Newsletter
April-June 2009
Dear Friends of FFN
Let me begin by thanking you all for your continued support of FFN and the Nepalese cause. Having just returned from Nepal, this newsletter may be slightly longer than usual.
During my trip to Nepal, I visited all the grass-root community projects FFN currently supports, as well as the street child Drop in Centre and Half –Way home in Thamel that we fund in collaboration with Prayas and met with Maiti Nepal, the Nepalese NGO that works towards ending child trafficking in Nepal. I was very pleased with all their progress and in particular with that of the Drop in Centre (DIC). Over the past 12 months, a total of 105 street children have attended the DIC and half way home, with an average of 20 children in the DIC and 5 children staying in the Half- Way home per day. So far 3 children have left the DIC and currently residing in the UNDP-funded Prayas-run Rehab centre and 2 children have been re-untied with their families.
During my stay in Nepal, I also had the pleasure of taking 28 of the 29 FFN- sponsored children (1 child had chicken pox) and 10 of the Prayas shelter home children away on a 2 night holiday to Sukute Beach Resort, a kayaking resort 3 hours from Kathmandu. The holiday was a great success, with both groups interacting very well. They spent their time walking, swimming, playing beach volleyball, cricket and dancing at night. The thing, however, I was most amazed with is how active the children are; they would wake up at 5.30am and literally not stop until 9pm- I was exhausted by the end of it! Such was the success of this trip that we have decided, going forward, to hold joint outings with the Prayas shelter children. I think that such outings will provide a good opportunity for both groups of children to learn from their different life experiences.
I am also happy to announce that all is set for the Durham Himalaya University trip’s arrival in Nepal in August. 16 students from Durham University will face one of the hardest challenges of their lives, a 12 night trek to Annapurna Base Camp. But the trip does not end there; it is centered around giving students a true feel for Nepal. They will spend 12 nights living with Nepalese families while doing community work in schools, and 2 nights water rafting combined with 2 nights jungle safari. This 6 week trip will raise over £14,000 for FFN and fund our project work for this year.
This year we will be supporting four grass root community projects: Shanti Rani School in Godavri, Navajyoti Lower Secondary School in Chappa Gaun, Shree Sisnery Higher Secondary school in Lubu and Ajad Lower Secondary School in Baktapur at a total cost of £2,000. FFN will also be continuing with its support of the street child DIC and Half-Way Home in Thamel at a cost of over £10,000. Further details will soon be available at: http://www.futurefornepal.com/current-projects.php
As ever, should any of you have any queries about FFN or our activities, please feel free to contact me anytime.
Thank you all for your generosity.
Take care,
Tom Wells
