Author Archives: NVF UK

Project summary

Nepal Village Foundation is currently working in three village panchayats to improve the wellbeing of Dalits and the poorest of the poor by enabling access to education and learning. These three village panchayats fall in the region that is regarded as a high risk of malaria. Economic loss, particularly to the poorest is severe when the malaria mosquito infects them. This also affects the children’s health and progress in their studies. This project will distribute and install 1,200 treated mosquito nets to the 600 poorest families in the villages. We believe, due to the findings from the previous project that this project will contribute significantly towards achieving the above aim and reduce the risk of death.

What is the issue, problem, or challenge?

Even though Nepal is globally recognised as a country of Hills and Himalayas, it has a flat land stretching from east to west. The flat land is known as the Terai and it has a sub-tropical climate with many lakes and ponds. This water and sub-tropical climate creates a perfect environment for the deadly malaria mosquito to grow. The Terai is also regarded as a high risk area for malaria by many national and international institutions.

High levels of poverty and double digit inflation in the country makes it extremely difficult for the poorest to afford any protection against malaria. Economy loss, particularly to the poorest is severe when infected by malaria mosquito. Three thousand people were infected last year according to Nepalese Government’s statistics but this number could be significantly higher as many incidents in the villages do not get reported. This is because many people in rural villages are not aware of the symptoms of malaria and are ignorant of appropriate prevention plans. Death by malaria is also significantly higher in comparison with other diseases in the Terai. The high risk area in Nepal is highlighted in red on the map.

How will this project solve this problem?

This project will raise awareness about the prevention of malaria, distribute and install 1,200 treated mosquito nets to the 600 poorest families in three village panchayats where, currently we are working. The mosquito net will last for five years. So, the 600 families will be less likely to get infected by malaria mosquito for five years.

What are the potential long term impact/benefits?

Nepal Village Foundation aims to improve the wellbeing of Dalits and the poorest of the poor in rural villages of Nepal by enabling access to education and learning. Economic loss, particularly to the poorest is severe when infected by malaria. This also affects the children’s health and progress in their studies. We believe that this project will contribute significantly towards achieving the above aims and reduce the risk of death.

How much will cost?

The total project cost is £4,800 and it will take three months to complete. The cost of purchasing 1,200 treated mosquito nets is £3,750, project planning and design £300, implementation £500 and monitoring and reporting £250.

 Learnings from the previous Mosquito net project

In 2009, we distributed and installed 500 mosquito nets to the 350 poorest families in Bhagawatpur village panchayat. At the distribution event, more than 500 people were gathered and we discussed many simple yet effective methods for prevention of malaria. Five years later, from the information we have gathered the following has been observed.

Fewer people visited Pharmacies to look for medicine of their symptoms and not a single death was reported in the village from malaria. One of the beneficiaries said: ‘after I got the mosquito net my families and I slept better and had fewer mosquito bites.’ This has also reduced the cost of medicines significantly to the families and enabled them to work and earn more to meet their basic needs and necessities. Consequently, we are repeating this project as the life of the mosquito net is only five years. However, the deadly house fire in 2012 destroyed the entire livelihoods of the 30 families and put them back into real economic difficulty.

Nepal Village Foundation is organising a Nepalese Style BBQ on Saturday the 12th of September 2015 at 3pm to raise funds to support the Girls’ Education Project in Nepal.

Nepalese style summer BBQ is one of the NVF’s annual fundraising events. It has been a reliable source of income to support the work we do in Nepal and it also helps us to get in touch with and know our supporters better. NVF supporters are from around the world so the event is very multicultural socialising opportunity too.

Kindly, could you please confirm your attendance at the earliest by text on 07954376665 or by email- [info at nvf.org.uk]. We suggest a donation of £20 per person towards the cost and to support the project but you can donate any amount you like and your generosity will be appreciated.

The venue is near Canada Water Station and the address will be shared with participants in a week advance. Please mark your diary, invite your family and friends and see you there.

[Saturday the 17^th June 2017 at 10am]

This 10km wonderful guided walk will begin at the Royal Festival Hall, Waterloo and finish at the Cutty Shark, Greenwich. We will walk through the historical part of Docklands along the Thames Path. All the fundraising from the walk will go to support the various projects in Nepal. More information about the projects at https://www.nvf.org.uk/current-projects/

Itinerary

• 10:30- Greeting and briefing at the terrace of Royal Festival Hall, Waterloo
• 11:00- The walk begins
• 12:00- Coffee at the Tower Bridge [not included]
• 12:15- The walk continues
• 13:00- Lunch at the Brunel museum, Rotherhithe [included]
• 14:00- The walk continues
• 15:00- Tea and Cake at the Surrey Docks Farm, Rotherhithe [not included]
• 15:15- The walk continues
• 16:00- Reach the finishing line! The Cutty Sark, Greenwich
• 16:10- Meet in The Gipsy Moth (60 Greenwich Church Street, Greenwich, London, SE10 9BL) for celebration

Registration

To register please call, text or email to Krit at: 079 5437 6665 and info@nvf.org.uk, registration is free but minimum fundraising is £50 and above. Fundraising online– set up your fundraising page at Virgin Money Giving or Fundraising offline– download the form [Cash Donation collection for single event] and complete all the details of donors.

If you have any question or required help to set up your fundraising page then please contact Krit [07954376665] or Pam [07905906276] Some photos from the last walk;

Learning resource centre is about developing a learning centre in the village currently we are working. We have realised the need of the centre through working with the villagers. Despite some children from the poorer families goes to school, there never had an opportunity to read the whole set of book for the curriculum. Furthermore, there is no health post in the village, people who can read have no facilities to read any book, news paper so they lose their reading skills, communicating with village people is extremely difficult and there are many villages like Bhagawatpur which completely disconnected with globalisation. So we believe that the centre will play vital role in the community to all ages and groups of people. The main aims of the project are;

NVF works with the poorest and Dalit families in rural villages of Saptari district in Nepal. NVF exists to improve the livelihoods and sustainability, improve farming, improve health care, educate girls, improve literacy and a range of other activities aimed at improving the lives of the rural poor.

To achieve these aims, this project is being developed to provide a learning resource centre in a large remote village. The centre will provide range of services to the community.

A piece of common land has been identified to develop the centre by the village committee. We estimate that £32,000 will be sufficient to establish a functioning earning centre and the centre will be able to generate income to sustain itself. More details at [Learning Resource Centre Bhagawatpur]

Saturday the 10th of January 2015 at 2pm

We are organising the annual ‘Curry n Beer’ event on Saturday the 10th of January. We assumed that you will need a variety of homemade Curries after all the turkey and Christmas pudding. This year’s fundraising will go to support the Mosquito Net Project in Nepal. Donation suggestion- £20 buys six mosquito nets. The net lasts for five years and protects three families from getting Malaria.

Kindly, could you please confirm your attendance at the earliest by text on 0795437 6665 or by email at info at nvf.org.uk. You are welcome to invite your friends and families and forward this invitation to people in your circle. If you are a vegetarian, vegan or have any special dietary request then please don’t forget to mention it in the confirmation.

The venue address is 178 Rotherhithe new Road, London, SE16 2AP and the nearest underground station is Surrey Quays or Canada Water. Number 1 and 381 bus stops right at the venue [Bus stop- Corbett’s lane the Jolly Gardeners]

PRESS RELEASE:  FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

NVF is delighted to announce the appointment of Dr Subo Shanmuganathan, as its new Chair of Trustees. Subo’s appointment follows the chairmanship of Carole Sharma. Carole has been chair of trustees since establishment of the organisation in Dec 2007.

Subo has been trustee of NVF since 2011 and she is delighted and honoured to take the new role. Subo trained as a research scientist, completing her PhD in Clinical Immunovirology at Imperial College London. After becoming a lecturer and teaching undergraduate nursing, medical and other science areas, she held posts at The Royal College of Physicians and Imperial College London on the learning and development of medical and research staff. Subo is a Trustee of two charities working in international development and education. She is a trained senior leadership coach and mentor and a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.

NOTE TO EDITORS

NVF is a London based grassroots organisation. It exists to improve the wellbeing of poor and Dalits by enabling access to education and learning in rural villages of Nepal. We work in partnership with Nepalese organisations.

Currently, we are supporting Girl’s Education Project in three Village Panchayats of Saptari District. Seventy five girls from the poorest and Dalit families are receiving our support to continue their schooling in the villages. A further thirty eight girls has been brought into schooling through family visits.

Further information contact- Krit Sharma, E: info at nvf.org.uk, P: 0207 3948 392

London Thames Walk

[Saturday the 12^th of April 2014 – Greenwich to Westminster]

This is a 12k fun, friendly, fitness and family guided walk organised by Nepal Village Foundation to support our education project in Nepal. We organised a great successful 14k walking event last year so we are organising a similar walking event again this year on 12^th of April. This year we are also including families with children to participate in the walk. As we will be exploring some of the most famous historical parts of Docklands, the walk will be of interest to a wide range of people. The walk coincides with the schools Easer holidays and is also on the eve of Virgin London Marathon. It will be a fun day out for all, providing a little bit of fitness and fundraising for a good cause.

Highlights of the walk

The Cutty Sark- one of the last and fastest British tea clippers built in 1869

Surrey Docks Farm- a working city farm in the heart of London to provide unique opportunities for people to learn about farming and food production

The Brunel Museum- International landmark site, scheduled ancient monument and oldest tunnel/underground in the world

Tower Bridge- One of the most famous land mark in the world and the only bridge in the 19^th century to cross Thames River

Westminster and the London Eye– the world’s largest (135m) cantilevered observation wheel designed by Marks Barfield Architects which becomes the most popular landmark of London

Itinerary for the day

10:00- 10:15:  MGB (Meeting, Greeting and Briefing) by the Cutty Sark in the park of the Old Naval College, Greenwich, London SE10 9LW

10:15- 10:45:  Explore the Cutty Sark and surroundings

10:45:  The walk begins

11:45- 12:15:  Visit to Surrey Docks farm and coffee break

13:30- 14:30:  Lunch at Rotherhithe and the Brunel Museum

14:30:  The walk continues

15:15- 15:30:  Photography at the Tower Bridge

16:30:  Reach the finishing line! The London Eye/the Westminster Bridge

After that we will go to a near by café or bar for celebration

Registration and fundraising

Registration fee is £10 and every walker will have to raise £50 or above to support the girls’ education project in Nepal. For fundraising, we can help you to set up a fundraising page or provide you with a donation collection form if necessary.

We accept registration fee as cash, cheque or online donation. Cheques are payable to ‘Nepal Village Foundation’ and should be posted to- 61 Cannon Back Road, London, SE16 6DF.

To begin the registration, please send us your name, email address, mobile number and full address at info@nvf.org.uk or 07954376665

To create your fundraising page follow the link – ‘Fundraise for London Thames Walk’

If you have any question about the event then please call us on 07954376665 (Krit) or 079 0590 6276 (Pam)

The Social Warriors

[A report from project visit to Nepal, Nov 2013 by Krit Sharma]

Summary of the report:

Nepal Village Foundation (NVF) has been promoting girls’ education project since 2009 in rural villages of Nepal (Bhagawatpur). Due to lack of resources and capacity in our partner organisation (Hamro Samaj Nepal), we have been unable to accelerate our project activities. The recent project visit turned out to be very productive and the capacity is also improving. These improvements indicate that the project activities should be taken to the next level to make a greater impact on the community. What was the experience from the visit, what actions were taken, why and how things will move forward? These all are highlighted in this report. The project activities have expanded to three village panchayats now, and over ninety girls who are in most need of an education will be supported. Until now, we have been supporting only twenty five girls from one village panchayat.

Our target is to bring every child into regular schooling from the villages over the next three years. There are twelve small villages in the three village panchayats and to ensure that target is achieved, we have a local village representative in each village. The representative will monitor pupils in their village closely and report to the project assistant who has been hired recently. The project assistant will monitor attendance of all students from school attendance record as well and make regular visits to the villages where necessary. The project assistant will also report to NVF on regular basis which will enable NVF to see what is happening from the UK. School teachers are also supportive because more pupils means a greater income for their schools. But school’s infrastructures are in dire need of repair and need some investment. Figure 4 and 5 gives some ideas about condition of schools in the villages.

Read the complete report at Project Visit Report Nov 2013 PDF

Curry & Beer Event

[Saturday the 7th Dec 2013 at 3pm]

Every year in winter we (Krit and Carole) cook delicious Indian and Nepalese curries to raise funds to support grassroots projects in rural Nepal. This year we are cooking curries on Saturday the 7th of December 2013 to support girl’s education project. Carole is chair person of the organisation and its her birthday as well in the weekend so she desires for a good fundraising. This project supports needy girls from poor and Dalit families in education. £20 buys a school bag and stationary for a year. 50 keeps a girl in school for a whole year providing all the support. More details about the project are available at our website [Nepal Village Foundation]. All cheques are payable to ‘Nepal Village Foundation, UK’ and link to make a online donation at our website.

Progress Report – September 2013

 The Girl’s Education Project

 By

‘Nepal Village Foundation’ in Partnership with ‘Hamro Samaj Nepal’

Report summary

This progress report reports on the main activities that were carried out in the year and are related to the girls’ education project. It does, by briefly highlighting the importance of the project, its location and aims and objectives. Thirty six girls are in school through this project in this year. Some of them are directly through the girls’ education support scheme and some are through the awareness raising activities. This project is playing a significant role for the advancement of girls’ education in the village and these are highlighted in page five of this report. £30 brings a girl in schooling for a year in this context. So considering all the benefits to educate a girl, investing in girls’ education is one of the best long term investments for a society.

Project overview;

The wider goal of this project is to improve the literacy level in the rural villages of Nepal. Our finding suggests that only one in five rural women is literate and the girls are forced into marriage in their teens. The finding also suggests that children of educated mothers are more likely to get an education and this leads to better social and economical status of the families.

Project location- VDC Bhagawatpur, Saptari District, Nepal: – Bhagawatpur is a VDC in an eastern development region with 1100 households and a population of approximately 6000 in which roughly 330 households are Dalits. There are two primary schools and one secondary school to accommodate, approximately 1800 school age children in the village.  An average life expectancy in Nepal is around 65 years but this can be as low 52 years in the rural areas and Bhagawatpur falls in rural area.

 Aims and objective of this project;

The main aim of the project is to improve the female literacy levels, particularly of the poor and / or from Dallits communities in rural Nepal.

Objectives;

• Raising      awareness about importance of girl’s education through family visit and      street drama
• Provide      support to the girls who are from the poorest and/or Dalits families and      struggling to maintain schooling costs
• Support      the local people with skills by contracting them for uniform making, shoe      making and stationary supply, which will create further livelihood      opportunities
• Develop      relationships with local government authority, schools, teachers, parents      & locals to improve the schooling environment to motivate more girls      in schooling

The main project activities carried out in the period;

1. There are twenty five girls in the scheme to whom we provided study materials, school fees and uniforms. Outreach workers make monthly visit to the schools and the families whose daughters are in the scheme to obtain data, such as school attendance. Names of these girls and their school attendance records are as follow;

1. Outreach workers make weekly visit to the families whose girls are not attending school. The main purpose of this visit is to raising awareness about importance of girl’s education among parents. At least, eleven additional girls have started their schooling through this persuading and motivation activity.

1. To raise further awareness about the importance of girls’ education through street drama, a small group has been formed. This group will write the drama and perform in various villages.

1. Creating livelihood opportunities- Through this project we are supporting three families to make a living in the village. They provide stationary, uniform and shoes to the girls in the scheme. These families are now being able to afford an education for their children too.

Analysis and challenges;

Without our support the twenty five girls would have been unable to continue their education and the additional eleven girls will not have started their schooling. Every additional year of schooling makes a huge different in the life of these girls and it directly impacts on their personal career, family health, economic and social status.

Girls’ school attendance is pretty good considering the on going long, political turmoil in the country. However, motivating parents towards their daughter’s education, and girls’ school drop out at their teens, are still major issues. Hopefully, the group of people who are currently in the process of writing the street drama will be able to overcome these issues to some extent.

This project has also created new jobs and accelerated the local economic activities in the village through increased numbers of pupils in schooling and by purchasing study materials and uniform. A huge 46% unemployment rate, political instability and insufficient infrastructure, economic activities in the country are stagnated. In such circumstances, creating new jobs and livelihood opportunities in villages are vital.

Statement of expenditure;

 Some photos from the project;

End of the report

Nepal Village Foundation, UK [www.nvf.org.uk]

 [If you agree that investing in girl’s education is one of the best long term investments then please support us]