Because I Am A Girl

Just wanted to share a website and report that Bec and I recently discovered that really resonates with us and the justification for Mitrataa's work in Nepal.

The site is part of Plan International Australia and is called 'Because I am a girl'.

The site proves interesting reading as it includes loads of information on the justification for investing in the education of girls and women. It also has a page dealing with the question 'what about boys'? This is a question I face a lot when giving presentations and unfortunately it is one of the most difficult to answer. Unless you have visited a country such as Nepal and seen the gender discrimination that is endemic in every aspect of society it is very hard to imagine.

The 2009 report on the site is also interesting reading. It gives a lot of information and statistics and the current situation with some surprising and disturbing trends. For example, in some places affected by the global financial crisis, 7 out of the 10 workers laid off are women! The trickle-down effect of this situation is obvious.

As always, we believe education is the best long term solution for these challenges and that is what we will continue to do. All evidence points to the fact that educating women and girls increases the likelihood of them educating the next generation as well as taking better care of their families and contributing to local economies. Mitrataa runs 2 programs specifically targeting education of women and girls:

1. Dream Catchers - scholarships for girls to attend school; and
2. Daisy Chains - literacy, business training and micro-loans for women.

Please do get in touch to find out more, contribute, or become involved.

Let the dreaming begin!

Our Dream Centre facilitators recently ran two activity programs over two days for the lucky girls attending our pilot Dream Centre. The activities covered communication skills and motivation skills with the workshop being prepared by Gayatri, one of our facilitators.

The workshops incorporated games such as Chinese whispers and Pictionary, group discussions and presentation, individual writing and presentation, question and answer sessions and brainstorming. From all accounts the girls had a fantastic time as did the facilitators!

These types of programs will be the cornerstone of the Dream Centres as they fill a hole in the current education system in Nepal. They will teach girls the importance of communication as well as how to communicate effectively. They will also teach the girls the benefits of self-motivation leading to improved self-esteem and self-sufficiency. As the girls build on these teachings and work through further programs it will be exciting to see their progress into the women of tomorrow in Nepal!

Thank you to Gayatri and the Dream Centre facilitators for all their hard work.

In Sydney

Just a quick post here. I've been in Sydney for a short while now and have been racing around speaking to various Rotary Clubs and other organisations looking for donations. We also had a board meeting recently and came up with a lot of exciting plans for fundraising events and projects for next year so look out for more news on those. I've had a number of meetings with schools too with a view to more trips to Nepal next year which is very exciting. Will post more about all of this as things develop.

Stay tuned for an update on the work in Nepal shortly...

Pilot Dream Centre Flying!

After many months of planning, finding a location, training facilitators, preparing activities and course materials, and selecting girls (from so many candidates), our first Dream Centre is up and running! We visited this pilot Centre a couple of times on our recent visit to Kathmandu and also had a chance to run some workshops for the facilitators.

It was fantastic to see what the facilitators and Chetana, our Nepal Project Manager, had achieved in such a small time. The room was wonderfully decorated with the girls' artwork and there was a real atmosphere of fun and learning in the place. When the girls arrived we were very impressed with their confidence and the manner in which they got on with their work - the Centre was clearly already having an impact!

During one visit to the Centre we delivered some very special children's books that had been donated by the authors in Australia, who also signed the books. The girls could not believe that they were holding copies of books actually signed by the authors! It was great to see them so eager to open the books and start reading too. English is one of the subjects that the Dream Centre facilitators have been focusing on as many of the girls have been struggling with it. Books such as these will provide great additional learning material as well as a lot of fun for the girls.

This Centre will serve as the pilot for future centres with at least 1 and possibly 2 more to be opened by the end of the year. With already a long list of girls waiting to attend this Centre we will really need to get the next ones opened as quickly as possible as word spreads so will the demand!

Books & Fruit Delivery

Last Saturday (8th August) Bec and I delivered two very special surprises to the kids at the orphanage at Bal Mandir. The first was a box of books we had collected from various donors in Sydney and Singapore. The second was a crate full of delicious fruit including mangoes, bananas, apples, pineapples and pomegranates!

We arrived around midday and the kids were all playing in the courtyard, unaware of the pending excitement. As Bec and I walked in carrying two very big boxes we quickly acquired a big group of curious followers. We first opened the box full of books and after an initial frenzy of squealing and grabbing we managed to get everyone to line up so that they could choose a book to take and read.

It was amazing to see all of the children so enthusiastic about reading and learning new things. It was also very touching to see the older children helping the younger ones to read their books. Bec got in on the act too with some fantastic facial expressions and sound effects to add to her reading, making her easily the most popular sideshow! Another favourite was a book all about Transformers, which kept the boys very busy as they debated which of the ‘robots in disguise’ had the best powers.

We spent about 2 hours with all of the children reading book after book and just as everyone appeared to be getting tired the fruit, now chopped up and ready to eat, arrived. Another frenzy ensued but somehow all the children ended up with their fair share of fruit.

As everyone settled down to eat it was our queue to leave. We were exhausted but also invigorated by spending the time with such energetic and inspiring kids. Thanks to all those who have donated books after the past year, they are being well used and loved!

Our first Summit!

Yesterday Bec and I had the great privilege of hosting the inaugural Mitrataa Summit in Kathmandu. The event was a full day mix of team building activities, workshops and brainstorming sessions attended by 13 representatives from our various partner organisations and projects.

The day started with each participant being given a chocolate – either Freddo, Caramello, or Strawberry Freddo (thanks Cadbury!). Depending on their choice they had to either share something about which they were passionate, someone they admire and why, or 3 things for which they were grateful. As this was the first time many of the attendees were meeting each other, this activity was a great ice-breaker as well as setting a positive tone for the day.

It was then time for the serious work of the day with Bec taking the group through an interactive workshop on project management and in particular, preparing project proposals. Some of our partners obviously already had some experience in this field whilst for others it was the first time they had been exposed to these concepts. Each person had to progress through the workshop by preparing their own ‘make believe’ proposal and it was interesting to see some of the wonderful and unusual projects people were creating! We had projects covering everything from organic tea farming to micro-hydro-power schemes to after-school support for students struggling with Maths and English.

There was a quick break for a delicious dahl bhat lunch in the middle before we continued into the early afternoon completing the proposals. By the end of the session each participant had created a complete draft proposal for their dream project. Many of them had even included a proposed budget and timeline!

Next we turned our minds to a quick brain-storming session on some of the challenges being faced in relation to collection of report cards from schools hosting our Dream Catchers Scholarship girls. This was a great opportunity for partners from different parts of Kathmandu and its surrounds to share their ideas on how best to manage the program. It was really rewarding for us to observe new networks of support being formed amongst like-minded individuals.

The next session was another brain-storming around sourcing suitable candidates for the Defying Gravity program – a new initiative to provide scholarships and support for extraordinary women to realise their dream business. It was agreed that as a concept this was quite new in Nepal and so the first step would be to host a number of workshops on dreaming, ambitions and passion. Each of our partner organizations will be sourcing women they see as potentially being suitable for the program and we expect by the end of the workshops to have determined the first recipients of the scholarships!

After a quick afternoon tea break it was time for the final session of the day which was a group discussion regarding options for our Dream Catchers scholarship girls once they have completed school. We have one such girl this year with 5 more currently in their last year of school now so it is an issue we need to be prepared for. There was an amazing amount of suggestions on what we could do and by the end of the discussion we had a long list of action points and plans to put in place. Suffice to say, the girls will not be forgotten and we will be creating opportunities and ways to support them for as long as they need it!

As the summit drew to a close it was so inspiring and encouraging to see all of the people we work with in Nepal working together to create solutions and plans for our future work. The day was a real affirmation of the individuals and organisations we work with and we both felt so proud of all we as a team have achieved in the last few years.

Indigo Bazaar Fundraiser

Last Friday (17th July) evening about 50 people braved the cold to visit the home of our good friend and Mitrataa supporter Libby Hathorn, where our first Indigo Bazaar was held to raise money for the Foundation. Mitrataa directors Judy Tenzing and Sarah Bartram had been shopping frantically in Nepal and India earlier in the year to collect items made by organisations that share our goals and that could be displayed and sold at the bazaar. Libby graciously offered the use of her home for the event and together the three of them put on a fantastic evening as well as offering a second chance for shoppers the next day.

Some finger food was provided by our friend Raju, owner of Roxanne cafe on Glebe Point Road in Sydney. Others provided snacks, cheese and biscuits but from all accounts the piece de resistance was a tiramisu generously made by one of Libby's friends!

Being well fed and with wine glasses kept full guests were able to enjoy a slide show of Nepal including some of the Mitrataa projects as well as mingling with people who shared their interest in helping people in this part of the world. Of course the serious business of the evening was selling things and with a beautiful array of shawls, throws, jewellery, handmade paper products and other handicrafts on offer, people were only too happy to buy. By the time everything was wrapped up on Saturday afternoon we had managed to collect around $3,500 in profits which will go directly to Mitrataa and the women and girls of Nepal.

Huge thanks must go to Libby for the use of her place and her continuing support. Also to Sarah and Judy who have been working for months to put this event together and ensured that it was such a great success. Thanks also to our other board members who were able to attend and did some of the running around in the lead up to the evening. Lastly, thanks to everyone who attended, made a purchase and contributed to making the event a lot of fun!