Kia ora, Namaste. We’re hoping you’re well.
Some good news from Nepal to start with. After a major spike in Covid cases around the start of the year, the rate of new infections there has dropped and stabilised. And schools, which had been closed for most of 2021, reopened in October and have been open most of the time since then.
Kailash Bodhi School, Jumla
The school has had a successful but rather bumpy year. It had to close for one further month for Covid, in February 2022, but is getting back to a ‘new normal’ now. Jumla, in a very remote part of Nepal, has some benefits from its isolation (Covid surges take longer to arrive which gives time to prepare) but it also has more limited medical facilities.
It has been a rough year for the Principal, Tashi, whose mother died in India. And his wife Tenzin, who also works at the school, has had some medical problems and has had to spend a few months in Kathmandu for treatment. Our very best wishes go to Tashi and Tenzin for her speedy recovery.
One breakthrough for the school was the reopening of the Year 9 class. The government had closed the senior classes for all but its own schools a few years ago, but is now reversing this policy.
Not only did Covid disrupt classroom work in the past year, but the ‘fun’ part of being at school was also affected. However, Tashi told us recently:
“…last month we managed to entertain our children by providing an opportunity to play football at school. It was called a friendly match just to entertain them. It was really glad to see the face of all kids in a happy mood. We are planning also to focus more on games and sports activities so that the kids enjoy physically too…
“And we now have a special program for junior kids… balloon blasting for Nursery class, sweet plucking for LKG, spoon and marble for UKG and sack race for class 1. It was really great fun for the kids and we all enjoyed too.” [We’re not sure of the rules for some of those activities, but they do sound like much-needed fun! ]
Little Sisters Fund (LSF)
LSF – a larger organisation administered from Kathmandu - has also had a very good year in challenging circumstances. Some of its successes are shown below.
The LSF 2021 Annual Report is available from this link: https://bit.ly/3ahnUVS?blm_aid=3167233
And a reminder of why this work is so important:
Half the population of Nepal lives on less than $2 a day.
Even for families above that line, quality education can be prohibitively expensive. Gender bias means that, if faced with a terrible choice, parents tend to invest more money in the education of boys. As a result 66% of men can read and write, but only 43% of females can.
The risks are real
7 out of 10 girls in rural Nepal drop out of school before the age of 16.
10,000-15,000 girls are trafficked from Nepal each year.
30% of girls are engaged in child labour.
In rural areas, 2 in 5 girls are married by the age of 14.
Little Sisters, learning and staying safe.
And an opportunity
For anyone keen to help, there is an opportunity to sponsor a ‘Coordinating Mentor’. These are young women who had once been at risk of dropping out of school, perhaps even of being trafficked out of Nepal, but had been found and supported by LSF to attend school. Then, having graduated, these former students have remained with LSF to support and mentor perhaps a dozen or several dozen girls each. These mentors are particularly effective in this role, having come from similar ‘at risk’ backgrounds as the young girls they are now helping.
Sponsorship of a Coordinating Mentor requires a contribution of NZ$75 a month. Some sponsors share this contribution between two or more people. It's a great way to support a number of young girls, who might in turn go on to support an even greater number of young girls in the future.
Trustees
In Time Trust has had one recent change on our Board. Pat Amos, who has done a brilliant job as Treasurer over the past five years, has retired to focus on other challenges. Thank you so much Pat. We’ve thoroughly appreciated your mahi, your ideas and your company!
Lakma Godigamuwa has now taken over the role of Treasurer. Our thanks to her, and also our congratulations: she has also recently qualified as a Chartered Accountant. Well done, Lakma!
Thank you, Dhanyabaad!
Thank you so much everyone, for your support, whether by way of donations, sponsorship or moral support. It’s hugely appreciated, here and in Nepal. Many, many thanks!
Bruce Gilkison, Chair - In Time Trust