New Project starting in April - need cameras!

During our last trip to Kathmandu in November we were joined for a week by our friend and amateur photographer, Linda Jocelyn. We had been discussing with Linda for some time the idea of running a program to teach photography to some of the teenage girls we support, the idea being that the program would give the girls a useful skill as well as teaching them about creativity, self-expression and interpretation of the environment around them.

In November Linda spent some time familiarising herself with Nepal and its quirks as well as meeting some of the girls from the orphanage at Bal Mandir. It is from here that we will be selecting around 10 girls to take part in the project which will be run over the next 2 years. You can read more about the project at our website.

Linda has committed to 3 to 4 trips to Nepal in the next 2 years, the first coming in April this year and as a result, Project Snow Leopard has been born! In April Linda will be meeting the girls and the first workshops on photography basics will take place. This first stage of the program will be run over 5 days and will include some field trips for the girls to have a chance to explore some of the more popular destinations in their country.

Having done photo essay exchanges before with kids from the Model School and schools in Australia, I am really looking forward to seeing what the girls come up with as a child's view on things is often quite different to ours. We will be asking the girls to keep a journal of their work including explanations and background to why they took certain shots. It promises to be an exciting journey for everyone involved!

By the end of the project we aim to have collected sufficient photos to compile a coffee table book which will be a wonderful memento of the project for the girls and will be a useful fundraising tool for Mitrataa.

How YOU Can Help...

In the lead up to the project we need to collect 12 'point and click' digital cameras for the girls to use. If anyone has an old digital camera they could spare please get in touch. Of course as always, financial contributions will also help with purchasing memory cards, batteries, notebooks etc.

To set the scene for the project we will be holding a photo exhibition in Sydney in mid-April. Linda will be showing a range of shots from her first trip to Kathmandu, providing a wonderful insight into the people and daily life of Nepal. Larger prints will be available to purchase through a silent auction and we will also be providing smaller and postcard-size prints to purchase too, with all funds going to this and Mitrataa's other work in Nepal. Stay tuned for updates on when/where this will happen...

Our sincere thanks goes to Linda for the dedication and commitment she has shown to this fantastic new initiative!

International Women's Day

Today, Monday 8th March, is International Women's Day. As an important day for Mitrataa and the women and girls we work with in Nepal it gives us a chance to stop and think about the amazing stories of courage, determination and hope we have encountered in the past 10 years.

This year the girls in our Dream Centres have been working hard on preparing portraits of women who have inspired them. This afternoon in the Dream Centres the girls' mothers will be visiting them for a short program where the girls will present these drawings. The afternoon will also include some information about the Dream Centres and the work we are doing with an emphasis on the importance of the girls attending on a regular basis.

Below is a card put together by the Dream Centre girls with the help of our Nepal Project Manager, Chetana.


This morning Bec and I had the pleasure of talking on air on 938Live's 'The Living Room' in Singapore. We spoke for about half an hour on Mitrataa and our work in Nepal as well as commenting on the importance of the work we do particularly for women and girls. The segment will be played again this evening at 11:10pm Singapore time but we will also try to get a recorded version that we can share with you all. Thanks to Pamela Ho and 938Live for their support and interest in our work.

Please take this opportunity to recognise the many important women in your life.

We want to express our heartfelt thanks to the many of you who have contributed to Mitrataa over the years and enabled us to help touch the lives of so many women and girls in Nepal!

Mitrataa Movie

Just a quick post to share a video I have put together. It is made up of a collection of images from our work in Nepal over the past 10 years and includes a voiceover of me talking about how Mitrataa started and the things we are doing now. If you can't watch the video by clicking on the play button below, it is also on the homepage at our website. Enjoy!

Pashmina Logo Launch in the News

Further to my recent post regarding Bec's trip to Kathmandu to attend the launch of the NPIA logo, below are some stories in the local media on the event.

100 Views on TV in Melbourne

Just a quick post to let those of you in Melbourne know that Libby Hathorn's 100 Views Kathmandu documentary will be screening on Community TV channel 31 at 8:30pm this Sunday, 31st January.

The documentary chronicles Libby's visit to Kathmandu in 2008 where she introduced her 100 Views program to our Model School. It provides some background to the program and Mitrataa and also shows lots of footage of the people of Nepal. You may remember the documentary was launched at a huge fundraising event in Sydney in November 2008.

Tune in if you are home and let your friends know too!

Bec meets the PM in Kathmandu!

Just a quick post to let you know Bec flew to Kathmandu on Wednesday so that she could attend the inauguration ceremony for the Nepal Pashmina Industries Association (NPIA) trademark. This is a project on which Bec has been working with NPIA for a couple of years and through her various law firm contacts throughout the world she has assisted them to have their trademark registered in most major markets in the world. This is a first for any Nepalese company or venture.

The trademark certifies the authenticity of a product as real pashmina and also guarantees certain standards to do with processing, environmentally friendly production and non-use of child labour. This is a significant leap forward for an indigenous Nepali industry and we hope it will open the door for other organisations to bring their unique products to the world.

The inauguration ceremony was held to celebrate the registration of the trademark in key markets as well as officially launching the use of the logo on pashmina products. The event was attended by Nepal's Prime Minister, Mr Madhav Kumar Nepal, as well as a number of other dignitaries. The PM presented Bec with a pashmina shawl bearing the new logo as a token of gratitude for the work she has done for the project. NPIA have also prepared a short film which was premiered at the event. It covers the background to the project and will be circulated globally to raise awareness about the logo and the importance of purchasing genuine pashmina.

Congratulations to Bec and NPIA for making such a huge impact on trade, export and commerce for Nepal! Thanks must also go to the many law firms around the world who provided their services on a pro bono basis for the trademark registrations.

Connecting Dreams

We are excited to announce that another new project is up and running! Connecting Dreams is a school based Information Communication Technology (ICT) program that provides access to computers and technology for schools and communities that wouldn't otherwise have it.

In August and September last year we launched computer labs in 2 government schools to act as test cases and they have been a huge success. As part of the community ownership for the project they must provide free ICT education to a certain number of young people who have not had the privilege of going to school. This type of training greatly enhances an individual's education and employment prospects in Nepal. It is a project requirement that a larger percentage of girls than boys must benefit from this free education.

We are looking to establish computer labs in additional 2 schools this year and of course this requires money! It only costs AU$7,500 to setup the full lab with 15 computers, internet access and a printer. That works out at around AU$500 per computer which is not that much when you consider the number of people in Nepal who will directly benefit from it.

More information about the project can be found on our website. As always if you are keen to contribute to this or any of our projects please get in touch.