2018 – Fall Newsletter
FALL 2018
Welcome to our fall newsletter and the last newsletter under the Jhamtse Canada banner. In November we received approval to change our charity’s name to My 100 Percent so look for our new website early in 2019. Our mission is still to relieve poverty in developing nations by providing the basic necessities of life to children and families who are poor and in need. We are now ready to do more of it across a wider platform.
LOCATIONS PROVIDED SUPPORT
During this year program funding was provided to the Jhamtse Gatsal Children’s Community’s general operating purposes.
We funded the Stay-in-School Nepal education support pilot program for school girls in remote Eastern Nepal in partnership with InREACH-Nepal. This program was initiated in late 2017 for the new school year. We sponsored 20 girls whose families would not otherwise be able to afford the local school expenses such as school uniforms, supplies and books. As the pilot program has reduced the expected local drop-out rates and increased the likelihood of children graduating high school, we have initiated our plan to increase the program to 100 girls by 2020.
We have provided initial seed funding to Civic Independence Development – Nepal (“CID”) to carry out the larger mandate and they have made application to the government to allow our program to be increased in 2019. The Executive Director of CID, Dr. Arjun Mani Guragain, was also responsible for the administration of the pilot project with InREACH-Nepal. Should any of our supporters be interested in sponsoring children in this new program please email Adarsh at amehta@jhamtsecanada.ca.
STAY-IN-SCHOOL NEPAL JOURNAL
Jeff Jenner recently went to Nepal to review the Stay-in-School Nepal program with InREACH and CID as well as visit the girls at their schools and homes in Eastern Nepal near Itahari. Some highlights are included below and the full text of Jeff’s journal will be added to the Jhamtse Canada website.
“On November 25th Arjun and I set off for Itahari about 25 km north of Biratnager in Morang and Sunsari districts of Province #1 in Eastern Nepal. I had my first encounter with the school girls we are supporting along with their parents and teachers. Along the way we picked up Dr. Binita Kumari Paudel, Associate Professor of Public Health at nearby Purbanchal University. Dr. Paudel had researched the Sunder Haraicha Ward where our program was implemented allowing us to pin point the most needy families in a very poor region comprised of sustenance farming for less than 500 Nepali Rupees per day ($6 CDN) when they can get work.
Principal and teacher of Devata Public School greet us during visit
We traveled to Devata Public School (K to Gr. 7) where 16 girls receive our support. Devata is located 12 km east of Itahari in Sunder Harchari Ward. They had arranged a ceremony of traditional dance and songs organized and performed by the 16 girls we support. Initially they greeted us with a single flower garland and a large red powder tikka on the forehead. The President of the Ward, the principal of the school, Arjun and I gave short speeches. The Ward President indicated that our modest program was the first of any support ever given to the Ward.
Girls in the program wave to say hi from a classroom at their school
After the event Arjun, Binita and I met with the girls privately to talk about the program and their feelings. I found the girls to be engaged as you would think of any 12-year-old. We shared information and arranged for home visits. At the end Binita and I were “tikka-bombed” with each girl placing a self-made garland and a new tikka on my forehead and cheeks. They had fun and I looked like a large flower by the end as can be seen in the picture.
Jeff and Binita get “tikka-bombed” by the girls in the program with self-made garlands
We then meet with the Principal of Devata and the teachers of the school. They talked about the great improvement in attitude, confidence, attendance and cleanliness of the girls but also the spillover impact of the girls attitude to the other students who were also improving in these areas. It was too early to determine academic achievements but the effort and, more importantly, the girls’ confidence to achieve had increased greatly. We talked of ways to improve the program and further its impact. There was a concern that the girls impact on the school would diminish when they graduated to middle school leaving less sponsorship in attendance at Devata.
Devata is a public school with 105 students, 8 teachers and a total annual budget of only CDN $2,000 per year excluding teachers’ wages that are paid by the government. The buildings are open air, cement foundations with metal clad roofs. There are very limited teaching materials (see pictures on our website) due to the small budget. Students are required to bring their own supplies, uniforms, etc. This is what we purchase and distribute to the children to ensure the funds go to the desired purpose. In addition, we provide health supplies, counselling and modest medical support to ensure the girls can attend without concern about primary needs.
By the third day we completed the home visits for the girls currently sponsored. Arjun and myself accompanied the girls and each home was visited. On average the homes are two rooms, cement walls, bamboo supports, thatched or metal clad roofs with a mud slab or dirt courtyard with an open fire pit for cooking surrounded by farm animal structures. The homes are in clusters within very small communities and generally away from the main roads. Many of the parents are day workers at local farms.
OTHER VOLUNTEER STORIES
Vancouver volunteers Carol Evenchick and Mark Riddell created another fun night of food and music on October 2nd at the Vancouver Rowing Club in Stanley Park. The Just Singin’ Round event, sponsored by the Synergy Collective, had another thoroughly entertained crowd. Four local performers including Mark James Fortin and Yvonne McSkimming sang original songs about life in and around Vancouver as well as requested songs like My Funny Valentine. The event raised another $5,000 for the Stay-in-School Nepal program.
Hardworking volunteers in Mississauga organized the 3rd annual Diwali Dhamaal, a fun children-focused festival event. On October 15th over 150 people, including 65 children, attended the dinner, aarti decorating contest and performed dances. Our thanks once again goes to organizers Parul Patel, Alapana Dullabh and Radha Bharania for donating the surplus funds raised to Jhamtse Canada.
DIRECTORS
We have a volunteer Board of Directors that meet semi-annually to review information, approve the audited financial statements and help plan activities. The Board of Jhamtse Canada is the following individuals:
- Linda Bertoldi, LLB Partner, Bordner Ladner Gervais
- Mark Foley, President, Jhamtse International
- Jeff Jenner, CA, CBV, CEO, Potentia Renewables Inc.
- Adarsh Mehta, MSc, MBA, Vice President, JRC Inc.
DONATIONS & VOLUNTEERS
Donations can be made by cheque and sent to the address on the footer of this page or by Paypal or credit card from our website (http://jhamtsecanada.ca/donate/). If you are interested in volunteering or creating other events for Jhamtse Canada please call Adarsh Mehta at amehta@jhamtsecanada.ca or telephone 905-990-2464.
We thank you for your support and trust.
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