Friends of Nepal

All RPCVs from Nepal are invited. Desk officer asked me to pass this along:

The Peace Corps
Cordially invites you to attend
a reception
In honor of the return of Peace Corps
to Nepal

Tuesday, January 10, 2012
from 10:00 to 11:00 a.m.
Paul D. Coverdell Peace Corps Headquarters
Shriver Hall
1111 20th Street, NW
Washington, D.C. 2052

Suzie Schneider, FoN treasurer, and Don Messerschmidt, a FoN member, made a site visit to check on the Legacy Project on behalf of Friends of Nepal last fall.  They were impressed with the amount that had been accomplished in a few short months and left convinced that our donations were being well spent. After the visit, Suzie sent the letter below to her hosts.

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Namaste saathiharu,

Warm Dashain Wishes to all who were involved in the successful visit to Keshvatar and Rumshi.

On behalf of Friends of Nepal it is difficult to put into words the wonderful experience we had during our visit to the ‘wireless’ project.  The receptions were warm, welcoming and friendly…as if you were coming home to family and old friends.  I have never seen so many gorgeous flowers and so many malas.

The community participation is extraordinary and is to be congratulated for working together.  Not only are those living outside of the area continuing their interest/support but also the school teachers, school committee, health post/clinic employees and others have invested a lot of time and energy to create so much dedication and enthusiasm.  This has allowed for example the formation of the Amaa group & day care to be successful.  It was great to see a functioning library in the school.  As fun as it was to watch the children demonstrate their computer skills it was thrilling to watch the women’s computer demonstration.  A visit to the health post and a brief tele-med connection was made which will create opportunities for quicker and better health care for the area.

The various projects previously undertaken by the village and now accepting the wireless for education, health, and income/business prospects indicates that there is a supportive environment which encourages all ages to try new and unknown activities which may awaken new interests and develop new skills.

It was a pleasure to see so much excitement and being in the company of Mahabir Pun who also has so much energy, dedication and devotion to this project makes me feel like a rock on the side of the road.

We appreciate the vehicle and monetary support provided to make the trip happen and a smashing success.  There are so many people to thank and if anyone is missed by this email, I apologize BUT please extend a hearty thank you!

Friends of Nepal  looks forward to reaching our financial commitment and sending the remainder of the funding in the near future.  We also would like to be kept in the communication loop regarding how the computers are being used and what milestones are reached (example…successful medical advice from a KTM/Pokhara hospital, business/income generation projects that have benefitted, additional villages connected, etc).

We look forward to viewing Kumar Ale’s video of the visit.

Again many thanks.

Suzie Schneider
Friends of Nepal, Treasurer

Sally Savaglio (my friend who joined us on the visit)

The December 2011 Friends of Nepal newsletter has been posted here. It contains an update on our Legacy Project, a first-hand account of the Peace Corps 50th Anniversary celebrations, a report on a survey of Nepali attitudes and opinions, and more!

Suzie Schneider was kind enough to take time from her Nepal trip to give this report on the Friends of Nepal’s site visit to Keshvatar.

The group going to Kesvahtar consisted of :  Mahabir Pun (Nepal Wireless Project),  Retired Col.  D B Ale (former resident of  Rumshi village),  Don Messerschmidt (Nepal 2),  Suzie Schneider (Nepal 171),  Kumar Ale (recently returned to Nepal upon completing a Masters program in the UK) and Sally Savaglio (Suzie’s travel partner).

Kumar Ale videotaped the trip.  He will put it on YouTube after editing it.

On Sept 28-29, 2011, six of us traveled to Damauli, approximately a half  day drive from Kathmandu (KTM).  Vehicle arrangements and all associated costs were handled by several Keshvatar folks now living in KTM or outside the country. After a brief stop at the Marpheli Hotel to freshen up, we drove 13 km farther, about one and a half hours on a dirty, rocky road, to find  Keshvatar.

(See end of article for more information on Keshvator and Rumshi, the two towns visited.)

A most warm welcome of flower malas, blossoms and petals were bestowed on all of us as we went down the ‘receiving’ line.  We left the school yard and Continue Reading »

Over 100 Nepal RPCVs and their spouses made our 50th Anniversary Event at the Nepal Ambassador’s residence a success.  The $2,500 made at the Silent Auction held there also was cause for celebration.  The money goes into our Legacy Project Fund, making us only need $2K more.

Ambassador Shanka Sharma opened his charming house to us and suggested we put the Nepali items for the Silent Auction on tables out on the front lawn.  Conversations were started as people looked at the items, remembering them from Nepal.  Then people could easily move up the steps to continue to meet other RPCVs and talk inside.

As a good omen, the rain held off all afternoon.

Older Nepal Volunteers and younger ones found out how different Nepal became over the years, yet how much had stayed the same, and how similar our experiences had been  People who hadn’t seen each other in 40 years embraced.  Everyone seemed  to enjoy themselves, perhaps helped along by the beer the  Ambassador provided.  It was interesting and gratifying to learn that most RPCVs were or had been involved in some sort of  development work, both here and overseas.

Halfway through, the Ambassador gave a warm speech of welcome and of support for the Peace Corps, as well as thanks for what we have done for his country.  He even hinted the Peace Corps might return.

The Finance Minister, Barsa Man Pun, surprised by leaving his IMF meetings to give a short speech, praising the cooperation between Nepal and the Peace Corps’.  He then spent some time with us, despite his heavy schedule.

After that Aaron Rome, President of Friends of Nepal, thanked the Ambassador for his hospitality and expressed how much our experiences in Nepal had meant to us.  He then burst into Nepali, telling us comically of his first days in Nepal.  Damian Jones, who organized the event, also expressed how deeply Nepal remains in all our hearts.  He then in Nepali gave a speech emphasizing that,  followed by a lovely poem.

(Please check on the link below to hear the speeches. Aaron’s and Damian’s come after about l8 minutes. See if you can still understand their Nepali.  And be sure to listen to Damian’s poem.  It is lovely.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jlZrEAcIbWQ&feature=related

Aaron ended the program by presenting the Ambassador with a framed photo on canvas of a Nepal scene.  The plaque expressed  our thankfulness for his excellence and support to the Nepal Peace  Corps.

More good news came then.  Tom Robertson returned from a National Peace Corps meeting to tell us he had won $15K in the national Legacy Project competition. His project tied with another,  so they both got $15 K.  Tom’s project had been  the runner-up in the Friend’s of Nepal Legacy Project competition,  so all were glad to see him recognized.    Aaron and he went to the  Gala dinner that night since Tom received two tickets, along with his prize money.

Then we were served our favorite foods– Nepali curries and dahl bhat,  The Ambassador’s wife had kindly arranged for this.

People stayed past the time planned, which must mean the event was a success at getting us together.

Other 50th Anniversary Events

Five thousand RPCVs met on Sunday for the ceremony at Arlington Memory Cemetery and then marched across the Memorial Bridge led by the flags of their Peace Corps countries.  This was a high point for all.

Parties rose up sontaneously.  One of ours occured Friday night–a dinner at a Nepali restaurant, and another, costing only $33,  Saturday night, created perhaps in response to the expensive Gala that night, but more to provide another venue for people to meet at.

Several RPCV groups scheduled their own get-togethers.  Nepal 2 had a full schedule; Nepal 3 met for dinner at a volunteer’s house.  Small groups met up and quickly decided to have dinner together.  It was the same for all the other country groups.  RPCVs flooded the city that night.

We RPCVs made it the 50th Anniversary a great event!

computer demos by the children and womens group…were served jucie, milk and cookies.  were shown the school library, kindergarten room, the day care center and hlth post.  there were 6 of us that visited…don, mahabir, kumar ale (his family home is nearby but he heard and wanted to video the visit…will be put on you tube), myself and my friend Sally from Sequim.  A retired Col. Ale (former ADC to the king I think) had dal bhaat at his ancestral home.  his village is not connected yet but is on the schedule.  keshvatar VDC is comprised of several small villages which will also be connected.

it was very rough ride from Dimauli to Keshavatar.

it was a little cooler when we got back to ktm and as i type it is pouring…monsoon started late and thus is still continuing…we were lucky there  were no road problems on the Mugling road nor the dirt/rock road to keshvatar.

heading to Dang tomorrow, then Pokhara for Desain and a bit of a breather before returing to KTM next Fri.

1) We are still accepting items for silent auction to be held at the Embassy event on Saturday the 24th.  Please contact Lucy if you have anything to donate: lucysotar@gmail.com.

2) Really important – we are on the cusp of getting the final approval for PC to back to Nepal.  It mostly hinges on the budget… If the budget is achieved then Peace Corps has to make the final decision to re-open the program, vs. other programmatic priorities.

Rajeev suggested we lobby Rep Crenshaw of FL who is the powerful House Appropriations Committee and is also the chair of the Nepal caucus.  Here is a link to a sample letter:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/10XHZh5k8xKq2jRTx179hOxa0FgQSNLRI7dqujlResLU/edit?hl=en_US

The other person to write is Aaron Williams (PC DIrector). So please ask in the evite for folks to either bring 1 or 2 letters or send to me atinfo@friendsofnepal.com.

What would be very helpful is if RPCVs from Nepal can write a letter or two, sign it and email it to me as an attachment or fax to 978-747-0490.  Please send letters to me by Friday September 23 at 11am if possible. Rajeev is going to hand deliver the letters.  If you get to me later than that we can still deliver the letter but will not have the same impact as if we turn them all in together.

Here’s a great update from Don Messershmidt who visited the Legacy Project telemedicine center last month.

Wow, what an afternoon yesterday. If you spend one hour with Mahabir Pun, as I did, you come away exhausted by the pace he sets, all the business he conducts, the speed at which he walks, and the number of cell phone calls he receives and sends…

We met yesterday afternoon, briefly. I hope to go to Keshavtar within the next 2-3 weeks, and he wants to be there at the same time. It is likely that we’ll be hosted by several ex-Gurkha soldiers, Magars all. The village is south of the Kathmandu to Pokhara highway, about an hour and a half drive (over a rough road), so I’ll likely spend one night in Damauli (on the highway) as part of the trip. (After that, I’ll be going north into Lamjung District to visit my old PC village and district for a few days.)

When we met, Mahabir took me to the Kathmandu Model Hospital which is set up to do the telemedicine functions that he is installing in several of the villages (health posts) where the Internet functions have been installed. I met the director, and was impressed with the high-tech setup in the hospital conference room. I hope to see it working one of these days. When we were there yesterday, it was late afternoon and no telemedicine was happening. Continue Reading »

The August newsletter has been posted and is available at the newsletter archive (to the left). Please read! We have much exciting information about our Legacy Project and Peace Corps’ 50th Anniversary celebrations.