to take a moment and clear up a couple of things about the school.

Hello Russ and welcome to the thread.

Thank you for making an appearance, as I said in a previous post there are a lot of issues regarding your various businesses that it would be helpful to have some clarification on, so your participation in the thread is appreciated.  

First, there is no sexual contact of any kind. Students are under strict dieta while on course. This is described in detail on the website. That is a normal yogic training principle for intensive work and is also common in the Andes, Amazon, and Mexican highlands. That includes anything up to and including masturbation. The original comment on the website with regards to Tantra was clearly stated as being related to traditional belief patterns in which all things are part of the divine. I am not going to get into a lesson about Tantra here but there would have been absolutely no reason to conclude that sexual practices even MIGHT have been a part of training from the website. Further, the website clearly indicates the presence of dieta. Anyone who took the time to read it would see that clearly indicated and it always has been.

Thanks for that Russ.

I always use a proxy server to check out websites and I would be grateful if you could please provide a link to the page you refer to as I could not see it the last time I checked.  This could just be a problem with my proxy settings, but I would like to check out the information that you describe and a link to the page would be appreciated.  Thanks.

You clearly advertised Tantra as a part of your event and I am just curious as to what people might expect and actually experience in relation to the tantric element of your event. Could you please provide  more details?  This is extremely important.

IME there are plenty of websites advertising pseudo-tantric workshops and they usually add a proviso saying "no sexual intercourse will be taking place" or "there will be no sexual activity at the event", which I always find interesting as the events typically include activities such as intimate / genital massage and other activities that most people would consider to be sexual.  I suppose that is exactly why they have the provisos at the end.  When I read advertisements for a flower arranging classes they tend not to have provisos stating "no sexual intercourse takes place during the class", presumably because people do not associate flower arranging with sex.  At least not where I'm from they don't.  A room full of people massaging each others genitals, and yes I can see how anyone unfamiliar with that kind of activity might need something written down to explain to them that there is no sex taking place.

As with your business I could only see references to tantra but with no specific information.  IME the combination of tantra and shamanism tends to be associated with serious criminality.  I am NOT saying that you are involved in criminality but I would be extremely grateful if you could please direct me to the pages on your websites where the tantric elements of your events are described in greater detail.


Second, students have never and will never pay for ceremony. Some courses have optional ceremony but the students pay for their lodging, travel expenses, teachers and so on. This is the norm in the Yoga world. The courses cost a lot to run and are basically month long adventures in other countries. There is no reason for them to be free. The course costs are the same or less than other major Yoga organizations and having worked with many I can honesty say it delivers a lot more. This is a Yoga school and the practices are by far mostly non-medicinal with opportunities to explore part of the host culture included.

You see Russ, this is where things can get quite tricky.  If you bundle in Native ceremonies with yoga, tantra and shamanism, and charge a package price for the lot, then of course you can claim that the ceremonies are free and that they are just an add on to the other, paid for, elements of your event.  This seems to be what you are claiming yes?

Herein lies just some of the problems.  I think, as I said in my earlier post, it would be helpful to have details of who the native people are who are delivering the ceremonies and what their lineage is.

It is common practise at newage events (the mishmash of yoga, shamanism, tantra and native ceremonies clearly indicates that your event is a newage event) to hire actors, frauds and other dubious people to run the "ceremonies".  This happens because real medicine people live to serve their communities.  They do not abandon their communities to attend yoga festivals as workshop leaders.  So you see, it really is important for you to provide some clear information as to who these medicine people and shamans are who are running these ceremonies as part of a large, commercial newage event.  

Third, I am not nor have ever been the owner of the school. I was the field director for years but am moving on now. We have an excellent replacement trained.

So who owns the brands / names / businesses associated with your shamanic yoga and world karma yoga day events?  What is the name of the person who will be held accountable should anything go wrong?

Fourth, ceremonies will have a local facilitator present from now on. We often did in the past. The problem with this is that they are generally not trained in all of the methodologies we use. It is a balance. We have had locals train with the school to increase their knowledge. To suggest that people with years of training cannot run ceremony because of their skin colour is not really reasonable.

I am confused by this.  What do you mean by "locals"?  Are you saying that non-native people will be running the ceremonies? What training do you provide and if you are the expert in all of this who trained you?  Please do provide some information about lineage.

Fifth, the assertion that shamanic practice are locked in time and do not evolve is a contraversial one to say the least. The same is sometimes said of Yoga when in both cases there is tons of anthropological evidence saying the exact opposite. There are many flavours of practice and I am sure you are aware of the dangers of the term shamanism in the first place. In areas like central and south america where the "shaman" is more likely to be a curendero or healer than a priest many of the basic assumptions of this site fall apart.

Nobody is saying that ceremonies are locked in time.  People are concerned that ceremonies that are traditionally provided for the community by community elders are being appropriated, mixed with yoga, tantra and other completely different traditions and then being sold to a newage demographic for $$$$$

In actuality there is an overwhelming amount of very good academic research to indicate that the primary means of learning in many traditional groups is directly through communication with the ceremony and liniage has little or nothing to do with it.


Please provide links to this overwhelming amount of very good academic research.

I am very interested in this specifically as lineage is central to ceremony, at least in my understanding.

In cases where it does, many of the local people are beginning to travel themselves and incorporate things they learn elsewhere. This is normal cultural transformation. I am all for fundimentalist sectors keeping traditions "as they always have been". However the human species has always innovated and so has culture. All people have the right to learn and grow and innovate. Natives do too. To say that native people are any different is a clear form of romantic racism which I am sure you would decry if someone else was doing it.

It is an obvious  tautology to suggest that cultures evloved slowly when they were highly isolated or that they did not charge for things before monetary systems were introduced. Cultural evolution and professional pay for people who work in something full time is the norm now in areas where there is broad exposure to other cultures, where monetary systems exist, and when the role of the "shaman" is more that of a traditional medical doctor than that of a priest.

Of course ceremonies change over time.  Everything changes over time.  What you are attempting to justify is the appropriation of culturally specific ceremonies and the dilution / corruption of those ceremonies with things like yoga and tantra.  You are advocating a pick-n-mix approach to various culturally specific sacred traditions.  What you are advocating is by its nature newage and offensive.

Sixth, I have almost no response to your assertions that the school is "probably" penetrated by organized crime and involved in human trafficking. What possible cause could you have for that assertion other than facebook contacts that number over 10,000? That is a highly damaging thing to say without any possible reason to see it is likely. You have a position of power and responsibility here and you could really use it for good... to bring up issues thoughtfully and genuinely. That is not the same as calling people you don't know horrible names and making baseless accusations. It is hard to even make time to answer for them. Many good people have had their lives postively impacted by this school and I am proud to have worked for it and will support it wholeheartedly in the future. They have taken a lot of time and effort to educate people on many of the same issues you yourselves are concerned about when few enough people do. I respect that and am trying to show respect for you as well.

I made no other accusation than to say that you had friends in your facebook page who are involved in trafficking in human beings (THB).  This is not an accusation it is a fact.  You have since deleted your personal facebook page so I cannot see whether you are still friends with those people or not.

At not time did I say that you, personally are involved in THB.   I did say that your business would attract the attentions of criminal networks involved in THB, simply because it is inevitable given the  interests and business brands that you share with them and that your target demographic customer is the same as their targeted victims.

I had anticipated that you would come here and express some concerns about this issue and that you would want to know more about the criminals involved in tantra, yoga and shamanism and who disguise their trafficking activities as "karma yoga".

Instead you just delete your FB profile and make a lot of noise about "accusations" you imagine I have made about you.

Are you interested to know more about the criminal networks who pose a very real danger to your customers?

Are you interested to learn more about them, dissociate yourself from them and maybe warn your customers about them?

I would be delighted to post a lot of well referenced information regarding the THB networks who you included in your FB friends list should you wish.


Finally, despite the fact that your conversation here would be seen by many calm people to be very rude and biased I would like to commend you on actually caring about something so important. We live in a world with a lot of apathy. I would like to see more people try their best to initiate thoughtful and important discussions about the direction we are heading as a species. On that note I wish you all the best and hope you continue to try to make the world a healthier place with better communication and intercultural dialogue.

Russ

Well thanks for that Russ, as I said before if you could please provide some information about lineage and about the native communities who are going to be helped and supported by your businesses it would be very helpful.  

Your advertising materials state that the events will include ceremonies where people will be using powerful drugs including Ayahusaca, San Pedro and Peyote.  I am sure you will appreciate that - legality issues aside - these drugs are not without their risks.  People can be physically and emotionally harmed by the use of these drugs in ceremonies when they are lead by people who are not properly trained and authorised.  Vulnerable people can be taken advantage of, financially and sexually, by plastic shamans.  It happens a lot, which is one of the reasons why this forum exists. So please provide information regarding the people who will be holding these ceremonies and their lineage.

It would also be helpful to have some clear information about the nature of World Shamanic Yoga Institute and International Karma Yoga Day.  What kind of entities are they?  Are they businesses, or charities, or not-for-profit entities?   Who owns them?

I would also be interested to know more about the volunteering elements of the WSYI.  This is extremely important because criminal networks involved in THB recruit vulnerable people to do "karma yoga" (unpaid, voluntary labour) and then exploit them as enslaved labour.  People who thought they would end up volunteering to help little old ladies, feed horses or do a bit of gardening end up working 20 hours a day in factories or on construction sites, or even as pole dancers or prostitutes.  

I am NOT saying that this is what YOU are advocating, but I am just saying that if you are advertising opportunities to do karma yoga / voluntary work (as you are) that it would be helpful and reassuring to know exactly what kinds of voluntary work is expected of people and how it fits in with the other things you advertise.    

Thanks again for your participation.  

« Last Edit: August 29, 2011, 10:34:17 am by nemesis »