These last few months have been such an important and challenging time for us here at Women’s Foundation Nepal. They have been filled with hardship and sorrow – some of us have lost loved ones and many have had their homes damaged or destroyed – but throughout all this struggle, throughout the panic of earthquakes and aftershocks, we have taken courage in our work and the knowledge that our efforts are helping many people and bringing hope to those who have suffered.

However, there is still much to do and WFN itself is still recuperating from damages to our buildings and our production centers. Our organic farm was severely damaged, our livestock lost, and buildings in the cloth production center were damaged. Because of this, we have taken a huge loss in our regular income. This hampers our ability to maintain our regular projects, shelter homes and district offices.

As well as working to restore and continue our regular projects, shelters, production centers, school and childcare centers, WFN has sunk as much of its resources as possible into providing emergency aid and relief to people throughout the earthquake devastated areas. In particular, WFN has provided assistance tailored to the particular plight of women in this emergency. Our program to assist pregnant women and mothers of newborns displaced by the earthquake has sheltered 50 women, newborns and siblings so far. We are also prioritizing school children, helping them with school uniforms, shoes, supplies and building roofing, so that children can get back to a more regular life. Even if their families are still in temporary shelters, these young ones will not lose any more time from their studies and can keep working to fulfill their dreams.

BUT we still have many, many people waiting for our help. We have more than 100 applications from desperate people waiting for us to come to their village and help. WFN wants to reach these villages, but monsoon rains, flash floods, and mudslides are hampering our ability to bring materials to them.

Sometimes, the people manage to come to us to take materials for their villages. WFN recently provided bundles of metal roofing and uniforms for 200 children in Dolakha District, Lapilang V.D.C. Two staff members from WFN went along with that team to bring the relief materials to this hard hit area.

Your donations and support are still needed and so appreciated! There is much still to do to help people through the next few months of monsoon and to start the rebuilding effort. Thank you for any support you are able to send to help in our continuing work.

A few days ago, the WFN Team set out to Ramechhap District with trucks of emergency aid. This time we returned to help the children of Lower Secondary School located in the rural area east of Kathmandu. Now that monsoon season has begun the roads are very hard to traverse due to damage from aftershocks, mud, and falling landslides. Many times, the WFN team thought it would not be able to get through, but we kept struggling on. With the support of villagers, we were able to dig a way through for our truck and emergency supplies. Though it was hard, challenging, and sometimes frightening, in our thoughts were those children who were waiting for our arrival and their future. The children had almost lost all hope that they would be able to go back to school because their area had been so hard hit by the earthquake. Their school had completely collapsed and all of their uniforms and books were lost. The people of this area are still living in temporary shelters, having lost most of their possessions, and are unable to provide new school materials for their children.

WFN provided school uniforms, notebooks and sandals to 200 students. We provided metal roofing and tenting material to make a temporary school and class rooms until the village is able to rebuild in the fall. The metal roofing will be able to be reused in the new school building.

When we distributed our emergency aid materials, the WFN team felt so much satisfaction. We felt the gladness and cheer in these children’s hearts. Their smiling faces and their shouts of joy “We are going to school again!” gave us such a heart touching moment. We felt so happy that we are giving happiness and providing hope and light for them. These children are the future nation builders of Nepal. These children are like clay and we are the potters. We can give any type of shape to this clay when it is wet, so the responsibility for their future is up to us. Our support – yours and WFN’s – to the people in this time makes such an enormous difference.
Together we can add hope and share scenes of comfort.

The WFN team went to Nuwakot Patichor V.D.C for the second time with relief materials for people in villages that had been hardest hit in this district. People in the village we arrived at had only received 2 kg of rice and tents from the government. At the request of the villagers, our team came back with a larger supply of rice that would see their families through a long period of the monsoon season, and get them through this time when people are unable to rebuild. Our team distributed relief materials to 136 displaced families. We distributed lungis (wrap around cloth for women) and sack of rice weighing 30 kg to each of the families.

All the villagers were so pleased to see us. They shared their suffering and their hardships during these difficult days. They told us how they still worry about the possibility of further earthquakes and landslides.

At the end of distribution, a woman came saying her name was not written on our list and she was from the nearby village. WFN had already distributed all of our relief aid and we could not provide her a sack of rice. When the villagers saw this, they were saddened by her situation and they immediately opened their own sacks and each gave her a share of rice to make up enough for her family. We were so pleased seeing their positive attitude, their kindness and generosity, and their willingness to help one another.

Thank you so much for your donations! Your contribution will definitely help to make changes among the many, many people who have lost so much. Together we can give hope back to the people who continue to suffer from loss of homes, land, and livelihood, and share scenes of comfort.

At WFN we feel relief that we are surrounded by caring and helpful people like you, who have come forward to help us, unconditionally. We can’t express how important this support has been and how much we appreciate your thoughts and concern during this hard time.

The WFN Team has set out to Dhading for the second time with trucks of emergency aid. This time we returned to help the children of Shree Thani Chandi Primary School located in the rural area of Dhading District. The children had almost lost all hope that they would be able to go back to school because their area had been so hard hit by the earthquake, schools had completely collapsed and all of their uniforms and books were buried in their own collapsed homes. The children are now living in temporary shelters with their families and have very little of anything.

On our first emergency relief visit to Dhading, we noticed a boy searching through the debris for his books and school materials and that touched our hearts so deeply that we came up with this project; to provide metal roofing to the school to construct a temporary building, uniforms for the students and notebooks. We brought with us school uniforms, shoes and slippers for 150 children. We also provided chairs and tables to the school.

In the Dhading area, the situation is worsening day by day. Due to monsoon rains, there is a high risk of landslides and many of the children have to walk long distances over hillside trails to reach to the school. They are still frightened by the aftershocks and are in need of counselling and support. Because of their vulnerable living situations, there is also risk of communicable disease. While we were at the school, we spent time sharing with the students and teachers information related to sanitation and cleanliness.

After we distributed all the supplies, the children near us took a long breath and with a smile on each face said “We are going to school again!” This made us feel so in high spirits. We know that the work and support we are giving to the people makes a big difference. These children only want to be able to go to school and restart their lives as it was before. Here, in a flow of joy and words, is what one little girl shared with us:
“After the big earthquake, all our school was damaged, our library, chairs, blackboards were no more. Many of my friends lost their lives. Luckily, my family is safe but our house also collapsed. We faced lots of trouble during this time. We stayed outside in an open field with empty stomachs. Then, you people (WFN) came to see us with relief materials that made us feel that we have someone taking care of us in this hard time. We got the tent, warm blankets and 1 sack of rice weighing 30 kg, which was a lot for us. This time you are here again to see us with materials for the school and uniforms and notebooks for us. This is really lots for us. Our schools are rebuilding and we are going to school with a proper uniform and stationery materials. We would like to thank you from the core of our heart. Thank you so much for being family and supporting us in this hard time. We will remember this always and do our best with our studies and be a responsible citizen in future.” –O.T.

Thank you so much all for your helping hearts.
Together we can add hope and share scenes of comfort.

All the students (i.e. 34) who attempted School Leaving Certificates from Bipul School have successfully completed their School Leaver Certificates in the Higher First division, Six of whom received distinctions. This is fantastic news as in Nepal it is essential for students to pass this level of education if they want to progress with their studies. The fact that the children have done so well will allow them to continue with their education and give them the best foundation for their future careers.

We believe that this shows the benefits of non-violent educational principles as 100% of our students have passed a very hard set of exams. The examination board of the Government of Nepal reported that only 47.43% of students passed their SLC showing how impressive our results are. By learning in a non-violent happy environment, our children enjoy learning and therefore work hard and achieve success.

Ten children from the WFN shelter have successfully completed their School Leaving Certificates and we are so proud of them! Out of 10 children, 2 of them passed their exam with the Distinction and 8 of them had a First Division. Many of the children have been with us since they were very young and came from tragic backgrounds. The fact they have progressed through school and done so well shows that the WFN can help change the lives of children.

WFN would like to thank all the kind and generous people who sponsor our children and their success shows that your contribution really does make a difference to the future of the children.

If you would be interested in sponsoring a child please click on the link to see the children that require sponsorship. Sponsorship of school fees is only $25 and you will receive regular updates about our child. http://www.womenepal.org/get-involved/sponsor-a-child-at-the-shelter-home/

The suffering of Nepal continues as the country, still reeling from the destruction of the 7.9 and 7.4 earthquakes of April and May, enters Monsoon season. At least 55 people have been confirmed dead following a massive earthslide in Taplejung. Scores of others are reported missing and the death toll is expected to continue to rise when local communities in 5 other districts are able to establish contact. Huge landslides of rock and mud have swept through Liway, Thokling, Thinglabu and Lingket VDCs triggered by the heavy rainfall of the monsoon season. Some wards in the districts of Khalung and Khokling have also reported landslides.

In Taplejung, about 500 KM east of Kathmandu, people were buried as they slept. Rescuers scrambled through mud and debris looking for survivors, but many are still missing. While a handful of severely injured have been successfully evacuated to hospital, helicopters – the only means of reaching many people – sometimes arrive at a locale only to turn around again and leave since there is no stable ground on which to land. Even footpaths and trails to communities in the landslide areas have been swept away.

Continuing bad weather and fears of more landslides from the unstable grounds of the earthquake areas, are hampering rescue efforts. In many areas, including Tamor, Walakhola, and Doban, people threatened by even more mud and rockslides have been told to move to safer ground. The question is how? How will they get to anywhere safer? Where will they go? Where will they shelter? Who will help them?

Monsoon season lasts in Nepal from mid June until the end of August. Conditions for the people of Taplejung and other hilly areas will continue to deteriorate. People who have worked so hard over the past weeks to patch together a bit of shelter from the destruction of the earthquakes have now seen what little they had built swept away once again in these terrible slides.

Please continue to send your love and support for relief efforts. Now more than ever, that support is needed and will continue to be needed throughout the next three months of the monsoon season.

At Women’s Foundation Nepal, we have always tried to be sensitive to the particular needs and suffering that women and girls face in the ongoing disruption after the earthquakes. When we learned that pregnant women were without proper food and water, and that women were giving birth and nursing their newborn in flimsy, temporary shelters without clothes, bedding or support, this inspired us to set up the Program for Pregnant Women and New Mothers that we now run in Kathmandu.

But, while we continue to work in the most affected areas to provide earthquake relief, we often see pregnant women and new mothers with their infants, so we also provide special services for them out in the field. Today we learned about a group of pregnant women in Manmaiju. These women are really struggling. Conditions following the earthquakes have made life very difficult for them and their families.

There are 48 pregnant women and a newly born baby in Manmaiju. We distributed 1 sack of rice weighing 30kg to each of their families and clothes for them. We provided a mosquito net and towel for each family and consulted with them about the importance of cleanliness. Relief aid had come to the place before, but it is finished till date. They got 30Kg which will feed a big family for some time.
Women’s Foundation Nepal sends a Huge and Heartfelt Thank You!! to all our supporters and friends. Your open handed help has been so important to WFN’s capacity to respond quickly during the Nepal Earthquake calamity! There are still thousands of Nepali people affected by this disaster who continue to need our help.

On behalf of the Women’s Foundation and our broader Nepali community, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your ongoing support at this difficult time.

WFN families have the special celebration,Name giving day for our new born family. As our country is multi ethnic and religious country. So we have our own way to celebrate for the new born baby according to the concern caste. There are 9 new kids. So today in the morning we have a big pooja, Child naming ceremony at the shelter home (worship) for these rituals. Priest gave the new name to the baby. so the child have her\his own identity in this world.

All the women look so happy their charming and smiley face was glowing and glowing with their new baby in their laps. In a words they said” we don’t have the words to express, we have never thought that in this hard time also they supports us and gave this opportunity with the rituals. We have almost forget about this because it was impossible for us . But WFN made this possible and we are so much thankful for our new Family (wfn)”

This time a team from Child Haven International also joined with WFN to bring emergency supplies and medical help for struggling villages. We left the office at 9:00am with trucks of emergency supplies and a medical team for the Nuwakot District ,Okharpauwa VDC ward no 5. In this village 100%of the buildings have collapsed. All the people in this area are of discriminated caste, Dalit, and very poor and needy people. The villages of these hilly areas that have suffered so badly from the earthquakes are now at very great risk from rock slides as aftershocks continue every day.

We responded to all the many difficulties in the village and distributed aid to 213 displaced families, which included a 25 kg sack of rice for each family, clothes for children and cloths that women could wrap themselves in, lungis. We also brought first aid medicines and were able to dress the simpler wounds of the people. Each time we come to a community now, we teach them about the importance of cleanliness, common diseases and sanitation. We also distributed sanitary items(toothbrush, soap, paste, dressing materials etc). Illness is still a great problem for the people, living crowded together in temporary shelters and exposed to all elements. Taking into consideration drinkable water will soon become a major problem, we also gave the village a water filter, which was installed in their school.

The people also suffer from ongoing, relentless stress. Living in such precarious conditions, sharing tents with many families, worried about food and sickness, and with no end in sight, this is so very disheartening. Constant aftershocks bring with them continuing fears of landslides. But even in the midst of such difficulty, the people are a source of inspiration to us. They are resilient, they want to overcome these hardships and they have an amazing spirit of working together, helping each other as they can.

The people of village welcomed both of our teams with tears in their eyes. They take so much comfort and support from knowing that we came to help and that people around the world want to help them. They are doing their best to survive this terrible situation. Now is the time for all of us to UNITE together and reach out with love and support.

There are still many more villages like Okharpauwa, and many more months of struggle ahead before people can start to rebuild their lives.

Please spread the word. Re-post and ask your friends to “like” our Facebook updates. Lets gather as many people as we can to reach out and help.

Wonderful news! WFN’s school in Kathmandu has reopened and classes are running smoothly. We have set up the school with temporary tents to keep students safe from any danger posed by aftershocks. Parents trust that our school will keep their children safe, so they are sending the students back to class.

We begin each day with counseling for all the students. The children are given opportunity to feel safe about talking about fears and trauma caused by the earthquakes and the continuing aftershocks. The children still have many fears because Nepal continues to experience shocks of up to 4.8 magnitude. Teachers and staff are doing their very best to build an environment of openness and safety so that students can start to concentrate on their studies again.

WFN is committed to this process of making the school more comfortable and open for the students and their parents because every child’s second home is their school. They spent more than 50% of their time at school. This is a special trust and responsibility WFN believes we have to build a better future for children.