CHANCE for Nepal

ProjectS Summary 2011

I am delighted to report that we have had another most successful year both in terms of money raised and what we have done with it!

Funds raised during 2011
Charity Golf Day at Wildwood Golf and Country Club – September	£ 17,595
C.H.A.N.C.E for NEPAL 100 Club (throughout year)	£ 2,500
The Keep Quiz (October)	£ 386
The Keep Quiz (December)	£ 365
The Keep Craft Sale (December)	£ 165
Sale of pashminas and goods (December)	£ 700
Donations were received from: Herrod Foundation                                                                                               Edmund O’Reilly Hyland                                                                                     David and Debbie Smail                                                                                     Rivers Charitable Trust                                                                                         Unitarian Church                                                                                                 Wynnie Kline                                                                                                       Derek and Marion Williams                                                                                Nick Morrice Jane at The Keep, Guildford Bakehouse Ltd Cranleigh Preparatory School
These donations amounted to:	£ 23,914
Total raised in 2011	£ 45,625

How the funds were used:

Shenpen

C.H.A.N.C.E for Nepal continues its close relationship with SHENPEN, an international volunteer-based, non-profit organization aimed at alleviating poverty in Nepal. C.H.A.N.C.E supports programmes in the following: Education, Street Children, Health, Vocational and Animal Welfare.

Education

Pegasus School

We continue to support the nursery class for 28 children providing Montessori teaching materials and equipment, salaries of two teachers trained in Montessori as well as rent for the nursery class.

We have now extended the outdoor play area to include a covered water play area as well as sandpit so the children may enjoy all year round fun outside.

Triple Gem School

We have provided tables and chairs along with books for the new library. The library is now a well-used, comfortable, light and airy room where the children can enjoy the magic of books.

We sponsor a cup of warm milk each day for all the children in the nursery class. The milk provides vital calories and nutrients to these small children. Their mothers find it increasingly difficult to buy milk as it is now so expensive.

Pushpa’s Paradise Children’s Home

A new project for 2011 was brought to our attention by way of Pushpa’s Paradise Children’s Home/Orphanage. Pushpa rents a building where she provides a caring, loving environment for 12 children, both boys and girls, ranging in ages from 3 to 16 years. Despite the cramped conditions, Pushpa utilizes the space well.

Pushpa approached SHENPEN for help at the beginning of the year as she was struggling to put food on the table for the children. SHENPEN contacted me and asked if we could help. I initially agreed to send £1,000 as an emergency fund to put food on the table for the children. I met three golfers known as The Danger Team while in transit from Nepal, who showed an interest in wanting to support the work C.H.A.N.C.E does. I contacted The Danger Team about with Pushpa’s plight, and I proposed C.H.A.N.C.E would match their donation. As a result, today all the children receive an education and have three meals a day.

When we visited Pushpa and the children in November we spent a lovely afternoon getting to know the children and seeing first hand what a remarkable lady Pushpa was. We took along  ’goody bags’ for each child which they loved. The children were well cared for, happy, talkative, loved playing with us, and one of the older girls showed off her hairdressing skills by braiding Carol’s hair.

Health

Bir Hospital

My association with the Bir Hospital burns unit goes back to my first visit to Nepal, ten years ago. Over the years we have built up an excellent working relationship with Wendy Marston from England who lives in Kathmandu with her husband. Wendy works as a volunteer at the burns unit which is where I met her 10 years ago. The nursing sister in charge of the ward Nari Devi is also still there.

We continue to provide:

• physiotherapy for the patients six days a week which speeds up recovery
• provide a balanced, high protein nutritional basket to each patient on the unit twice a month
• two counsellors four times a week give ongoing assistance to patients and their families with the psychological effects from burns
• sponsor specialized creams and bandages.

A large donation gave us the opportunity to purchase two televisions and two DVD players, one for the burns unit at The Bir, and one for the Kanti Children’s Hospital. This enables patients to watch television together, thus interacting with each other – an important step in rehabilitation. By meeting other burn patients, they are able to help one another to face going back into society, rather than hide away. We have also purchased small radios, so if too ill to move they can listen to the radio.

The donation also purchased two surgical loops, an instrument specifically made for each plastic surgeon’s eyes; these instruments magnify and light up the area needing the skin graft.

Kanti Children’s Hospital

In 2011 we have increased our support to three plastic surgeons carrying out skin grafts on children up to the age of 16. We now support three surgeons in three hospitals in Kathmandu, namely – Kanti Children’s Hospital, this being the only children’s Hospital in Nepal, The Bir Hospital burns unit, and the Aspial Hospital. The plastic surgeons in these hospitals operate for free, and C.H.A.N.C.E pays the costs of the dressings, the anesthetist, and food for the patient’s duration in hospital and a meal for the family members staying with the child. All to often, parents find traveling to be with their child whilst in hospital prohibitive because of cost of travel when living outside Kathmandu Valley so C.H.A.N.C.E pays for their travel expenses and a meal each day for them.

We have also started a new and exciting pilot project where a child is given a ‘goody bag’ when coming into the burns unit. This is a draw string bag containing a wind up torch, packet of children’s stickers, toothbrush and paste, soap, knitted doll and for the older children a small game boy or radio. We have a team of knitters who make up the dolls which have proved tremendously popular. My wish is for every child who comes on to the burns unit to receive one of these ‘goody bags’. This may well mean we give 1000 bags out during 2012. Calling any knitters out there – please contact me for the pattern!

Varahi Health Care

We have continued our support to the clinic where we have provided needles and Chinese medicine for 500 patients during the year. We also bought a skeleton and projector for training purposes. Acupuncturists from other countries come to offer their services free of charge and stay for up to three months.

Street Children

SathSath

We have continued our support to SathSath, an NGO that works for the improvement of the quality of life for street children. SathSath’s drop-in learning centre is now well established and works with both street children and street-based children (children who have a home but either work, beg or loiter on the streets during the day).

The Centre provides a safe environment in difficult circumstances for around 80 children of which 40 attend regularly. The area of Kalanki in Kathmandu is acutely poor, the parents work as scrap collectors or day labourers. Their children do not attend school, or have stopped attending school due to a lack of finance and roam the street instead; many are under five years old. The Learning Centre is an important service as it not only reaches street children, but is also a key intervention in preventing other children turning to a life on the streets which so often leads to drug abuse, especially glue sniffing.

To witness children as young as 5 or 6 sniffing glue, to shut out the cold and hunger, is heart breaking.

The team at the centre is offering a wonderful service to this special segment of the Nepalese society. There can be nothing easy about what they do, as so many other parts of this society just want to turn their heads when it comes to the issues of street children.

The team works with a large segment of this street children society, attempting to keep children off the streets as much as possible, and to support their education and job training.

C.H.A.N.C.E pays the rent for the drop-in centre as well as a teacher’s salary plus a small wage for a helper. We sponsor basic medical care, and counselling for those children who need it. We sponsor an educational/fun day out now and again, and educational teachings aids.

We have made the hot midday meal far more substantial and nutritious during the year as well as provide a high protein hot drink. This meal is immensely popular and the centre fills up dramatically when it is served; this meal is probably the only meal many of them will have that day! We continue with providing safe filtered drinking water whenever required.

VOCATIONAL

WCS

We continue our support to the WCS, a micro-credit cooperative. Our support has helped 500 mothers help their families by being given small loans enabling them to start up small businesses making candles, vegetable farming and goat rearing etc. This greatly helps raise their self-esteem and provides for their families. The support has grown considerably during 2011 and the WCS now provide educational scholarships to children who do well at school. Our visit to many of these projects was heartening. The women are so keen to learn, requesting further training, so keen to better themselves. They are making great strides in that direction. Many thanks to the Herrod Foundation who supports this programme through C.H.A.N.C.E.

SHENPEN ANIMAL PROGRAM

Vaccinating dogs and educating children

Each year in Nepal, approximately 16,000 people are treated for dog bites and as many as 200 die excruciatingly painful deaths from rabies, most of them children. The programme began with the education of local children teaching them the dangers of rabies, the treatment of dog bites, and the humane treatment of street dogs. We have continued with our vaccination programme and also introduced educating children in local schools of the danger of rabies and how to treat dogs with respect.

We also support a drop-in animal rescue operation on a Saturday mornings, sponsoring the medication and bandages needed as well as anti-rabies vaccinations.

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UK Educational Sponsors

C.H.A.N.C.E for Nepal currently has 29 English sponsors who are giving educational sponsorship to children at three schools in the Kathmandu Valley. Pegasus English School, The Triple Gem and Shangri-LA School.

We are continually looking for further sponsors to take under-privileged children off the streets. Many of these children are either orphaned, or from an abusive environment, or from families who would never be able to afford schooling. The cost to educate a child in one of the three schools we support is £400 per year for a boarding place, which includes their uniform, three meals a day and their education and £200 per year as a day-student including uniform.

Bal-Balika – Nepal

Medical Checks

C.H.A.N.C.E for NEPAL supported one medical mission in Kathmandu during November of this year. This medical team headed by Susanne Volkmann, the founder of Bal-Balika Nepal saw nearly 1000 children over 7 days.

I joined the team for the health checks as Triple Gem and Green Hill Academy, schools. All the children receive de-worming medication where needed and multi-vitamins to help them through the winter months when they are at their most vulnerable. Anaemia is very prevalent in school age children and those suffering from anaemia were given iron supplements.

Parhar Trust

For the fourth year we continue our support for the Pahar Trust, a sister organisation which builds schools in remote areas of Eastern Nepal. We are supporting the building of a new school in the village of Bhichol, which lies 230km North West of Kathmandu at 1,800metres and will be completed in 2012.

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“In conclusion, the year has been a productive one and has undoubtedly made a dramatic difference to many lives of children in Nepal. I am ever amazed in this climate of financial unrest how generous the supporters to CH.A.N.C.E have been both in time, interest and financial support.

“We have undoubtedly helped to change for the better and give hope to so many children thus giving them a brighter future.”

Thank YOU AGAIN!

Barbara

ProjectS Summary 2010

Funds raised during 2010

Charity Golf Day at Wildwood Golf and Country Club held in June	£10,400
C.H.A.N.C.E. for Nepal 100 Club	£2,500
Edmund O’Reilly Hyland’s Swimathon	£2,370
Donations:
Rivers Charitable Trust	£10,000
Edmund O’Reilly Hyland	£7,500
Bakehouse Ltd.	£3,650
Angela Reid’s sponsored walk	£610
Dental care	£500
Street child projects for 2011	£600
Unitarian Church	£250
Total raised in 2010	£38,380

How the funds were used:

Medical Checks for Children

C.H.A.N.C.E for Nepal sponsored three medical missions. A medical mission consists of the medication and transportation for Medical Checks for Children (MCC) in Nepal.  There were two MCC teams comprised of paediatricians, doctors, and health professionals who worked out of Kathmandu and two further teams working out of Pokhara and Gorka. Of the two Kathmandu teams, Susanne Vokeman and I were the team leaders. We worked from different locations for part of the week and joined forces for the other part. Over 1,400 children were given a medical check. All the children received de-worming medication and multi vitamins to help them through the winter months when they are at their most vulnerable. Many of the children we saw were anaemic for which they were given iron.

By our last day of the medical mission we had seen 198 children at The Triple Gem School. We decided we couldn’t end on 198 and wished to round it up to 200. Two team members went outside the school gates to see if there was anyone else we could help. A boy of 12, and a mother with her young child came through the gate.  The latter was found to have a life threatening heart condition, which needed major surgery.  Two years ago Antoinette, a supporter of MCC, set up a fund specifically for children needing treatment for heart conditions.  Antoinette lost her husband a few years ago from a heart related illness. How wonderful that we could immediately say we will pay for this child to receive the best treatment. Ironically, Antoinnete and her daughter Ada were on my team!  This was a brilliant ending and great karma for the last child checked.

We have further developed our health promotion programme with related laminated posters in Nepalese and English. We left these in the various venues in which we worked.  We gave talks to teachers, parents and children on the importance of hygiene, diet and dental care.  All the children were given a packet of children’s stickers, toothbrush and paste, soap and a small toy after their medical check.

The Kathmandu teams took on two new locations this year:

The Green Hill Academy, where we gave medical checks to over 200 children is a new location in a rural area a 50 minute drive from the city centre.  The children here are all day students and come from local villages nearby. Mr Yadew is the Principal of the school. There was a good atmosphere in the school and the children were polite and interested. Inside the school building the walls were of a dark cement colour, which made the classrooms and corridors exceptionally dark.  I made enquires for the cost of labour and paint, which amounted to £300 which was given with a further donation for books.

I wish to emphasise all medical team members pay for their own flight, accommodation and meals.

Dental Report

For the first time in Kathmandu we had a dentist on board. I invited Trisha Whitehead-Esplin, a dentist from Cambridge to join us and this proved invaluable. There follows a report by Trisha.

C.H.A.N.C.E for NEPAL was my Chance In A Lifetime.

Having made the decision to offer myself to work flat out for 8 days in Kathmandu, amongst volunteers from Germany, Holland and the UK and to pay for the privilege too, I had to be a little crazy...Well, yes I am!!

A lone 53-year-old female dentist arriving in the midst of the chaos of Kathmandu, not knowing a word of Nepalese or what was awaiting me, I felt more than slightly apprehensive!

The volunteers were an eclectic mix of fascinating characters with a common purpose it seemed; to help the children as much as possible with limitless effort and energy.

No sooner had I been allocated a room for my ''surgery'' on the first day at the orphanage', I too embraced the ethos of the ''mission '' and put my heart and soul into treating the children. It was not only rewarding, but great fun too ….in a crazy way!

My 32 years of dental experience was certainly challenged in more ways than I could have imagined. Suffice to say, no electricity, no running water and very limited equipment made for adaptability to be the key !

The severity of the dental disease was shocking. Very young children with rampant decay and advanced erosion...a sure indicator of frequent consumption of fizzy drinks like Coca Cola and Fanta. Their little mouths were often 'bathed in sepsis', causing not only chronic pain but digestive problems too. Amazingly the children were very accepting of the treatment, grateful to have their mouths numbed and teeth extracted painlessly.

In fact everyone we came into contact with seemed so grateful & this made all the hard work very rewarding indeed. The daily missions to all the various locations were well organized and posed very different challenges; all in all making the nature of the work extremely interesting.

I would like to thank all those dedicated people from Germany, Holland and England for the privilege of working alongside them. The pleasure was all mine!

Sincere thanks,
Trisha Whitehead–Esplin

For detailed medical report visit: www.medicalchecksforchildren.org

Shenpen

C.H.A.N.C.E. for Nepal continued its close relationship with Shenpen and the various projects in: Education, Street Children, Health, Vocational and Animal Welfare.

Education

The Montessori programme at Pegasus School continues to go from strength to strength. Tashie and Sangetta,  two teachers who last year went to Chennai in India to achieve their Diploma in Montessori teacher training are now back and fully ensconced in the nursery programme under the expert leadership of Dolma Gurung who was trained in London.

C.H.A.N.C.E. for Nepal continues to pay the rent for the nursery class as well as two teachers’ salaries. Specific equipment and materials relating to Montessori have also been purchased.  The nursery classroom is carpeted, which is a rare treat and is a friendly and an inviting place in which the children to learn. 

There are round low tables of different colours where the children move from one to another taking it in turns to learn many different skills. For example, a table for letters and numbers, one for cutting and gluing, one for shapes and sizes, one for threading beads, counting and colours and so on.  There are five easels where the children don their aprons and enjoy the delights of free expression and the magic of colour. Outside there is a large newly built sand pit much to the children’s delight and a slide and swing are on order. We aim to introduce a water play area shortly.

The atmosphere is good and the parents take a keen interest and are impressed by what the children are learning and achieving.

The above has been made possible thanks to the generosity of The Rivers Charitable Trust.

Street Children

C.H.A.N.C.E for Nepal, through Shenpen, is continuing to support SathSath, an NGO that works for the improvement of street childrens’ lives. SathSath learning centre is now well established and works with both street children and street-based children (children who have a home but either work or loiter on the streets during the day).

C.H.A.N.C.E for Nepal continues to pay the rent for the centre and for basic medical care.  We sponsored a teacher’s full time salary. Approximately 80 children use this centre of which some 30 or so attend regularly. We also provide outings and play material for the children. A mid-day snack for the children of fresh fruit with dry food and filtered water is sponsored by C.H.A.N.C.E. and for some children this would be their first food of the day.

Children are encouraged to join the non-formal education classes held in the mornings. Those who have a keen interest to learn and continue with formal education will enter the formal schooling system with the support of scholarships.

On my visit in November I donated further books, modelling clay, puzzles, crayons and paper. I was delighted to see how two boys who had now gone through the education system in the centre, then school and now college studying social work were back for periods of time helping the younger children learn and by example giving the younger ones hope that they too can go on to study and achieve.

The Centre has provided a welcome break in the difficult circumstances of many of these children. The area of Kalanki in Kathmandu is acutely poor, the parents work as scrap collectors or day labourers. Their children do not attend school, or have stopped attending school due to a lack of finance and roam the street; many are under five years old. The Learning Centre provides an important service as it not only reaches street children, but is also a key intervention in preventing other children turning to a life on the streets. Such a life often leads to drug abuse, especially glue sniffing which is common in the city centre. Many children use drugs to shut out the cold and hunger and often boredom.

Health - Supporting Burn Patients

In 2010 we continued our support in the burns unit.  The counsellors continue to help the patients and their families come to terms with their disfigurements. There are two physiotherapists who visit six times a week and play a crucial role in getting the patients mobilized which aids a speedier recovery.

There is now a nutritionist who makes sure the patients receive a high protein diet. 

Chance for Nepal also sponsored many specialized burn creams and bandages and purchased blankets and pillows.

Most of the patients in the burns unit are very poor and are unable to purchase the necessary blood, intravenous protein supplement, supplies and medication for their recovery. We pay for these as well as transportation for the patients to return to their homes and villages after treatment.

The Burns Awareness Campaign is proving to be a success in getting the message across of the dangers of kerosene stoves and electrical burns.

Vocational Skills Training – Helping women support their families

During 2010 SHENPEN/C.H.A.N.C.E for NEPAL supported the Women’s Cooperative Society (WCS) in Kathmandu for vocational skills training. The WCS is a micro-credit cooperative, which during 2010 provided small scale loans to 422 women and young mothers. They learn management and technical skills. Support has been used for skills training in goat rearing, vegetable farming and candle making. 

SHENPEN/C.H.A.N.C.E for Nepal look forward to providing additional training support in 2011 and following up with those women trained in 2010 to assess the impact the training has made on their businesses.

Animal Program – Vaccinating dogs and educating children

Each year in Nepal, approximately 16,000 people are treated for dog bites and as many as 200 die excruciatingly painful deaths from rabies, most of them children.

Each Saturday morning around the Stupa in Boudhanath there is an animal rescue operation set up where anyone can bring a dog needing treatment.  A short walk away is the dog centre run by Andrea where C.H.A.N.C.E for NEPAL has paid for a roof over the kennels to give the dogs shade in the intense heat, and also shelter from the monsoon. There is also a grass area where they can exercise and regain their strength.

C.H.A.N.C.E for NEPAL continues its support for the Pahar Trust, a sister organisation which builds schools in remote areas of North west Nepal.  Chandra Bahadur, co-founder of the Pahar Trust, provides MCC with porters and guides for our medical team in the mountains over Pokhara. This year we have donated £2,000 towards the building of a new school in the village of Bhichol which lies 230km North West of Kathmandu at 1,800metres. This school will be completed in 2012.

U.K. Educational Sponsors

We currently have 23 sponsors most of which have been brought to us through the Challenger Magazine, a local Cranleigh publication. The children who are sponsored through this scheme are at three schools, Pegasus School, Triple Gem School, and Shangri-La School, all in the Kathmandu Valley. We are continually looking for further sponsors to take under privileged children off the streets. Many of these are either orphaned, or from an abusive environment, or from families who would never be able to afford schooling, thus giving them the chance of an education - every child’s right!

Each year £400 will pay for a boarding place, three meals a day, uniform and bedding; £200 will pay for a day place with uniform for a year.

In conclusion, once again, I am moved by the enormous response and the generosity of all those who support C.H.A.N.C.E for Nepal in so many ways. I return to Nepal each year in the knowledge that I have support from so many of you who are interested in what C.H.A.N.C.E for Nepal accomplishes.

Each of us is helping to change for the better and give hope to children for a brighter future.

Thank YOU
Barbara Datson

 

ProjectS Summary 2009

Funds raised during 2009

C.H.A.N.C.E. for Nepal’S Charity Golf Day at Wildwood Golf and Country Club held on June 25th 2009 raised:	£10,400
Donations	£2,500
C.H.A.N.C.E. for Nepal 100 Club	£2,500
Christmas Sale	£350
Total raised in 2009	£15,750

A £10,000 donation which came at the end of 2008 was used during 2009 for education and street child projects.

How the funds were used:

Medical Checks for Children

C.H.A.N.C.E. for Nepal sponsored over 2,500 medical checks for ‘Medical Checks for Children’ in Nepal in November 2009. The four medical teams were in Kathmandu, Pokhara, Chitwan and Dhuran. I joined the Kathmandu medical team where we saw over 1000 children in one week, and over 4000 were seen by the various teams. There is now a full health promotion programme in each venue with health posters in both Nepalese and English. We gave talks to teachers, parents and children on the importance of hygiene, diet and tooth-brushing. All the children were given a packet of children’s stickers and a toothbrush and paste after their medical check.

At each location a wonderful warm welcome greeted us. Our work took us to small villages on the outskirts of Kathmandu, to schools and orphanages and a home for severely disabled children. You can visit www.medicalchecksforchildren.org to read a full summary of the different locations and their findings.

All team members pay for their own flight, accommodation and meals.

Shenpen

C.H.A.N.C.E. for Nepal continued with the various ongoing projects in: Education, Street Children, Health, Vocational and Animal Welfare.

Education

Kathmandu. This is the second year we have paid the salary of a Class 3 teacher at Pegasus School, and the first year we have instituted a Nursery program based on the Montessori teaching methods. The Nursery programme was actually an off-shoot of a six-month Montessori training programme, which began in April 09 and ended in September 09. Over twenty teachers took the training program, with 15 of them receiving certificates for three to six months of regular attendance.

C.H.A.N.C.E. for Nepal sponsored the rental costs for the ground floor of a house conveniently situated next to Pegasus School to establish a Montessori nursery class with a total of 28 children aged 3-4 who enjoyed the large space with a carpeted floor, a real treat! We provided Montessori materials that matched some of the best Montessori programs in the West. The two trainers, Dolma Gurung and Nirmala Gurung, who studied at one of the best Montessori training programs in Nepal for six months, with tutition fees paid by C.H.A.N.C.E. for Nepal, were then paid a salary to train other teachers both in Pegasus School and other schools nearby. We hope to widen this facility when two teachers return to Pegasus with their Diploma in Montessori teacher training. They in turn will train other teachers which will pay for Pegasus to provide the necessary teaching aids needed to run the programme.

The Montessori Institute in London granted two scholarships for a Diploma in teacher training at the Vavadisha Montesorrie Institute in Chennai, India. C.H.A.N.C.E. for Nepal paid the air fare, accommodation and meals for the two teachers from Pegasus to do this training. Their course finishes at the end of March 2010 when the two teachers will return to Pegasus School.

Maitri Griha is a home for mentally challenged boys, five who live in the home full-time, and four who come in as day students. For the past three years we have sponsored the salary of one part-time teacher, and this year added another part-time teacher, and a weekly visit by a physiotherapist.

We have five children studying under our school sponsorship program through SHENPEN. Four are studying as boarding students and one as a day scholar.

Street Children

C.H.A.N.C.E. for Nepal, through Shenpen, is continuing to support SathSath, an NGO that works for the improvement of street children’s lives. SathSath opened a new Learning Centre in the Spring and works with both street children and street-based children (children who have a home but either work or loiter on the streets during the day).

The Centre provides basic medical care and sanitation facilities, entertainment and recreation facilities and counselling. In addition, the Centre provides a mid-day snack for the children of fresh fruit and dry food. Currently there are around 80 children who use the services, of which 25 attend regularly. In the beginning, staff encourage the children to join the non-formal education classes which are run in the mornings. Those who have a keen interest to learn and continue with formal education will enter the formal schooling system with the support of scholarships.

The Centre has provided a welcome break in the difficult circumstances of many of these children. The area of Kalanki in Kathmandu is acutely poor, the parents work as scrap collectors or day labourers. Their children do not attend school, or have stopped attending school due to a lack of finance and roam the street; many are under five years old. The Learning Centre is an important service as it not only reaches street children, but is also a key intervention in preventing other children turning to a life on the streets which so often leads to drug abuse, especially glue sniffing.

Health – Supporting Burn Patients

In 2009, Shenpen, through the support of C.H.A.N.C.E. for Nepal, was able to continue support for the Bir Hospital Burns Unit to provide therapeutic services, medication, and equipment to assist the victims of burn accidents. The support covered the salaries of two counsellors who provide ongoing assistance to the patients with psychological effects from burns and social problems. This has played an important role in the long-term recovery of the burn patients. We covered the salary for a physiotherapist, who has assisted patients regain mobility of limbs, primarily victims with hand burns. We have also provided a nutritional well balanced diet for these patients. We supplied specialised bandages and creams for burn patients as well as much needed blankets and pillows in the unit. We set up a play area with toys and drawing/colouring materials in the children's ward.

Most of the patients in the burns unit are very poor and are unable to purchase the necessary blood, intravenous protein supplement, supplies and medication for their recovery. We pay for these as well as transportation for the patients to return to their homes and villages after treatment.

In addition, the Burns Awareness campaign was expanded to provide burns prevention information by targeting more rural schools and women's groups.

At the end of 2009 we formed a partnership with Dr Pandey, a brilliant plastic surgeon who has generously offered two free beds at his private hospital, the Nepal Plastic Surgery Aspatal, to burn patients at the Bir hospital burns unit and the Kanti Children’s Hospital. He will operate for free with C.H.A.N.C.E. for Nepal paying for the anaesthetist, materials used, meals and transportation.

Amrit Roka a 19 year old young man from Eastern Nepal came to Kathmandu like many other young people from his village in search of work. He is the youngest among six children in the family and was recently married. Because of the poor economic conditions he left home to earn money for the family. He got a job as a labourer on a construction site in Kathmandu. During the building work Amrit sustained a severe electrical burn causing 15% third degree burns on his abdomen, both hands and penile area. He came to Aspital Hospital in October 2009. The treatment was done with the multiple debridement and skin graft. Healing went well and Amrit has now recovered. Amrit has learned some physiotherapy techniques from an Australian volunteer physiotherapist and has gone on to help other burn patients. He is also making wooden splints for the patients and is now working full time for the hospital.

We hope he will help patients by going out in the community to educate people about the risks of electrical and kerosene burns and other burn related problems. Although information leaflets are useful, many patients are illiterate so a leaflet is pointless.

Skills Training – Helping women support their families

This year C.H.A.N.C.E. for Nepal, through Shenpen, supported the skills training of over 300 young poor women in a number of areas including sewing, tailoring, candle making, vegetable farming, poultry raising, literacy classes and micro-entrepreneurial skills. Through this training, the women will be able to earn an income and help to support their families and children.

Shenpen Animal Program – Vaccinating dogs and educating children

Each year in Nepal, approximately 16,000 people are treated for dog bites and as many as 200 die excruciatingly painful deaths from rabies, most of them children.

The small woodcarvers’ village of Bungamati and the surrounding areas have endured sporadic rabies outbreaks. With our help, the Shenpen Animal section organized the second phase of the anti-rabies programme, administered by the Kathmandu Animal Treatment (KAT) Centre.

The programme began with the education of local children regarding the dangers of rabies, the treatment of dog bites, and the humane treatment of street dogs. At the end of the project, the medical team had vaccinated 590 street dogs, treated 28 dogs for existing conditions and 8 were hospitalised.

When we visited Bungamati last year it was noticeable that the fear of untreated animals had been eliminated. It was wonderful to see how affectionately the villagers treated the village dogs. The children’s lives were enriched by the loving – and safe - companionship of “man’s best friend”.

 

C.H.A.N.C.E. for Nepal currently has 17 sponsors through the ‘Challenger’ magazine which is sponsoring 17 children at Pegasus School and the Triple Gem School, both in Kathmandu. We are continually looking for more sponsors to take a child off the streets, or from an abusive environment, and give them the chance of an education - every child’s right!
£358 pays for a boarding place and £150 pays for a day place for a year.

We made a gift of four complete sets of Harry Potter books and 25 copies of the first two books in the series for a class project to Pegasus School, Amar Joti School and the Triple Gem School for their library, the children were so excited with this gift! We also provided educational learning materials for Pegasus School and Pegasus hostel.

For a second year we have supported the Pahar Trust, a sister organisation which builds schools in remote areas of Eastern Nepal. Chandra Bahadur, co-founder of the Pahar Trust, provides MCC with porters and guides for our medical team in the mountains over Pokhara. We support a teacher’s salary in a school in a remote part of Eastern Nepal, and provide two scholarships for gifted children in remote areas.

Projects Summary 2008

In 2008 the magnificent sum of £27,500 was raised through various fund-raising events and donations. These include:

• Charity golf day at Wildwood Golf & Country Club, Alfold, Surrey. (June)
• Frock exchange luncheon party. (June)
• Gala showing of Quantum of Solace at the Odeon Cinema, Guildford. (November)
• C.H.A.N.C.E. for Nepal 200 Club. (throughout the year)
• Sale of soft toys. (November and December)
• David Smail of Bakehouse Ltd - a most generous donation of £5,000 (November)
• Rivers Charitable Trust a most generous donation of £4,000 (November)

The money raised has gone to the following ongoing projects as well as new ones. These are:

• Medical Checks for Children, MCC - Three medical missions in Nepal
• Shenpen - Continuing with projects in Education, Street Children, Health, Vocational and Animal Welfare.
• David Smail’s donation provided the following for the Triple Gem hostel and school: Solar panels to provide hot water at the hostel, a purification water system for safe drinking water at the hostel and school, a washing machine and refrigerator at the hostel, white boards in the classrooms, sports equipment and creative materials for the school.
• Rivers Charitable Trust’s donation provided two playgrounds, one for the Pegasus School hostel and a nursery playground for the Triple Gem School. (November)
• Pahar Trust - for a teacher’s salary in a remote school in Eastern Nepal
• Rural Assistance Nepal - for a teacher’s salary at the Deusa School in Eastern Nepal
• Maitri Griha, home for disabled boys - Providing Physiotherapy, teachings aids, exercise bar.

C.H.A.N.C.E. for Nepal’s education sponsorship programme has added a further eight children during 2008 to the programme, making 17 children in total who are receiving an education. Each month a child from either Pegasus School or the Triple Gem School is featured in the Surrey magazine, The Challenger. We have been delighted by the response from our editorial in this magazine.

We are constantly looking for further sponsors to come forward. Should you be interested, then please go to our contact page. The cost for a boarding place is £350 a year, this giving a child a sound education, accommodation, three meals a day, a school uniform and casual clothes, alternatively £150 for a day place to include lunch and a uniform.

Projects Summary 2007

This was distributed as follows: £11,000 for Medical Checks for Children and £11,500 for Shenpen’s activities in Nepal.

• £11,000 for ‘Medical Checks for Children’ paid for medical equipment and medicines for four medical missions in Nepal, in Kathmandu, Pokhara, Chitwan and Dharan. Over 3,800 children received a medical check in November 2007.

Shenpen

• £3,000 for the Bir Hospital Burns Unit.
• £3,500 for educational sponsorship at Pegasus School, Shangri-La School and Maitri Griha children’s home in Kathmandu, including a qualified teacher at Pegasus School.
• £2,500 for the Street Children in Kathmandu.
• £1,200 for a mobile medical clinic which visits remote villages in the Kathmandu Valley.
• £1,000 for vocational training for older teenagers.
• £600 for rabies injections for the stray dogs in Bungamati and Khakana (two villages south of Kathmandu).

Other projects 2007-2008

C.H.A.N.C.E. for Nepal is supporting the Triple Gem Foundation School and hostel in Kathmandu.

• £500 was given to provide a new outside toilet block for the 500 children at the school. The present one was a dilapidated small brick building with no running water, just two holes in the ground, offering little privacy and a trough of water for all the children to wash their hands in, thereby spreading infection.
• £200 for a library to be created at the school. Books, art materials and bean bags have been purchased for the children to relax and enjoy the magical world of reading. The children only had exercise books and now have Nepalese and English literature books for which they are delighted.
• £4,000 from English sponsors for child sponsorship at Pegasus School in Kathmandu.

C.H.A.N.C.E. for Nepal set up an educational sponsorship programme in April 2007 with English sponsors at Pegasus School in Kathmandu. Each month the Challenger Magazine which is distributed around Surrey and West Sussex features a child seeking educational sponsorship. To date, sixteen boarding places and three day scholars have been sponsored. We are constantly seeking new sponsors for the many children, often orphaned or with parents who cannot afford their education to give them a right to an education.