Click here if you are having trouble reading this newsletter.
January - April 2009
Please forward this newsletter to your friends
Knightsbridge tea towels delivered to Marybert Orphanage
Johnny Sparshatt, a volunteer from Mysmallhelp, UK went to the Marybert Orphanage to distribute around 24 Tea Towels which the students from Knightsbridge school had sent to their partner school in Nepal. The Marybert school children were very excited because the tea towels had drawings of themselves on them. The children really liked the tea towels. Some of them said that they were going to use them every day while others said that the tea towels were too nice to use and that they couldn't bring themselves to use them so they would just hang them up as decorations.

The children of Marybert school send a big thank you and warm regards to the students of Knightsbridge School and really appreciate everything they have done for them.

       
  Computer Project  
MSH is always looking to improve educational standards and has provided a computer and internet connection to enable the children to access the world outside Nepal and learn computer skills. A link with Knightsbridge School’s J3 class has been made to ensure that future correspondence between the schools can be maintained. A webcam and a microphone are also available for the two schools to communicate. MSH has also donated a scanner for the children to use. The children have learned how to use the mouse and have become more familiar with the computer..
The children gained experience speaking English by using Skype to speak with the children from UK. They have been entertained by movies, computer games and printing their materials like drawings and poems.

Mysmallhelp appointed one teacher for 3 months for this project, but after much enthusiasm from the students the teacher is happy to continue teaching for at least another 3 months
Sushmita and Sushma Sundas Story
  Sushmita and Sushma are sisters who live with their Mother in the remote mountainous region of Dhulikhel, Nepal. Navaraj Sundas their father, works as a tailor in Kathmandu to try to provide for his family. Rita, their Mother, works in the field and looks after the house and children. As the eldest, Navaraj carries the huge responsibility not only to provide for his wife and children but also his parents. Recently, realizing that he couldn't fulfill the responsibilities, his parents threw Navaraj and his family out of the house. They now stay in a rundown cow shed, made of mud, which has been converted into a small house.  

Even though various laws in Nepal have declared it illegal to mistreat a person based on their caste, discrimination is still practiced in many villages, making Sushmita and Sushma’s lower caste family "untouchable." The villagers of higher caste do not communicate or go near them due to a long history of communication with the villagers only of the same caste.

The Sundas family owns a small plot of land for agriculture, but the harvest is only enough for their family and there is never enough left over for sale. Recently the change in climate has resulted in poorer crops each year, which has been insufficient to feed the family. With hardly any income, Sushmita and Sushma face problems paying school fees. MSH has been donating NRs 2880 to Sushmita and Sushma per year since 2007. Despite this, the money is not enough to cover their school fees. Although the Sanjibani Boarding School director agreed to admit the girls charging only a ¼ of the regular cost, the school management vetoed this decision and the girls could not pay the required tuition. To make matters worse, the school changed the uniforms this year and the family was unable to afford to buy new ones. Sushmita and Sushma were forced to stop attending school and studied at home.

After receiving news of their situation, MSH members went to Dhulikhel to analyze the situation. After gaining understanding of the problem, they spoke with the principal, who was kind enough to deduct the school fees per year from NRs 8000 to NRs 6000 for each student; This year, MSH paid the school fees for both girls as well as the cost of their new school uniforms and books. Sushmita and Sushma were eager to return to school with the correct books and uniforms

  
     
Robin and Ritika

  Before Robin and Ritika were sponsored, their daily routine was sleeping, roaming around and playing in the busy streets near their home. Robin and Ritika were always getting into trouble and were mischievous. When Mysmallhelp members went to visit Robin and Ritika for the second time, Ritika's face was swollen and she had stitches from falling for a single story building. Just after few days from this incident, Ritika was hit by a motorbike and her hands were wounded.

Following their visit, MySmallHelp members became worried about their situation and their future.The new school session had already started, but MSH didn't want the children to waste a whole year without school. One of the members of MySmallHelp visited Nepal Yuvak Secondary School and asked the Principal to admit the children. The Principal agreed. Robin and Ritika were given a small test to understand which grade they should be in. Robin was admitted to Grade 1 and Ritika to Nursery.
 
Upcoming Events

  Blood Donation

Across Nepal, the need for blood, to treat injuries and disease is rapidly rising: gruesome traffic accidents, children with Thalasemia, mothers suffering from hemorrhaging after childbirth and patients suffering from a range of blood disorders.The lack of availability of blood severely affects the treatment of patients.

After seeing the lack of blood in Nepal, Mysmallhelp Nepal decided to organize a Blood Donation Camp in different colleges to fulfill the high demand of blood. Mysmallhelp Nepal will be organizing a blood donation camp on 20th August 2010 at Quest International College. Mysmallhelp Nepal has planned to organize the event in different colleges, the World Health Organization has identified young people as a target group to make significant contributions to the availability of blood in society. World Health Organization For the camp, local government will partly fund the event.

  Working alongside with Dristi Nepal
Dristi Nepal, founded in 2006, is a small Non-profit, Non-Governmental organization lead by female ex-drug users. The organization addresses issues relating to female drug use, drug induced HIV/AIDS and violence toward women.
A friend of MSH-Nepal is leading Dristi Nepal. After a few meetings between both organizations, MSH has started sponsoring the children affected by parental drug use. For more information log onto www.dristinepal.org
Godwari Village Park – National Botanical Garden

Members of MSH took 12 children from Marybert Orphanage on a picnic to the National Botanical Garden on the 11th of August, 2010. The children enjoyed playing Frisbee, card games, visiting the pond and splashing in the stream.
    Texas Visitors
Kiley and Sue from Austin, Texas visited MSH and Marybert school during August. They helped take the children to the Botanical Garden, volunteered at Marybert school and visited Sanjiwani English Secondary School, in Dhulikhel. They were eager to sponsor work books for Sushmita and Sushma Sundas.
New Project Pictures on MSH Facebook Group

For more information and queries please email us at: info@mysmallhelp.org
UK Registered Charity No 1123830
Nepal Registered Charity No 2656/381/562
If you wish to unsubscribe, please click here
Copyright © 2009 Mysmallhelp. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy