Nepal Sunrise's Current Projects In Nepal
Latest news about the Rotary Club Of Port Macquarie Sunrise's projects in Nepal
April 2019 - Sunrise Rotary Volunteers hold the third annual health camp in Kharikhola
Trish Affleck-Mooney, Kerrie Wood & David Malikoff travelled to Kharikhola in April 2019 to once again support the volunteer doctors from Dhulikhel Hospital, in the delivery of the third annual “Health Camp”.
- Local community personnel are now able to successfully operate and maintain the bio-gas generation plants
- Solar showers are operational for children and the community. Culturally the older people within the community do not identify a significant need. Young adults are replicating the idea of a hot shower into their own home situation (this was once only provided in lodges for trekkers).
- At least eight Green Houses were seen in the community, providing individual families with ongoing crops throughout the year.
- Kharikhola now has a resident Doctor, Nurse, Paramedic and Technician.
- Basins and taps have been constructed in two positions at the Mera school – near the toilet block and outside the kitchen area.
- The Kharikhola Corps – organised and facilitated the smooth running of the camp, supporting the community participation, registration desk, data collection and interpreting patient issues for doctors. Many of these young adults, who make up the Rotary Corp are past Mera School students, some of these past Rotary Sunrise scholarship students.
- The Kharikhola Corps – also organised the two community education days (information provided by the local medical team). Again, amazing organisation and hearty meals cooked for all community members who attended (all vegetables locally grown).
Mera School report –
- Information provided by the Headmaster of the local High School – “all children who come from Mera primary School and move into the larger primary/ high school facility, go into the higher grades, have a better attitude to learning and regularly achieve top marks”.
May 2018 - Sunrise Rotary Volunteers hold health camp and give training in sanitation and hygiene in Kharikhola
Five representatives of the Rotary Club of Port Macquarie Sunrise have returned from a volunteering trip to the community of Kharikhola, Nepal. The Club has sponsored projects in Kharkhola for almost 20 years, with the latest being this health camp in May 2018.
The health camp brought a large team of medical professionals from Kathmandu to the local clinic and saw almost 500 patients, many of whom cannot usually access treatment, receive consultations and treatment over three days.
Data was collected in relation to the health and knowledge of hygiene, of the children and their families of the Mera School. This will be correlated and provide information as to the positive health outcomes for the children at the school.
Two days were also spent at the Mera school providing education and reinforcing the message of the importance of Sanitation, health and hygiene - hand hygiene and showering. Approximately 80 people, consisting of the school children, parents and teachers attended these two days.
Blankets, clothing, soap, seeds for the greenhouse, pencils and notebooks were distributed to the local school community. Other Club projects in Kharikhola include provision of a greenhouse, biogas toilets, solar showers, and free school lunches at the Mera school.
Trish Affleck-Mooney, Alec and Irene Brown, Stephanie Baker and David Chinn travelled to the remote village in Nepal’s Everest region. The village is reached by a 12-hour jeep ride or flight to Lukla from the capital, Kathmandu, followed by two days’ trekking.
Team leader and Past President Trish Affleck-Mooney said “the Rotary Club of Port Macquarie Sunrise is delighted to have again supported the Kharikhola community with this important project. Our team was proud to have seen first-hand the huge difference our Club is making to this grateful community.”
November 2017 - Bio-gas Digester, solar showers installation and medical health camps
A Rotary Foundation Global Grant – totalling $US73,000 has greatly enhanced the ongoing health, hygiene & sanitation project in Kharikhola Village. The Bio-gas digester was installed at the school in December 2016, along with new toilets and solar hot water showers, with another community installation in the village centre.
Part of the Global Grant expenditure is to also provide a series of health camps at the school. Initially this will determine a baseline measure of the children’s health and secondly to treat general health concerns of the community.
The first Health Camp was carried out in April 2017 with 452 people of the village attending. Further health camps will be undertaken in 2018, 2019 &B 2020.
The final health camp results will determine, hopefully confirm, the overall success of projects undertaken in Kharikhola, for both the children and the community as a whole. An ongoing component of all health camps will be ongoing health & hygiene education for all stakeholders.
With support from an NGO in Denmark – Haatmahaat (meaning ‘Hand in Hand’), Rotarian doctors from the Rotary Club of Patan South and doctors and dentists from Dhulikhel Hospital this first health camp was a great success. It is exciting to see the Rotary motto “service above self” come alive.
December 2015 - Our team of Rotary Volunteers visit Kharikhola, Nepal
In December 2015 our team of four volunteers (Doctor – Dr David Malikoff, Nurse – Mrs Trish Affleck-Mooney, Teacher – Ms Kerrie Wood & Social Worker – Miss Katie Griffin), returned from Kharikhola Village in Nepal.
This visit to Kharikhola had four main areas of focus – Education, Health, Hygiene and Sanitation and seven outcomes to be achieved.
Education, Well being and Resilience & Health and Hygiene
Small balls & Frisbees were introduced to improve the children’s skill in focussed and purposeful throwing and catching. This improves eye hand co-ordination, which enhances written work.
Exercise and movement is known to improve concentration and learning. This was highly successful with all students and teachers actively joined in the games.
Their enjoyment and sense of fun had a flow on effect of encouraging maximum participation. Additonal educational resources were delivered to the school and ways to use the new resources demonstrated by the Rotary Team.
Teaching sessions were given to the children each day prior to lunch, to reinforce the importance of hand washing. Resources were provided to the school and hands were washed each day before receiving lunch. The children and teachers were taught a very simple, repetitive song to reinforce hand washing – both teachers and children appeared to enjoy this activity and could be heard singing it spontaneously around the school.
The need for handwashing was reinforced with the laminated A3 size posters discussed and displayed in each classroom and around the school (bathroom area). A4 laminated poster were sent home with each child from the school.
The importance of constant hand washing was reinforced with the families at the community meeting. The Headmaster, teachers and School Board were provided with an resource developed by the Australian-Nepal Mental Health Network (RAWCS project 84-2013-14) Helping Each Other,
General Psychosocial Support & Psychological First Aid, Nepal Earthquakes 2015
This 26 page booklet was provided in both English and Nepali and was very well received.
Sanitation
The Rotary volunteer team met with a representative from BSPNepal at the school to conduct a feasibility study for consructon of the biogas digestor, three toilets & three solar showers.
A plan was developed to install a 6 cubic metre biodigester under the front, righthand corner of the greenhouse. A channel from the digester will syphon the slurry to a composting area (below the greenhouse), to be used as fertiliser for the Greenhouse (increasing and improving food production).
Pipes will capture and feed methane back to the kitchen, to privide a healthier cooking method. A new, cleaner toilet block will be built above the digester and the present toilet block converted to a solar wash/shower area for children.
Work will be carried out in April 2017 during spring and before the monsoonal wet season. In partnership with workers from Kharikhola, BSPNepal will assist complete the construction, as well as provide ongoing training for management & maintenance of the digestor.
Medical suppies for the Health Post and School were provided.
The teachers and Headmaster were given basic supplies (antiseptic, Band-Aid’s, bandages etc) & information in relation to simple medical interventions i.e. cleaning and covering basic wounds; washing hands; covering mouth or turning away from others when coughing was provided.
Warm clothing In the lead up to winter, to deliver warm clothing for very young children. Many families came to the community meeting and clothing was distributed – this is always an ongoing area of need & more is always required.
A well attended community meeting was held on the last day with an array of topics discussed.
The people of Kharikhola are working together with many buildings being successful completed. Having said this, there continues to be a large number of homes which require repair or rebiulding.
A small makeshift/tented community has been established and is supported by the VDC (Village Development Committee) to provide homes in the interim.
AUGUST 2015 - NEPAL EARTHQUAKE APPEAL UPDATE
We have raised just over $22,000.00 towards rebuilding basic infrastructure in Kharikhola – particularly sections of the school, kitchen and community centre which were significantly damaged. $18,000.00 has already been sent and the rest will be sent within the next few weeks. Thank you all for your very generous donations.
Nepal Sunrise we are sending a Vocational Training team comprised of a doctor, nurse, teacher and social worker to Kathmandu in November – leaving Sydney on November 14th. Patan Sth Rotary Club (Kathmandu) are holding a Board meeting at the school (on November 23rd), which our team will participate in and they are then facilitating a medical/dental camp the following day. Most of these members have never been out of Kathmandu, so it will be a challenge for many of them.
JULY 2015 - A HUGE THANK YOU TO MACNAUGHT
Nepal Sunrise and the people of Kharikhola would like to thank Mcnaught Pty Ltd for their very generous donation towards our bio organic toilet project at the Mera School.
Mcnaught Pty Ltd is 100% Australian-owned company based in Turrella, Sydney, which designs and manufactures a wide range of high quality equipment for the lubrication and fluid transfer industries. These products are sold into the agricultural, industrial, automotive, mining, aviation and marine industries around the world.
January 2015 - health & hygiene project for the mera school and local community
Our next project for the Mera School and the Kharikhola area is to increase the living standard of the community, particularly in the areas of health, hygiene & education, through the implementation of an environmental conservation and sustainable development programme.
To achieve this we intend to introduce a system of bio-organic toilets at the school - this will provide a cleaner and more hygienic toileting program for both the children and staff at the Mera School. If implemented and maintained correctly, the process will provide the self-sustaining cycle we have been working towards. The waste product is processed and the slurry used as fertilizer in the recently constructed Greenhouse. The methane byproduct can be harnessed as energy for cooking.
Benefits to the community –
• Local people used in the construction, builds skill within the community
• Local maintenance – providing work opportunity
• Cleaner and more hygienic methods of disposal of human waste
• Increased education relating to health & hygiene leading to reduction in illness i.e. gut infection & diarrhoea
• Reductions in deforestation
• Biogas production for cooking - reduction in respiratory and eye infections as families are cooking in cleaner environment
• Bio-slurry is produced and used as fertiliser for greenhouse crops – results in other areas has seen a 3 fold increase in food production due to the ‘super’ fertiliser being produced.
• Increased food production provides greater opportunity for small business to develop
The Rotary Club of Port Macquarie Sunrise will seek partnership with a Nepalese organisation – Biogas Nepal. www.bspnepal.org.np
The installation of both Septic and biogas systems in Nepal, have been in place for a number of years , usually in the low lying Terai areas not affected by increased altitude. Kharikhola sits at approximately 2,300mtrs above sea level and as such requires additional infrastructure to achieve success. Biogas Nepal has successfully installed Bio-organic toilet systems in the Khumbu Region at altitudes above 3,000mtres and has given informal, verbal feedback to indicate we will be able to achieve a successful outcome for the Kharikhola community.
Thank you to the Rotary Club of Burntisland & Kinghorne
The Rotary Club of Port Macquarie Sunrise (Australia) would like to acknowledge the very kind donation of £1,000- pounds provided by the Rotary Club of Burntisland & Kinghorne (Scotland).
The funds so generously given are being used to support the management of the Greenhouse for the next twelve months. For the first time, the children of the Mera School will have access to fresh, fruit and vegetables this coming winter. The members of this club are assisting to actively making a difference to the people of Kharikhola Village – Nepal.
Market Garden for Kharikhola
In partnership with The Rotary Club of Patan South and the Mera School Board, we have achieved a small school garden, which provides produce to assist feed the children a hot daily meal. Presently The Rotary Club of Port Macquarie Sunrise subsidises this lunchtime program.
A condition of receiving funds for the lunchtime feeding program was for the school to establish a market garden. This encourages the children to actively participate in the provision of fruit and vegetables, as well as providing food for the daily lunch.
Families are more likely to send their children to school, if they know a healthy meal is being provided. With better nutrition, the child’s energy level and concentration increases, resulting in better learning outcomes. Attendance at school provides a child with the opportunity to understand the value of education and may motivate that child to study further and make positive change to their future.
The diet of the local people is predominately maize, potato, wheat, with very little protein. Robin Drake of Inglewood, trustee for The Band Aid Box (New Zealand), made this comment in 2008 on her return from the charitable organisations fourth medical clinic in Khari Khola. Nepal.
"Of the children who come for general check-ups, 50 percent of them are malnourished, and 15 percent of those are severe cases. The problems the team saw were the result of the harsh climate, and malnutrition. The children are suffering from protein and total calorie intake deficiencies," she said.”
All families are small subsistence farmers, utilising simple, traditional farming methods. There is little variety to the diet, with summer crops dried and stored to carry through the winter months.
During the autumn and winter months, there is a need for men of the area to work away from their families as porters, guides and labourers to support their families and purchase winter food.
The aim is for the market garden to extend past the school into the community. By educating and improving farming techniques, we hope to turn Kharikhola into a source of fruit and vegetables for both the local community and tourist operators in the Khumbu Everest region.
The Benefits of the market Garden
• Families will be encouraged to send their children to school.
• All Mera School students will have access to fresh fruit and vegetables.
• The childrens general health will be improved.
• The general community will also have access to a greater range of fresh vegetables.
• Local farming knowledge will be improved.
A greenhouse for the market garden
The Rotary Club Of Port Macquarie Sunrise has recently purchased a $4000- passive solar greenhouse for the Market Garden, thanks to a matching grant from Rotary International. This has now been freighted to Nepal and constructed by a team of self-funded volunteers from Australia in March 2014.
The provision of a greenhouse will prolong the growing season and provide opportunity for a greater variety of fruit and vegetables – enhancing overall health of the children and assisting in the implementation of new and improved farming techniques. The initial expense was for the purchase, freight and construction of the greenhouse in this remote village of the Himalaya but a this project is still in its infancy, funds are required for infrastructure and continued education for it to be on-going and sustainable.
Updated March 2014 - The Greenhouse is in Nepal
Rotary clubs worldwide are acknowledged for the range of challenging projects undertaken to assist people in developing countries. However there would be very few projects which have provided a greater challenge than that recently undertaken by the Rotary Club of Port Macquarie Sunrise in Nepal.
The project ultimately involved seven Club members and five partners and friends visiting Nepal (at their own expense) to erect a large greenhouse at the Mera School in the isolated village of Kharikhola in the Everest region.
Sunrise Rotary has been assisting the Mera School in various ways since 2001 – refer “feature projects” section of this website – and the greenhouse was requested by the school to assist with the production of vegetables for the very successful lunchtime feeding program for the students.
Under the leadership of Sunrise Rotary member Kerrie Wood, who has been the driver of the support projects for the Mera School, the Club was successful in obtaining a Rotary (RAWCS) grant to assist with the purchase of the greenhouse and to pay for its transport from Port Macquarie to Kathmandu.
Club members packaged the greenhouse along with the necessary ladders and tools into 37 packages of approximately 30kg each. The final transportation step involved 37 Sherpas carrying the packages over four days to Kharikhola village.
In mid March 2014, the 12 members of the Sunrise Rotary team flew initially to Kathmandu and were delighted to be hosted at a meeting of the South Patan Rotary Club, Sunrise Rotary’s partner Club in Nepal. The next part of the journey involved a spectacular flight to Lukla and then a challenging two day trek to reach the Mera School in Kharikhola village.
For the following six days the team, with assistance from several village people, erected the greenhouse on a site which had been previously levelled by the local people. The Mera School is located in the higher part of the village and each day involved a one hour trek each way for the Sunrise team. However, as some of the students trek up to two hours to get to school each day, there were no complaints!
Following completion of the erection of the greenhouse, the Sunrise Rotary team were privileged to participate in a traditional Nepalese celebration ceremony performed by Buddhist monks and the local people. This provided a fitting conclusion to what is an outstanding achievement which is expected to provide assistance to the Mera School and the people of Kharikhola village for years to come.
We would like to acknowledge the help and support of the following people and companies :-
Lance Thompson - Thompson Brushes (Work on the Green house)
www.thompsonbrushes.com.au
Sean Hunter - International Cargo Solutions (ICS) Airfreight to Nepal)
www.icsaus.com
Nick Proud - MD Proudtrans Regional Freight (Freight to Port Botany)
www.proudtrans.com.au
Rijk Zwaan Australia Pty Ltd (For advice and donation of seeds)
www.rijkzwaan.com.au
Peter Wall - Timber Corner, Beechwood Rd, Wauchope (Green house supplier)
Susan O’Neill and Graham Taylor – The Pink Umbrella Foundation (Financial support)
www.pinkumbrellafoundation.com
So how can you help us?
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