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Recently HCC sponsor Naresh Gurung was able to visit with the students at Khushi Ghar. He sat down to talk about his experience as a mentor and sponsor and what it was like to meet the students he’s been helping!

How did you find out about hcc?

My parents were originally from Pokhara and I wanted to be part of an organization helping children in Pokhara.  I had compiled a short list of organizations in Pokhara until I came across HCC Nepal totally by accident. 

What inspired you to donate?

Even though, HCC Nepal didn’t have  an operation in Pokhara, I was extremely pleased with small and simple, yet very effective vision of HCC Nepal.  I could see videos of little kids (abandoned or orphaned) speaking fluent English which demonstrated good education and good care by HCC Nepal.  The response I received after my initial donation to HCC Nepal was not scripted.  Bruce Keenan the founder wrote that email of appreciation personally and the response had human touch in it.  I decided to commit to this organization helping Nepalese children as long as my family can.

What do you find most rewarding about sponsoring students?

I have always taught my children to be kind to others.  We leave lose change (coins or dollar bills) in small donation boxes at the grocery stores whenever we can. 

We support big organizations in the event of big tragedies. My family and I play a small role in your vision to empower Children of Nepal.  It gives us joy when we see, right in front of our eyes, students growing up, finishing schools, universities and the same children giving back to the community.

This rewarding feeling by sponsoring students at HCC Nepal is far more rewarding then the rewarding feeling by sponsoring big organizations.

What was it like to visit Khushi Ghar?

It was a very short visit to Khushi Ghar.  Even though I didn’t remember their names, I recognized most of the students I met there.  The spirits of the children are very positive.  The atmosphere is full of love and support at Khushi Ghar. 

What advice do you have for people trying to find a philanthropic path?

When we started looking for helping out children in Nepal, we ourselves were not in stable position to
sponsor a child and commit for the rest of his/her life.  In fact, we still do not consider ourselves to be stable enough.  If you would like to help out and also have personal relationships with the organizations like HCC Nepal, I would highly recommend contributing to smaller charity organizations even with small amount of monetary donations.  

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As a social worker, the desire to help others is in Erika Mateus’ blood. She believes in helping and caring for children and teaching them to think critically, value life and the planet. In addition to traditional education, she believes in teaching each child that the world can be a different and better place. Growing up in Colombia she saw, as, in many developing countries, education was a privilege of the wealthy. At a young age she made a promise to herself that when she had the money and the opportunity, she would give back.

She began her journey of volunteerism and philanthropy in India after receiving her degree in Social Work from the University of Southern California. She traveled around India, helping teach children critical thinking and to learn another language. Though she primarily works with adults now, through Tossy she continues to strive for the betterment of children.

Erika started Tossy two years ago, out of a desire to control her own thick, unruly hair. She and her mother chose the fabric and created a headband that was original and had a unique design, a wire that kept the shape without squeezing or pinching. One homemade headband and many, many compliments later, Tossy was born. She knew she wanted her business to also be a vehicle for social change, as such she donates one dollar from every headband sold to charities providing education around the world. For the last two years, she and her mother have made all the headbands themselves at home. As the business grows she plans to eventually hire women from domestic abuse shelters, who are restarting their lives and having difficulty finding work. Thus connecting two vulnerable segments of the population with the hopes of uplifting and inspiring others to give back. Breaking the cycle of poverty and abuse at the ground level while simultaneously planting the seeds of philanthropy.

To Erika, giving back means leaving a legacy, “pulling other people with you,” because “it’s not just about you.” Giving back, even if it’s only five or ten dollars “little by little you can make a difference.” While it wasn’t easy in the beginning, because she was doing good for people, she knew she had to keep pushing forward, “when you are giving back it’s the best feeling in the world.”

Erika has also donated to charities in India and Africa and chose HCC after traveling to the Himalayas and feeling a strong connection with Nepal.

Visit her website https://tossybyem.com for all her great designs.

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Sherry and Jeff Jones

Often when we think of an activist or a philanthropist, we think of the most famous names in the world, from Bill Gates to Malala Yousafzai. However, most activists and philanthropists are not household names; most activists are your neighbors, friends, and you, working quietly behind the scenes, ensuring charitable causes stay afloat by donating time, capital, and public support. HCC is blessed to have sponsors who go above and beyond with their consistent, generous support that provides the very backbone to the HCC organization. Our students rely on the support of sponsors, developing relationships with sponsors over years, and in many ways, becoming family, separated by thousands of miles, but family all the same.

From Left: Sherry, Kabita and Jeff

For a decade, Sherry Jones and her husband Jeff have been active supporters of HCC, sponsoring Kabita, now 15, for much of her childhood. After meeting HCC Co-Founders Bruce and Susan Keenan through a mutual friend, Sherry knew that sponsoring a child would be the right fit. “We had wanted to adopt,” Sherry said, “and we knew that sponsoring would be different, of course, but we wanted to [sponsor a child].” Throughout Kabita’s childhood, communication has been primarily through letters from Kabita and updates from HCC staff. Now that Kabita has entered into her teens, Sherry has had the opportunity to communicate via Skype and has even visited her in Nepal in March 2016. When meeting in person for the first time, Sherry said of Kabita, “she’s so beautiful…sweet and quiet,” but later on “she really opened up!” Jeff, Sherry, and Kabita even traveled together on a trek to Annapurna in Nepal, having the opportunity to bond while taking in the beauty of Nepal as a family.

Formally working in real estate, Sherry is currently using her MBA to start her new business Gypsy Secrets, a sustainable, organic skincare line, intended to limit the use of harmful chemicals and promote better health through organic alternatives. As a conscious change-maker for a variety of causes, including environmental causes and animal rights, Sherry has a great passion for making the world a better place. She has been a committed HCC supporter, not only sponsoring a child but actively working to promote HCC’s work by hosting fundraisers in her home and volunteering much time and energy to make HCC’s annual Atlanta fundraiser a smashing success.

Kabita at HCC’s youth home Khushi Ghar

With all of her interests and ventures, why HCC after all these years? For Sherry, drawing from her own experience in her travels around the globe, she knows that “living in poverty in a third world country is drastically different than in the U.S…when you go to Nepal you see it…kids begging in the street,” exacerbated by a lack of in-country sustainable infrastructure. She commented on witnessing a lack of “basic human needs-the little money that we give makes such a huge difference.” By sponsoring Kabita, she said it was “moving to see [her]; this little girl could have had a hugely different life,” citing the dangers of abuse, rape, neglect and worse to which many vulnerable children fall victim.

When asked about how someone could get started in making a difference in the world, Sherry suggested to “donate [your] time. An hour a week, a few hours a month; give ideas, offer connections [organizations] can use.” She notes that not all contributions need to be financial to be valuable, but that people in the U.S. would be surprised at just how little it costs to make a significant difference in the life of a child in Nepal. For the most impoverished and vulnerable in Nepal, “something as little as $50 goes a long way.”

Did you know you can sponsor a child in need for as little as $250 a year? To learn more about the different levels of sponsorship, and how you can change the life of a child today, visit our sponsorship page on our website HERE.

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Join Himalayan Children’s Charities for the annual “Party for a Cause” at 7pm on Friday, November 17th at Sweetwater Brewery in Atlanta.

Guests will enjoy a tour of Sweetwater Brewery and a beer tasting along with music, buffet dinner, and a silent auction included in the $100 per person price of admission. Program highlights include a video message from sponsored students in Nepal and a program update from HCC Co-Founder Bruce Keenan on his most recent fall trip to Nepal. Guests can purchase holiday gifts from the boutique of handcrafted Nepali items such as shawls, ornaments, and jewelry. Proceeds from ticket sales and auction will benefit HCC’s programs. Click below to register! 

REGISTER HERE

Guests can preview silent auction items on the GiveSmart Mobile Bidding Site and are encouraged to register in advance so that they can participate in mobile bidding. Outstanding auction items include the once in a lifetime experience Astronaut Training at Kennedy Space Center, alluring travel packages to Costa Rican & Mexican resorts, 4-night Luxury Home stay at Montana Sporting Club in Belt, Montana, VIP Experience at Atlanta Hawks game, Center Box tickets to Lakewood Amphitheater concert or event of winner’s choice for 2018 series, and many more items to come!

Interested in learning how you can support HCC through sponsorship or auction donations? Please contact Susan Keenan at 678-575-9912 or bckeenan@yahoo.com

The post HCC Announces Details for November Fundraiser in Atlanta appeared first on HCC Nepal.

On November 10, 2017, HCC will be launching our first annual fundraiser in Boston, MA, held at the beautiful Langham Hotel in downtown Boston. The fundraiser will be hosted by Maia Pandey, former HCC intern, and current HCC supporter. After being so moved by her experiences working one on one with students and staff in both Kathmandu and rural Dhading, Maia sought to spread the word about HCC’s work in her own community of Boston.

This will be a great night not only to share news and stories about HCC’s work but also to have some fun with our US-based HCC Family! It promises to be a night of cocktails, a scrumptious 3-course dinner, silent auction and more! All proceeds from the evening will go to support HCC programming for orphaned, abandoned and at-risk children in Nepal. All are welcome to join us! Any interested parties should feel free to share the event with other compassionate community change makers among their family and friends. We love meeting new people! Click below for more details and tickets.

CLICK HERE FOR TICKETS

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Dear HCC Family,

We would like to take a moment to celebrate our accomplishments and the life-changing impact that sponsors and staff have achieved together. HCC has now been changing the lives of children in Nepal for over 17 years.  In just the last year and a half, we’ve watched us accomplish so much, and we’ve witnessed firsthand, over and over again, the life-changing impact of our work.

Since 2015, we’ve tripled the number of orphaned, abandoned, and destitute children that we serve directly through our programs, and have started to provide services to families, schools and communities throughout 8 districts, exponentially increasing the reach and effect of our programs. Such programs now range from educational scholarships and kinship support for single-orphaned children to WIFI connections, libraries, and teacher training in rural schools, to mentorship programs for orphaned and underprivileged children led by our own HCC youth, including in the areas of mentorship and academic counseling, health and hygiene workshops, and child trafficking awareness campaigns.

As we continue to strengthen and build on the successes of our Signature Program in Kathmandu out to rural Nepal, the core HCC values and goals of compassionate leadership and giving back to society are being realized.

Together, with our HCC youth, we are now developing and implementing innovative and integrative new projects that meet some of the most pressing needs of at-risk children in Nepal today. We can all be proud that we are building such a strong foundation for our youth to stand on, and a better world for our children to inherit.

Here are some of our achievement highlights over the last year alone:

– In March 2016, HCC graduated our first group of 10 students from university and HCC programs. 8 students graduated with university degrees, and currently, 5 students are pursuing further education, including in digital animation, psychology, MS in pharmacology, and MS and MA in business administration and finance.

– Over the last year, HCC has employed 3 graduated HCC students to help develop and run our programs. Khil is our Program Operations Officer, Laxmi is our Administrative Coordinator, and Mun Maya is our Program Coordinator.

– HCC youth in Kathmandu are currently in the process of registering an independent non-profit, Himalayan Children’s Charities, Nepal, with a projected registration date of July 20th, and a tentative first general assembly meeting scheduled for September 15th, 2017. The HCC youth are taking on roles of leadership within the organization, including on the executive board, and as general members of the Nepal-registered HCC organization which will be an official partner of HCC, and help to manage and run HCC programs on the ground in Nepal.

– HCC currently supports 8 university students, 9 college students (grades 11 and 12), 2 graduate school students, and 3 students in postgraduate and technical degree courses

– Since the devastating earthquake of April 25th, 2015, HCC has provided life-saving support to over 100 children survivors.  Currently, through our Earthquake Orphan Scholarship Programs, we are supporting 86 children in the Dhading district, 4 children in the Nuwakot/Rasuwa districts, 1 child in Dolokha, and 5 children in Sindhupalchowk (starting from this new school year in April/May 2017). These programs include educational scholarships and family support for those children who are able to stay with surviving parents and/or family members, as well as for boarding school and hostel fees for those children with no family or unsafe living situations.

– As of April 2017, HCC has connected 6 schools and a food kitchen in rural Dhading and Makwanpur districts with Internet connection and has launched a computer literacy training program for these teachers and administrators in order to bridge the enormous achievement gap for students at these rural, public schools.

– HCC is printing 10,000 copies of an educational comic book, which is being distributed to children and schools throughout the vulnerable central hills of Nepal, in order to raise awareness and help curb the alarming rate of child trafficking from the region.

– HCC youth-led initiatives are underway to build two libraries in the Gorkha and Sindhupalchowk districts, with nearly 2000 books collected already, and early childhood literacy programs under development.

– Khushi Ghar, HCC’s youth home in Kathmandu, is thriving as the stable and nurturing home base for HCC students, and functioning as a catalyst for the experience of family and home life, as well for learning of important life skills. At Khushi Ghar, the 50+ students in HCC’s Signature Program are busy with mentorship and leadership courses, participation in community service projects, exposure visits, extracurricular activities (including music lessons, sports, dance, and art), individual academic/career/emotional counseling, and family fun and celebration.

– HCC currently has four grants out for consideration and is looking forward to further broadening of our support base. These pending grants include two with UNESCO Florence, as well as nominations for consideration for the World Of Children Education Award, as well as with the OpenIDEO Peace and Prosperity Challenge. 

–HCC is continuing to explore partnerships and grow relationships with a number of organizations and groups, in order to collaborate in bringing more opportunities and resources to children in Nepal, including with: the US Embassy in Nepal, the Society of Nepalese in Hawaii, CauseVision, Nepal Children’s Organization (Nepal), Creating Possibilities (Nepal), the Foundation for Underprivileged Kids (Nepal), the Umbrella Foundation, the Maya Gold Foundation, iTrek Nepal, and the HCC International Youth Council.

Our programming and community building work here in Nepal is going well, and we are expanding our reach and support base across the US and around the world. This is an exciting time to be a member of the HCC family. We each play an important role in this family, and looking forward, we need each and every person reading this to bring what you can to the dinner table. Have time? Volunteer! Have money? Contribute! Have an audience? Share our stories! Now is the time to make a difference!!!

Together, let’s be the ones to teach children, in each and every corner of the world, that they matter and are deserving and capable of achieving their dreams. With your help, we can leave a legacy of empowered young people who are thriving, living a better life and giving back to their communities.  

Thank you again for helping to make the work of HCC possible, for sharing in our vision to end the global orphan crisis and for your continuing support in making the world a better place.

With Love and Gratitude from Nepal,

Susan and Bruce Keenan

Sadie Green

Hira and Dinesh Sapkota

Mun Maya Rawal

Khil Bahadur Thapa

Laxmi Karki

Rachel Cunningham

The post Biannual Update 2017 from HCC Team appeared first on HCC Nepal.

HCC’s Youth Ambassador Rehna Sheth traveled to Nepal for the first time this spring, documenting her experience in her journal entries below. 

My name is Rehna Sheth and I am 17 years old. I started working with Himalayan Children’s Charities when I was 14, which is when I first met Susan and Bruce Keenan while doing my 8th-grade IMPACT project on poverty in Nepal. Since then, I have done multiple projects on HCC and raised $5,000 dollars for this noble cause when I completed my Bharata Natyam Arangetram (the graduation of the art form of the Indian classical dance, Bharata Natyam) in 2016. I am the HCC Youth Ambassador and I started a youth group in Atlanta to connect kids in the United States to kids in Nepal at HCC. After spending years learning about all the wonderful things HCC does to help children, I wanted to finally meet the students and really get involved with the Charity.

Saturday, March 18th – When my mom and I arrived in Nepal on Saturday, March 18th, I was so excited to finally meet the kids at HCC. But I was also very nervous. What would it be like to finally meet these HCC Nepali students? Would they be friendly? Would we have things to talk about in common?  It was 3 in the afternoon, and as the car pulled up to Kushi Ghar I could feel my stomach turning in knots.  As I got out of the car and the gate to the house opened, I saw at least 20 students (all around my age) standing on the pavement to greet my mother and me. Sadie Didi, one of HCC’s Directors of Nepal Program Development, who I had met and worked with before, was the first to walk up and greet us as she joined her hands, smiling and said “Namaste”. We were then directed towards the two girls our family sponsors, Shristi and Saraswati, who gave us beautiful silk scarves as they welcomed us. After that was a jumble of hugs, laughter, awkward smiles, names of the students and more hugs.  With a rush of eagerness, we all walked inside the house and sat in the large, green living room where we engaged in different discussions. As I sat between Shristi and Saraswati, we began a conversation about school and activities we enjoyed. I was still so nervous, but everyone was so open-hearted and happy, it was hard not to laugh at my first attempt getting to know the whole HCC family.

Sunday, March 19th – We woke up early the next morning and all 12 of us (Bruce Uncle, Sadie Didi, Dinesh Uncle, Mun Maya, Khil, Giri Raj, Laxmi, Seeta, Josiah, Dinesh Uncle, my mom and myself) piled in the van on our way to the rural Dhading district. Giri Raj was the only student I had met on Skype before, so I was a little intimidated by the older students. But by the end of the day, I was laughing and joking with them as if I had known them for years.

The trip to the Dhading region was beyond anything I could have imagined. At first sight, I was amazed at how isolated these people in the villages and mountains were. Some of the most remote villages were four to five miles away from the only school in the area. The kids, who knew that their only good meal might be their lunch at school, walk one to two hours to get to school each day. Reliable transportation and access to good food at any time is something we, students in America, take for granted.

The most unforgettable and outstanding memory from this entire trip was our welcome experience when we arrived at the first school, Shree Bageswari Secondary School. As we walked up the mountain we saw 700 kids lined up the two sides of the windy road leading all the way up to the school. And as we walked nearer to them, and finally just before the procession started, we were each given beautiful and fragrant garlands of red Rhododendrons and white silk scarves. The children were clapping as we walked through what seemed like an endless path of overwhelming joy. These children were clapping for only one reason: pure gratitude for all that HCC does to help their school and keep them educated. That sense of appreciation was not only refreshing for me but a great reminder to be thankful for all that I have.

When we arrived at the next secondary school that afternoon, I got a chance to talk to an interview with the principal of the school. One of the questions we asked him was “Do you try to teach the children how to use technology?” His response pulled at our hearts as he explained how there are only a few working computers and almost 400 kids who need to learn how to use a computer, and to add to that, the Wi-Fi didn’t even work most of the time. The lack of funding also meant that the teachers at the school hadn’t been paid in three months and they were still missing teachers for many of the classes. This brought Khil and I the opportunity to teach a basic English lesson to a class of seventh graders and another class of fourth graders. Instructing these classes was a remarkable experience as I love teaching children and I loved the positive attitudes of the kids in each classroom.

Monday, March 20th – Monday, for me, brought a whole different perspective on the realities in Nepal. After a whole month of hearing about four young kids (Monica, Smriti, Anisha, and Manju) that HCC recently brought in from the Nuwakot district and put into school, I was so excited to meet these children. And I was definitely in for a treat. These four kids, who came from almost nothing, had the biggest smiles on their faces and the sweetest personalities. Their laughter made our hearts’ melt.

After visiting the kids, we got a chance to visit Manju’s family who had been living in the Internally Displaced Persons camp for two years now in nothing more than shacks made of tin roofs and tarp walls. What struck me the most was how humble and giving the families were. Even when they themselves did not have very much, they offered us tea and asked us to stay and talk to them for some time.

Tuesday, March 20th to Thursday, March 23rd – For the rest of the week I was able to stay at Kushi Ghar and really get to know a lot of the students there whom I can now call my good friends. As the HCC International Youth Ambassador for the Youth Council in Atlanta, this was an eye-opening trip for me as I now have a clearer understanding of how kids in the United States can help make a difference in Nepal. I believe the first and most important way to help Himalayan Children’s Charities benefit impoverish kids is to spread awareness for the disparities of underprivileged children in Nepal. But besides spreading awareness, I have a new set of ideas on how we can fundraise money, what kind of materials are needed and ways we can collect learning supplies to give to rural villages.  More so, this trip sparked numerous, fresh ideas that incorporate kids from both the U.S. and Nepal and I am really looking forward to putting some of these ideas into place. I can definitely say this was one of the most inspirational experiences of my life!

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