Cultural Tours of Nepal's UNESCO Heritage Sites

Students in Nepal learn about the 7 UNESCO Heritage Sites in Kathmandu Valley in Social Studies at school. Despite being able to list these sites, very few students have visited them, especially students from outside of Kathmandu. 

As a reward for all their hard work this last year and as a networking opportunity for students across our different projects, our Panchkal group as well as several of our Nuwakot students travelled to Kathmandu for a 2 day cultural tour during their school holidays. Several of our Kathmandu students took turns being their guides as they visited 5 of the 7 sites - Boudha, Swoyambhu, Bhaktapur Durbar Square, Patan Durbar Square and Pashupatinath. 

The students were exhausted but had a great time and now they can relate to these places when they study them at school. 

Thanks to Saraswoti and the team for organising and hosting them all and to the Kathmandu students for being such great tour guides. 

Take our Passion Challenge today!

At Mitrataa, we are all about using our passions and strengths to achieve our goals - whether with the women and girls we work with in Nepal, as an organisation, or in our fundraising. So we are excited to launch our new fundraising program which encourages you to use your wonderful passions to raise $1,000 to allow the women and girls of Nepal to use theirs to achieve their dreams.

You can read about our Passion Challenge here – www.mitrataa.org/Passion-Challenge.pdf

And to get you started, complete our Strengths and Passions Activity here – www.mitrataa.org/Strengths-Passions-Activity.pdf

We cannot wait to hear your stories of how you go. So take up the challenge today and have some fun while contributing to Mitrataa's work at the same time. Who could ask for more!

Please help us reach our goal of 50 passionate fundraisers taking up the Challenge by passing this on to your friends and family and even getting a group together.

Thanks so much for your support. Have fun!

Bec xox

 

Bal Mandir Revisited – Be careful what you wish for!

As many of you know, we had to cancel our planned project to take over the management of Bal Mandir Children’s Home late last year and we were very disappointed as it was a fantastic opportunity for both Mitrataa and for the children and staff at Bal Mandir, as well as for the head organisation, Nepal Children’s Organisation. We continued to work closely with the 40 Dream Catchers’ girls at Bal Mandir, the Project Snow Leopard girls and the Mitrataa Rising Stars Child Club, including on their recent Nepali New Years Eve Party to support them as best we could.

Well, very unexpectedly but excitingly, NCO approached us in late April with a revised proposal which overcame our major concerns when we walked away from the project earlier. So officially from 1 May 2011, Mitrataa took over the management of Bal Mandir, Naxal Children’s Home, with 250 children (aged from 15 days to 16 years) for 5 years with the view to set up a sustainable model and a world class children’s home.

We are under no illusion that this will be a challenging project but we are very excited about the possibilities. Rather than feeling despair at the challenges and lack of progress for the children, we are now able to really focus on the possibilities and the opportunities ahead to create real, sustainable change, not just for the current 250 children and 35 staff but for future generations as well as for the children in NCO’s 10 other homes and potentially for the 600 other children’s homes in Nepal. The opportunity is fantastic and we are honoured and humbled to be able to take on this challenge.

The project is a very strong fit with Mitrataa’s core values of creating sustainable models to development through a train-the-trainer approach. We will also be able to use our learnings from our existing projects such as our Dream Centres project – we will be setting up a Dream Centre within Bal Mandir – our Daisy Chains program which we will be running for the house mothers and our model school approach where we will be using our experience and trainers to help train tutors and other teachers at Bal Mandir.


Since the handover on 1 May, we have been busy with a number of exciting initiatives:

·         Clean Up Day! - As any of you who have visited Bal Mandir know, it needs a bit of love and attention! It is housed in a beautiful old Rana Palace and is an incredible building. But it has been left uncared for for a very long time and it is very run down. So we had a huge clean up day on which we scrubbed the place from top to bottom – every inch has been scrubbed, debugged and disinfected. The campaign was led by the Child Club, in particular by Asbini who was boss for the day. Asbini, Saraswoti and Sabitri Thapa in particular showed amazing leadership skills in organising everyone. The kids all got involved and were already well into the clean up when we arrived having been up since the crack of dawn! The house mothers were all cleaning madly too. We definitely have a long way to go with getting the place clean and tidy but the best thing was that the kids and the house mothers all got in and were so excited to be taking pride in their home. The day created a real sense of community and we were so grateful that some of our core supporters attended – Dinesh from Creating Possibilities (supported by Bruce and Susan Keenan’s Himalayan Children’s Charities) sent his team of children who had all lived at Bal Mandir at one stage, the girls from NGCC who all grew up at Bal Mandir and moved to NGCC when they finished school came, and Arun, a wonderful woman who was adopted from Bal Mandir 20 years ago and who is back at the moment visiting and providing support to Bal Mandir came with a crowd of people. We also had a couple of Aussies who joined us as well as our great volunteer, Fleur (more on her later!). It was a fantastic day, the energy was amazing and I was so proud of everyone. We had a party in the evening with lots of dancing and singing and celebrations too. We have a long way to go with the cleaning but it’s a start!

·         Listening and Learning – We didn’t want to make too many changes to start but we wanted to really listen and learn from the staff, the children and other stakeholders first. So we have been spending time one-on-one with all of the house mothers and other staff. This has been a fantastic opportunity and we are very grateful that they have been so supportive and open to Mitrataa’s management of the home. As we finish these meetings, we will be preparing our strategic plan to move things forward.

·         Establishing the Management Committee – As this project is a 5 year plan and sustainability is at its core, it is very important that we work closely with NCO. So we have established a Management Committee with 2 NCO members and 3 Mitrataa members to help us share experiences and to guide the overall strategy of the project. The day to day management, responsibility and costs of the home rest with Mitrataa. We are really pleased with NCO’s willingness to listen and learn in the initial stages of the project and we are confident of being able to deliver our objectives with the support of the NCO board.

·         Schools – The new school session started in Nepal in April and due to lack of funds, many of the kids were not enrolled in school or didn’t have their uniforms and books so weren’t attending school. We have now resolved this and all the kids are happily in school and studying hard! We are putting in place a tutoring/homework system to ensure they get the support they need to really achieve their goals in their studies.

·         Nutrition – Milk, eggs, meat and fruit had been removed from the menu for the last several months due to funding issues. The first thing we did was reinstate these very important items onto the menu as the kids need these to grow big and strong! I have never seen 250 kids so excited as when they found they had an egg for breakfast last week! Their smiles were enormous!

So it’s exciting times ahead! To all of you who offered to help us fundraise for this huge project last year, thank you. We now really need you! Feeding and educating and housing 250 kids and 35 staff costs a lot of money and we are about to kick off a huge fundraising drive. So please get involved and support us as we begin to really change the lives of these kids. There will soon be a fundraising info pack available on our website which will have a bit more information for you and how your money will be spent.

On behalf of the wonderful kids at Bal Mandir, thank you so much in advance for your support and we look forward to updating you on our progress! 

Dream Centre Graduations Galore!

Posted by Bec from Kathmandu...


I love Graduation Days at the Dream Centres – the excitement of the girls, the sharing of their experiences, their dreams for the future and the celebratory songs and dances never fail to put a smile on my face and this latest batch was no exception. The fifth batch from our Baneshwor Dream Centre graduated on Thursday 31st March. Joined by volunteers Tori, Amelia and Jo, I was inspired by the energy and enthusiasm of the girls. There were 2 highlights for me of this graduation – the drama which the girls did on “Appreciating Differences”, one of the core Life Skills we teach them. It was about a disabled girl who was not in the Dream Centre and was teased by the other children. Some of the girls stood up for her. The girls ended the drama by requesting that Mitrataa ensure that we include disabled girls in our next batch to lead by example. I love this challenge to us! We definitely have some budding Bollywood stars in this batch too. The other highlight was watching the girls teach the volunteers a dance. Their patience and energy was infectious. The Australian girls then taught the girls Incy Wincy Spider with the actions and I was amazed at how quickly they picked it up. Credit to our facilitators for this Centre, Bipana and Diwakar, who have done a wonderful job with this batch.

This was a hard act to follow but the third batch of girls from the Wiley Dream Centre did a wonderful job at their graduation on Friday 1st April. This was the weakest batch of students we have taken into our Centres and our facilitators at this Centre, Ganga and Kamal, did an amazing job with building up the confidence of these girls. Some of the girls who stood and shared their experiences were so shy when they first joined the Centre that it was a while before they spoke at all. Now they stood in front of their family and friends and spoke with a new found belief in themselves and their dreams for the future, sharing the lessons they had learned and the skills they would take forward into their lives. They can now do anything!

The very first batch of graduates from the MLC Dream Centre really went out with a bang at their graduation day on Wednesday 6th April. This group has an amazing energy and passion for their futures and their graduation reflected this with songs, dance and expressions of gratitude – one of the core Life Skills we focus on in the Centres. Ruby and Sabita, our facilitators in this Centre, have had a huge impact on these girls – from teaching them meditation skills to help them get control of their minds, to inspiring one of the girls to sing a solo at the graduation ceremony, the difference in the girls is wonderful. Most of the girls in this Centre are domestic workers and it was lovely to see several of their guardians/employers attend the ceremony, 2 of them sharing their experiences of the changes in the girls’ behaviour and approach to school since they joined the Dream Centre program.

Welcoming these new graduates to the network of Dream Centre Graduates was a pleasure! I look forward to keeping in touch with them as they visit the Centre every month to share their progress towards their dreams. Keep dreaming, girls!

Sincere thanks to Wiley and MLC for sponsoring a Dream Centre. You have changed the lives of so many girls already, with many more to come!

Our next batches of girls will start at the Centres in late April. 

Happy Nepali New Year!

Happy Nepali New Year!

Welcome to 2068! Today is the first day of the Nepali New Year and, on behalf of the whole Mitrataa family, we wish you all a wonderful New Year.

The Mitrataa Rising Stars Child Club at Bal Mandir celebrated the new year last night with a wonderful party, organised entirely by the girls. They set the menu, did the shopping, made the decorations, organised the children, led the dancing and the fun of the party. We definitely have some skilled party planners in the making! Thanks to all the organising committee – you guys did a wonderful job!

I haven’t seen the kids have that much fun in a long time! The evening started with a special dhal bhat and vegetable curry with pickle which was delicious. This was followed by cake and soft drink for everyone. Then the fun really kicked off with some celebratory cheers for the New Year and then everyone hit the dance floor for some serious dancing. The laughter and screams of excitement said it all. The evening ended with New Year chocolates for everyone. Happy New Year, kids. You certainly started the New Year with a bang!


More photos at our facebook page.
(from Bec)

Meet the Team - Chetana

With so many projects needing daily management and attention in Nepal, it is no surprise that we have come to rely heavily on our fantastic team there. As they are such an integral part of our work we wanted to share something about them with you and so below is a snapshot of our Senior Project Manager – Chetana.

Education: Bachelor of Arts in Social Work.

Favourite colour: all shades of pink, purple, blue.

Hobbies: I like reading books as they open up my imagination. It’s like watching movies with more action, drama and you get to make up how the characters look. My other hobbies are to learn new things especially to do with music and arts.

Favourite subject at school: I liked English, Music and sports.

What makes you happy?: Spending time with my sisters and friends. I like talking to them about different things in life.  Having delicious food always brings smile to my face. Also, watching the sunset, the sky or being near beautiful trees, monuments, peaceful environment always makes me happy. Recently I realized that being able to bring smile on someone else’s face makes me feel happy too.

Tell us a bit about your family: I have my father, mother, two younger sisters a younger brother and a dog in my family. So in total, there’s seven members if you count me as well. My father and mother own a small lodge and we have occasional visitors. My sisters are both studying Fine Arts at Kathmandu University. My brother is still in school and my dog loves to sit in the sun (even in summer). I live at New Baneshwor. It was so quiet back when we had just moved here but now its grown into a big business area. My house is yellow in color. My father loves flowers so we try to grow as many  as we can of different kinds according to season.

Thank you Chetana for all your hard work and for sharing these interesting things about yourself!

2010 Annual Report Online

Just a quick update to let you know our Annual Report for 2010 is now available on our website. Last year was another big one for us and it is exciting to see the progress Mitrataa has made in impacting the lives of women and girls in Nepal.

Bec is back in Kathmandu now hosting volunteers and a school group, and getting things organised for the new school year. Updates on these happenings will be coming in the next few weeks...

Child Club Achievement

One of the projects our team in Nepal have been working on recently is the establishment of a child club at the children’s home at Bal Mandir.

The club meets fortnightly on Saturdays and is a way to engage the older girls in the home and teach them about leadership, community and team building. Through the club we help the girls to devise and lead a number of fun and useful activities in their local area.

Recently, the club embarked on the ambitious undertaking of cleaning up all of the rubbish in the backyard at Bal Mandir. Bec had introduced them to the concept of an Emu Parade whereby everyone forms a long line and together they comb the area with each person responsible for picking up the rubbish in front of them. The child club decided this was exactly what Bal Mandir needed so they rallied an impressive team of 55 children and even 4 staff members joined in!

If you have visited Nepal and seen the amount of rubbish strewn everywhere you will appreciate the challenge the girls had set themselves. And of course such a program would be futile if the children were not taught to use the rubbish bins placed around the home. So first the girls gave a short talk to the children on the importance of placing rubbish in the bins and taking pride in the appearance of their home. Once everyone agreed and committed to keeping the place tidy, the Emu Parade began.

The children were given gloves and plastic garbage bags and there was a prize for the team who collected the most rubbish. There were lolly wrappers, plastic bags, bricks(!), broken toys, food scraps everywhere but the team collected it all. By the end of the day the yard looked like a new place and the children were rightfully very proud of their achievement.

We visited the home last week and whilst there were a few wrappers lying around the backyard still looked pristine compared with the front area which is like a public park. We are so proud of all the children and especially proud of the girls in the child club who led this fantastic initiative. Hopefully their example will spread to their neighbours and local community and we can see more of this type of activity in the future! 

  

Quick update

Just a quick post to let you know I am leaving Kathmandu and heading back to Sydney today. The last 3 months have been amazing with so many visitors, volunteers, great events and progress on all of our projects.


There will be plenty of blogs in the coming weeks to bring you up to date on all of the news so stay tuned...

MLC back in Kathmandu Part 1

A group of 9 students from MLC School, Sydney have once again been working with us in Kathmandu. Arriving on the 16^th of October they spent 7 days with us on a mix of service work and cultural activities, as well as a few more days doing sightseeing, shopping etc.

After an orientation meeting and a trip to Boudha, the first day of ‘work’ involved an afternoon visit to the child protection home at Bal Mandir. There the girls paired up with similar aged girls from Project Snow Leopard and they spent an hour or so discussing youth issues in Nepal and comparing them with Australia. As well as some obvious differences I think the girls were quite surprised at how similar teenagers are all over the world. Once the girls were feeling comfortable in each others’ company the singing started with rounds of Resham Phiriri bursting out from all over the playground! This was the cue for all the groups to come together for one combined rendition which included dancing and which a couple of the MLC girls attempted to learn. This led into the Macarena which always works to get everyone moving as they try to learn the moves.

By now a large number of other curious children from the home had arrived to join in the fun. The MLC students had prepared a number of larger group games and activities which they started to allow everyone to be involved. It is always amazing to see the way children can learn to play a game without any understanding of the English explanation they were given – play and fun really are universal. All too soon it was time for the Australian group to leave however there was no doubt about the fun and excitement they had brought to Bal Mandir that afternoon.

The following day the group returned for some more work with the Snow Leopard girls. First up was a quiz contest for which the girls were divided into three mixed teams. I gave them a variety of questions covering geography, culture, current affairs, entertainment, maths and logical thinking. All teams did very well and it was a great way for the girls to get to know each other better. After the quiz we divided the group into four teams and gave them two debate questions – it is more important to focus on education than health for the development of Nepal, and women are more important than men for the future of Nepal. Both of these topics had somewhat controversial elements to them and it was fascinating to see the arguments some of the teams came up with.

At the conclusion of the debates it was time for MLC to present the girls from Bal Mandir with some beautiful hand made blankets from the MLC students back in Sydney. The girls were extremely grateful and immediately told us that they would give them to the toddlers and babies in the home as they needed them the most as winter approached. With that, it was time for the MLC girls to depart and begin plans for their next activities in the days to come.

You can see more photos at our facebook page.

To be continued…  

Dream Centres Graduation - Part 2

Last Friday (1^st October) we attended the graduation of the second group of girls from the Wiley Dream Centre in Chandol, Kathmandu. The program was also attended by our volunteer from Scotland, Katya and her daughters, Fern and Clover.

We were taken through the afternoon’s proceedings by 2 girls from the centre acting as MCs, one announced everything in Nepali and the other in English. They had obviously prepared a great deal and they did themselves proud on their big day.

To begin with, each of the girls stood up and introduced themselves in English. This was a huge deal for these girls as many of them struggle with English at school and it was the first time they had to stand in front of others and speak. They all did exceptionally well and it set the tone for an inspiring and happy occasion.

After a speech from the head of the local community group who have provided us with the room for the centre, and a quick speech from me, it was Fern’s turn to wow everyone by giving a short speech she had prepared in Nepali. Both Fern and Clover have been studying at Riviera, our Model School, and the Nepali classes were clearly helping!

It was then time for the serious business of the afternoon – prize giving! Awards were presented in the following categories: Highest Star Achiever, Best Performance, Best Improvement, Most Creative, Most Co-operative, Highest Attendance, Best Speaker and Best Speller. The winners were presented with a special note book and a badge recognising their achievement.

We then presented each of the graduating girls with a certificate and their memory book which they had been working on over the 6 month course. This was a touching moment for these girls and there were a few tears.

Last order of business was the food. Snack boxes were distributed and everyone mingled and shared in the wonderful achievements of this group of girls. It wasn’t long too before the music started and some impromptu dance performances began. As the afternoon drew to a close it was again truly inspiring to reflect on the progress these girls had made and exciting to think of where they will go with their new found skills and confidence.

Thanks must go especially to John Wiley & Sons for their sponsorship of this Dream Centre.

Dream Centres Graduation - Part 1

Last Thursday and Friday we attended graduations at the Baneshwor and Wiley Dream Centres. It was the third group of girls to graduate from the Baneshwor centre and the second group from the Wiley centre.

In Baneshwor, the girls opened the program with a special Dream Centre song they had prepared. It was a fantastic start to the afternoon. I filmed it and will be posting it on our YouTube channel soon. The song was followed by some short speeches prepared by the girls to share their experiences of attending the Dream Centre. The girls spoke with such confidence and conviction and it was inspiring to see how they had grown since starting this journey.

It was then time for the serious business of the afternoon – prize giving! Awards were presented in the following categories: Maximum Star Achiever, Best Speaker, Good Discipline, Most Creative, Very Helpful, Highest Attendance, Best Improvement and Most Active. The winners were presented with a special note book and a badge recognising their achievement.

Both Bec and I then gave quick speeches, focusing on how proud of the girls we were and encouraging them to continue to reach for the stars in everything they do. We also told them about an upcoming picnic they would be attending as part of the visit from MLC School. This sent a frenzy of questions through the room and they could then concentrate on nothing else!

Time for further presentations finally calmed everyone down. Chetana presented each of the graduating girls with a certificate and their memory book which is a collection of activities they had completed during their time at the centre. It was wonderful to see all their hard work recorded in such a way that they will always be able to refer back to it if they need inspiration.

This was followed by speeches from each of the facilitators – Sabita and Bipana – who as well as congratulating the girls, directed their words to the parents who had attended. They stressed the importance of family support and that the parents should be very proud of their daughters and all they had achieved and will continue to achieve. It was fantastic to see that 8 parents had attended the program, showing support for their daughters. Many of them begged us to take their daughters for another 6 months but we stressed that it was important the girls did not become dependent on the centre, they now had the skills to move forward on their own.

The program concluded with a delicious snack box for everyone and unfortunately lots of tears from some of the girls. I guess this showed they really enjoyed their Dream Centre experience!

I will post about the Wiley Dream Centre graduation shortly …

  

Quick Update

Just a quick post to share some of the fantastic things going on both here in Nepal and in Australia.

The trivia night hosted by Kirrawee High School raised around $4,000! This is a fantastic effort and our thanks must go to everyone who supported the event and especially Micaela and Jodie for their hard work in bringing it all together.

At the end of this week it is Dream Centre graduation time again. This will see the third group of girls from Baneshwor and second group of girls from the Wiley Dream Centre complete the 'skills for learning, skills for life' program.

On Saturday (2nd October) we will be hosting the first event for all girls in our Dream Catchers Scholarship program. Around 200 girls will be travelling to Panauti for a day of fun, games, food and award presentations!

Next week we start the training program for three new Dream Centre facilitators who will be joining us to work in our third Dream Centre, sponsored by MLC School, which will be opening towards the end of October. On that note, a group from MLC will be visiting us for 2 weeks in mid-October to work on various projects as well as officially opening the MLC Dream Centre.

So lots happening as always. Stay tuned for updates on each of the events as they happen!  

Thanks for volunteering Amy!

Amy Valender has recently completed a 3 month program working as a volunteer for us in Kathmandu. Amy is a nutritionist from the UK and came to know about Mitrataa through Bec when they both worked for Cadbury. Volunteering was something Amy had always wanted to do and nutrition is an area that needs a lot of support in Nepal so it was a perfect match!


We kept Amy extremely busy for the 3 months covering a variety of projects including:

• teaching English, Health and Science at our Model School;
• working with the staff in the Model School's hostel to ensure the boarding students are being fed healthy, nutritious food every meal of the day;
• running an English speaking program for some of our Dream Catchers Scholarship girls who had been struggling with their English studies;
• tutoring the girls attending our Dream Centres in English, Health, Science and also leading them in some art and craft activities and life skills programs;
• running some activities with the girls from the Project Snow Leopard program;
• working with girls at the children's home at Bal Mandir to establish a Child Club; and
• observing and advising management and staff of the children's home at Bal Mandir on healthy, nutritious and affordable dietary options for feeding the 210 children living there.

The feedback we have received from our partners, staff and of course the girls in Nepal has been overwhelming and Amy obviously made a huge impact on many people's lives. For this we are very thankful and do hope Amy might decide to return one day soon...


For anyone interested in sharing some of your skills and experience with the women and girls in Nepal and in return experiencing a piece of life that will change your outlook forever, email us.

Thank you so much Amy!

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...

New Dream Centre session begins!

With the new school year now in full swing both Dream Centres have just started their next sessions. Around 20 girls have started at the pilot Centre in Baneshwor and the Wiley Centre in Chandol, embarking on their journey of 'skills for learning, skills for life'.


The last session proved a huge success with all girls attending both centres passing all of their exams and being promoted to the next class at school! We are looking forward to similar results this time around thanks to the dedication and support of our Centre facilitators.


Good luck girls!

Girls attending the Pilot Centre in Baneshwor.

Girls attending the Wiley Dream Centre in Chandol.

Saris and toothbrushes

The Project Snow Leopard girls were the “Official Photographers” for 2 exciting events at Bal Mandir Children’s Home in April. After practising their skills in Bhaktapur and Boudha, they were very proud to be taking photos to share these experiences with you all.

Lots of clean teeth for kids of Nepal, thanks to Cadbury and McKinney Rogers

“This is the way we brush our teeth” was the chant around Bal Mandir Children’s Home in Kathmandu in April, 2010 as the children were all presented with a brand new toothbrush, each with a tube of toothpaste in a brightly coloured bag made by one of the women we work with. We enlisted the help of former Cadbury nutritionist from Melbourne, Amy Valender, who is working with Mitrataa for 3 months in Nepal, to distribute the toothbrushes. I don’t know who had the bigger grin – the kids or Amy!

Members of both Cadbury and McKinney Rogers Asia Pacific teams had been collecting the toothbrushes as they travelled around the region on business. This was the third delivery we had made to the children of Nepal, thanks to the generosity of the Cadbury and McKinney Rogers staff.

For children who very rarely have possessions of their own, to have a toothbrush and paste in their own little bag means so much – they always ask with big grins “Who sent these to us? They must really care about us!”

Thanks as always to the staff of Cadbury and McKinney Rogers for your contributions.

A new uniform for the House Mothers at Bal Mandir

The House Mothers at Bal Mandir are the most important people in the lives of the 200 children who call this Children’s Home “home”. But they are so busy giving their love to the children, that they often forget to stop and give themselves a pat on the back for their dedication. So we decided to celebrate them while at the same time giving them a new sense of pride and team work but giving them each a new sari, a uniform for them to wear at work.

Once again, our budding Snow Leopard Project photographers were on hand to capture the grins on the House Mothers faces as they received their uniform, and later as they showed them off for all to admire!

Second Daisy Chains Graduation!

On April 29^th the Daisy Chains group of women from Gyaneshwor that are sponsored by MasterCard, graduated from the education and training phase of the program. This was a very exciting and emotional day for these women, also witnessed by a number of women from the previous graduating group, their sense of accomplishment and newfound pride and confidence is an inspiration.

At the beginning of our informal ceremony many of the women shared their personal experiences of how their lives have been forever changed by the simple gift of literacy:

“I am a widow and when I was illiterate, no one would listen to me. Even my own family would ignore me and try to take advantage of me. Now, no one can cheat me, I know my rights and I can read anything!”

“My own children respect me now, they know how hard I have worked. Now they understand why their own education is so important.”

These comments are indicative of the very positive and determined attitudes of all of the women in this group now. Throughout the course of the education component of the program all members of the group regularly contributed to the savings plan. This lead to the group accumulating 36,000 Nepalese rupees (about AU$580.00) in savings prior to graduation! 20,000 rupees of this amount has been lent back to various members of the group who were eager to start their own small businesses. Motivated by the success and ongoing support of last years’ graduates from the program, the women of Gyaneshwor have been moving forward in leaps and bounds.

As at graduation time, 17 of the women in the group were already working together in small groups to run their own shops in the local area selling items such as fruit, vegetables, prayer offerings, incense, snack foods, tea and hot food. This has been possible through small loans from the group savings program and with the guidance and mentorship of women from the previous groups in the program.

One pair of women are running a small shop next to the local temple and they sell various offerings, incense etc for visitors to the temple. They are now making around 14,000 rupees (about AU$226.00) per month. This is a fourfold increase on what they earned previously working as domestic labourers. The small loan they took from the group to start the business was repaid within just 3 months.

A further 3 women from the group have been so motivated by their studies that they have enrolled in formal school in order to complete their School Leaving Certificate (SLC). This is especially impressive as in most cases they will be studying the same material as their own children. One of these women has already completed class 3 in which she came first, and class 4 in which she came fourth, and she is now in class 5. She was the oldest of four children and so had to work to support her family and could not go to school as a child.

Core to the Daisy Chains program is that the women do not repay their loans to Mitrataa but they pay them forward to the next group of women. This creates a wonderful network and sense of camaraderie for the women. The highlight of the graduation ceremony was the Treasurer of the first graduating group handing over to the Treasurer of the new graduates the repayment of their loan amount of 10,000 rupees (about AU$161.00), each one carefully counting out the notes to a huge applause. The Treasurer from the first group commented that she felt relieved that the loan was repaid and was honoured to be supporting the dreams of the new group.

At the conclusion of the ceremony each member of the graduating class was presented with a small gift from MasterCard. The women were so excited by this and touched that people so far away had been supporting them to reach for their dreams.

The strength of the Gyaneshwor group is founded on the mutual support and respect each of the members share, the mentorship of the women from the previous group, and the strength and determination of the members. As a result, it is likely that the main business of the group will be a small credit co-operative for the members. This means each of the members can pursue their own small business interests whilst still benefiting from the moral, logistical and financial support of the group. This model shows a real maturity of the group and the program as a whole and makes an excellent foundation for the sustainability of the program in this locality. As with the previous year, we already have a waiting list for the next group which will start in June.

How amazing to think that less than a year ago, these 24 women were illiterate and now they have accumulated so much money that they are able to run their own small credit union for their own benefit!