www.globalactioncoalition.orgI promised to take you with me so our first stop is the village of Kavre.  I have been staying with the founders of Yogdan Foundation, former members of the Tampa community who have returned to Kathmandu.  They had purchased land on the top of a hill in the village of Kavre north of Kathmandu to have a get away place. When the earthquake happened they headed up to there to find that nobody had come to help and most of the houses around 240 families were destroyed.  Luckily they had no fatalities.  Talking with the mothers of the village who had seen their world turned upside down was quite sobering.  They lived perched on their hill top village homeless and experiencing constant tremors wondering at any moment if there would be more destruction.  Punam and Atulya new at once that there would be no help from the government and they contacted everyone they knew to build temporary housing so that they would have shelter from the elements.  Global Action Coalition and the Tampa Bay Nepalese community responded.  The simple housing might not be much to us but as you can see they have taken great care to make them homes.  Our next step is to build houses for the most neediest.  Another project Punam started was to use the community center for a small sewing factory for the local girls.  There are 5 machines and in one of the photos the young manager of this enterprise is showing off a new product.  One of the inhabitants was this 100 year old woman.  The small path up to her home is daunting but she is nimble and a loving person. Our visit was a big hit for the children too.  I also met an Austrian man who had build a retreat center on a piece of land.  He would love to have help in rebuilding the bathrooms in the village school.  There is so much to do here, but I believe we can help them.  Enjoy the photos and forgive me if they are not perfectly aligned.  Rob

Young mother 

Inside

4 people live inside this shelter

a grouping of shelters

The Manager of the new enterprise

Can you imagine she is 100 years old

what a smile

Another family

Nepal First Blog, Sister Schools Program

As I prepare for my second trip to Nepal I am excited about the new Sister Schools Program we have started.  Two weeks ago Hemu Adhikari, Treasurer for Global Action who was born in Chitwan, Nepal and I went to Independent Day School to talk with 500 students.  They were fascinated to hear about the country and when Hemu shared his upbringing in a rural village and what it was like going to school I could see the students begin to understand how lucky they were.  When I told them that ½ of the students there would be hungry and also ½ would get the chance to attend school it inspired them to want to help.  This last Friday I returned and I barely can share how emotional I felt when I saw the outpouring from them.  Two different classes created murals for me to take, other classes painted small paintings with messages about their lives and interests on the back.  I have a full suitcase to carry filled with art supplies, pencils, erasers and pens and the final great gift $700 to start a lunch program in a new school in the Bharse Valley in Gulmi province.  Thank you to Dr Joyce Swarzman, IDS teachers and staff and the amazing students.  One final note 11 year old Taylor from 5^th grade had the great idea for us to bring back paintings from the Nepalese children to create T shirts to sell as a fundraiser with Global Action Coalition and Independent Day School partnering to help children in Nepal.  The kind of imitative fills me with help for our future.  Stay tuned to this blog as I travel to some interesting places and introduce you to an amazing group of people.   Rob