Barsha with the research team

HCC Student Barsha wrote this report about her experience working with a medical research team from the University of British Columbia. 

Last month I had my final exams for grade 12, and I did very well. After finishing the exams, I had an opportunity to go to Dang for two weeks, and I was very excited to go as it was my first time in this province.

I went to Dang along with eight researchers from the Nepal Sickle Cell Disease Project from the University of British Columbia (UBC). Sickle-cell is a genetic disease that is widespread among the Tharu people of Nepal in the Terai region. The disease is common in this community, and it is now threatening the existence of the Tharu people. The UBC team are the third group of researchers to come to Nepal to work with the Tharu people, and they focused on how to screen for the disease. Spandan, who had just finished her SEE (Secondary Education Examination) of grade 10, joined me on the trip to Dang. We first took a flight to Bhairawa, and then stopped for a visit to Lumbini. I have always wanted to see Lumbini, so I was very happy to go! We toured Lumbini for 3 hours and then we completed the journey and arrived in Dang in the evening.

Traveling to Dang

In Dang we first visited UNAKO, a house named for a little girl who died young from pneumonia. Afterward, we joined the UBC team and went to schools to help teach about sickle cell disease and how to manage it. I helped to translate between English and Nepali, but it was often very difficult because many of the students mainly spoke the Tharu language. The next day we went back to the schools to continue teaching about sickle cell.

The UCB sickle-cell team were very generous, kind and caring. I helped translate questionnaires given to the villagers that asked about the health problems in their community. We did two sickle-cell teaching sessions in a day for three days, and in these sessions, there were many people speaking Tharu. It was challenging to try to translate, but we managed to do it with the help of the CPN staff. We also spent time with a group of mothers to teach them about sickle-cell. It was very fun to teach them, and at the same time it was broadcast live on the radio, so we were also very nervous! We also performed a teaching drama to multiple groups to help improve their knowledge of sickle-cell. I was grateful for the hospitality we received from everyone in the village, we even had time for some fun, and danced in the song ‘Nira’. This was a very memorable trip and I was happy to go!

Teaching about sickle cell

Though I am a student focusing on management, I was very interested to learn about the health-related issues of the Tharu community. The health condition of many people was poor and the facilities were not good enough to treat their problems. It is very difficult for them to even get medicine for a headache, and for better treatment, they would have to travel a far distance. In the cases of emergency, the patient has a higher chance to die on the way to get help. This scenario touched my heart and made me realize that I should work even harder to achieve something great in life. It also made me very thankful for the opportunities that I am getting, and I would like to thank Deepa didi, Sarita didi and Shyam dai for taking care of us on the trip.

The post Barsha Travels to Dang with Sickle Cell Research Team appeared first on HCC Nepal.

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 Graduate and current HCC staff member Laxmi returned to her hometown to vote in the first local and municipal elections held in Nepal in 20 years. Laxmi wrote this reflection on her experience returning home to vote. 

The trip to Sindhupalchok, the place where I was born, and visiting my maternal uncle was fun. It was a new experience for me and being able to vote for the first time felt great. This local election was held for the first time in 20 years, and I was delighted to be able to choose the representatives from my village who I saw possessing the potential to develop my village. My maternal aunt was also one of the representatives in the Women’s Representatives from UML (Unified Marxist-Leninist) party, the Communist Party of Nepal. The election was held on 14th May 2017.

I had to walk an hour to reach the voting place. The line was manageable, and I was able to vote without waiting for a long time. I voted for the UML party as this is the party who has vowed to develop our village in the overall aspects necessary, and many of my family members were members of this party for a very long time. As there were many parties with lots of people voting, it has been difficult for the government to publish the voting results on time. Still, we have many of the wards’ voting results, and from my ward, all the panel of UML won. I am happy that my vote was worth it and the party who I voted for won.

The election went well, and I also had a reunion with my family after 3 years. I met my old grandmothers and spent time with them. The village doesn’t have good facilities like here in Kathmandu but they have a happy life there. The people are helpful and kind to the neighbors supporting each other. The air is much cleaner, and we get to eat organic food. This factor makes the village life happy.

We youth should have an interest in politics directly or indirectly. Even if we can’t be actively involved in it, we should utilize our voting rights. My 1st voting experience was good, and I am happy that I used my voting rights.

The post HCC Graduate Returns Home to Vote for the First Time appeared first on HCC Nepal.

For residents of Khushi Ghar, it was an excellent opportunity to witness the democratic process on their doorstep. “It was very fortunate for us to have an election booth near to our house,” said Hira of the local booth placed at the Dhumbarahi school. Peering through the school gates, HCC students observed of age members of their local community patiently standing in long lines to participate in their civic duty as a Nepali citizen. Many were voting for the first time in their lives while others were voting for the first time in 20 years. Not only were the elections an exciting and emotional experience, according to Hira, but it was also an excellent educational opportunity as well. “It was a really meaningful visit,” said Hira, “the process of the election is also mentioned in their curriculum [at school].”

Most HCC students who were of age were unable to vote as they were not eligible to vote in Kathmandu and would have had to return to their hometowns to vote, however Laxmi, an HCC graduate, did, in fact, return to her hometown in rural Nepal, in Sindhupalchok, to vote for the very first time in her life. With her maternal aunt running for a local seat, not only did Laxmi get to vote for the first time, but she had the privilege of supporting her politically active extended family in one of the poorest districts in Nepal. Growing up with HCC values, Laxmi understands the importance of civic engagement saying “we youth should have an interest in politics…even if we can’t [be actively involved] in it, we should utilize our voting rights.”

As a cornerstone of HCC’s educational philosophy, HCC students keep finding new ways to be actively involved in their communities by volunteering, through civic engagement and maintaining an active awareness of the needs of their communities.

The post Students Observe the First Elections Held in Nepal in 20 Years appeared first on HCC Nepal.

I am Pushpa Bam and I recently finished my SEE (Secondary Education Examination). For a break and as a graduation gift, three of us (Harsha, Bina and myself) were given a chance to go to Pokhara with visitors from the Maya Gold Foundation. We were about 12 people including eight people from the Maya Gold Foundation and four from HCC. We enjoyed it a lot.

On the first day, we reached Pokhara at 7 pm. We ate our dinner and went to sleep very soon because we were tired. On the second day, we ate our breakfast and went to Fewa Lake for boating. After that, we went trekking to Peace Pagoda. We went to the Tibetan refugee settlements and bought some souvenirs for myself and other students at Khushi Ghar. The Maya Gold Foundation gave me a small bag, necklace, and pendant, and I also gave some souvenirs to them. We also went to Davis Falls. We took some pictures and roamed around. Davis Falls was so good to look at; I enjoyed the wind and the flowing water. Then we went back to the hotel and ate our dinner. On the third day, we made a plan to travel by boat for an hour, eat lunch and visit the international museum but we were late so we did not go to the museum and instead, we went to Gumba in Hemja. In Hemja, some of us went shopping and also visited nearby Gumba. Later, we took an early dinner as we had to leave for Kathmandu early the next day. On the fourth day, we ate our breakfast at 7 am and left for Kathmandu. On the way, we stopped by the Begnas Lake for an hour, and it was a lovely lake. We reached Kathmandu at 7 pm.

I had an amazing time in Pokhara. It was a beautiful and clean city. And I got to know the Maya Gold Foundation more closely. All of you were good and caring people. Thank you for giving us this chance to visit Pokhara. I loved going out of Kathmandu valley for four days. It was a good break for me.

The post Student Update: Pushpa’s Pokhara Trip appeared first on HCC Nepal.

“Facebook was no more a social networking site for me. Instead, it was a habit. I was so much addicted to it that I would refresh my newsfeed every ten minutes no matter where I would be – in class, seminar, dining table or restroom. The Facebook mobile application had made this habit of mine a lot easier. Most of the time, it would be the same newsfeed but still, I would be scrolling down with an illusion to see something new. It wasted a lot of my time which I could have spent to do something creative.”

GiriRaj was awarded a cash prize from the Deerwalk Institute of Technology for his frank discussion of the sometimes negative role social media can play in the lives of college students. As the Co-Editor-in-Chief of DWIT News, GiriRaj’s editorials can be seen frequently in the online daily, addressing such topics as the overcrowded public transit in Kathmandu forcing students into the uncomfortable situation of using prohibitively expensive taxis, and the flagrant disregard of health laws in public spaces.

The post GiriRaj Wins Award for Article on Social Media Usage appeared first on HCC Nepal.