Christmas message

Wow, 2008 has been an amazing year for Mitrataa with so many new and exciting projects taking off. We have also been fortunate to have some truly amazing people come on board to contribute in different ways. There have been numerous visits to Nepal and we have had the pleasure of working with some fantastic volunteers who made the journey there as well. The most exciting part of this is that 2009 is already shaping up to be as big or even bigger!

We want to say a massive 'thanks' to everyone who has supported us throughout the year. We couldn't have done it without you, your contributions make the world of difference. We also want to wish everyone a very happy Christmas and New Year, and look forward to hearing from you and keeping you all updated on our work in the new year.

Bec and Adam

Do something different this Christmas...

Stuck for ideas for a gift for someone special? Why not give them a unique gift that changes lives?

We currently have 30 girls on our waiting list for scholarships to attend school in Nepal. Without an education these girls will join the almost 60% of women in Nepal who are illiterate, condemning them to a life of limited opportunity and a lot of struggle.

For only AU$300 per year you can change a girl’s life forever. This amount covers school fees, uniform, text books and stationery, and any incidentals such as lunch and basic medical care – enough to start a young girl on the path to catching her dreams!


What an amazing thing to give someone less fortunate than you – a gift that makes a lasting impact.

You can read more about the Dream Catchers program at our website.

If you want to give this gift to a friend or family member, simply email us today to organise payment. We will prepare an information sheet for your recipient which will include details of the girl they are supporting and a photo. They will then receive updates throughout the year on the girl’s progress.

Please also forward this to anyone you think would like to make a difference.

Mitrataa in the news!

Below are clippings from 2 Eastern Suburbs local papers covering the recent launch of 100 Views Kathmandu. You can click on the photo to make it larger and easier to read the print.

Amazing documentary launch!

Last Tuesday evening (18th November) saw the culmination of months of work both in Sydney and in Kathmandu with the launch of the 100 Views Kathmandu documentary. The event was held at The Ritz in Randwick and we had the pleasure of sharing the evening with over 200 friends and supporters. Jessica Rowe added a touch of class to the evening in graciously donating her time to act as MC.

As many of you will know, 100 Views is a celebration of community through the arts, a program devised for schools by children's author Libby Hathorn. Libby travelled with her friend, Pat Granville Smith, to Kathmandu earlier in the year and together they introduced 100 Views to the teachers and students at our Model School, Riviera International Academy. You can read more about their trip including some blog postings by visiting our website. You can read more about 100 Views in general by visiting the website.

Libby arranged a film crew to document her journey in Kathmandu and the result was the fantastic film we were able to enjoy last Tuesday. The film covered a host of topics including the history of the 100 Views program and the introduction of it to Nepal, but more importantly for us it wove this into the story of Mitrataa and our work to help women and girls in Nepal. This meant that the evening provided a great opportunity for us to spread the word of the plight of people in Nepal and the ways people in Australia can help.

Michelle Kline from Randwick City Library Service did an amazing job in planning the event and managing everything on the night. This really was a huge job and I don't think any of us really understand how much work was involved. All that is left is to say a huge "thanks" to Michelle for her dedication and work, and also to the library and Randwick City Council for their support. The Council was extremely generous in covering the costs of the evening so that all proceeds from ticket sales went directly to Mitrataa!

There was a hotly contested raffle during the evening with some fantastic prizes - a 42inch plasma TV, a weekend at Lilianfels in the Blue Mountains, and a dozen bottles of wine. We must give a hugh thank you to the sponsors for these prizes - Phil Favero The Good Guys, Premier Capital Developments and Time Recruitment.

By the end of the evening we were completely exhausted and overwhelmed by the amount of support being shown throughout, not to mention getting over the shock of seeing ourselves on the "big screen" for the first time! It really was so inspiring and motivating to see so much interest and support being generated. Of course our biggest thanks must go to Libby who dared to dream by taking 100 Views to Nepal in the first place. Then to also film the whole thing and produce a documentary that lead us to such a brilliant evening last Tuesday well, it doesn't seem enough but thanks Libby!

As a result of the contribution and work of people like Libby and Michelle, the Foundation raised almost $8,000.00 on the night! The best part is that more donations and offers of support and volunteering are still coming in so the sky now really is the limit! Thanks to everyone who shared the evening with us and also thanks to the many others I have not mentioned here who helped to make the evening such a great success!

Fun and games at Bal Mandir!

Below is a report from our new staff member in Nepal covering a recent program we ran:

Two Australian Blues Musicians, Owen Campbell and James Kavannagh, gave a short musical performance at the Bal Mandir orphanage on October 21. About 150 children aged between 4 - 18 were present to enjoy the festivities. The objective for the day was to have fun and entertain the children with music, particularly as it took place during the main festival of the year in Nepal, Dashain. To this end, we arranged for around 50 kids from a nearby child protection home to join us for the afternoon’s program.

The performance was staged in a beautiful courtyard inside Bal Mandir with enough space to conduct games, singing, dancing and playing. When James and Owen first arrived the kids immediately had them engrossed in a massive soccer game!

This was followed by the musical performances with Owen playing the guitar and James singing. They performed nursery rhymes such as Twinkle Twinkle, Baa Baa Black Sheep, If You’re Happy, etc. Many of the children knew the songs so they sang and danced along.

After the performance, there were more games followed by a snack break. James and Owen helped volunteers from Bal Mandir to give snack boxes to each of the children.

It was then time for more playing as the children were still very excited. With their unmatchable enthusiasm they were running around with friends or footballs. It became difficult to gather them once again at the same place. So we decided to attract them with a game.

After a couple of hours everyone including James and Owen were exhausted! James in particular said it was the most exercise he had had in a long while! On bidding farewell, James, Owen and Mitrataa donated the soccer balls to the children at the orphanage.


We must thank James and Owen for their time and also their energy and enthusiasm. They helped to create a very special day for these children and everyone involved thoroughly enjoyed themselves!

Reminder - Invitation to launch of 100Views Kathmandu

Libby Hathorn, Adam and Bec Ordish and Randwick City Council invite you to celebrate the launch of the documentary 100 views Kathmandu. Share Libby and Pat's adventures as they travel to the Riviera International Academy in Kathmandu, where, with the help of the Mitrataa Foundation, 100 views unleashed the creativity of almost 250 Nepalese school children. Presented by Jessica Rowe, the evening will transform the way you view the world and your own creative expression. Tuesday 18 November 2008 The Ritz Cinema, The Spot, 39 - 47 St. Pauls Street, Randwick 6.30 pm - 8.00 pm Tickets cost $20 and can be purchased by sending a cheque* made payable to Mitrataa Foundation to: Michelle Kline, Randwick City Library Service, Locked Bag 8, Maroubra 2035. Please include the number of tickets required, your name, postal address, email address and daytime contact number. Only 188 tickets are available, so please book early to avoid disappointment. * To pay for tickets online, email michelle.kline@randwick.nsw.gov.au for details. Proceeds from the sale of tickets will be used to assist Mitrataa Foundation with their valuable work with woman and girls in Nepal. For further information on Mitrataa Foundation and its work go to www.mitrataa.org

Mitrataa in the news!

On our recent visit to Nepal we ran the third pets as therapy afternoon at Bal Mandir. As always, the kids and the dogs had loads of fun and it is becoming even more rewarding as many of the kids now recognise the dogs and show enormous enthusiasm when their furry friends arrive.

A journalist and photographer from Nepali Times, one of Nepal's major English language newspapers, visited us during the session and you can read the resulting story at http://www.nepalitimes.com.np/issue/2008/10/17/Culture/15306.

Plans are now in place for the program to be run on a monthly basis and we are also investigating expanding it to include other institutions so stay tuned...

Cake at Bal Mandir!

Thursday (2nd October) was Bec’s birthday and for something different we decided to share the day, and an enormous cake, with the kids at the orphanage at Bal Mandir. It was surprisingly easy in Kathmandu to arrange a cake to feed 200 kids – the only challenge was getting it into the back of a taxi! We had to put the back seats down and it took 3 of us to maneuver the cake in, thankfully we only had to travel a couple of kms to our destination.

This week was the first week of school holidays in Nepal for the Dashain festival, the major festival of the year here. It is a particularly hard time for orphans and kids living in protection centres such as Bal Mandir as it is the time they would normally be spending with their parents and/or families. It was therefore the perfect time to inject a bit of surprise and fun into one of their afternoons.

I had to walk through the entire orphanage to the ‘party room’ at the back so by the time the cake was sitting on the table nearly all of the 190 kids were hovering nearby with a mixture of curiosity and anticipation. After a raucous rendition of ‘Happy Birthday’ the cake was served. We started giving each child a small piece as we wanted to be sure there was enough for everyone. This first round was devoured in seconds and there was plenty left for seconds – at which point it became a much less organized affair with large chunks of cake being whisked away by cheeky little hands!

It was fantastic to see so many smiling faces and we had such a great time that this may become an annual event!

The plight of children in Nepal

The other day I read an article in a local newspaper regarding the plight of children in Nepal. In many respects the article reiterated what we already know but it is still always confronting to have the numbers and details set out before you. I thought it appropriate to share some of the main points as a reminder of how lucky we are and how much more needs to be done to correct imbalances and injustices in the world.

• Of Nepal’s 26 million people, 10 million are under the age of 18.
• Many children must work to survive including picking plastics for recycling from large rubbish dumps for very little money.
• When asked about child rights, they know something but are confused about whether the rights should be provided by grown-ups or children should be asking for their rights.
• There are about 5,000 street children in Nepal. About 1,000 of these are in Kathmandu and are particularly vulnerable to physical and psychological abuse.
• An estimated 20,000 children were displaced due to the Maoist insurgency.
• 21,000 children work as domestic labourers in Kathmandu, around 100,000 children work in this way throughout Nepal. They are typically deprived of their basic rights.
• Children constitute around 20% (40,000) of the approximately 200,000 Nepalese prostitutes working in India.
• It is estimated that up to 10,000 Nepali girls are sold into prostitution each year.
• In the last 3 years over 500 children under 14 have been sold to circuses in India.
• 11% of Nepalese children have never been to school.
• 65% of children who do attend school drop out before class 5.
• Only 24% of enrolled school children reach class 10.
• The majority of orphanages in Kathmandu are not authorised and are filled with children who have parents and family members able to look after them. It is common to find children from these orphanages begging on the streets of the capital.
• These orphanages generally refuse admission to legitimate orphans.

We can only hope that situations such as these become a priority for the new government in Nepal. Education across all sectors of society will be crucial in affecting change as many of these situations arise from ignorance, lack of education or long held cultural attitudes and beliefs. Good news has arrived this week in the form of the new budget announced by the government last Friday (19th September). Education received the largest piece of the budget pie and included an ambitious goal to achieve 100% literacy in Nepal in the next two years! This should be the beginning of an exciting and prosperous new era for the country and its children.

Nepal is by no means the only country in the world facing these challenges, it is simply the country we have chosen to focus on. My belief is that if we all helped in whatever capacity we could, real and lasting change will come. That is why we are so grateful for all of the amazing support we receive from all of you, together we are making a difference.

In Nepal Again!

Bec and I have just arrived back in Kathmandu and will be here for about a month. During that time we will be checking on all of the Foundation’s projects as well as launching an exciting and fun new initiative – more to come on that soon.

We will be visiting many of the girls studying in school thanks to Dream Catchers scholarships and also collecting their first term school reports. If you are sponsoring one of these lucky girls expect to receive a school report soon!

We will also be checking in on the various groups of women studying and working through our Daisy Chains project. There are around 280 women participating in this project at the moment and our goal is to reach around 500 so it’s a great start but we still have some work to do.

I hope this posting finds everyone happy and healthy in whatever they may be doing. As always, please feel free to get in touch with us, particularly if it relates to us being in Nepal.

Stay tuned for details of our new project and other updates…

Some thoughts

When I was in Sydney recently I had the great pleasure of visiting Bondi Beach Public School and speaking to the children there about Nepal and the work of the Foundation. I was honestly blown away by the response I had from the kids there as I was inundated with questions of a very high calibre from kids of all ages from year 2 right up to year 6. What really impressed me was that these kids had clearly done some research on Nepal and they had their own ideas and opinions and more than that, they really wanted answers to things that came out of this research.

One boy in year 3 asked a question that has been playing on my mind ever since. He asked, "do the kids in Nepal have skateboards?" to which I replied, "a few very lucky ones do but generally no, they don't". He immediately responded, "why not? I think all kids should be able to have skateboards if they want them". Well, I can't argue with that!

This questioning and this view of the world really struck me. I mean, this boy has a point. For kids everything can be so black and white. I attempted to give some basic explanation of the way some countries in the world are poorer than others and that in some countries people can only afford basic survival items such as food, shelter etc but this somehow seemed inadequate. To this boy that explanation meant nothing. If only we could all keep this level of innocence and pragmatism as the responsibilities and pressures of adulthood gradually consume our lives. Imagine how different the world could be. The fact is it is not fair that so many in the world have to fight so hard for things that many of us take for granted. And children like this boy are right to question this. I hope kids continue to challenge the status quo in situations like this because it is the only way that things will really begin to change.

I really hope that as kids question the world in this way they will also learn to appreciate their own lives more. There is so much being put forward in the media and contemporary literature, music etc about finding happiness and step one has to be realising that we should be grateful for what we have. The fact is if you are reading this blog, chances are you are already "better off" than probably two thirds of this world, and that would be a conservative estimate. It is a beautiful thing when you see kids realise how lucky they are - we can learn a lot from them.

So thanks to the amazing kids at Bondi Beach Public School, I really learned a lot from my visit!

Time to catch my breath

Unbelievably I am now sitting in my office back in Shanghai after a whirlwind last week in Sydney. I am trying to keep the blog up to date with everything that has been going on but I can't keep track of all of it myself at the moment! Some of the main happenings are listed below...

On Friday 18th I gave a presentation to the staff at LEAP Legal in Sydney. I in fact used to work for LEAP before Bec and I left Sydney and two of our board members, Hunter and Sarah, still work for them. I spoke for around half an hour about how the Foundation was started and then about all of the projects we are working on at the moment. It was great fun to re-visit my past life in Sydney and of course I always get a buzz from talking about Nepal and the Foundation. The highlight of the experience however was the very sizable cheque that was presented to me as a donation to Mitrataa. As well as this LEAP have set it up so that staff can contribute to the Foundation on a monthly basis directly from their salary. They are also exploring other fundraising ideas and opportunities for us. I have to say this turned out to be an amazing afternoon and just when I thought I was beginning to feel exhausted and drained this filled me up and set my mind racing with more ideas for projects and ways to impact Nepal.

I want to express my heartfelt thanks to Christian Beck, CEO and Richard Hugo-Hamman, General Manager at LEAP for contributing so significantly to our work. It really means so much and enables us to make a difference to many more people struggling throughout Nepal.

During my final week in Sydney I devoted my time to MLC Sydney as there was much follow-up work from their trip to Nepal in April as well as plans for future trips and projects. I attended a devotional assembly at the school at which I was interviewed by two of the girls from the Nepal trip, this was an interesting take on talking about Nepal and it was a lot of fun if not also a little daunting to have to think on my feet with hundreds of school girls watching! Some of the girls also shared some of their feelings and experience from the trip and it was great to hear how they felt about it after they had returned home and had time to process everything.

I spoke at another assembly at the school, and then followed this with a talk to Years 8 and 10 students about non-government organisations and how they work. I found this really rewarding as it gave me a chance to speak more about some of the logistical and administrative things we have to do as part of the work of the Foundation, the things people generally don't see or hear about. My final presentation to the school was in response to a donation of money raised by the girls since their return from Kathmandu. This money was to be applied to the Daisy Chains project so I spoke to everyone about the background to the project, how it works, and then introduced them to the group of women they would specifically be helping. I think this meant a lot to the girls, particularly those who had been involved in the fundraising as it made very real the contribution they were making and hopefully it will inspire them to continue to be involved in these types of activities.

I walked out the gates of MLC at 3:20pm on Thursday and after a farewell dinner with some friends found myself at Sydney airport on Friday morning wondering where the last month had gone!

I want to take this opportunity to once again thank everyone who I met during my visit to Sydney and especially those who have contributed in so many different and wonderful ways to the Foundation and our ongoing work. 2008 has already proven to be our most successful and exciting year yet - and we are only just over half way through it!

Great things happening

There hasn't been much time for reflection during my visit to Australia but I thought I would just take a minute to put down a few of the great things that have been going on for the Foundation.

As a result of the fantastic evening Libby Hathorn hosted at her home recently I have met some more very inspiring and positive people who are now helping Mitrataa along with Libby. In particular Michelle Kline and Joanne Fedler have been so generous with their ideas and their time. Michelle works for the Randwick City Library Service and she has co-ordinated the donation of a large number of children's books from the library. We will take these books to Nepal for use in the library at the Model School. Michelle is also working with Joanne and Libby on a launch event for a documentary on Libby's recent trip to Kathmandu to introduce the 100Views Art & Literacy program there. More news on that event once details are finalised. Joanne is an author (check out her website) and she has written the most touching piece about Mitrataa and put it on her blog which you can read by clicking here.

These three women truly are inspirational to Bec and I and we want to thank them from the bottom of our hearts for their support, it really does mean a lot to us and we are so grateful.

I have spoken at a couple more Rotary club evenings and was presented with a cheque for $500.00 from the Castle Hill club last night. This was most unexpected and I must give a big "thanks" to the club and also to Rhonda Radford for introducing me to the club. Rhonda's daughter, Sarah, is one of the directors of Mitrataa and I fear she will soon be spending her days collecting donations of books, clothes and toys to be shipped to Kathmandu!

So as you can see its all systems go for Mitrataa at the moment. I have plenty more engagements in Sydney and then it won't be long before Bec and I are back in Kathmandu following up on all of the projects - exciting times!

In Australia

After an absolutely amazing and exhausting 3 months in Nepal, and a quick 2 week visit home to Shanghai, I am now in Australia following up on all of the projects and doing some fundraising and admin work.

I have given presentations to a number of companies and Rotary Clubs with more to come in the next 2 weeks. I also had the pleasure of attending a dinner that was held by our good friend and supporter Libby Hathorn. Libby visited Kathmandu with her friend, Pat Granville Smith, and together they launched 100Views Art & Literacy at the Model School there. You can read more about this on our blog by clicking here. Libby arranged for a documentary to be filmed chronicling the experience and part of the purpose for the dinner was to generate interest in that. The documetary should be finished soon and we expect it to be a fantastic tool for raising the profile of 100Views as well as Mitrataa. There was a group of just over 30 people at the dinner and I had the opportunity to speak at length about the history of Mitrataa, our current projects, and some of our ideas and dreams for the future. We then held an open forum in which people were able to throw out ideas for fundraising, projects, and ways that they and others could become involved. It really was an inspiring and uplifting evening and I left with my head buzzing with new ideas and even more motivation.

A huge "thank you" must go to Libby and to Pat (who I have now discovered is a brilliant chef!) for hosting the evening and catering for it so well. So many possibilities and opportunities have already come out of it for which we are very grateful.

With many more presentations, meetings and functions to attend in the next 2 weeks I am sure there will be much more news as 2008 continues to be our most exciting and successful year so far!

Sarah and D finish on a high!

The final 3 days of Sarah and D’s program in Nepal involved visits to a couple of drop in centres operated by CWISH, and culminated in an outing and picnic for the kids from these centres.

On Tuesday we visited the centre in Basundhara, just off the ring road at the northern end of Kathmandu. Most of the kids attending this centre were girls ranging in ages from 8 to 16. They had prepared a small role play/drama for us which involved a number of the girls acting out their home lives – all of the kids who attend these centres are domestic labourers meaning they work for and live with middle to upper class families in Kathmandu. They did a second drama which showed an attempt by local police to convince a family that they should allow their child ‘servant’ to attend school. It was very touching to see these children recreate aspects of their own lives, and made the impact of their realities that much harder.

Sarah and D came well prepared to inject a little bit of fun into the lives of these kids and so they pulled out some mega colouring books, crayons and textas and started handing them out to everyone, even the older kids were desperate for their chance! Of course colouring in can’t be completely enjoyed without biscuits and chips/crisps and the girls had organised some of these as well – the kids were in heaven. Last activity for the day was a basic alphabet quiz in which the kids had to give 3 words in English for each of the letters or the alphabet. They did really well and had loads of fun in the process, especially as every time an animal was named Sarah would proceed to imitate the noise of that animal!

Wednesday saw us carry out a similar program at a drop-in centre at Gyaneshwor, nearby to Kathmandu city centre. There were more boys at this centre (about half) and the age range was again about 8 to 16. We followed a similar program at this centre but also managed to fit in some singing – “heads, shoulders, knees and toes…” and also a game of Simon Says.


The highlight of the week for kids from both centres, and I think the highlight of the whole trip for Sarah and D, was Thursday’s picnic program. We organised a bus to take all of the kids from both centres to Buddhanilkanta to a park area situated at the very northern tip of Kathmandu at the foot of the hills. Sarah and D had brought badminton racquets, mini golf sets, balls, skipping ropes and even a limbo set that played music! The kids went wild and it really was amazing to see them all having so much fun. It really does remind us that kids are fundamentally the same anywhere in the world, they just need to be given the chance to be kids.

Both of the girls were challenging the kids to skipping contests and badminton with varying degrees of success and loads of fun was had by all. After a couple of hours of games lunch arrived. We had arranged to have small packed lunches delivered and they were devoured in no time, fortunately there was enough for anyone who wanted them to have seconds. In the early afternoon storm clouds began to form so we piled back on to the bus and headed home. Soon after it rained heavily which was a welcome chance to cool off.

This truly was a magic day for the kids from these drop-in centres. They all work as domestic helpers and had probably never experienced any kind of outing before in their lives. I am sure it is a day they will remember forever and I have a feeling Sarah and D feel the same.

On that note, we must say a big “thank you” to Sarah and D for taking 3 weeks to come to Nepal and do so many wonderful things with the various groups we work with here. They had brought a lot of resources with them which they kindly donated and they also bought many more things for the kids whilst they were here. Their generosity and passion for what they were doing will be remembered long after they have returned to London and hopefully, they will be able to return again in the not too distant future.

Trip to an orphanage, dogs included!

With all the excitement of last week’s events finally settling down, and after a 10 hour bus ride (due to some mechanical trouble and petrol shortage traffic jams!) to return to Kathmandu from Pokhara, Sarah and D were back at work on Monday.

The day’s program involved working with two groups of orphans at the Bal Mandir orphanage. The first group were toddlers around 2 to 3 years old. Some of the kids had disabilities, this was most likely the reason they were abandoned in the first place. This is one of the harsh realities of life in a country like Nepal and Sarah and D were fantastic in taking it all in their stride.

We arrived just as these kids were getting dressed for the day however upon seeing us they were more interested in playing football than putting their clothes on! So after a game with semi-naked kids running around the halls of the orphanage we managed to get them dressed just in time for their teacher to arrive to start the class. Sarah and D spent the morning with the class helping the teacher do some craft activities with the kids and they also had the chance to help prepare and feed the kids their morning tea as well.

After lunch the girls moved on to the kindergarten class which kept their hands full for the rest of the afternoon. The kids here are between 4 and 6 years old although there is also a boy who is 9. He had recently been abandoned in a village in southern Nepal and had never been to school. He also could not speak Nepali when he came to the orphanage as he spoke the local language of his village. Sarah and D took a particular shine to this boy and by the end of the afternoon they had him counting to 10 in English and also saying some basic words and phrases. It is amazing how quickly kids can learn when given the tiniest bit of care and attention and Sarah and D should be really proud of the impact they have had on this boy’s life.

All of the kids in the class enjoyed the girls reading a story, “Spot Goes To The Farm”, complete with all the noises of typical farmyard animals! Then there were some colouring activities and also some games outside including skipping which managed to incorporate a counting lesson.

Whilst all of this was happening I managed to sneak away to collect Mango and Tara from KAT for the second running of our Pets as Therapy program. You can read more about this program in my post for the first day we ran a few weeks ago. When I arrived in the kids’ room with the two dogs there were some tears again but this time many of the kids had remembered their previous experience and were thrilled to see their new friends return. We spent well over 2 hours playing with the kids and the dogs and this time the favourite activity was feeding Mango treats which he was content to eat all afternoon. Nearly all of the kids were brave enough to hand feed Mango although some of them were more interested in trying the biscuits for themselves!

Sarah and D arrived just in time to help us finish up with the dogs and take a few photos before bidding farewell to the little ones once more. So overall it was a big day at Bal Mandir with all kinds of programs happening for the kids. The rest of the girls’ time is going to spent working at drop-in centres with kids who work as domestic labourers. This promises to be a challenging and touching experience for Sarah and D as some of these children’s stories are horrific. I will post an update on this in the coming days.

I have posted some photos of the first visit to Bal Mandir with the dogs on our website, and I will post some more from the second visit soon.

Photos are up, and some thanks

There are two purposes for today’s post, the first is to let you know that we have just added a photos section to our website. There are already plenty of great photos there from all of our projects in Nepal and we will keep adding more. You can see the photos by going to our website (http://www.mitrataa.org) and then clicking on the “Photos” button on the menu bar.

Thanks as always must go to Christine Shim, a director of the Foundation and also our chief website and graphic design expert. Christine does a fantastic job of keeping the website up to date and looking fantastic – so “thanks Christine”!

Whilst on the subject of thanks, I wanted to take this opportunity to thank all of our partners in Nepal who have worked particularly hard in the past couple of months to make Thulo April 2008 such a massive success. We honestly could not have run all of the programs so successfully without their tireless commitment to making it happen. More important though is their contribution to the Foundation’s work on an ongoing basis including email updates on girls with scholarships, managing new scholarship applications, putting together new project proposals and handling all of the logistics to bring programs to fruition.


In particular we want to thank:

- Rabindra Puri and his staff
- Milan Dharel and the staff at CWISH
- Madan Siwakoti and the staff at Riviera International Academy
- Bal Krishna Dangol and the staff at Nepal Children’s Organization, Bal Mandir

There are many others who have helped us get to where we are today and for this we are extremely grateful. Top of this list includes all of the many donors, some have been contributing regularly since we began almost 8 years ago! Thanks also to the many volunteers who have traveled to Nepal this year to help run programs and make huge contributions to our work.

To everyone mentioned above, and anyone else who has been involved in some way, we say “thanks!” as we look forward to making even more of an impact in the future!

Bec & Adam

Welcome to the Republic of Nepal

Late on Tuesday afternoon we received the news in Kathmandu that there would be a 3 day public holiday from Wednesday, 28th May to celebrate Nepal becoming a republic. This changed the plans I had for Sarah and D somewhat but with a bit of juggling we managed for them to get on a flight to Pokhara on Wednesday morning so that they could use the time for some rest and a small trek. You have to be prepared for these sudden changes when working in Nepal!

To lose 3 days of plans when I will be leaving Kathmandu soon is not ideal but at the same time this is a major landmark in the country's history. Late last night the newly elected Constituent Assembly voted massively in favour of abolishing the monarchy which had ruled Nepal for about 240 years. The feeling on the street is very much elation, joy and real optimism that the country can now start to climb out of the hole it has dug in the past few years with the ongoing instability.

You can read more about what is going on by clicking on the following links:

"Nepal votes to abolish Monarchy"

"After difficult labour, Nepalese republic is born"

We really hope that this symbolic step can herald a new beginning for Nepal starting with an end to the violence and uncertainty that has plagued the country for years. There is much to be done so once the celebrations subside let's get to work!

Picnic in Phulbari

Saturday brought a complete change of pace for Sarah and D as we held a picnic for those girls with scholarships to go to school outside of Kathmandu. This group comprised 30 girls from Bhaktapur, Panauti and Phulbari. The picnic was held in the village of Phulbari, nearby to the school we have been working with there. It was organised with the help of Rabindra Puri, one of our partners in Nepal, and his team of ever helpful and enthusiastic staff.

We first had to make our way to Bhaktapur to meet the bus that would take us and some of the girls the rest of the way. Fuel shortages have become such a problem in Nepal that the queue of vehicles on the highway actually blocked the entire road at one point. Fortunately we had a taxi driver who thought nothing of driving off into a field at the side of the road and despite almost becoming bogged a number of times, he successfully managed to navigate us past the jam and back onto the road safely. In Bhaktapur there was time for a few quick photos around Durbar Square before we joined the bus and were on our way. Once on the highway climbing out of the valley the driver turned on some very loud Nepali pop music and the atmosphere was complete. Wind blowing on our faces, rice paddies and mud huts perched on the hillside, and a bus full of Nepali girls singing at full volume!

We were greeted enthusiastically in Phulbari by the girls from the school there as well as a number of curious villagers. We walked a small way up the hill to our lunch destination – a local restaurant that has its own organic farm garden on the hillside. Rabindra decided to get things going by starting a game in which each person had to say their name followed by a unique hand gesture. The trick was that the next person had to recite all of the names before them including their gestures. The worst part was that we were towards the end of about 45 people! Fortunately Rabindra sensed our growing anxiety and changed the rules half way through so that each person only had to recite any 5 names and gestures of the people before them.

Once introductions were complete and everyone was in fits of laughter (the hand gestures became more elaborate and ridiculous as the game wore on!), it was time for some traditional folk songs and even some dancing. Some girls were more shy than others to be involved but there were others who were unstoppable. Before long everyone was clapping and singing along and the songs just kept coming. This was a great way to work up our hunger and thankfully after an hour of songs lunch was served. We all piled our plates with a delicious dahl bhat including vegetables and curry made from items grown in the organic garden. It really was one of the tastiest dahl bhats I have ever enjoyed.

With full stomachs we set off up the hill to the helipad that would be our playground for the afternoon. Walking through the organic garden was truly magic, it was so lush and peaceful and looked out over the valley to the north. On a clear day you can see a sweeping vista of the Himalayas from here but this is not the time of year for that, nonetheless the view was beautiful. When we reached the top the view extended for a full 360˚ and was truly breathtaking. Hard to imagine a more inspiring a spot to play sport anywhere in the world!

Sarah and D had brought some games to play with the girls including badminton and rounders (like softball). Some of the girls immediately started a game of badminton but with the three of us demonstrating, a few of them gradually took an interest in rounders as well. Soon there were balls flying everywhere and girls running and screaming with delight all over the field. It was amazing to just stand back and watch all of the girls having so much fun for an afternoon without a care in the world. We should remember that these girls come from extremely poor backgrounds and many live in pretty awful conditions. To give them a day like this was truly special and it is a memory they will always cherish. Many new friendships were made and it was great to see everyone playing together without concern for religion or caste etc.

All too soon the sun began to approach the hills to the west and we had to bring the games to an end. After a quick cup of tea and tour of the Phulbari school we piled back on to the bus and started making our way down the rocky dirt track, music blaring and the singing louder than ever. By now D had managed to learn some of the words so she joined in and even taught the girls some interesting new dance moves!


Our very special thanks must go to Sarah and D for sharing in such a fantastic day and for donating the sports equipment to the school in Phulbari. We must also thank Rabindra and his team for organising everything and helping to make the day such a resounding success! We plan this to have been the first of many such days in the future.

Two more volunteers have landed!

Two more volunteers have arrived, and they’ve had a fantastic first week in Nepal. Sarah and Delaine both arrived from London early on Monday morning. Sarah is English and Delaine (or ‘D’) is from New Zealand. They had spent the weekend in Delhi so Kathmandu seemed like a peaceful and less crowded place to be after the chaos and crush of India!

I spent the first 2 days giving them some orientation and doing a few tourist things such as Swayambunath (the monkey temple) and Patan. We were all ready to start work at the model school on Wednesday morning when we were greeted with the news that there was a strike. My heart sank. There had not been a strike for the past few months and I really felt that things had been improving since the election. It seems however that the Maoists have been up to their old tricks recently, abducting a businessman on some spurious charge and ‘questioning’ him to death. More disturbing for his family is that the Maoists have admitted to this but will not release his body or tell them where it is so that they can perform the proper funeral rites. So in an interesting turn of events it was those with anti-Maoist sentiment who called Wednesday’s strike, I think they were quite uncomfortable having a taste of their own medicine but it remains to be seen if that will change anything.

So Sarah and D were instantly introduced to the uncertainty of trying to get things done in Nepal! With a quick change of plans we instead made the day another tourist day and went on a rickshaw ride to Kathmandu Durbar Square. We followed this with a long walk through the back alleys and streets of the old part of Kathmandu, it was a lot of fun to see daily life here up close!

Thursday saw everything return to normal so we headed off to the model school in Maijubahal. After meeting the school’s principal, Madan, and having a quick tour of the school it was straight down to work for the girls. They had brought the entire set of Mr Men books with them to read to the children so first stop was UKG (Upper Kindergarten) and an entertaining rendition of Mr Nosey. I’m sure the kids had never seen anything like it and their enthusiasm for their new teachers was palpable! Once the story was finished the kids had to draw their own version of Mr Nosey and there was a flurry of activity as there was a prize for the best drawing.

Next stop was class 1 and they heard the tale of Mr Happy, again followed with a drawing contest. Before we knew it lunch time beckoned so after a quick break it was time for a different task. The Foundation has been working on setting up the library at the school and there were some books there but there was no catalogue or system for borrowing. We set to work recording the details of all the books and putting them into some kind of order. After about 4 hours doing this we realised it was going to be a much bigger task than first planned and exhausted, we decided to call it a day.

Friday morning saw us return to the model school and it was time for classes 2 and 3 to have their turn with a Mr Men story. Class 2 understandably enjoyed Mr Noisy whilst class 3 went crazy imitating Mr Tickle! After lunch it was a free afternoon for the kids to do any activities they wished but all the young kids wanted was more Mr Men stories. First was a visit to the Nursery kids to play a fishing game with them, followed by a sing-a-long of 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star' and 'Do Re Mi'. It was then back to reading for classes 1, 2 and 3 and the girls managed to get through quite a few more including Mr Good, Mr Chatterbox, Mr Snow and repeat performances of Mr Happy and of course Mr Tickle. All of the kids had an amazing time having stories read to them and they were chomping at the bit to get to the library to be able to read them themselves, which is a great sign. First, we just have to finish recording them in the new library catalogue system!

With some light left in the day we decided on a return visit to Swayambunath as the previous visit had been very crowded due to it being Buddha’s birthday. This time it was much quieter and Sarah and D were able to enjoy the serenity of the place, as well as seeing a few more monkeys. I hope the girls get a good night’s sleep tonight as tomorrow we are going to the school in Phulbari to have a picnic with 30 or so girls with scholarships from that area!

Lastly – thank you to those of you who have already offered support for Kalpana, the girl whose story I wrote about in the last entry. We still need more help though so if you are able to contribute something or know anyone who could, please get in touch – adam@mitrataa.org

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Help needed urgently

After the excitement and fun of many of my previous postings I have a story that has really reminded me of why we work in Nepal. It is not a nice story but it goes to the heart of the problems faced by the people of this country.

Yesterday, a 15 year old girl contacted CWISH (one of our partners that works with women and children, especially those considered to be ‘at risk’) through their helpline. The girl had been working as a domestic helper in Kathmandu and her employer had supported her studying in a government school in class 8. Her only other family member is her mother, an illiterate woman working as a labourer for a small daily wage in a remote village.

The girl’s mother was recently contacted by the Young Communist League (YCL), a wing of the Maoist Party that is generally responsible for intimidation, extortion, violence and all of the other ‘unpleasant’ tactics the Maoists have used to gain support. The YCL actively recruit other young people to join their ranks, they particularly focus on attracting poor, uneducated villagers who don’t know any better and have little prospects for themselves. The YCL promised the mother that they would provide free education for her daughter and that she should bring her daughter back to the village immediately.

The mother, not knowing any better, went to Kathmandu and convinced her daughter that it would be better for her to return to the village. She told her that she would be given free education without having to work and that this would be a better life for both of them. Once the daughter returned however, she was taken to a camp and allowed no contact with her mother. There, the YCL began a process of indoctrination, teaching the girl such things as how to fire a gun, how to build small bombs, ways to stop vehicles on the highways so that they could be robbed, and other guerilla warfare activities.

Fortunately the girl realised this was not right and she managed to escape, seriously risking her life in the process. She made it back to Kathmandu and sought refuge with some friends. She is unable to return to her employer’s home as they have been under surveillance by the YCL and have been threatened not to help her. She is also unable to return to the village as the punishment for her there would be unthinkable. It is uncertain what may happen to the girl’s mother in the village but she has agreed that her daughter must stay in Kathmandu at all costs. With the support of her friends the girl came to CWISH and requested help to continue her education safely.

CWISH has managed the funds required for her to continue her education in a government school in the short term. However she is also in need of support for a secure residential facility and longer term education prospects. I know we received an overwhelming response the last time I posted details of a girl in a terrible situation, and we are now appealing again for urgent assistance. This girl’s story is horrific but all too common in Nepal. Her courage and determination in escaping the camp and choosing to resume her education is truly inspirational and must be rewarded.

If you, or anyone you know, is able to help this girl please contact me at adam@mitrataa.org.

MLC Sydney - Nepal Service Project Day 5

Day 5 was the final day for the MLC team and the tiredness was starting to take its toll! Fortunately the day’s plan involved only a short bus ride back to the model school and I promised them we would be finished by lunch time so that urgent matters, such as last minute souvenir shopping, could be addressed!


The first task was a follow on from the teacher training program we did at the school on Tuesday. It was now the Nepali teachers’ turn to use what they had learned and teach their respective classes with consultation and assistance from the MLC team. This worked brilliantly and it was great to see the various groups collaborating on teaching ideas so closely. We are hoping and working towards this connection being a permanent feature for both Riviera and MLC as it provides the perfect platform for a lasting cultural exchange.

Once the bell rang to signal the end of first period however, the fun really began. We had arranged with Riviera to host a parents’ day. This is a concert program in which all of the children from the school perform various traditional songs, dances and poems etc and all of the parents are invited to attend. On this occasion the entire team from MLC were the guests of honour! An enormous marquee had been erected covering the school playground and a stage complete with booming sound system had been constructed – in Nepal a parents’ day can never be done in half measures!

As the program began the crowd began to swell as nearby locals soon heard that a group of foreigners were going to perform. By the time things were in full swing there would easily have been an audience of 300 Nepalis eagerly awaiting a performance of traditional Australian music. When their time came to perform MLC did not disappoint, starting with a rousing rendition of the Australian national anthem. Their second item was “Kookaburra sits in the old gum tree”, an Australian classic. For this song they even managed to divide the audience in half and got everyone singing along in a round which was greeted with rapturous applause. However the highlight for the enthusiastic crowd came when the first notes of “Resham Phiriri” were played. This is probably the most famous Nepali folk song and nearly all foreigners who had visited Nepal would also be familiar with it. MLC music teacher, Karen Carey, had even bought and mastered playing a Nepali flute especially for the occasion. This performance absolutely brought the house down and it must have lasted through at least a dozen repetitions before they were finally allowed to stop.

The performances from the Riviera school children were all excellent and I hope provided an interesting piece of culture for the visitors to take home with them. After some (not so) short speeches it was time for the MLC team to depart, having completed their final service project for this visit. I could see by the looks on everyone’s faces that they were exhausted but clearly also exhilarated by the awesome things that had seen and done.

At this point we would like to thank Rosemary King from MLC, and Judy Tenzing who both worked tirelessly for the better part of a year to put this trip together. Their passion and dedication to Nepal was a joy to be a part of. We also want to thank the teachers, parents and friends who accompanied the girls on the trip and whose support was invaluable.


Lastly, we want to say a big thank you to the MLC girls. Their energy and enthusiasm was inspiring, particularly in sometimes difficult circumstances. They conducted themselves with integrity, maturity and sensitivity at all times and are a credit to themselves and their school. Well done girls and we hope this is the beginning of a fantastic partnership with MLC.

MLC Sydney - Nepal Service Project Day 4

Another early morning bus ride greeted the MLC group on day 4 of their service project week. This time it was a 2 hour bus ride to the village of Phulbari, just outside the Kathmandu Valley near the mountain resort town of Dhulikhel. The drive provided everyone with a chance to rest as well as see some beautiful countryside and breathe some fresh air. The ‘road’ approaching the village gets pretty rough and in places took us within metres of people’s houses so that we could see the children playing and the cows, buffalos and goats tied up outside.

Amongst this rural setting we found the Phulbari school, the main building of which was recently built by one of our partners, Rabindra Puri. As we walked down the driveway into the school the students and teachers made a tunnel and greeted each of us with flowers – Phulbari means ‘flower garden’ in Nepali. It was a wonderfully warm welcome and quite unlike anything the MLC group had probably ever experienced.

After a quick tour of the school it was down to work. Some of the girls and teachers were going to be painting murals, one on the back wall of each of three classrooms that desperately needed brightening up. The rest of the group were assigned teams of students from the school and they set about carrying out a massive clean up campaign. We had brought 2 bins as well as brooms and dustpans especially for this task. Picking up rubbish is not generally something Nepali school children are familiar with and this was evident from the state of their school ground! Some were reluctant to join in at first but were soon embarrassed to be left out whilst their friends got busy.




In 2 very hectic hours the school was transformed, inside and out. The 3 murals look brilliant and bring some colour and vibrancy to the classrooms. The school grounds have, I doubt, ever looked so clean and tidy.

The next task was the handing out of school bags. The girls from MLC had spent many months fundraising prior to this trip and they had collected enough money to purchase 600 school backpacks – 1 for each child at the school. We had arranged to have ‘MLC Sydney’ printed on the bags along with the name of the Phulbari school and the Mitrataa Foundation.

The children were so excited to receive in many cases, their first school bag, that some of us were almost crushed in the excitement! They were clearly going to be used with pride. MLC also made a donation of resource materials such as stationery and books which were much needed and appreciated.

With all of the work out of the way it was time for a quick volleyball contest between a group of girls from the school and the team from MLC. It soon became clear that neither side had much experience playing volleyball and as such they were evenly matched, so keeping score seemed unnecessary!

After a sumptuous feast of dahl bhat prepared from locally grown organic rice and vegetables, it was time to face the long and at times slow bus ride back to town. The day was long and exhausting but provided a good contrast for the girls between schools in Kathmandu and those in the villages, another layer of experience to add to their amazing trip.

MLC Sydney - Nepal Service Project Day 3

Wednesday (23rd April) was day 3 for the MLC group and we had planned a complete change of pace for the activity that day…

Everyone had to be on the bus bright and early for a short drive to the historic town of Bhaktapur, just outside Kathmandu. Once there we took the group to visit the Bhaktapur Muscular Dystrophy Centre (BMDC), home to 8 young boys suffering the debilitating effects of muscular dystrophy. Everyone was shocked to hear the situation these boys must face in having this disease and living in Nepal, in particular the fact that they are not allowed to attend school as it is considered as waste of resources. Despite the social stigma attached to such a disease (many Nepalis believe the boys’ condition to be a punishment from the gods and that they are cursed) a father of 2 of the boys managed to find enough support to establish the centre and provide some basic education and facilities for the boys. The mothers of the boys have set up a small workshop where they make paper goods such as cards and notebooks and then sell these at a local shop to help raise funds for the centre. The entire place, while very basic, is extremely inspiring and clearly had an effect on the entire group of visitors.


The main activity for the day was a treasure hunt around Bhaktapur. The MLC girls as well as some parents, teachers and friends were divided into groups and each group included a boy from the centre. Each group was then given a map and a list of tasks that needed to be completed within a designated time (very similar to the TV show ‘The Amazing Race’). Sounds easy enough? Well if you’ve visited Bhaktapur you’ll know that pushing a boy in a wheelchair around its rough cobbled streets and laneways is not an easy task! Some teams even decided to carry the boy, wheelchair and all, to save precious time.

Each of the teams had to complete the following tasks in 1½ hours:

• have a photo of the entire team taken in front of a particular statue of lions;
• find the BMDC paper shop and purchase a card from there;
• find Potters’ Square and count the number of pots drying in the sun (new pots were being added all the time whilst others were being taken away!);
• find a particular man waiting in one of the squares to give each team member a tikka (a red dot on placed on the forehead as a blessing);
• buy a particular type of Nepali plate so that each team member can eat lunch;
• find a specified curd shop and eat a small bowl of King Curd (a sweetened natural yoghurt famous in Bhaktapur); and
• find a particular wood carving workshop and take a photo of it.


The reward at the end of this craziness was a delicious picnic lunch in the grounds of a traditionally restored Newari house. It was a particularly hot day so by the time all of the teams had finished they were ready to collapse! This however, could not keep the smiles off everyone’s faces, especially the boys from the centre who had definitely never experienced such a thing before.




After a rest and some lunch we had a small presentation to give each participant a certificate and the MLC group also generously donated some items to the centre including handmade blankets for the boys and some games, stationery etc. The day was a huge success and will forever leave everyone involved with warm memories.

MLC Sydney - Nepal Service Project Day 2

Day 2 of the MLC service project was the first of 2 days spent at our model school, Riviera.

This first day involved the MLC girls taking various teacher training classes and working through some ideas for lessons covering topics such as social studies, Australian wildlife, prisms (maths), and the importance of education in developing countries. The girls were extremely well prepared and the teachers at Riviera really enjoyed sharing their thoughts and ideas for how the classes could be constructed to combine more creative methods of teaching. This was a logical progression from the teacher training we had already been providing to these teachers.

Of course when you take all of a school’s teachers out of their classrooms it is imperative that you find some way to occupy the students. Fortunately a number of the girls as well as teachers from MLC had this covered. Firstly Karen Carey, music teacher from MLC, gathered a small posse of the MLC girls, teachers and parents, and took charge of entertaining all the kids in classes 1 through 6 by teaching them some typical Australian songs. The Nepali kids returned the favour by sharing some local songs and traditional dance moves. Before long the sounds of music came bursting from the music room and it was clear that everyone was having a fantastic time.


Two of the MLC girls took the brave challenge of entertaining the little ones in the kindergarten section. These kids range in age from 3 to 6 years old and so their English skills are not that well developed and they have pretty short attention spans. Nonetheless the girls tasked with minding them had them singing “Heads, shoulders, knees and toes, knees and toes” including actions before too long. Once the singing started the kids were on a roll and they launched into a full volume rendition of what I think may have been the Nepali national anthem, the volume and acoustics of the small room making it difficult to know for sure!

Another particularly brave student from MLC accepted the task of keeping the students from class 9 and 10 occupied by having a discussion with them on a number of current topics including the recent election in Nepal, the prospects for the future of Nepal under a Maoist government, the impact on Nepal of instability in Tibet etc. These were pretty heavy things to be discussing but they were peppered with talk of favourite sports in each school, sporting heroes and other pop culture items. I’m sure this sharing of thoughts and ideas was a very rewarding experience for both sides and I think each of those involved came away with some interesting and diverse points of view to digest – a true cultural exchange!


The ring of the school bell was accompanied with the welcome news that cold drinks were ready for everyone in the main school building. As we sat and cooled down it was amazing to hear the number of questions being fired across the room between each of the MLC girls and their teachers, and the teachers from the model school. It was clear from these questions that the afternoon had opened many doors to new and exciting ways that the schools may be able to collaborate more closely in the future as both sides realised they could learn so much from the other. And on that note, another successful day draws to a close.