Following this report, we will be closing our project “Emergency Relief for families in Kashmir”.
Over the last few days two individuals in Nepal that were raising funds for the Emergency Relief project were interviewed by the local police. This is a very real cause for concern, and we appreciate the sensitivities associated with such activities.
The involvement of the police in a fundraising exercise that had collected $76 seems somewhat unusual to us here in Australia, however there may be reasons we are unaware of here; India is politically influential in Nepal and portrays Kashmir in a very different light to the mainstream international media.
Regardless of the motivations behind the police involvement, and although our intentions are purely of a humanitarian nature we do not want to risk, or bring into any conflict situation the primary work that IGWR-Nepal undertakes, which is looking after needy Children in Nepal and giving them the opportunity of a full-time education.
The GlobalGiving appeal has collected $1,148 and it is now our intention to add to these funds via a network of friends and organise the relief we intended albeit for far fewer families than we aimed for.
There will be no further reports or follow-ups to this particular project however we are still very much seeking support for our other projects listed on GlobalGiving.
We believe it is important that we are no longer visible in supporting the people of Kashmir and hence taking the project off the GlobalGiving site.
We are however committed to total transparency in regard to the funds already raised and would normally post a full statement of accounts during the life of the project. We therefore invite all who have already generously donated to contact IGWR-Nepal via their website if they would like a statement of what was achieved once the work of the project is completed.
Speaking with Raja in Nepal just the other day was another awakening to how easy we have it here in Australia (even with our devastating bushfires). There are many in this world that need support, they need help to survive, and a lift to give them the opportunity to become self-sufficient; and there are power-hungry agendas at work in the world that do not have compassion as part of their skills-set, rather greed and self-interest seem to trump life’s basic principles.
Thank you for you support we hope you’ll understand and will be happy to stay in contact via our web-site, which has no other activity outside of Nepal.
Realising Children’s dreams
From 1st to 15th November I visited our children in Nepal and together with our treasurer we assisted with the School+Plus program for three days.
I wish everyone could see and share in the joy these children get from the creativity and support the program offers.
Day-by-day the children supported by IGWR-Nepal have a relatively good opportunity as they have the support of the IGWR-Nepal team; however even these children have a relentless school routine that is quite foreign to that experienced by children in Australia. The quality of education/teachers is (at best) terrible, with rote learning, under-qualified teachers and some of the most boring lesson plans imaginable.
Some of the children head off for school at 6am in order to get extra tuition before school, some have extra tuition after school and then a 1-2hour homework load. All of which lacks creativity and any encouragement for self-expression.
I have a dream, a song to sing, to help me cope with anything
We introduced this ABBA song to the children and asked one of the senior students (Unik as shown in the picture) to teach the song. When we returened three days later, all the children could sing the whole song, and Unik, plus two others on guitars and one more on a drum box had the musical accompaniment sorted.
Giving children a creative opportunity allows them to shine and that is one of the best things that’s being achieved through School+Plus. It is even more important in poorer communities where the daily routine is one of survival, and even those going to school have little opportunity to discover life’s joys.
Announcing School+Plus 2
During our November visit we reviewed all aspects of our operations in Nepal and together with Raja, our Country Director, we’ve decided to start the second School+Plus program and have already chosen a location that is nearby a very poor (and so probably poorly run) government school.
It is however a decision that now requires us to find the support for this next project
We have begun the preparation work and are currently discussing all aspects of the program with the various stakeholders such as the Government School Principal and Local Area Committees.
We’ve appointed an interim ‘management team’, two of IGWR-Nepal’s senior graduates, to look at potential properties, canvass local families and liase with the local school(s); they will also work with Raja to establish a detailed budget, job descriptions, hiring requirements, policies and procedures.
Currently we anticipate an annual budget for SP2 of around AUD$20,000, however as we will be offering full-time staff positions based on a three year contract we will realisticaqlly have to consider an overall commitment of $60,000.
Join us in making this dream for children come true
o We will be creating a second Global Giving project for School+Plus2 and this will be launched for our December fundraising campaign.
o Christmas is coming – A time for giving
o Each Year I make a Christmas list and allocate an amount to each of my family and friends that I then donate on their behalf to help the children in Nepal. It is a great gift that gives twice and unlike over 80% of Christmas gifts it doesn’t end in landfill.
o We’ll be promoting our Christmas Giving catalogue on our website from December 1st
o And we will be promoting small monthly donations as they all add up together and monthly gifts give us a regular commitment that helps us to make critical budget decisions.
Thanks for the gifts you have already shared, and for the dreams that you have enabled us to make real, we’ll have a lot more to share as we approach Christmas and we hope you might look at donations to our School+Plus programs as you consider your Christmas shopping.
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Next month [November] Peter & Maureen [Chairperson & Treasurer for IGWR Inc.] will visit* our project in Kathmandu and together with Raja [Director for IGWR Nepal] we’re planning to take the NEXT BIG STEP for the School+Plus program.
Having had a success with the program outcomes we’re now ready to establish the program in new premises (rather than in one of the IGWR houses) and hire a full compliment of staff; this will also set the scene to establish a second program hopefully in the 2020-21 budget year.\
Our expenses for the 2018-19 budget year amounted to nearly $18,500 and that has been covered through the Global Giving project, so the question we shall be discussing in November is can we now commit to a new budget that is nearly double that amount?
Proposed Budget
Premises Lease 4000
SPP Manager [full time] 7000
3 X Part Time Instructor 7200
3 X assistants 3600
Cook/Housekeeper 1200
Stationary/Art supplies 2500
Food (Daily Meals) 3500
Furniture/Maintenance 2000
Medical/health programs 1500
Training & Program development 1500
Total 34000
Following our November visit the budget will be finalised as we establish location, staff and any other variable costs.
With the introduction of a full-time program manager we can also begin the process of full documentation so that the School+Plus program can be ‘packaged’ for implementation at other centres.The manager will also have responsibility for communicating with our program supporters and extending that base to gain the additional finances required for the program.
We have hada number of visitorsand all of them enjoy participating in the School+Plus program.
A group of Australian Medical Students, a group of students from New Zealand and two lots of volunteers from Australia have all led School+Plus activities, and each has brought something special to the Children, and all have received much joy in return.
A great example of the creativity that illustrates the School+Plus program is a promotional video produced and directed by IGWR senior students who all assist in the program.
The one minute video can be seen on our YouTube Channelat the following link;
Thank you- to all who support this program and who share with us in making a real difference in the lives of the children in Nepal.
IGWR [In Giving We Receive] is run by a team of volunteers and 99.52% of all monies donated goes directly to the operations of IGWR-Nepal
* Note: Our visits to Nepal are all self-funded; every dollar donated to the program goes into the program, as those who administer the program funding and oversight are all volunteers.
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