Newsletter September 2008

Dear friends,

I’m preparing this newsletter already for 3 weeks. From the beginning of September we have more then 31 hours of powercuts, which makes working on the computer very difficult. We also have lots of rains and thunder and lightening, which makes it sometimes impossible.

For once this newsletter will be only in English.

Our yearly visit to Belgium was exciting and fun, enjoying fully with meeting family and friends, relaxing little holidays, but also fruitfully in meeting people who support our projects.

Ram had a busy time in Pokhara taking care of the lodge, projects, finding a new working lady and following a Training for guide and Tourism.

After settling in at home again, it was getting used to shortage of water and electricity (powercuts upto 31 hours again)! I didn’t miss that for sure!

What happened recently in Nepal

Maoist leader PRACHANDA is now prime minister and called Puspa Kamal Dahal, his original name. The new government has to start organizing and solving some severe problems. One of them is the Nepal Oil Coruption, which makes people stand in ques for hours to get just a few liters of pertrol only each 2 days!

The petrol coming from India seems to return without reaching Nepal because they can sell it much more expensive in India!!!

The second challenge is the big flood in the East of Nepal, where the Saptakoshi went outside its boarders because of a barrage (which India didn’t repair in time)!

Due to the flood 55.000 people are displaced. Allover Nepal, NGO’s, INGO’s and schools are fundraising money to help these people. China donated 300.000 $ to help.

Besides these problems we notice that Nepal is also getting more and more expensive. The inflation of commodity (daily products as milk, bread, rice and gass) is 30%!

Blue Planet Lodge

Plans for the new lodge are not yet put into realization. This because there is needed ‘water’ first before we can start building. Ram is now arranging an extra waterline connected with the lake, which should be sufficient to provide the water we need.

In August we had more tourists coming to Lakeside and to our place.

The last week of August the monsoon was the hardest. It rained again for 4 days continiously. People are getting terrified of more landslides again.

From September onwards, tourism is not yet fully running. Our place is full because we don’t have that many rooms yet. Topseason is starting in October.

Projects QOLN

This year the summer holiday started from the 22nd of June till the 23rd of July.

Most parents are farmers and need this time to plant rice on the fields. All government schools and also our day care center closed for one month.

1. Day care center

There are now 45 toddlers attending the day care center. Most of them are still very small and have to adjust to the school and the activities.

In the summer holiday QOLN organized a meeting with the teachers on the 22nd of July, to see their needs and problems, discuss rules and regulations and improve their work environment.

They got a 25% salary raise as a motivation for their good work and enthousiasm.

The new building (adding one more floor) will start soon. At the moment QOLN is organizing meetings with the village people to discuss how they will extend the school. They have to give the job to a contractor and it has to be governmental approved and published. This paperwork takes a little time.

2. Nepal Child Plan

The sponsor parents were all invited to a village meeting on the 10th of June.

Together with supervisor Madhu they discussed the condition of their children as well as to obtain a better co-operation.

Discussion points were: school attitude, social attitude, how the parents can help their children, do parents visit their children’s school to see how they are doing?

Some parents are following their child, but others are still not enough interested to help them. Mostly this is because of lack of education themselves. This meeting helps parents to see the importance of education and gives them ideas how to help them to make a brighter future for their kids.

After the meeting QOLN gave the parents an extra of 10 euro as a contribution to New Year, to support also other children in the family in their education.

QOLN organized a childrens day celebration programme on the 14th of September. This day is an official holiday in Nepal, special for children!

Different games and competition were organized, letting our sponsorchildren tell their own poems and singing and dancing show. All children were enjoying this
day.

3. Buffalo Project

Between the 9th and the 12th of June, QOLN organized several meetings with all the beneficiaries from the buffalo project, which are already 46 families.

At this meeting mostly the women attended. They were asked how they feel about this program: Is it helping them? Are they experiencing problems to pay back the loan?

Are they satisfied with their buffalo and with this project? It was also very good for them to meet each other and talk together about their experience and some of them showed through their hard work and techniques that they can have a better life for themselves.

In Belgium I met Olivier Toulemonde from DEPARTS, who was very happy with the progress of this project and promised another 3000 euro for the buffaloproject next year.

4. Help to government school in Sedi Bagar

With the financial help of Theo Hulshof and our Swiss volunteers Marius and Priska, QOLN was able to support the primary school in Sedi Bagar. The floor of 2 big rooms was repaired, they bought a new water tank and provided safe drinking water, a fence and gate were made around the schoolyard so kids don’t fall down anymore, and electricity was brought to the school.

The children of this little school express their gratitude to all donors!

We also welcomed the Holland family Bert & Nicol, with their children Tom & Eva, who will give their knowledge and support to this little school. We are very grateful to meet such enthousiastic people!

Soon the big festivals will start again. On the 30th of September DASHAIN will start, with the important TIKA day on the 9th of October and from th 29th till the 30th of October we will celebrate the TIHAR festival.

These festivals bring blessings and prosperity to all families.

I would like to wish you all the same!

Thank you all for your support!

Happy Dashain and warm greetings

Sabine & Ram Sharma***

« Your spirit is searching, but it is your heart that finds !»