As I write, the global situation of COVID -19 (coronavirus) is changing rapidly. As countries close their borders and shut down, we are pulling our Nepal Director, Durga Aran back home to New Zealand, hopefully before it is too late to travel. Our volunteers in Nepal are heading home too in the next couple of days. All of them will be self isolating.
The impact of COVID-19 is now enormous in so many sectors. Our social enterprise Beyond The Clouds, which organises travel in the Himalayan region, has taken a huge hit. All tours for this season have been cancelled or postponed and there are no new bookings for the future. Normally we would have bookings for 12-18 months in advance. These tours provide vital funds to run First Steps Himalaya.
Whilst Bhutan imposed a 14-day travel ban for tourists, this is very likely to continue beyond the original date of 20th March. It is now not possible to enter Nepal for many nationalities including Nepalis trying to get home. Effectively tourism has been shut down impacting the lives of many thousands of people. Our hearts go out to all of them, especially in countries like Nepal where there are no financial packages to help. Beyond The Clouds will be back but in the meantime, we are posting armchair travel ideas on our Facebook page
Not only has our income been affected but so has our project work. Over 100 teachers were scheduled to attend teacher training workshops in Nepal in March and April this year. This is normally a busy time for us with teachers from different parts of the country attending our residential or field based training. We have followed Government of Nepal advice and decided that in the interest of everyone’s health, these should now be postponed. Training is now scheduled for September to November 2020.
School closures in Nepal mean that we are not able to monitor schools in our programme effectively as there are no children in the classrooms! However it does give teachers an opportunity to create resources at home and we are encouraging them to do so. On a positive note, this down time is allowing us to work on capacity building of our team so that when things are up and running again, we can respond more efficiently and effectively.
The need for quality early years education is enormous in rural Nepal. First Steps Himalaya recognises that it’s programmes are only just scratching the surface. We need your help so that we can reach schools in more remote areas can benefit from our quality early years programme.
If you can help raise funds for us, then please check out our fundraising page on our website. It is easy to start a campaign and there are lots of ideas to help you. During COVID 19 you could organise an event which does not require people coming together but something they can do at home. Maybe dropping a dollar in a jar for every time you touch your face or forget to wash you hands? Organise a reading challenge or a fitness challenge where people walk, bike or run whilst in self isolation. There are lots of amazing things that you could do. By getting involved, you will not only be putting this unusual time to good use but you will be helping us make a real difference in the lives of thousands of children.
Finally don’t forget to Namaste instead of hand shaking and thank you on behalf of all of us. Stay safe!
