Project Snow Leopard - Part 1

We have just completed the most amazing 5 days with Linda Jocelyn and the start of Project Snow Leopard. The project started last week when 10 girls from the orphanage at Bal Mandir were selected. Each girl had submitted an application to join the project that included answers to questions such as what they wanted to do with their lives, why they wanted to learn photography, what did they believe would make a better future for Nepal etc. The quality of their answers suggested we had found a great group of girls to start this journey.

The first workshop with Linda was last Wednesday, 21st April and involved a basic introduction to the use of the cameras as well as some theory on some of the basics of photography including use of light, composition, rule of thirds etc. A quote from Linda on Day 1 is below:


Today I started teaching and it was wonderful. We started at 11am and talked about photography and what outputs there were from photography and I showed them some picture books of Australia and some slide shows to music. Then we handed out the cameras. Well...only about three of the girls had ever used a camera before but within no more than 15 minutes they had figured them out!

We then let them loose around the orphanage for about an hour taking photos before having lunch. After lunch it was time for some serious theory for about an hour on light and composition and the mechanics of how a camera works. 

On Thursday (22nd April) in addition to reviewing the photos from the day before, we took the girls on their first field trip to Boudha. By now they were growing in confidence and some amazing shots and ideas for shots were being developed. We were all looking forward to seeing the results that night!

Friday was a rest day and then on Saturday, 24th April we headed off early in the morning for the old town of Bhaktapur. This town is a major tourist attraction in Nepal for foreigners and locals alike as it has retained a strong sense of traditional culture which flows through all aspects of daily life. After some much needed breakfast a few hours of walking and photo taking ensued and as Linda's comments attest, the girls were really getting into the swing of things by now:

One of the especially amusing things was the girls asking tourists if they could take their photos. It was interesting watching their reactions, some thought it was a hoot and one woman looked totally flummoxed but then relaxed and got into the spirit of it. It was good seeing the tables turned as the tourists take all these photos rarely asking permission and this time it was the kids taking their photos!

It was also interesting seeing the reaction of the locals when the girls asked if they could take their photos. Mostly there were huge grins but the girls' confidence was growing such that when they got a knockback they bounced back and asked someone else.

Stay tuned for the summary of the last two days of what has been an exciting and fun-filled new project!

St Cath's at the Dream Centre

We have just bid farewell to a fantastic group of teachers and students from St Catherine’s School Waverley, Sydney. The group comprised 15 students and 2 teachers and they spent 3 days with us working with the facilitators and girls from both Dream Centres. Their brief had been to prepare activities focused on the Skills for Life component of our Dream Centre curriculum.

Last Saturday (10^th April) we held a full day picnic at Godavari (just outside Kathmandu) and this proved the perfect ice breaker. Within minutes of our arrival all of the girls had split into groups and were introducing themselves and asking all kinds of questions about Australia and Nepal. The St Cath’s girls then showed the Dream Centre girls some books about Australia and Australian animals which were a huge hit.

All the girls were then divided into 2 teams to compete against each other in captain ball and tunnel ball. It was amazing to see how quickly all of the girls became comfortable and began working together. Following this, one of the Nepali girls taught everyone a couple of games and before we knew it, lunch time had arrived.

Everyone tucked into a well earned plate of dahl bhat and curry and took a rest from the dust and heat in the shade. After lunch girls from each group shared some dances and songs they had prepared and they attempted to teach the other side with mixed results! Much too soon the time arrived to board the bus back to Kathmandu. The picnic was a huge success and set the scene for the remainder of the work at the Wiley Dream Centre.

On Sunday, (11^th) we traveled to the Wiley Dream Centre in Chandol in Kathmandu. The girls from the Baneshwor Dream Centre also met us there. After a quick quiz contest and some other games to get things started the girls again divided into groups and started working through the activities planned by the St Cath’s group. The activities included anagrams with names, journal writing and creating goal ladders. After a quick snack break we resumed with some craft activities and finished the afternoon by starting work on friendship bracelets.

Tuesday (13^th) was our last day together (Monday was cancelled due to a strike, that ultimately didn’t proceed!) and everyone made the most of it. Arriving at noon it was straight into some more games before dividing into small groups for reading practice. This was followed by Maths activities and games of UNO which were a huge hit. We had an hour lunch break which gave the girls time to ‘shoot some hoops’ on the basketball court outside. Then, in the final session we continued with the Maths activities and UNO before moving onto origami to finish the program.

Very quickly 5pm arrived and it was time to pack up. No one wanted to leave though as they were all having so much fun. A frenzy of photo taking and gift giving ensued along with pleas not to forget each other and to ‘please visit our Dream Centre again’. St Cath’s presented a number of wonderful gifts to the centre including some patchwork quilts made at the school, and a school t-shirt presented to Chetana (our Nepal Project Manager) for all her hard work in organising the programs.

We must especially thank St Cath’s teachers Sarah Hatch and Keith Hartmann for their hard work and preparation as well as motivating their students to give their all and consequently get so much out of the programs. It was a pleasure to host such an impressive group of girls and they will have left a lasting impact on the girls from the Dream Centres.

2009 Annual Report

Just a quick post to let you know our Annual Report for 2009 is now available on our website. You can find it on our Corporate page or by clicking here.

2009 was another fantastic year and as I was writing the report I kept thinking how lucky we have been to have the support and generosity of so many amazing people. So thank you to everyone who has helped Mitrataa make a difference in the lives of so many women and girls in Nepal!

Dream Catchers scholarship girls

This week I will be starting visits of our various partner organisations to meet with our Dream Catchers scholarship girls. All of these girls have now completed their end of year exams and will be eagerly awaiting their results. It is an exciting time as they are of course all hoping that they will be ‘promoted’ to the next class.

The first day of the Nepali new year (2067) is 14th April and schools will reopen not long after that. This means our partners will be furiously organising uniforms, stationery and text books for all of the almost 200 girls now receiving our support.

For our existing sponsors, don’t forget your scholarship renewals are now due!

It is at this time of year that we seek new scholarship applications and we already have a rapidly growing waiting list. So if you would like to change the life of a girl in Nepal, or you know someone who would, take a look at our website. The information is all there including the cost (just AU$320 per year) and payment options. You don’t have to pay the full amount up front, we can accept monthly instalments which are easily arranged through most banks. You can also set up a recurring monthly payment from your credit card through PayPal.

So do please get in touch if you have any questions or would like to commit to changing a young girl’s life.

For our existing sponsors, thank you all as always for your continued support!