By Freema Davis | Executive Director
Hanukah in Bungamati, Nepal
After 6 years celebrating Hindu, Buddhist and Christian Holidays in Bungamati, Nepal, this year we added a different ethnic spice to the end-of-year celebration. On December 31st, among all the other holidays going on we shared the Jewish holiday of Hanukah! In honor of the elders of the Bungamati community who have been so supportive of the activities of the Bungamati Family House, including being surrogate grandparents, we lit candles, shared blessings, were treated to a dance performance and ate Latkes (Jewish-style potato pancakes with sour cream and apple sauce)!
The lighting of the 8 candles started with the eldest of the elders and continued with the children and then the chairmen of the Bungamti Society and Global Family Village-Nepal.
The program was attended by over 120 local community people (including Grandparents involved in the project and children) as well as officials from GFV Inc, GFV-N and other partners. We reflected back on the 6 years, how far we have all come, creating a family setting for children that is supported by a caring community. A thriving Early Childhood program was rebuilt after the earthquake with unflagging technical support from our team of Early Childhood experts headed by the Nepal Country director..
Unfortunately, even 20 months after the earthquake most people in this village and many other villages are still living in temporary shelters. The HomeStay program that was just beginning was halted. We are all waiting for government funding to come in and then we can start a campaign to raise sufficient funds so that the houses can be made suitable for tourists. That will be great for the women of the household because they can earn some income for their families, it is important for the families involved and indeed the whole community will benefit.
Glancing back & moving forward...beginning the countdown -
We have been supporting the Bungamati community using a sustainability model whereby we offer technical and financial support for empowerment and growth. We reduce the financial support every year. The technical support continues for as long as necessary and wanted by the partners.
GFV-Nepal has chosen a new site for the replication of the GFV model. We are partnering with a Woman's Group in Nuwokot that remains severely damaged from the earthquake. Stay tuned!
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