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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/
Fundraising for Nepal
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/
Shree Mahakali Higher Secondary School : 1 August 2011
sunsuperdreams.com.au
The Sunsuper winners of $5,000 have been chosen - see their dreams and read how they will make the world a better place.
Shree Mahakali Higher Secondary School : 30 July 2011
This past week has been amazing on the Sunsuper Dream Site ... we have had over 600 votes and have pushed confidently to the front. With only 40 hours to go we are 667 votes in the lead!! The support received from everyone not only in Australia and Nepal but who knows where else in the world has been fantastic. Bring on midnight Sunday night :)) to make our dream come true !!
Shree Mahakali Higher Secondary School : 19 July 2011
sunsuperdreams.com.au
I've submitted a dream on Sunsuper Dreams and have a chance to win $5,000 to make it come true.
Shree Mahakali Higher Secondary School : 18 July 2011
Room to Read : World Change Starts with Educated Children !!
www.roomtoread.org Room to Read partners with local communities throughout the developing world to establish libraries, create local language children's literature, construct schools, and provide education to girls.
Shree Mahakali Higher Secondary School (Sunsuper Dream) : 1st - 31st July 2011
VOTE for TWO CLASSROOMS in a POOR Rural Area of NEPAL
Hi Everyone,
Please give just a few minutes of your time and vote to help make “the dream come true” for a school in a poor rural area of Nepal.
Shree Mahakali Secondary School in the Kavre District has applied to NAFA (Nepal Australia Friendship Association (Qld) Inc) for funding to build TWO Grade 9 classrooms and I need your kind support to win a $5,000 GRANT from Sunsuper Superannuation Fund to make these classrooms no longer a dream … but a reality for its 23 teachers and 500 students! (Shree Mahakali currently only has facilities to Grade 8).
Shree Mahakali Secondary School is very special to me as I have met many of the children who WILL, DO and HAVE attend/ed this school in my trips to Nepal in the past couple of years. The children who attend Shree Deuper Primary School, in a neighbouring village, will eventually attend Shree Mahakali to further their education past Grade 5. Last year NAFA funded a water tap for, Shree Deuper and I have privately raised money for this school (last year the funds were used to purchase Room to Read library books, a cupboard, to house these books, and sporting equipment).
We are hoping to visit Shree Mahakali Secondary School in November this year as well as Shree Deuper Primary School.
We are hoping to visit Shree Mahakali Secondary School in November this year as well as Shree Deuper Primary School.
Voting is quick and easy so please click on the link above.
Voting starts on 1st July and finishes on 31st July.
YOUR VOTE is VERY important, so please give just a few minutes of your time J
Maybe your friends and family would also be keen to support my dream and help build these two classrooms in rural Nepal, so please ask them to vote by emailing this blog or sharing on facebook ... see the icons below.
Thanks everyone for your continued support … it is always very much appreciated by NAFA and myself.
Kind regards,
Kylie Gilbert
Supporter of NAFA and Nepal
www.nafa.org.au
“HELP Build TWO Classrooms in RURAL NEPAL”
My dream is to help make the dream of the 23 teachers and 500 students of Shree Mahakali Secondary School, in a poor rural area of Nepal, come true! - to build two classrooms and provide a learning environment for Grade 9 students.
Shree Mahakali School operates with many challenges; it receives very little Government funding and the students who attend are from very poor farming families. The school currently only has facilities to Grade 8; so a $5,000 grant will not only provide two Grade 9 classrooms, which will allow the children to have continuity in their most important schooling years, but will also save the students walking time to another school further away. Majority of these students now walk over 2 hours a day to attend Shree Mahakali School; but they do it happily and willingly in every season, as they love learning.
The teachers of this school are very passionate and they have a vision; to create a model school by providing quality education and support to their students (eventually up to Grade 10, the last and most important year for students before College), training for teachers, and new technology for children living in this poor rural area who would normally not have access to education. The school is very forward thinking in that they have an ECO club, scouts group, library, small computer room and nursery. The teachers are dedicated and work hard to bring these poor rural students up to the same standard as city students, who have many more opportunities.
I truly admire these teachers as I know how difficult it is for Nepalese children to receive an education. My dream is to help support these teachers in their vision to give these children a quality education, and as a result, a brighter future!!
The $5,000 grant would be donated to the Nepal Australia Friendship Association (Qld) Inc (NAFA). It would be spent on materials and skilled labour to build the two classrooms while the community would donate the many hours of unskilled labour. NAFA (21 years strong), a very dedicated group of people, tirelessly raises funds to assist remote communites in Nepal in the areas of health, education and water infrastructure. NAFA members visited Shree Mahakali school in early 2011 and would return later this year to monitor the building of the two classrooms.
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