Radio Interview now Online!

Thanks to Raghabendra, you can now listen to our radio interview online. There are some commercials in Nepali but the interview was in English. The link below will take you to the recording!

http://www.zshare.net/audio/9203876697940dde/

And yes we are on Facebook!! Like our page and support us!

http://www.facebook.com/makinglivesbetter

For our friends who can read Nepali, we had our story published on an online journal!

http://www.ekantipur.com/np/2068/3/14/full-story/331646.html

Do come back for more updates!!

Official Launch of Making Lives Better, Mission Aqua 2011

Press Conference

Today we officially launched our project in presence of media and supporters. An hour long press conference went very well and we received pleasing response from every one. We are hoping that this will create a ripple effect to spread awareness to the people about the importance of clean drinking water and the knowledge about the need of the people of Nepal.

Pictures from press conference

Live Radio Interview

Later in the day we also had a live radio interview with Mr. Chirag Bangdel. We were all nervous at the beginning but after we met him every thing seemed easy and relaxed. We were on air for an hour on Image FM 97.9 which is heard all around the nation. The interview was a great opportunity for us to get our voice heard and to get to know Mr. Bangdel in person. We were on his facebook status today :) which in itself is an honor for us and our project.

Pictures from the radio station:

Even though this picture is blur, we will treasure it all our life! 

Project Reports

Book Donation (June 8^th, 2011): We were successfully able to donate over 200 hundred books to Maatri Shishu Vidhyalaya in Jawalakhel. We collected the books during our spring semester and all of them came as donation from our staff, faculty, students and community members. We are hoping that this will encourage the students to read more books and develop the creative side of their mind.

“Making Lives Better has really helped to make the lives better of the children in our school. These books will definitely help the children to increase their vocabulary which will go a long way in each and every student’s life” – Sangita Bhandari, Principal, Maatri Shishu Vidhyalaya

View more pictures at: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150272018066391.370991.675661390

Clothing and Toy Drive (June 15^th, 2011): With the help of Rupy’s International School, Making Lives Better was able to collect a truck full of clothes and toys to distribute among the unprivileged people in the Far Western part of Nepal. It felt very good to know that the students had already developed the feeling of giving at such young ages. And to add to it, when the students of 4^th grade saw us loading the truck, all of them came to help us and carried bags that were bigger than them in size!

“It is a great pleasure to be a part of something like this. We are always looking for opportunities to get our students involved in social work. Thank you very much for giving our children a chance to help the people of their nation and thank you to all the members of Making Lives Better for bringing a change in the lives of the citizens of Nepal.” – Rupy Singh, Founder, Rupy’s International School

View more pictures at: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150277655196391.372888.675661390

Aashirwad (June 24^th,2011): The word “aashirwad” means blessings in Nepali. We blessed over 250 students of Kamdhenu School with back packs and school supplies. We received financial support from Machhapuchchre Bank Limited, Investment Bank Limited and Siddhartha Bank Limited. Another huge support was received from Maatri Shishu Vidhyalaya as they sent their students as volunteers to help us with the project.  We hope that this project has encouraged the children to work harder towards getting good grades and taken some burden off from their parents. Also we hope that this will develop the feeling of giving back to the society.

“There are lots of people in this school who are like me. My mom expired 2 years ago and my father is not in very good health. Me and my sister work in the fields to earn money for our education and for the education on two of my other siblings. Support like this can really help us concentrate more on our studies and encourage us to attend school every day” – Archana KC, Student, Kamdhenu School 

View more pictures at: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150289875131391.376024.675661390&notif_t=like 

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