Click on this link to view NAFA's Newsletter #3
http://nafa.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/NAFA-newsletter-3.pdf
Fundraising for Nepal
Shree Mahakali Secondary School : 27 Nov 2011
check out the latest news on the Sunsuper Dreams website ....
http://sunsuperdreams.com.au/winners/july-kylie-gilbert
http://sunsuperdreams.com.au/winners/july-kylie-gilbert
Shree Mahakali Higher Secondary School : 1 Nov 2011
Today Ross, Helen, Bruce, Manoj Lama & I, NAFA members & supporters, visited Shree Mahakali School to see the progress of the classrooms and to meet the teachers and students.
There are FOUR classrooms, on the second level, currently being built ...
Unfortunately it was a public holiday but the Principal and a group of teachers and students came to meet us and welcome us. The students presented us with beautiful hand made flower malas ... made us feel very special :)
We were so impressed by the Principal, the teachers and the students who were there. The Principal is very dedicated to his school and providing quality education ... he has been Principal for more than 15 years. Over 500 students attend the school from 9 wards and there are 19 teachers in total ... 4 women and 15 men.
There are FOUR classrooms, on the second level, currently being built ...
... (picture above) the TWO on the left (4 windows) have been funded by the District Development Corporation (DDC), a Community/Government organisation, and the TWO on the right, plus the stairwell, have been funded by the $5,000 Grant won in July from Sunsuper (plus extra funds from NAFA).
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| The two Sunsuper/NAFA funded classrooms under construction. |
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| The students who came to welcome us. |
We were so impressed by the Principal, the teachers and the students who were there. The Principal is very dedicated to his school and providing quality education ... he has been Principal for more than 15 years. Over 500 students attend the school from 9 wards and there are 19 teachers in total ... 4 women and 15 men.
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| Five of the Teachers |
There is a Child Club and an Eco Club ... both run entirely by the students and doing great work at the school. There is also a computer room with 18 computers and the school has access to internet as well.
The Principal told us the story of how the school evolved which was really interesting to hear ... pre-classrooms the teachers taught under the big tree in the school yard.
We told them about Sunsuper and the Dream and how NAFA was able to win the Grant for their school with massive support and votes from people all over the world ... they were very happy and very appreciative for the help from Sunsuper and NAFA members and supporters.
The Principal told us the story of how the school evolved which was really interesting to hear ... pre-classrooms the teachers taught under the big tree in the school yard.
We told them about Sunsuper and the Dream and how NAFA was able to win the Grant for their school with massive support and votes from people all over the world ... they were very happy and very appreciative for the help from Sunsuper and NAFA members and supporters.
They are planning to have an opening of the classrooms sometime after February 2012 and NAFA members are hoping to attend.
After our visit to this School, I was even more happy that we were able to win the $5000 Grant to help the School's dream to come true :)
Please click on this link for more photos ...
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| NAFA members, teachers & students infront of the new 2nd level classrooms. |
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150353062611732.352049.675116731&type=1&l=d8e3cc9173
For more information on NAFA please visit ... http://www.nafa.org.au/
and Sunsuper Dreams ... http://sunsuperdreams.com.au/winners/july-kylie-gilbert
For more information on NAFA please visit ... http://www.nafa.org.au/
and Sunsuper Dreams ... http://sunsuperdreams.com.au/winners/july-kylie-gilbert
Shree Mahakali Higher Secondary School : 1 Nov 2011
In July, John Wood, founder of Room to Read, kindly donated over 200 bi-lingual and other library books to the school.
These books had already been received by the school, by the time we arrived, and the students were using them.
"World Change Starts with Educated Children" ... http://www.roomtoread.org/
These books had already been received by the school, by the time we arrived, and the students were using them.
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| Some of the Room to Read books displayed on the 3rd shelf down |
"World Change Starts with Educated Children" ... http://www.roomtoread.org/
Shree Deuper Primary School : 31 Oct 2011
Today Ross, Helen, Bruce, Manoj Lama and I (NAFA members and supporters) hiked to Shree Deuper Primary School in Singe Village (2 1/2 hour hike from Nagarkot) to carry out a NAFA Jumper & Beanie Distribution for Nursery to Class 5 students.
We gave out jumpers and beanies (and pencils) to over 160 children. The kids were so tiny but we managed to find a jumper for everyone and the excitement and smiles on the kids faces said it all. The kids looked so beautiful in the colourful jumpers and beanies, which are lovingly handknitted by up to 100 amazing women in Australia, the NAFA Knitters, for underprivileged children living in remote areas of Nepal. These jumpers are then bagged and taken over to Nepal by supporters of Nepal and NAFA as excess baggage.
Click on http://www.nafa.org.au/ for more information on NAFA and how you can get involved.
We gave out jumpers and beanies (and pencils) to over 160 children. The kids were so tiny but we managed to find a jumper for everyone and the excitement and smiles on the kids faces said it all. The kids looked so beautiful in the colourful jumpers and beanies, which are lovingly handknitted by up to 100 amazing women in Australia, the NAFA Knitters, for underprivileged children living in remote areas of Nepal. These jumpers are then bagged and taken over to Nepal by supporters of Nepal and NAFA as excess baggage.
For more photos of the happy kids, click on ...
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150354062721732.352288.675116731&type=1&l=8f0b8478b4
It's amazing and humbling that something as simple as a new jumper/beanie can mean so much to these children ... it's such a huge privilege to be involved in these jumper distributions.
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150354062721732.352288.675116731&type=1&l=8f0b8478b4
It's amazing and humbling that something as simple as a new jumper/beanie can mean so much to these children ... it's such a huge privilege to be involved in these jumper distributions.
Click on http://www.nafa.org.au/ for more information on NAFA and how you can get involved.
Nepal Health Mega Marathon : 19 Sept 2011
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Click on this link for more photos ... Micro Surgical Eye Camp 2011
http://www.nafa.org.au/
http://www.joy.org.np/
http://www.nafa.org.au/
http://www.joy.org.np/
Shree Mahakali Higher Secondary School : 23 Aug 2011
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| Suman and me at Singe Village |
Accountant turned action hero
Published on 23/8/2011 by Anastasia Karalis of Our World Today
Because of the open-hearted, gentle people of Nepal, with their magical smiles and incredibly happy, positive and grateful attitudes to life, when each and every day is a huge struggle, I found meaning in my life.”Kylie Gilbert, a tax accountant from the Sunshine Coast, surrendered a ‘normal’ existence when she discovered her purpose in life - to better the lives of those less fortunate in Nepal.
An experienced traveller, Ms Gilbert has visited many countries around the world, but she said no place has stolen her heart quite like Nepal.
“There are millions of people in hundreds of countries all over the world that need assistance, but for me personally it is all about Nepal,” she writes in her blog A Hand for Nepal.
After her first trekking holiday to Nepal, she said she fell in love with the country and its people.
“I was deeply moved by the Nepalese people, particularly the children and the fact they have very little yet are so happy and so grateful for the little that they do have” she said.
What makes Ms Gilberts’ story unique is that she once ‘had it all’.
In order to keep visiting the country, she sold her Queensland property and “bailed out of normal life” to work short stints when not living in Nepal.
Historically, there has been prolonged political instability in Nepal, a country working to recover from a ten-year conflict between a Maoist insurgency and the State that killed an estimated 13,000 people. A peace agreement was signed in 2006, but bouts of violence and riots continue, along with a legacy of political manipulation and human rights abuses.
Another challenge to aid organisations is that most of Nepal’s population live in rural areas where there is little access to clean water, healthcare and infrastructure. In terms of education, government schools are often inadequate, overcrowded and extremely underfunded.
Since June 2009, the former full-time accountant has worked (volunteered) as a Promotions Officer with the Nepal Australia Friendship Association (NAFA) to raise funds for individuals and communities in Nepal.
As part of the SunSuper Dreams competition, Ms Gilbert won a $5,000 grant for her dream to build two new classrooms for an impoverished school in a remote rural area of Nepal.
Currently Shree Mahakali Secondary School, in the Kavre district of Nepal, has facilities only up to year eight.
Two new classrooms would mean that the school can also cater for year nines, with a vision to provide quality education up to year ten - the final year before college.
So why Shree Mahakali Secondary School? The school, which caters for 500 students from eight surrounding villages, applied to NAFA for the grant.
“Shree Mahakali School operates with many challenges - it receives very little government funding and the students who attend are from very poor farming families,” Gilbert wrote in her submission.
“[The] majority of these students walk over two hours a day to attend Shree Mahakali School, but they do it happily and willingly in every season as they love learning.”
One particular student, 12-year-old Suman Tamang (pictured above), is sponsored by Ms Gilbert through NAFA.
Suman is one of five children from a poor farming family who Ms Gilbert describes as her “family in Nepal”.
Suman is currently in year eight and will be one of the first students to use the new year nine facilities.
Proceeds from the grant will go towards the materials and skilled labour for the project. However, the main labour force will consist of community volunteers; a task that NAFA believes empowers the community with a sense of pride and ownership, rather than just a mere handout.
Ms Gilbert will be returning to Nepal in early November and will visit Shree Mahakali to observe the progress of the school’s new classrooms.
In developing countries, Ms Gilbert said education is the greatest chance for children to achieve a brighter future and projects like these help bring hope and meaning to those less fortunate.
“The meaning of life is to give life meaning,” she said.
If you would like to find out more about NAFA or how you can help, visit the website at http://www.nafa.org.au/
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