As years go by, people grow old, generations pass by, cultures are lost in the process of being to the next generation. The evolution of the cultures and the transition of these practices across communities of the world has not spared the people of the Endorois community. This site seeks to enhance and preserve the great things about their culture. Years from today we won't have a traditionally dressed woman. The art of piercing the ears of women and men alike will have been lost. This site will be there. This is a deliberate intention to ensure the next generation gets to know the beautiful things about our culture and not just pass it on but also practice it.

The days that followed remain vivid in my mind. Each day, the Sinhalese translator–– who grew to be a close friend––and I would walk forty-five minutes alongside rivers and through marshes to arrive at Sumanapala’s remote, tucked away home. He would greet us at the edge of his house with a few of his handwritten books in one arm and his grandchild in the other. His wife and daughter would frequent the small plastic table set up on the side of their home, silently smiling and curious about their new guests. The medical dictionaries he had written were filled with detailed pictures and diagrams of local snakes, plants, and venomous snake bites. 

Global Wisdom Collective engages with many partners in the space of sharing and teaching the value of intergenerational dialogues. SeaPotential, an organization based in Washington state, facilitates relationships between youth and marine ecosystems. In June 2022, GWC facilitated an intergenerational dialogue workshop to prepare youth for dialogue with elders. The workshop taught youth communication skills which have the power to heal waterways and communities.

My roots in knowledge preservation and medicine come from the generations before me. As a daughter of Chinese immigrants, a daughter of the Dai and Tibetian people, who lived through the Cultural Revolution, I knew of the pain, complexity, and triumph it has taken for me to inherit the wisdom of the Chinese Medical System passed on to me from my mother. I also understood how easily this all could have been destroyed without those determined to preserve it.