Blog Posts

Personal solar lights for Hopi

2/5/2017

Our trip to the Hopi villages with personal solar lights was a great success!

We were amazed at the numbers of people living without electricity in large areas of the Hopi Reservation. Many homes still use toxic kerosene lanterns as well as propane lamps. Lightweight and lasting up to 12 hours on a single charge, these solar lights are a safe way to bring light to the Hopi and other Native Americans living in remote areas of the southwest.

We distributed over 300 personal solar lights (Solight-Design.com) donated by the accounting firm Dixon Hughes Goodman (dhgllp.com). The villages we focused on were the traditional villages of Lower Moenkopi, Hotevilla and Old Oraibi (Third Mesa); Mishongnovi (Second Mesa village); Walpi (First Mesa village).

Lights were distributed to many homes and Kivas, the religious and social centers for the Hopi. I wish I could express the joy we saw in their faces as the lights lit up their rooms.

This is the first of many solar light journeys. I want to thank our team and everyone who gave to help make this possible. You blessed a lot of special people!

Jack Lankhorst
RestoringTouch Inc.
Hopi.org

Team L to R: Demetrius, Margaret, JR, Nichole, Jack

Virginia

Ferris and his wife

Chopping wood and giving light

Zuni and Hopi Winter 2016

12/5/2016

THANK YOU for all your help in making this trip a (snowy :-) success! Our team of 13 men were able to distribute many warm blankets to Zuni, Navajo and Hopi families! We also gave food certificates from the Halona store in the Zuni Pueblo and the Kykotsmovi store in Hopi. The certificates and financial help totaled over $1,600. We definitely warmed the hearts of many!

Comment from a Zuni tribe staff member: "The families expressed their sincere appreciation. One woman wanted you to know the blanket will keep her warm during her cancer treatment."

Hopi Summer 2016

7/12/2016

During our trip to the Hopi Reservation, July 4 – 8, 2016 we took part in three Hopi Book Mobile events. Our events included balloon animals and face painting, games, a dramatic story time and magic show. The book mobile or mobile library, a large 5th wheel and truck, is headed by Dinah Pongyesva and funded by the Hopi Tribe Library Department.

Our first event was in Moenkopi, a Hopi village located near the Navajo town of Tuba City about 45 miles northwest of the Hopi Reservation.

On the second day we visited families in the hospital and at home in several Hopi villages. Along the way we assisted many Hopis with $50 food certificates as well as funds to purchase propane used for cooking. We also made a $500 contribution towards the Book Mobile.

On our third day we again took part in a Book Mobile event in Polacca, the town below the First Mesa villages of Hano, Sichomovi and Walpi, with about 100 children and youth. Then after an incredible lunch cooked by Dinah, the team visited the ancient village of Walpi where we were greeted by our old friend Bertha Kinale. Our second event that evening was in the Hopi Wellness Center with a small group of children while their parents were in an exercise class.

We were able to disperse over $1,000 in food certificates and general assistance, as well as the $500 donation for the Mobile Library, made possible by contributions from all our friends.

Also, a great big "Thank You!" to our team who gave of themselves and their resources to make this all possible!

Jack Lankhorst

More about the Hopi

(Back) Jack & Jane, Yaseer & Monique, Margaret, Paula, Olivia, Ana (Front) Jon, Paul

Click the first picture to view the gallery

About the Hopi | About Adopt an Elder

Native American Facts

6/16/2016

Solar lights and more for Tibet

4/26/2016

RestoringTouch distributed many solar lanterns and Secur solar/crank flashlights during our visit to the Tibet Autonomous Region of China (TAR) in April, 2016.

Consistent electricity is a luxury in rural areas. They were given to families along the way, to the people living near the Karo La glacier, farm workers in Gyantse and more. It was a great joy to see so many people receive these necessary items with incredible excitement!

We were blessed to have helped many of the 2,000 people attending the Tibetan Buddhist Prayer gathering in the Moeru Temple in Lhasa with food, financial help and solar lights.

All this was possible only through the gifts of many generous people. Thank you!

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Zuni & Hopi Winter 2015

12/8/2015

Visiting the Zuni and Hopi Reservations in NM and AZ is one of the highlights of the year. We typically sponsor summer events in the villages that consist of activities for the kids, teenagers and adults, as well as providing food certificates and other necessary items for the elderly. Our winter trips are designed to give men an opportunity to do smaller construction projects and distribute much needed supplies for the cold winters.

During our recent trip we gave over $1,500 worth of food certificates, many warm king-size blankets, emergency blankets and solar lights to the elderly in Zuni and in Hopi. As well we did repairs on a community buidling in Hotevilla. These repairs included a ceiling repair, drainage for rain and snow, a new insulated pipe for the wood burning heater and repairing a heater in the main meeting room.

Thank you for partnering with us!

Jack Lankhorst | RestoringTouch

A special THANK YOU to a great team!

Upcoming trip to Hopi and Zuni

11/17/2015

November 30 - December 4, 2015 we will be going to the Hopi and Zuni Reservations in Arizona and New Mexico. Our plan is to distribute warm blankets, certificates for food, propane for cooking and heating as well as luminAID solar lights for those living in more rural areas. Hopi food certificates are purchased at the Kykotsmovi store, owned and operated by the Hopi people. In the Zuni Pueblo we purchase the certificates at the Halona Plaza.