Back in March, Director of Operations, Durga Aran jumped in our project vehicle to leave Nepal with a couple of hours. It was not clear then when he would be able to return and this is still unclear. However, although we do not yet know when the FSH management team will be able to return to Nepal, a great deal of work has been done during “lock-down” to prepare so that we are able to hit the ground running as soon as possible.
Over in Nepal, our Nepal team are all at home in lock-down and our top priority is their safety. Our project manager, Ranjana Giri has been in daily contact with the NZ team.
Our communities really matter to us and the need for our support will be greater than ever in the coming years. Preparation is the key now.
When asked what he thought were the biggest problems facing Nepal right now, Raj Gyawali who runs a sustainable tourism company said “Right now, i think its uncertainty - of infection, jobs, economy, food, security. We are in the beginning stages - delayed as it was because of the crippling lock-down - so the combination of lock-down, lack of clarity, mistrust of authority, and general lack of awareness is fueling this uncertainty.”
Director of Operations, Durga Aran in Himali school, Syangja in March
New Zealand based office where we have been spending much time improving our processes and creating new programme material.
The Current Situation in Nepal
In Nepal, the situation becomes bleaker each day with a rising number of Covid-19 cases, the first deaths and the fact that hundreds of thousands of Nepali migrant workers are desperately awaiting repatriation or trying to flee back across the border from India. Testing is poorly managed and largely unavailable. The lack of good governance further compounds the situation.
Hunger due to lack of fresh food, unemployment and untested returning Nepalis is creating frustration, anger and fear. The immediate future is looking bleak.
Building Community Resilience
Our focus, in the near future, will be on raising health, hygiene and well-being awareness in rural Nepali communities. We have initiated a COVID-19 Response and Resilience Programme which is aimed at young children, their caregivers and their wider community by using peer to peer education and mobilising community educators share important health and well-being information and support.
Our Goals
The New Zealand based FSH team have been working on a detailed five-year implementation plan. This will consolidate our position and steer the organisation as it expands its services to communities across Nepal.
In order to achieve tangible results for remote Himalayan children and their communities, FSH needs to:
Achieve financial sustainability to achieve the goals of an expanding and dynamic programme;
Enhance existing capacity within FSH to administer and deliver a demand driven and enlarged programme;
Sustain and reinforce innovative, evidence-based early education approaches, thereby transforming traditional teaching practices;
Expand the number and quality of core teacher groups adopting and utilising innovative and international best practice teaching methods in local schools.
How You Can Help
We’ve created a fun, new downloadable fundraising kit, packed full of ideas to help our global fundraisers. Whether you want to hold a cake sale or run a marathon, we would love to hear from you. There are lots of other fabulous ideas too including wedding and birthday gifts, quiz nights and fitness challenges.
We’d love to have you on board! Find out more by clinking HERE.
Leave a Gift in Your Will
Others may wish to consider marking their life by leaving a legacy in their will. Our comprehensive ‘Leaving a Legacy’ guide can be downloaded from our website, or by clicking here. Imagine how your gift could transform thousands of lives.
Beyond The Clouds tours
While global travel has gone on the back-burner for the last few months due to the pandemic, we are now getting new enquiries for Beyond The Clouds tours in Nepal, Bhutan, Tibet and Ladakh. These popular tours create income for First Steps Himalaya and we are so looking forward to taking travellers to this beautiful part of the world as soon as it is safe and possible to travel again.
Thank-you to our Generous Supporters
And finally, we would like to express our sincere thanks to all the generous supporters who have donated over recent weeks. This has been a challenging time for many and we are so very grateful for your kindness and thoughtfulness.