Funding for Blessings in a Backpack

Initially our aim was to provide 100 students in Nepal with a backpack full of school supplies. But after visiting the schools here in Nepal, we decided that we want to impact more lives. There for with the hope of receiving fundings from business corporations in Nepal we raised the bar to 320 students. Our first donor was Machhapuchchhre Bank Limited who gave us NPR 15,000 to support our cause. We are very grateful to the Bank and the management who made this possible. 

Clothing and Toy Drive at Rupy's International

There are a lot of times that I buy things which I never end up using and there are so many things that are just lying in my room. As I am writing this, I know I am not alone. Few months back we decided that we would conduct a clothing drive in Kathmandu to benefit the people in far western part of Nepal. We have been spreading words to our family and friends asking them to donate cloths and toys. Today I went to Rupy's International School and talked to the students there. We talked about what the drive is all about. The principal of the school said, "It may just be another shirt for you or a toy that is collecting dust in your room, but to the people who cant afford to buy a shirt or have never had a chance to play with a toy, its going to mean a lot to them." We came to a conclusion that giving up something that we aren't using and watching a smile come on someone's face will will be a priceless moment. The school very kindly has agreed to conduct a two week long clothing and toy drive which will be co-ordinated by Ms. Geeta Puri and the student council. The drive will end on the 15th June, 2011 and the representatives from MLB will collect the donations from the school.

On behalf of Making Lives Better I would like to thank Mrs. Rupy Singh (Owner/Founding Director), Mr. Chandrayan P. Shrestha (Principal) and Mrs Geeta Puri (Vice Principal) for all of their support. Also I want to thank my brother Rohit Singh Bhandari (student at Rupy's International) for co ordinating our meetings with the school management. 

After arriving in Nepal on Thursday, I met with the Making Lives Better representatives from Rollins Chapter in Florida and St. Johns Chapter in New Mexico. Besides our water purification project, there will be three other projects that we will be conducting jointly with them. The projects are as follows:

1) Surgical Health Camp

-Headed by Rollins Chapter

-Location: Silgadi, Doti District, Far-western Nepal.
-Project date: End of may- early june

-Duration: 4 days for travel and set up, 3 days of camp

-Supported by Sagarmatha Health Foundation

2) Community Center

- Headed by St.John's NM chapter 

- Location: Bal Mandir primary school, Silgadi, Doti District, Far-Western Nepal

- Project Date: End of may- Mid June

- Duration: tentative: 2-3 weeks (depends on the speed of construction)

- Supported by The Davis Foundation

This community center will be the only one of its kind on a 100 mile radius and will be equipped with a conference room, multimedia labs and classrooms directly benefiting not only the children but the entire village . This project is also an extension of MLB's 2010 project. 

3) Blessings in a Backpack

- Headed by Westminster, MO chapter

- Location: TBD

- Project Date: Mid June

- Duration: 1 day

- Supported by MLB Chapter in Westminster

Through this project we will provide the needy children with a backpack full of school supplies so that they do not have to drop out of schools only because their parents cannot afford to buy them the supplies. Additionally, we also aim to reduce the burden on the parents.

MLB in the News!!

During the academic year 2010/11 Making Lives Better organized several fundraising activities on campus including but not limited to penny drive, jewelry sale and a fundraising dinner. An article summarizing all of our efforts was published in a national daily of Nepal. An electronic copy of the article can be viewed by clicking the following link:

http://www.myrepublica.com/portal/index.php?action=news_details&news_id=30728

Living the Columns Concept

The Columns Concept at Westminster College encompasses the transformation that takes place within a student during her college career. The emphasis Westminster puts on developing service leaders in a global community transforms a naïve freshman to a responsible senior ready to make a difference in the world when she graduates. Living the core values of Westminster transforms us into better persons and, more importantly, better citizens of the world. Blue Jays believe in giving back to the global community and the Davis Projects for Peace has provided an important stepping stone for us to live the mission.

                                                      

Kathryn Davis has been a lifelong philanthropist, supporting student development and showcasing global commitment in various ways. Her humanitarian work has left a mark on a wide range of institutions and has successfully inspired innumerable students. In spite of all her achievements, Kathryn was not content. She wanted to do more to help the world. Her years of experience led her to seek the aid of younger generations in her noble quest to make the world a better place to live in. Kathryn made up her mind to establish Projects for Peace to celebrate her 100^th birthday and has renewed her commitment every year since saying, “I want to use my birthday to once again help young people launch some initiatives that will bring new energy and ideas to the prospects of peace in the world.” From then on she pledged a million dollars worth of funding for hundred peace projects each year; she left the interpretation to what incorporates peace to the applicants, and sky was the limit. She has funded more than five hundred projects around the globe; consequently the commitment to help the world has only strengthened since then.

At Westminster College, the process of learning is very closely tied in with service. The million dollar decision by Kathryn Wasserman Davis plays a very significant role in the learning process that Westminster highly focuses on. Her decision to fund 100 projects every year since 2006 gave the Westminster Service enthusiasts another reason to rush for the global rescue. As a part of this close knit community, strongly devoted to living the true core values of Westminster, we applied and were the recipients of the Davis Projects for Peace. 

MLB 101- Helping children in the global community...

Established on August 2010, Westminster College Making Lives Better is a student run organization at Westminster College, MO committed to serving those in dire need. Our mission is to help ease the suffering of those shackled in poverty and despair. To start with our objective this year has been to solve the water crisis in Eastern Nepal where more than 80% of the population does not have access to clean drinking water. A major proportion of our budget this year has been funded by the Davis foundation in the form of Projects for Peace grant. The subsequent postings will mainly consist of a description about the wonderful effort of the Kathryn W. Davis and a description of our past events as an attempt to raise additional funds for the project. The following is a detailed description of our project and we will continue to post any updates in regards to our activities.

Background Information

Almost one third of the Nepalese population has been deprived of the basic comfort of access to clean drinking water. Epidemiology and Disease Control Division (EDCD), an office under the Nepal Ministry of Health reports that around 60,000 were affected by water borne diseases in the year 2010. Of those, a large proportion were school going children. Access to clean drinking water is fundamental to good health, growth and development. Nevertheless, a large number of people in Nepal live without access to these services.  One such underprivileged group of children resides within the district of Okhaldhunga. Occupying an area of around 1074 km² of the Sagarmatha Zone, Okhaldhunga is one of the most rural and least developed districts in the eastern hills of Nepal.  It has around 364 schools in total, among which only twenty are equipped with electricity and proper water pipes.

Statement of Need

The water obtained for daily chores directly comes from the stream, rivers and springs. A large amount of those natural sources of water are contaminated. As a result, a large percentage of people in the eastern Nepal are victimized by water borne diseases. In addition, the lack of proper healthcare facilities makes the situation even worse. The case in Okhaldhunga is not much different. We believe that there exists a significant correlation between clean drinking water and healthier and more productive children. Children in good health today can become productive citizens of the society, and help build peace and prosperity in future. Our project focuses on providing clean drinking water to 8000 school going children of ten schools surrounding the district’s headquarters. The selected schools have the largest number of students as reported by a local contact person to the area.

Objectives

1. To provide a sustainable source of clean drinking water to the children in the district of Okhaldhunga.
2. To be able to educate the children and adults alike about the importance of clean drinking water.
3.  To donate books and pamphlets about clean drinking water.

Course of Action

In order to provide access to clean drinking water, we will install ten water purifiers to ten different schools and provide replacement filters. We will work in collaboration with two other organizations, namely Sagarmatha Integrated Development Centre and Janasewa Samaj Nepal. Both groups have sustainable history of working with similar development projects in rural Nepal including water projects. At the end of the installation of the purifiers, we will in hold a training program that will focus on the importance of clean drinking water under the guidance of the health professionals from our partner organizations. In addition to the school representatives being in attendance, we also plan to invite the local members of the Village Development Committee. We will distribute pamphlets and educational materials that promote use of safe drinking water so that the children have access to clean drinking water even when they are at home.