Hit the Ground Running in Kathmandu!

Namaste everyone! I arrived here on Sunday and it is fantastic to be back! The weather is great, there are plenty of tourists around and there is a general upbeat and positive vibe to the place. The election is still scheduled for 10th April and all indications at this stage are that it will go ahead, good news for Nepal and its people who have been living with uncertainty for far too long.

So first thing Monday morning I started my meetings to make final preparations for Thulo April 2008. I have met with representatives from the Working Women Journalists association to go through the details for the Women in Journalism workshop, a project that they are extremely excited about as are we.

As part of plans for this course I went to visit the office of Equal Access, an NGO that works to bridge the gap between poverty and opportunity through providing improved and equal access to information for all. Expect to hear more about them here soon as they share our visions and passion for Nepal and we hope to establish some joint programs with them in the future. In the mean time, they have generously offered the use of their conference room for our workshop which is a huge help!

On Tuesday I visited Bal Mandir, one of the main orphanages in Nepal and the place where a number of our girls with scholarships live. We discussed the progress of the girls and also their likely needs for the new school year which starts in April. As always, there are more girls needing scholarships so if you or anyone you know would like to help change a life, you can find more information by clicking here.

I also met with our dear friend, Rabindra Puri, on Tuesday. Rabindra is helping us with a number of projects including the visit to Nepal by a group of teachers and students from MLC Sydney. You can read more about this program by clicking here. Rabindra also manages scholarhips for 36 of the girls in our Dream Catchers project. As Rabindra works with a number of schools outside of Kathmandu, demand for scholarships there is greater than ever, so if you can help you know what to do ....

That's all for now. Today (Wednesday), I am meeting with CWISH to go through a number of big and exciting new projects that you will hear more about here and on our website soon.

Stay tuned...