Wine Tasting Fundraiser

Last Saturday (24^th July) our good friend Libby Hathorn hosted a wine tasting fundraiser at her home in Sydney. On a cold evening we enjoyed the company of around 40 people who came to enjoy a selection of wines, a delicious meal and some fundraising for Mitrataa.

The evening started with everyone mingling with a glass of wine and some canapés – at this point I must thank Nell, from Lickie Lea’s catering, who provided the most amazing food for the evening! This was followed by a short welcome from Libby and then Bec and I had the chance to give everyone a quick update on our projects in Nepal as well as sharing initial plans for our newest project – taking over the management of a children’s home in Kathmandu where 210 children live! (Formal announcements on the details of that exciting new project coming in September.)  

It was then time for the serious business of the wine tasting. 5 wines had been chosen and we were guided through the tasting by friends of the group, Isabelle and Mark. We enjoyed a taste of Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling, Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir and Shiraz. All present really got into the tasting with some bizarre comments on the flavours and smells being detected in the wines, perhaps a little too much wine had been sampled?! People were then able to place orders for the wines with a portion of the takings being donated to Mitrataa.

Mark then took control of the floor to auction a painting which had been very generously donated by Sydney artist, Brenda Humble. Bidding was furious and the work eventually went under the hammer for $850 – all of which was donated to Mitrataa!

This concluded the formal part of the evening and meant people could then disperse to enjoy their dinner. We had set up a wall containing bricks that people could buy or sponsor for different amounts to contribute to our projects in Nepal. This raised a lot of interest and helped collect more donations for the Foundation.

The evening raised around $3,000 in donations to Mitrataa which is a fantastic effort and will go a long way in helping with our efforts to improve the lives of Nepal’s women and girls.

We must thank Libby for her immense generosity and support in organising and hosting this event, it was a wonderful night that was I am sure enjoyed by all who attended. Thanks must also go to Nell, Pat, Isabelle, Mark and anyone else I may have forgotten(!) who helped make the night such a huge success! Of course thanks also go to everyone who attended and were so generous with their support and donations, it will make a huge difference.

Dream Centres' First Birthday!

On 5th July we celebrated a great milestone for Mitrataa - the first birthday of our Dream Centres project. It is one year since our pilot centre opened in New Baneshwor in Kathmandu and what an amazing journey it has been. The second Dream Centre, sponsored by John Wiley & Sons, was opened in December last year.

To celebrate the day both centres held functions involving both existing and past students of the centre. In the lead up to the event all of the current and past students of the centres were asked to write a letter to the future students of the centre telling them about their experiences and the things they had learned from completing the skills for learning, skills for life program. These letters were placed in a box and will be given to girls who attend the centres in the future to read. A couple of girls read their letters to the group on the anniversary day and it was great to see their improved confidence in presenting as well as hearing their own personal thoughts on the program. 

In addition to the letter reading the girls performed some dances and played games that had been organised by the Dream Centre facilitators. This included quite a few rounds of the very popular hangman! The girls at the Baneshwor centre also did some paintings which were then used to decorate the centre.

The day provided a wonderful opportunity to reflect on the great progress the Dream Centre project has made, all of which couldn't have been done without our fantastic tutors and management staff in Nepal - thanks guys! The third and fourth centres, sponsored by MLC School and another by Wiley, are being prepared right now with the next opening scheduled for October so stay tuned...

Run the City2Surf in Sydney for Mitrataa

This year's City2Surf fun run is being held on 8 August in Sydney. As part of the event thousands of people ask their friends, family and colleagues to sponsor them to run and raise funds for their favourite charity. This year, Mitrataa is one of those charities!

This means if you sign up to run the CIty2Surf you can also ask people to sponsor you for your efforts and help us at the same time. If you are already signed up to run, visit Everyday Hero, click on the 'Start Fundraising Now' button and create your own fundraising page. If you are not yet signed up to run, visit City2Surf and you will be asked to select a charity as part of your registration. Choose Mitrataa Foundation from the drop-down list, follow the instructions to create your fundraising page and you're away! 


Of course, running 14km is not everyone's idea of a fun Sunday so if you are not planning to run you can still help by sponsoring me! Just visit my fundraising page and follow the instructions to support me and our work in Nepal.


And remember, every little bit really does count. As well as motivating me to train hard and do a good job on the day, your support can go along way to changing the lives of women and girls in Nepal. Here are some examples of what your money can do:

• $8 provides a nutritious lunch and snack for a girl at school each day for a month
• $30 provides a girl with all the textbooks she needs for an entire school year
• $50 provides a woman with literacy and business skills training, a small loan to start a group business, and ongoing monitoring and support for a year (Daisy Chains project)
• $50 provides education support, welfare monitoring and counselling for a child domestic labourer for a year
• $80 gives a girl all her school uniform requirements for a year including, shoes, sweaters and a coat for winter
• $300 provides nutritious food for a child living in an orphanage for a year
• $320 gives a girl a scholarship to attend school for a year including school fees, stationery, textbooks and uniforms (Dream Catchers Scholarship project)

So, please be generous, by either joining in the fun of running on the day or by sponsoring me or someone else to run on Mitrataa's behalf!

Inspiring Poem

The poem below, by Carole Fontaine, perfectly captures Mitrataa's vision and inspiration for our work in Nepal:

Do not show me tiny crowds of handpicked men;
Do not regale me with films of gunfire in the air.

Show me battalions of little girls, if you can –
Healthy and learned, with futures and names.
Show me their mothers, with homes all arrayed
In abundance and peace, with colour and song.

It will only be victory when the women sing in the streets
…safe to choose, to live, to learn, to love.
It will only be victory when the women sing.

Printed with the kind permission of Carol Fontaine.

Daisy Chains paying it forward

Back in March, 2 women from the Gyaneshwor group of our Daisy Chains project travelled to the village of Phulbari (just outside the Kathmandu Valley) to conduct a training workshop on candle making. You may have read previously that candle making has proved to be a very lucrative business for our women due to the large amount of time people in Kathmandu must live without electricity!

So 2 of the women from our first group of graduates were only too happy to share their skills and experiences with women of similar backgrounds. The workshops were conducted over 2 days and provided a great platform for the all of the women to meet and share their stories. This type of group co-operative goes far beyond simple economic empowerment for the members providing them with an important social outlet as well.

The workshop for day 1 covered the binding of thread (to form the wick) to the machine and filling the machine with hot wax to form the candle. As the session was completed, plenty of candles were left setting in their machines, ready to be revealed the following day. On the second day the women had to make a second batch of candles without assistance from the trainers. They then went on to learn about the packaging of the candles, some marketing ideas and pricing. 

The women from Phulbari were so excited by the prospects of a candle making business that they bought the 2 machines the trainers had brought with them so that they could start immediately! It was fantastic to see these women embracing this opportunity with such vigour. It was also wonderful to see the fruits of previous Daisy Chains participants in action, the confidence and skill they displayed in training the new group was truly inspiring. This was a real 'pay it forward' moment for the project!

You can see more photos of the project at our facebook page.

New groups of women will be starting their journey to financial independence when the 3rd round of the Daisy Chains project begins later this month. It costs just AU$1,000.00 to sponsor a group of 20 women on their journey to become literate, learn business skills and start their group business. That is just AU$50.00 to change a Nepali woman's life forever! Why not get a group of friends together and sponsor a whole group of 20 women? Visit our website or email me for more information on how you can make a difference. For Australian tax residents donations are tax deductible.