Kategorie: Newsroom
Lesson and fundraiser, all in one
A nutrition educator in San Diego is raising awareness and funds by teaching her students about the devastating effects of malnutrition. As part of her “Introduction to Nutrition,” class, Katie Ferraro hosted her fourth fundraiser at a local Nepalese restaurant. All proceeds — nearly $3,000 so far — support our Nutritional Rehabilitation Homes.
Katie first visited Nepal as a Peace Corp volunteer in 2001 and fell in love with both the country and the people. She returned to the University of California, Berkeley as a graduate student and became involved with the local Nepalese community. That’s how she learned about NYF’s Nutritional Rehabilitation Homes, where severely malnourished children are nursed back to health while their caregivers learn to prepare nutritious meals using locally available food.
She teaches a class in “cultural foods” at three San Diego-area colleges: San Diego State University; University of California, San Diego; and San Diego Miramar College. Her course examines the problem of malnutrition and how to solve it.
For extra credit, students attend a fundraising dinner at Himalayan Cuisine restaurant in La Mesa where the owner, Khem Kharel, talks about Nepali culture and diet. Then they eat dinner of rice, lentils (dal bhat), curried vegetables, yogurt sauce and chicken.
“I have always been so impressed with the work NYF is doing in the area of malnutrition,” Katie said. “So this is a way I can give back.”
Thank you, Katie, for caring about the children of Nepal!
Learn more about our Nutritional Rehabilitation Homes.
Olga reflects on Kamlari Freedom Day
Dear Friends,
The day of the Maghe Sankranti festival this year, January 15, 2014, was a very special one for the daughters of the Tharu community of Western Nepal. Unlike past festivals, they didn’t have to worry that their parents would sell them off as “Kamlari,’ or indentured servants.
“Kamlari Freedom Day” — celebrated with a march, and many speeches by government “thulo manchhes” (big shots) — was also special for me. It was a once-in-a-lifetime-I-never-thought-I’d-see-the-day event!
NYF ignited a movement
Since 2000, NYF has been working to eradicate this pernicious custom by liberating over 12,000 girls from bondage and bringing them home to live with their families, providing their parents with a piglet or a goat to make up for the girls’ wages, placing the liberated girls in school, and carrying out an energetic awareness campaign to turn the Tharu mothers and fathers against the practice. This, along with lawsuits against employers who persisted in enslaving their little girl servants and heavy lobbying with the government, has brought freedom not only to the present generation of child servants, but to their daughters and their daughters’ daughters as well.
As I sat on the stage for what seemed hours, I harkened back to the time of my first visit to Dang thirteen years ago, almost to the day. That time, the context was entirely different. I thought of the little orphan girl I saw that day sobbing relentlessly by her uncle’s side, begging not to be sent back to work for her callous employer — while her uncle told us, without shame, that he had sold her and her sister to pay for the cost of his son’s wedding.
Freedom for future generations
I was similarly clueless about what was being said by the many speakers on Kamlari Freedom Day, but I knew with certainty that that little girl did not spend the rest of her childhood as a kitchen slave, and that this was true of other Tharu girls of her generation and generations to come. The proof was before my eyes, as I looked down at a sea of faces of freed, assertive former Kamlari, including 30 who had just passed their college entrance examinations and were headed for higher education.
When it came my turn to speak, I wish I could have just shouted the Tharu equivalent of “You go girls!”
Thank you everyone, for supporting NYF through the years and helping to make this amazing new freedom possible.
With appreciation,
Olga Murray
Founder & Honorary President
Learn more
Watch the CNN Freedom Project video about NYF’s work to free girls from slavery.
Read the Time Magazine article about NYF’s work to rescue the last Kamlari slaves.
NYF news: Victory! Kamlari Child Slavery System Ends
New film about slavery highlights NYF… #standwithme
Nine-year old Vivienne Harr and her Make a Stand Lemon-aid have already inspired millions of people to join the movement to end child slavery. Now the message will reach millions more around the world through a hauntingly beautiful and compelling feature documentary, #standwithme.
In addition to Vivienne’s story, the film also educates viewers about child slavery through the work of acclaimed photographer, Lisa Kristine, and two organizations with a global reach: Free the Slaves and Fair Trade USA.
#standwithme opens in February 2014 with a 30-city tour of North America, and there’s no doubt that this powerful film will earn broader distribution and reach a worldwide audience.
Film highlights NYF’s work to end slavery
Midway through #standwithme is a poignant scene showing a meeting between Vivienne and our very own Olga Murray, NYF’s Founder and Honorary President. Nepal Youth Foundation is one of six organizations selected to receive a portion of Make a Stand’s gross revenue. It’s heartwarming to see 9-year old Vivienne and 88-year old Olga talk about their shared passion for ending child slavery.
A simple call to action: Do something
„Central to the theme of our movie is the moment each of our main characters learned that slavery still exists in the world, and the action they took once they knew,“ explains Co-Director Patrick Moreau of Still Motion, the innovative production company that created #standwithme. „Until we met Vivienne, we didn’t know the degree to which slavery exists in our modern world — but the moment we were made aware, we had to do something. This movie is our something.“
We’re honored that Nepal Youth Foundation is included in the film, and we congratulate Still Motion on their remarkable accomplishment.
Learn more about Nepal Youth Foundation
We’ve rescued over 12,000 girls from indentured servitude and ended the system of Kamlari in Nepal. Now we’re working to empower the newly freed young women through vocational training, leadership development and economic opportunities.
Read why Make a Stand Lemon-aid is supporting NYF.
Watch the CNN Freedom Project video about NYF’s work to free girls from slavery.
Read the Time Magazine article about NYF’s work to rescue the last Kamlari slaves.
NYF news: Victory! Kamlari Child Slavery System Ends
Nepali Tea Traders now in Whole Foods
Good news from our friends at Nepali Tea Traders! Their Kalo Chia Black Tea just won a top ranking at the North American Tea Championship, an independent professional competition that distinguishes the highest quality and best tasting teas commercially available.
And a selection of six of their special organic teas from small farms in Nepal is now available in Whole Foods Market locations across Colorado.
Benefits for farmers
Launched in the fall of 2012 by a group of Colorado social entrepreneurs, Nepali Tea Traders is committed to fair prices for farmers and reinvestment in the tea industry in Nepal. The company’s teas are cultivated on small farms by growers who rely on natural, chemical-free farming methods.
„We’re working to ensure fair wages, sustainable environmental practices and responsible working conditions for our farmers and tea workers,“ said founder and CEO Maggie Le Beau. „We’ve selected our business partners because they are investing in their people and operations — and we share their progressive vision of the potential of the tea industry to transform Nepal.“
Benefits for Nepal Youth Foundation
Building a thriving and sustainable tea industry in Nepal is just one part of the mission of Nepali Tea Traders. They’re also using the company to generate support for NYF.
„Nepal is one the poorest countries in Asia, and there are many serious needs that we’ve seen firsthand in Kathmandu and the rural areas,“ Maggie explained. „We’ve chosen to focus our philanthropic efforts on Nepal Youth Foundation, which has done incredible work over the past 24 years. So every purchase from Nepali Tea Traders will help support this outstanding organization.“
Many thanks to Maggie and the team at Nepali Tea Traders!
Visit the Nepali Tea Traders website to see their full line of tea, teaware and gifts.
Visiting Nepal with a playful purpose
The children at our flagship Nutritional Rehabilitation Home (NRH) and training center in Kathmandu are swinging, running and jumping their way back to health thanks to a dedicated group of NYF supporters who erected a new play structure at the clinic last fall.
The new playground was dedicated in December with a plaque commemorating Fran North, a Colorado woman who loved Nepal — especially the children. After Fran died of breast cancer in 2006, her friends and family contributed $7,000 to a memorial fund at Montview Boulevard Presbyterian Church in Denver.
Friends helping friends
The story behind the plaque reveals a deep, layered network of friendship and philanthropy, spanning the globe from the Colorado Rockies to the Himalayas. One of its key characters is Lynn Hetterich, also from Colorado and a member of Montview Church. Lynn is a longtime supporter of NYF and a close friend of Olga and Som, meeting them through NYF volunteer Sajani Amatya for the first time in 2000.
Thirty-two years after her first trip to Nepal — with 14 visits as a Montview liaison since then — Lynn returned this past fall with 22 friends from Montview Church and the Denver community. The group spent a dusty day at the NRH, sanding and priming the new play equipment. Lynn and Fran were good friends. “Fran loved children,” said Lynn. “This memorial couldn’t be more fitting.”
The NRH restores children to good health
The purpose of the NRH is to nurse severely malnourished children back to health. Staff also teach the parents of the children, usually the mothers, how to prepare nutritious meals using local food. NYF has built sixteen nutritional homes throughout the country, one in each zonal hospital. NYF manages the homes for five years, at which time the government assumes management responsibility — except NRH Kathmandu, which remains under NYF’s leadership as its flagship and training center. To date, eight of the sixteen nutritional homes have been handed over to the Nepali government.
Montview has a long history with the NRH in Kathmandu. In 2006, Montview members raised $30,000 towards the purchase of the land for the new facility and three years later, contributed another $100,000 towards its construction. NYF opened its permanent NRH — a beautiful, clean, airy, spacious new building just outside of Kathmandu — in February of 2012.
Speaking on behalf of Montview, Lynn acknowledged the relationship she and others have nurtured. “Montview has a long history with the nutritional homes. The NYF story sparked a fire in me. Our (Montview) group is committed to our work in Nepal.”
Learn more
Watch a video about NYF’s Nutritional Rehabilitation Homes.
Read more detail about Nutritional Rehabilitation Homes.
Zurück in Heidelberg
Seit einigen Tagen sind wir drei zurück in Heidelberg. Wir gewöhnen uns wieder an den Rhythmus des Alltags hier, aber unsere Gedanken sind noch oft in Nepal. Gestern finden wir die Zeit, uns zu treffen und uns an die gemeinsame Zeit in Nepal zu erinnern. Leider nicht in einer ¨german bakery¨. Wir sprechen über die Vielfalt des Landes, die Städte mit all der Buntheit und den kulturellen Schätzen, aber auch Chaos, Staub und Lärm. Wir denken an die vielen Landschaften, die wir gesehen und erlebt haben, vom Dschungel bis zu den Schneebergen des Himalaya. Gerne und etwas wehmütig erinnen wir uns an die Begegnungen mit den unterschiedlichsten Menschen, ihre Freundlichkeit und ihre Aufmerksamkeit. Und die workshops in den Kinderheimen und in der Beratungsstelle Ankur, die vielen Feste und Feiertage… Dies hat uns vor allem den Alltag und die Lebenswelt der Menschen in diesem Land nähergebracht. Und ihr, die ihr diesen blog bis hierher verfogt habt, konntet sicherlich auch einen guten Eindruck gewinnen.
Was für uns aber auch bleibt ist das gute Gefühl, mit der nepalyouthfoundation eine Organisation gefunden zu haben, die sinnvolle und notwendige Arbeit leistet. Ohne Einmischung von außen, dafür mit einheimischen Fachleuten für die jeweiligen Arbeitsbereiche. Während unseres Aufenthaltes hatten wir die Gelegenheit, mehrere Programme der NYF kennen zu lernen. Wir haben uns entschlossen, dass wir weiterhin im Rahmen unserer Möglichkeit die NYF unterstützen werden.
So ist aktuell die deutsche Synchronfassung des wunderbaren NYF-Videos durch die Medienwerkstatt des Berufsbildungswerks in Neckargemünd in Arbeit. Die erste öffentliche Aufführung ist für das Frühjahr des Jahres 2014 im Rahmen eines Benefizkonzerts mit zwei preisgekrönten Jugendorchestern geplant. Ort ist die Aula des Berufsbildungswerks/ der Stephen – Hawking – Schule in Neckargemünd. Wir freuen uns jetzt schon darauf, den Präsidenten der nepalyouthfoundation, Som Paneru, bei dieser Veranstaltung begrüßen zu dürfen. Wer Interesse an dieser Veranstaltung hat, meldet sich bitte bei mir über das Kontaktformular, so dass ich dann eine Einladung zuschicken kann.
Ebenfalls ist ein Diavortrag von uns geplant. Ort und Zeit werden noch bekannt gegeben. Ab sofort wird auf diesen Blog auch Werbung geschaltet. Die Einnahmen daraus werden der NYF gespendet.
Zum Schluß bedanke ich mich bei allen Lesern dieses blogs für ihr Interesse und das freundliche Feedback. Und eine große Bitte: Überlegt euch, wie ihr persönlich die wichtige Arbeit von NYF unterstützen könnt oder wollt. Für Gespräche dazu sind wir drei gerne bereit. Vielen Dank!