My Peeps in Nepal

While I am in Nepal, the work I do is truly a labor of love.  But the work I do would be a lot more laborious without the help of my co-workers and friends, who get me through the days.

Raj, Shreya and Harimaya

Harimaya, WELNepal’s first coordinator, brought us the talents of her husband Raj.  Later on, Raj and Harimaya had little Shreya. The power couple looks after all of our projects, and does so beautifully.

Rabeeta, Prasamchya and Santos

Rabeeta became our first assistant coordinator.  She was brought on board to help Harimaya.  Shortly thereafter, she brought on husband Santos — the man who helped her make their first daughter, Prasamchya. He has also contributes to Raj and Harimaya’s tough work. 

Bimala and Raj

Medical practitioners (and married couple) Raj and Bimala have the job of keeping me healthy.  They have done a great job so far. I have yet to die in my village of Sauraha.

Raju, who runs the last of the cyber shops in my village, has the unenviable job of keeping all my photos and WELNepal documents in computer order.  And keeping me in order, when the internet Gods desert me.

Raju

Poor Raju, his thriving internet café is so deserted these days because of Wi-Fi that he is thinking of opening a Ben and Jerry’s ice cream franchise.

Gayatri and family

Lastly is Gayatri Rimal. I wandered into Gayatri’s restaurant 18 years ago.  That was the first and only time she charged me “tourist prices” for my dinner. I’ve been eating with Gayatri and her family ever since. She now works in conjunction with Raj and Bimala to make sure that I eat properly in order to recover quickly from all my stomach problems.

To all my people in Nepal, I couldn’t do what I do without you.

Thank you all.

Nigel's Photo Blog

Greetings,

Here at WELNepal, we're lucky to have fantastic friends and supporters who go the distance for us each and every day by spreading the word about us and, most importantly, the wonderful women we work with. 

Earlier this year, WELNepal and David Daai's good friend Nigel Wilson took a trip to Nepal to check out the incredible country and the beautiful people who call it home.

Here's what he had to say about his adventure:

I had always promised myself that one day I would make the journey to Nepal to visit my old friend David. 

I have to sheepishly admit that it has taken 20 years to finally make it to Sauraha and see first hand the amazing work that David, Raj and Harimaya are doing.

A plan was hatched... Rather than fly into Kathmandu and take the bus to the village, why not hire a motorcycle and navigate the perilous terrain myself? Even better, see if people would like to sponsor the adventure. To cap it all, why not do it on a beaten old Royal Enfield Bullet?

Friends, family (plus a fair few anonymous donors) stepped up magnificently. Over a thousand pounds has been raised.

As for myself, it was an incredible experience. The spectacular scenery matched only by the kindness and generosity of the wonderful Nepali people. All the more extraordinary in the face of the adversity and calamity of recent events.

I am grateful that in a small way, with the help of so many generous people, we were able to help Welnepal with it's vital ongoing work. 

Needless to say, I am already planning the 2017 return.

20 years? It was worth the wait. 

Nigel on the road from Kathmandu to Sauraha

Some of the women of WELNepal

David Daai with a women's group

Nigel with WELNepal's coordinators Raj and Harimaya

Nigel with his beloved Royal Enfield bike

To all of Nigel's Facebook friends - old and new - and to those who didn't know Nigel, but thought that helping women in Nepal was a good cause, thank you - David Daai

Giving Tuesday: Please Help the People of Nepal

Destruction in Kathmandu after April's Quake. Source: Reuters

This holiday season, think about the incredible women you’ve helped in the past. With new challenges facing Nepal, your support is more crucial than ever. It’s heartbreaking for us to tell a woman she may have to wait a year or more for a literacy class when she so desperately wants to read, write, organize and generate income with her sisters. Let’s aim to make this December a landmark one for the women in our project area.

The roads in Nepal are tough, both literally and metaphorically, and they’re only getting more difficult to traverse.

With so much turmoil in the world, it makes sense that Nepal’s recent (and devastating) earthquake is no longer in the news. While the world has moved on, the Nepalese have not. Even as the country slowly rebuilds and recovers from the catastrophic quake, the challenges to the country’s economy remain. Fewer people visiting the pristine mountains, scenic villages and colourfully chaotic cities mean fewer dollars are making their way into people’s modest coffers.

The country is also facing other challenges, namely ongoing strikes and blockades.

That said, there was some good news this year. For the first time in the country’s history, its parliament elected Bidhya Devi Bhandari as its first female president. The government is starting to acknowledge and respect the dignity, intelligence and contributions of the nation’s hardworking and tragically underrepresented women.

Now, more than ever, we need your help to keep that momentum going — especially in these difficult times. 

As you know, we did not have a benefit this year. Even though we did not get to interact with all of you face to face on a chilly autumn night in Toronto, we thought about you and all the help and support you’ve given us — and the women — in the past.

We would love your support once more.

Please remember that a little goes a long way in Nepal.

$25: Will teach one woman to read and write

$50: Will provide textbooks for 26 women in a literacy class

$100: Will cover a teacher’s salary for three months

$200: Will sponsor a student so she can continue her education for one year. If you are interested in sponsoring a student, please contact WELNepal president David Walton at david@welnepal.org for more details.

$500: Will find an entire eight-month literacy class. Donors who fund a class will have the class named after them.

If you frequent our parties, you know we typically auction off hockey tickets, art and jewellery. This year, we still plan on auctioning off some of those things and have two sets of NHL hockey tickets and original photography created by local, Oakville-based artist Wil Yeung Photography up for grabs.

You can bid on the tickets and pictures here: http://www.ebay.ca/sch/welnepal_7/m.html?_nkw&_armrs=1&_ipg&_from

With the holiday season fast approaching, we’re spending a lot of time thinking about how to make this December (and subsequent months) better for our loved ones in Nepal.

For all of your support, we thank you.

Namaste

What We're Up To

Greetings Friends and Supporters,

We thought you might want a little update on what we've been up to lately. We also have some exciting news for you!

As for what we've been up to, we were fortunate enough to have our good friend and long-time supporter Diana throw us a spectacular fundraiser.

Diana and her beautiful belly dance troupe Tribe MayaFire hosted their annual Spooky Souk fundraiser at the gorgeous Staircase Theatre in Hamilton, Ont. The party was vibrant, fun and a great success -- Diana and her team sold every seat in the house.

The proceeds from the event will be used to purchase sewing machines for our women's groups. In Nepal, literacy must be augmented by opportunity. Once the women achieve literacy, they want to continue building profitable skills. The women of the village of Madjhuwa will receive five sewing machines and training in their use. WELNepal will supply enough thread and material during the training.

After their training, the 30 or 40 women involved will have access to the sewing machines for personal use, and they should be able to earn some money tailoring for others. The women, as a group, are responsible for creating the rules of use and deciding how to share in the profits earned.

As for the Souk, Diana had this to say about the party:

"This past Saturday's "Spooky Souk" was an amazing night full of dance and music, and we'd like to thank the many people that made it such a success: 

 To our performers that graced the stage and brought the house down! Thank you Ishra, Invoketress, Peggy, Eshe Yildiz, Ala Nar, the dancers from Wah' loo, Shades of Araby, and Elizabeth Gomez. We so appreciate you sharing your time and talents with us.

Thanks to the Staircase Theatre in Hamilton for being so wonderful and accommodating from start to finish. We love everything about your theatre - the location and vibe, Colette and Eric, those velvet seats, and can't forget the brownies! We feel like we've found the perfect fit for our little event that could, and we couldn't be happier.

Thanks to David Walton (founder of WELNepal) and the other WELNepalians -Ashley, Kim, Barry, and Wendy for taking photos, sharing your experience of Nepal, promoting our event, and bringing attention to such a worthy cause.

Thank you to Elysium Tribal and BellyUp for your generous silent auction donations. You will have some very happy ladies shimmying into your studios very soon for classes.

To our sound & tech crew Roger, Kirk, & Rene - thanks for keeping the cues tight, the music going, and the lights just right!

Thanks to Shelina who informed and entertained our audience as MC, and to my troupe mates in Tribe MayaFire - Carol, Kellie, Sherry, and Jessica who did the million little invisible "behind-the-scenes" jobs that make a night like this possible.

Thanks to our volunteers James and Malclom for always helping out wherever and whenever you were needed, and for doing it with big smiles on your faces!

And don't think we forgot YOU, our gorgeous audience! Your generosity, support, heartfelt cheers, and "Thriller" dance moves made the Souk! You have no idea how wonderful it feels as a performer to have such an appreciative audience - it makes you shimmy harder, spin faster, and give it all you've got! So thank you to our beautiful guests for being that secret ingredient that makes a good event a GREAT one!

Lastly, to our sisters in Nepal we say thank you for continuing to be such an inspiration by proving that it is never too late to change, to learn, to grow, and to claim the rights that are yours.

Until next year friends 

As for our big news, we will, for the first time ever, be hosting an eBay auction! We will have hockey tickets and art available. Please stay tuned to our blog, website and Facebook and Twitter pages for updates.  

Help Us Help the Women of Nepal

Some of our teachers planning their lessons

We know you haven’t heard from us in a while, but rest assured it’s not because we’ve been inactive. Quite the opposite!

Last year, WELNepal had to turn down over two-thirds of the women’s groups because it wasn’t possible to fund their courses. We also had to turn down women’s groups who wanted to learn how to grow organic vegetables and mushrooms and manufacture candles.

We’re going to need you to be especially conscious of our women’s groups this year because we will not be holding our annual benefit bash. We’re taking the next few months to hunker down and spend every penny on the people who need us most: the dedicated women and girls who always want more and better from their friends at WELNepal.

For all of you who have attended our parties and donated in the past, we still need your support.  Please help us by making a donation through Canada Helps. Canada Helps will electronically issue a tax receipt.  You can also send a check payable to WELNepal at:

178 A Palmerston Ave.
Toronto, ON
M6J 2J4. 

As always, we will be happy to send your tax receipt to you.

Three of our bursary students

Also, please remember that the devastating earthquake has had a catastrophic effect on tourism — a sector people rely on to make ends meet. In order to survive, the Nepalese people need to find new ways to grow their economy. By giving the neediest people the tools to grow their coffers and give back to their communities; we’re helping rebuild a beautiful and troubled country that suffered a horrific setback.

We need you to help us help them by remembering to donate. Remember, as little as $25 teaches one woman to read.

If you still want to join us for a party, we invite you to come to Tribe MayaFire’s Spooky Souk fundraiser. The belly dance extravaganza is going to be held on Oct. 24 at the gorgeous Staircase Theatre in Hamilton, Ont. at 7 pm. If you can’t attend the Halloween-themed party, know that you can donate online any time or send us a check.

Thank you, as always, for your love, generosity and continued support.

Namaste

Post-Earthquake Update

One of our classes

What We’re Up To

First of all, we would like to thank all of you for your generosity, concern and well wishes in the aftermath of the terrible earthquake that struck Nepal last month. The aftershocks are continuing and there’s more work to be done, but we’re so grateful that our supporters came through for the country and people we love with donations and messages of hope.

Fortunately for our staff and women’s groups, WELNepal is headquartered in Chitwan — a lowland area largely unaffected by the quake and subsequent tremors. A lot of our people have friends and families who lost livestock and homes and we’re continuing to reach out for support on behalf of those who are suffering. That said, we also know how important it is to continue spreading literacy and independence in our project area and that’s just what we’re doing.

Here’s a little rundown of what we’ve been up to lately.

From left to right: Santos, Sita and Man Bahadur

Madi, previously inaccessible during monsoon season, now has a bridge connecting it to the rest of Nepal. Hydro polls are also being constructed so the district can finally receive electricity.  Madi is joining the 21^st century and we want the women to be ready.  Of course adding roads may take a little longer, but progress is progress and we’re thrilled.  

This year, 10 groups will be involved in our six-month Advanced Literacy class and we have started eight new eight-month Basic Literacy classes. Sadly, we had to turn down many more groups due to budgetary restrictions.  It is very difficult to have to tell women that they will have to stay illiterate and alone until next year, when we hope to collect enough funds for them to learn to read and write in their language for the first time in their lives. 

Continuing Education Classes

Our weekly “book club” project is gaining popularity. This year, we are funding 11 groups from the 16 groups of women that completed our two-year literacy course last year.  There were also nine other groups of women who completed a government literacy course who asked to take part. Continuing Education involves women meeting once a week to read pertinent articles and discuss them.  Can you imagine the discussion taking place when the women read a story and learn about women like Malala Yousafzai? 

WELNepal’s Bursary Program

WELNepal continues to financially support young women who are gifted scholars but come from families that are either too poor to fund their higher education or believe that a girl’s place is not in school. This year, WELNepal is helping 26 students stay in school and out of unwanted arranged marriages.

Bursary students Laxmi, Anita and Kabita

Income Generating Programs

All of our women’s groups want to make money. Money buys freedom and that is what the women want.  We know that women use the money to better the lives of their children because studies show that women spend close to 90 per cent of their money on their families.

Our pesticide/insecticide-free farming project is a great success.  Out of the 12 groups we funded to grow and sell their produce, eight are flourishing. Some of the women’s groups are renting bigger plots of land to grow and sell their produce and some groups are finding new ways of marketing their vegetables.  One group even loaned out their profit at interest. That’s the entrepreneurial spirit! Our women’s groups are also making, growing and selling candles, soaps and mushrooms. We’re also pleased to report that the women involved in our sewing machine project, generously supported by WELNepal’s good friend L.M. Clark Customs Broker Ltd, are doing well.

Insecticide/pesticide-free farming group from Kathar

As important as making money is, what’s most amazing is how these women are working together, making plans, setting rules and sticking to them. The seeds of organization are well planted along with their carrots and onions. Sadly, WELNepal does not yet have the financial resources to help the growing number of women who desperately need and want our help. Every year, we have to tell more women to wait another year for literacy and income-generating training. With a little bit of help from everyone, we might be able to expand our programs and help all the interested women immediately. To gift the gift of literacy, please donate. A little goes a long way in Nepal.