Our history of helping the people of Nepal
A history of the Rotary Club Of Port Macquarie Sunrise project's in Nepal
2001 - 2003 Woman's Literacy Program
This project was undertaken in partnership with the Rotary Club of Burntisland And Kinghorn, Edinburgh Scotland. The Rotary Club of Dumauli in Nepal was also a partner in the project and support was provided by Neil Adamson, Coordinator of the Literacy and Numeracy Task Force for Rotary International.
The project involved the teaching of literacy to women in the isolated Damauli area of Nepal. Teaching was undertaken by Nepalese teachers who had been taught the Concentrated Language Encounter (CLE) methodology.
This methodology involves among other things the use of experiential learning where the teaching and the words taught relate to everyday activities. Classes of 15 to 20 women were taught in school classrooms and each program lasted about 5 months.
The program was very successful with a significant number of women benefitting greatly through both enhanced literacy skills and self esteem. This has enabled the women to assist their children as well as providing a basis for them to create their own cottage industry to sell wares to tourists.
To quote the Women’s Literacy Coordinator in Damauli – "The outcomes of the Rotary Funded Literacy Project have been very positive and there has been a marked difference in the lives of the people. About 18 women have established their own small businesses, most of them opening small stalls making bags and woollen clothing. Some have been successful in making cookies and selling them to schoolchildren. As well, they now have the literacy skills to write to their husbands who may be working abroad."
2001 - Ongoing - Teacher and Teaching Support at Mera Primary School, Kharikhola
This project involves two main components. The first contribution by The Rotary Club of Port Macquarie Sunrise being the provision of financial support to pay the wages of two teachers at the Mera Primary School for a period of two years–in 2001/2002 and 2002/2003. This was undertaken with the assistance of the South Patan Rotary Club in Kathmandu.
During this period school supplies were also sent to the children of the Mera School on 2 seperate occasions.
To obtain Nepalese Government funding, people in remote areas of Nepal must prove the need for a school by first self funding the school and paying the teachers’ wages for a period of 5 consecutive years.
The contribution by The Rotary Club of Port Macquarie Sunrise to pay the wages for two teachers for two years, supported by management and monitoring assistance of the Rotary Club of Patan South, enabled the remote village of Kharikhola in the Solukhumba (Everest) region of Nepal to meet the criteria necessary to obtain Government funding for the Mera Primary School on an ongoing basis.
This recognition also means the curriculum being provided is acknowledged as formal education and provides the opportunity for students to progress to the next educational level at High School.
2002 - 2007 Providing reading glasses to Nepal
This project involved the collection of used reading glasses and having them transported to Nepal. Initially the Rotary Club of Damauli received and distributed the glasses but from 2005 the glasses were sent to South Patan Rotary Club for distribution.
Members provided or collected the used glasses and the Club organised for their transport to Nepal. The Rotary Club of Port Macquarie Sunrise also met the cost of the import duty. The provision of vision to people who had been unable to see clearly, has been greatly appreciated and has led to life changing experiences for many Nepalese people.
2004 - Ongoing - Scholarship Program Mera School
The desire by The Rotary Club of Port Macquarie Sunrise members to further support the people in Nepal led to the suggestion of a scholarship program for students attending the Mera Primary School. After receiving a very positive response from both the School and the Rotary Club of Patan South, a proposal was put to the Sunrise Board and endorsed in December 2004. Based on advice from the Rotary Club of Patan South, particularly from Rotarian Shiva B. Predhan, it was decided that the scholarship would provide funds to educate a female student from a very disadvantaged family enabling her to attend secondary school for a period of 5 years. You can read about one of our scholarship recipients Dhafuti and her story here >>>
The Rotary Club of Port Macquarie Sunrise provide a total of US$1,500 per student to enable an allocation of $300 per year over the 5 years. The money is provided in advance to the Rotary Club of Patan South which then allocates the US$300 for each student each year. The first allocation was made in April 2006. Further scholarships have been awarded each year since 2006. The program has recently been updated to also provide a scholarship to male students under certain circumstances.
Reports are received on each student’s progress and most students have continued their studies and successfully passed each year. The Rotary Club of Port Macquarie Sunrise's key contact in Nepal, Rotarian Kami Sherpa, who is an elder of the village of Kharikhola where the Mera School is located, oversees the scholarship program. Kami reports that it is having a very positive impact on the individual students and their families by providing educational opportunities that would not have been possible without the scholarships.
In the longer term it is expected that the program will also have a major positive impact on the whole village because many of the female scholarship recipients will remain in the village after they complete their secondary education or find outside employment which enables them to return money to the village. Initially this was a five year project but in 2011 The Rotary Club of Port Macquarie Sunrise voted to continue the project for a further 5 years.
2007 - 2008 Ongoing Lunchtime Feeding Program
After a visit to the school in April 2007 and realising that many children were attending school with little or no food a private donation was given to begin a lunchtime feeding program. This was repeated the following year.
The intention was that this would be a nutritionally balanced hot meal and would eventually become self-sustaining. The private donation of $1,700 was sent via The Rotary Club of Port Macquarie Sunrise.
2008 - Uniforms and School Resources
It was evident that additional school resources were required and in 2008, the Rotary Club of Port Macquarie Sunrise was awarded a District Simplified Grant which was then matched by the members of The Rotary Club of Port Macquarie Sunrise. This provided a new uniform for each child as well as books, pencils and teacher resources.
“I bought suitable fabric for the Mera School student’s uniforms in Kathmandu and took them by air via Lukla. I took village tailor to Mera School for the students to take all their measurement and prepare the uniform. This is much better than ready made in Kathmandu because it is not as expensive and will be suitable fit for the students. All students’ family and school board members are very happy and joyful. This project has become very popular in Kharikhola, Solukhumbu.” Email received from Kami Sherpa.
2009 - ongoing - Kitchen for Mera School
In response to the long term needs of the children of Kharakhola, The Rotary Club of Port Macquarie Sunrise International Committee made a decision to provide a program which would ensure there is ongoing food for the children – i.e. a feeding program at the Mera School that is self-sustaining. For this to happen, the school required a kitchen. In 2009 The Rotary Club of Port Macquarie Sunrise Board approved the project and donated additional funds plus funds raised by RYLA and St Columba School Port Macquarie that assisted the village to build the kitchen. The people from the local village constructed the kitchen.
The kitchen is regarded as an important facility by the school as Kharikhola is situated 2000m above sea level and consequently can get very cold in winter. Hot meals in the middle of the day help the students to concentrate as well as generally helping to ensure a satisfactory level of nutrition.
After visiting the Mera School in April 2007 and again in October 2011, The Rotary Club of Port Macquarie Sunrise member Kerrie Wood reported a noticeable improvement in the health and vitality of the children attending the Mera School. They were already showing the benefits of regular hot and healthy meals in the middle of the day.
A successful application was also made for a second Rotary District Simplified Grant to purchase Kitchen equipment and to start a Market Garden at the School as a means of providing fresh food for the students on an ongoing basis.
2011 - English And Dual Language Books for Mera school
The teachers at Mera School indicted they needed some support in teaching the children English and they also required simple books in English so the children could practice reading. The Rotary Club of Port Macquarie Sunrise Rotarian Kerrie Wood then organised a collection of reading books written in both English and Nepalese for the Mera School and delivered them to the School when she and husband Dr David Malikoff visited Kharikhola in October 2011.
Not only did Kerrie and David deliver the reading books, but they spent a week at the School teaching both teachers and students how to use the books etc. Kerrie reported after her teaching experience students and teachers are passionate about learning and are extremely appreciative of the contribution Sunrise Rotary is making to enhance their learning opportunities.
This is confirmed by the fact that even though the week Kerrie and David were teaching at the School was during school holidays, all teachers and students voluntarily attended for the full week!
2013 - Purchase and construction of a greenhouse
During 2012 The Rotary Club of Port Macquarie Sunrise International Committee submitted an application for the Mera School Project to become a Rotary Australia World Community Service Ltd (RAWCS) project. By being a RAWCS project, all donations made to the project are Tax Deductable. We are pleased to advise that RAWCS has agreed to our proposal and has issued a Project Registration Number - 54/2011-12.
During 2012 we also received a Rotary International Matching Grant to assist with the purchase, transport and constriction of the Greenhouse. This requires Rotary Club Of Port Macquarie Sunrise to raise approximately $10,000 in a three year time-frame.
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.
AUGUST 2015 - NEPAL EARTHQUAKE APPEAL
Help us to assist with rebuilding vital infrastructure in Kharikhola Village following the tragic series of earthquakes that have affected Nepal.
The Mera School has unfortunately sustained serious damage. One of the school walls, which was badly cracked in the first earthquake, has fallen down following the second earthquake. A wall in the school kitchen has also collapsed which has made the kitchen unusable.
Our top priority is to repair the School so that it can serve both as a community centre where the 150 families whose houses were damaged in the first earthquake can stay whilst their houses are repaired, and secondly to continue the children's education and provide them with hot meals.
As of August 2015 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.
All donations are tax deductible and all the donations will be sent through the Rotary Club of Patan South in Kathmandu - our long time partner in Nepal.
So how can you help us?
Help support the Rotary Club Of Port Macquarie Sunrise and its projects in Nepal - Make a tax deductible donation today
The easiest way to support us is to make a donation. Rotary Australia Overseas Aid Fund and Rotary Australian Benevolent Society have Deductible Gift Recipient registration and have been listed as a Charitable Fund so we can accept tax deductible donations from individuals or organisations.
Nepal Sunrise is proudly supported by
