Newsletter May 2021

Water infrastructure in village schools

30 highlights in 30 years – including NAFA’s responses to the 2015 earthquakes

As we enter our 30th year of existence, over 95% of the earthquake rebuild commitments have been completed. It has taken a huge amount of determination, generosity, hard work and expertise both in Nepal and here in Australia to reach this point. We can ensure everyone that there are many, many very grateful Nepalese villagers who have benefited from our collective efforts and their hard work on the ground. They would like to thank everyone who has played a role in helping them rebuild their infrastructure and lives.

Click here to read the full newsletter      NAFA 30th anniversary newsletter 2019

This year, we hope to complete all of the rebuilding work. This will be a massive achievement for our volunteer-run charity and the villages that will have benefitted. NAFA will be forever grateful for the generosity of its supporters, particularly since the earthquake.

Where did your donations go in 2017

NAFA’s Ross Hazelwood helping to cut the ribbon at Kophu school with Bai Bahadur Rai.

Back to school in the east

Two of NAFA’s executive officers (Brenda & Ross Hazelwood) joined seven NAFA members on a 17 day trek last month to visit each of these remote villages in eastern Nepal, inspect the work and join in the opening celebrations.

Patle school 4 classroom block

NAFA undertook to rebuild 21 classrooms which were destroyed in the 2015 earthquake in the eastern districts – 3 classrooms in the Kophu village, 3 in Dhupisurke, 5 in Shyama and 10 in Patle. The builders were justifiably proud to complete the work. After 12 months of work to obtain government approval for the earthquake-resistant building plans, it took another 12 months to build the classrooms though extreme weather conditions such as snow in the winter and the monsoon.

A grateful student in Patle “Thank you for supporting our school building”

The school committees kept NAFA up to date with the progress of building. In the late stages of the project, NAFA architect Sabin Shrestra and building administration manager Manish Bhadra joined NAFA executives to visit Shyama and Patle to inspect the classrooms and to check the building guidelines were followed.

Ross and Phurba Sherpa at the opening of the school in Patle

Thanks to NAFA, local builders and volunteers, all classrooms in the NAFA-supported villages in the Solu Khumbu, Okhaldhunga and Dolakha districts are now rebuilt. The children and teachers are enjoying their new weatherproof environment.

A warm welcome with garlands and kartas at Kophu school

The opening celebrations in January (attended by NAFA executives and members) included a formal ribbon-cutting ceremony to open the classrooms. At each school, the NAFA representatives were met with a long line of children with welcoming garlands and silk kartas. The young children sang their national anthem and performed their local ethnic dances.

The parents, teachers and children at these schools wanted to pass on their overwhelming thanks to NAFA donors and friends for their generosity!

Major supporters visit Pasang Chowk Agricultural Cooperative

L to R: Khilraj Pandeya, Rod Setterlund, Allen English, Mike de Gruyter, Pratika Shakya, Deb Setterlund, Rick Parkes

In November 2017, Allan English and Mike de Gruyter of the English Family Foundation (EFF) joined NAFA President Rod Setterlund, Deb Setterlund, Rick Parkes, Khilraj Pandeya and Pratika Shakya (Joy Foundation Nepal) for a whirlwind visit to Pasang Chowk Agricultural Cooperative in the Tawal area.

The group was treated to a warm school welcome, followed by a small ceremony at the monastery, and a cultural program at the school, and before they left, they joined local school children in the traditional Mendo Maya Tamang dance.

The EFF, based in Brisbane, generously provided funds to partner with NAFA in helping re-establish the Cooperative after the Gorkha earthquake in 2015. The EFF had also funded a Cooperative-run project to set up a plant/tree nursery and reforestation program.

Allan and Mike with progressive farmer Balsing

Allan and Mike contributed their extensive knowledge to discussions about marketing and developing a point of difference and appropriate branding that would distinguish Cooperative products from others in the marketplace.

They also had a detailed look at the Savings Bank operated by the Cooperative. The Savings Bank, established in 2013, now has 435 depositors from four villages in the area. Funds deposited are immediately loaned out to Cooperative members under a micro-finance model. Allan and Mike quickly concluded that increased loan capital could support Savings Bank infrastructure, agricultural, and other small business development, with Mike subsequently providing a generous donation to increase the loan capital.

The pair was impressed by the multiple roles that community members play in the Cooperative, for example the senior math teacher, Ramesh Tamang, keeps the books for the Savings Bank on a volunteer basis.

Shyama students in their new classroom

Call for members

Membership of NAFA supports the administrative costs of our work in Nepal, so that we can promise donors 100% of donations go to projects.

Members are welcome to participate in monthly management committee meetings and the AGM, and can nominate for a position on the management committee.

Membership costs $20, payable at the start of each calendar year (now!).

To join or renew your membership, go to www.nafa.org.au/membership

“When women’s empowerment is given, women can lead [the] whole society and be involved in economic activities … and invest money … which leads to economic growth of the country”. Rebika Lama Tamang

Tawal women making a difference

Late last year, NAFA appointed Rebika Lama Tamang, a passionate local advocate for women’s development, to the role of Social Mobiliser.  The two year-funded role aims to improve health, education and economic outcomes by empowering women to make a difference in their communities.

Deb guiding the making of the first prototype bag

One of Rebika’s first projects was to establish a bag-making enterprise.

Also on Rebika’s agenda is:  the production of re-usable sanitary pads, consulting with school students about feminine hygiene,a women’s health camp, agricultural entrepreneurship and women’s skill development.

The bags

Tawal’s bag-making enterprise started during a visit by Deborah Setterlund (NAFA’s Research and Evaluation Officer) in November 2017. In the space of 3 days, amid a variety of challenges, women made 200 quality, reversible, washable tote bags for resale in Brisbane.

Nepali plain and striped cotton material was purchased in Kathmandu and transported to Tawal. But time was short and with only 3 full days to make the bags, the pressure was on the 15 eager women tailors. Problems arose like dew in the grass with a lack of flat surfaces to cut out the material, the difficulty of handling 32 metre bolts of cloth, no sign of any pins to help with construction; not to mention the regular distractions of toddlers and chickens roaming around the work space. Day one saw the production of only three bags!

Deb and Rebika (centre) interview the recipient of a goat (one of NAFA’s projects in the Tawal area)

Rebika worked calmly to field the numerous questions and help organise the crew and after an experienced tailor was assigned to cut the pieces and oversee quality control, the task became much more streamlined with the sound of whirring machines permeating the village and a total of 167 bags completed on time with more to come.

Rebika, right, with Yuna Tamang who was elected to represent women in the recent municipal elections

The tailors were paid in accordance with Oxfam’s Fair  Wage principles (see https://
www.oxfam.org.au/a-sewing-kit-for-living-wage/)

Bags are now for sale, but be quick, they’re selling fast.  If you want one, please email Deborah at setterlund@hotmail.com.

Sanitary kits for women in need

Brenda handing out sanitary kits to the students at Patle school

Last year, with funding from donors, Brenda Hazelwood (NAFA’s Vice-President) delivered 150 washable/reusable cloth sanitary kits to women in the Kathmandu central jail who were extremely grateful.  Sanitary wear is not provided in jail so women without family support find this very difficult.  Furthermore there is a growing problem across Nepal regarding the disposal of cheap commercial sanitary pads which, according to research, take up to 800 years to disintegrate.

This year, with the help of generous donors, Brenda was able to extend the program to provide 370 kits for the women in remote jails such as Ilam, Jhapa, Palpa, Chitwan, Birgunj and Pokhara. These kits were delivered and distributed by Indira Rana Magar from Prisoners Assistance Nepal who works closely with the women in these areas.

Kophu school students holding up their sanitary kits

Historically women have used handmade cloth pads.  As cheap plastic commercial pads have become available and widely advertised, women, mainly in the cities who can afford them, have opted to purchase the commercial pads.

To slow this process in the remote areas, Brenda held information sessions with over 200 female students, teachers and mothers in the villages of Kophu, Lumsa and Patle to discuss their current practices and the problems in disposing commercial pads.  The majority of women in these areas are still using handmade cloth pads and were delighted to receive these well made cloth shields and pads.

The shields were purchased from the Days For Girls agency in Kathmandu but the liners were sewn by NAFA student, Suni Rai before being assembled into packages for distribution. An astonishing 600 metres of cotton fabric was cut and sewn for these pads!

A new health clinic on the horizon

Health Coordinator, Beg Tamang, on the site of the new centre

After a long and exhaustive search, land for a new health centre, serving five villages in Tawal has been purchased.

The old health centre, built in 1999 with NAFA and AusAid funding, was destroyed by the Gorkha earthquake in 2015 and subsequently, a geological assessment by an engineer, revealed that the area above the health centre was a landslide risk.

Since then, the locally based NGO Hilly Region Development Club (HRDC) has been searching for land suitable for the health centre and negotiating with prospective sellers whilst trying to remain within a reasonable budget. This proved difficult as there was no community owned land near the main village of Tawal and farmers who have owned and farmed in the region for generations are  understandably reluctant to part with their land.

In January 2018 a breakthrough was made with the purchase of well-located land 50m x 17m within the available budget. A Memorandum of Understanding has been signed and a deposit paid, with the registration of the land in the name of the HRDC in progress.

Funds for this land and building project were raised largely through a fundraising event organised by Ray Baker at Backtrack, as well as a crowdfunding campaign. Construction of the new five room health centre will commence later this year when local builders have completed the rebuild of the Tawal area school.

In the meantime, the health centre will continue to operate out of two emergency shelter rooms built by the army after the earthquake.

NAFA again wishes to thank everyone who contributed so generously to the rebuild of the Tawal Health Centre.  Watch this space for future updates.

Ladap finished July 16 2017

In the past 9 months NAFA has helped 9 remote villages across 5 districts in Nepal rebuild or substantially repair their schools after the devastating earthquakes in April and May 2015. NAFA provided $500,000 to rebuild or substantially repair 60 classrooms in 9 schools.

Completed three classroom block in Kophu

We also provided $15,000 to help two remote schools purchase additional land for their schools and to clear and excavate that land in preparation for building.

New structures are now resistant to further earthquakes. NAFA provided $30,000 to train local builders in earthquake resistant building techniques and to employ a Nepali engineer full-time for up to 6 months in two locations to oversee construction work.

We are very proud of local builders’ achievements, under very difficult conditions, in the following villages: Dhupiserki and Patle (Okaldhunga district), Kophu (Solu Khumbu), Shyama (Dolakha), Jitpur (Sindulpulchowk) and Tawal, Kutal, Richet and Ladap (Dhading).

Read more Rebuilding the classrooms in Shyama Dolakha

Tawal school 3 large classrooms finished July 31 2017

 Stage 2 – 13 classrooms rebuild by May 2018

NAFA recently allocated nearly $140,000 to rebuild 13 classrooms in 4 villages (Tawal, Kutal, Ladap and Richet) when roads open after the monsoon season. This allocation for the second phase of the school rebuild program will complete NAFA’s commitments made after the April and May 2015 earthquakes.  We hope that the rebuild will be fully completed by NAFA’s next annual fundraising dinner in May 2018.

13 hours 150 people working in the rain

Never let a monsoon interfere with a project deadline!

Working in the rain in Tawal, a small village in the Dhading district, to complete laying the concrete slabs for the first floor of their community’s new two-storey school. In Kutal, a neighbouring village, another 100 people were doing the same. The monsoon was arriving early and they were determined to finish this stage of the project.

“After nine month’s hard work we have finished slab of four classrooms,” says Kanchha, a teacher at the Tawal school and NAFA’s key liaison person. “That day was drizzling rain but ignored by all the people to that bad monsoon because for their children getting earthquake proved (proof) building.”  Many women worked under umbrellas to prepare the aggregate for the huge amount of concrete needed for the job.

Sadit, the engineer contracted by NAFA to oversee the work, was also impressed with the local effort. “It was great news to learn that casting of the slab in Kutal has completed … Also the good news was the materials we had estimated and stored (cement, sand, iron rods, and aggregates) were sufficient to finish the task. The remaining cement bags from the store now can be used to plaster the inner walls.”

What a wonderful effort by all involved!

Meet one of NAFA’s sponsored students, Sunil

This is Sunil, a young man with focus and determination and with an eye for driving his own successes. His mother was an orphaned young woman who married at the age of 14. She was subsequently abandoned by her husband with 3 little ones to care for. Sunil’s father eventually did return to the family, only to die suddenly after this reunion.

Sunil’s primary and secondary years were spent in the care of PA Nepal. Since he was old enough to work (and possibly earlier), Sunil has worked to help support his family. He’s a very hard worker with a great interest in tourism. With the assistance of a NAFA Sponsor since 2007, Sunil has completed schooling and is now mid-way through a Bachelor of Hotel Management in Kathmandu.

There is no doubt that Sunil has authored his own destiny, while weathering the disadvantage that life has thrown at him. His NAFA Sponsor was the water that nourished the seed that helped Sunil realise some of his dreams.

We welcome interest from potential sponsors. If you’d like more information about NAFA’s Child Sponsorship Program, please email Jo Bicknell.

Fundraisers walking and running for NAFA

The second stage of rebuilding received a fabulous injection of funds thanks to 2 very successful fundraisers.  Many thanks to all those people who supported our runners and walkers in the Brisbane Marathon Festival 2017. We raised over $22,500 – enough to rebuild 2 classrooms.

Nepal in the Park,

held at Mt Coot-tha on 20 August, raised $9,000, thanks to people who completed a short walk and people who enjoyed the many festivities, including music, dancing, beautiful food and Nepalese handicrafts.  Such a wonderful outcome. Particular thanks to all our NAFA volunteers who helped us with these events.

Completion of gabian wall August 2017

One of the gabian walls that now protects the village of Tawal (Dhading district) from potential landslides or rockfalls, built with NAFA funding.
This one is 8m high & 50m long.  Tawal was only 15km from the epicentre of the Gorkha earthquake in April 2015 and 100% of the houses & community infrastructure (e.g. schools) was destroyed.

Welcome to our first newsletter in 2017. In this newsletter you will get a sense of the breadth of NAFA’s development projects in Nepal.

Many thanks to everyone who donated so generously to NAFA’s initial response to the terrible earthquakes in 2015 and to the commitments NAFA has made to help rebuild remote infrastructure. A special thanks to those who made donations to our very successful crowdfunding campaign. We now have $53,500 to rebuild a health centre servicing five rural villages.

NAFA’s supporters are passionate about development projects in Nepal. Our low overheads mean that 100% of funds donated go direct to Nepal. The communities in Nepal also contribute through their volunteer labour, skills and open and honest interactions with us as partners. All projects are assessed by senior NAFA executive officers who travel to Nepal at their own expense.

NAFA took on very large commitments after the earthquake; but we are well on our way to meeting those commitments. In 2016 we allocated funds to rebuild/repair approximately 33 classrooms in 8 villages. We also allocated funds to rebuild other remote infrastructure.  Challenges still remain but we can see the end of the tunnel, with an estimated $50,000 still needed in 2017 to complete our rebuild commitments.

We would love you to continue to be part of our ongoing support network. There are a range of opportunities for involvement! Thank you again for your support. It is really appreciated.

Kind regards
Rod Setterlund OAM
President, NAFA

Summary of rebuilding efforts

NAFA’s assistance is focussed on more remote areas in Nepal, where we’ve been working during the past 27 years, and where, unfortunately, communities were hardest hit by the April 2015 earthquakes.

NAFA is helping to rebuild or repair key community infrastructure, such as schools, in nine locations across five districts in Nepal: Solu Khumbu; Okhaldhunga; Dolakha; Sindupulchowk and Dhading.

It’s been really important to locals to design and rebuild in a way that minimises the risk to life of any future earthquakes.  NAFA has funded local builders to be trained in building techniques for earthquake zones, and is funding an engineer in each location to oversee rebuilding efforts.

Relevant Nepali government departments have been consulted and have given appropriate approvals for work to proceed.  Many volunteers are involved in the rebuilding, including women who are making aggregrate for the foundations.

The aim is to try to rebuild as many classrooms as possible before the next monsoon season, due to start around June 2017.

Re-establishing a community farming co-operative

Four years ago, about 230 families from four remote villages pooled their resources, bought some land and started a Co-operative. Their aim was to work together to move from subsistence farming to high value cash crops.

Trainer demonstrating planting of cardamom

NAFA has helped the Co-op fix the three sheds and water infrastructure that were damaged in the earthquakes (including the chicken shed below which houses egg-laying chickens).

NAFA is partnering with the English Family Foundation to restore and expand the overall functioning of the Co-op.

Funding from EFF is providing training in how to grow cardamon (see photo at left) and coffee, as well as 20,000 cardamon plants, solar panels for the chicken sheds, one year’s salary for a caretaker, training for an agricultural/veterarian assistant and a coffee pulping machine.

The EFF grant is also supporting diversification of the Co-op’s work to include higher value goat rearing – a particular project focussed on providing opportunities for women who have missed out on educational opportunities.

NAFA’s recent crowdfunding campaign was a success!

We managed to raise the $50,000 needed to rebuild a remote health clinic destroyed in the earthquakes. Thank you to everyone who donated or helped spread the word!

The next step is to purchase some suitable land from a farmer (the old clinic site is prone to land-slides).

Meet one of our sponsored students, Sunu

Sunu is one of about 80 Nepali students who are supported by NAFA to complete their education at school or through further education. Students come from situations where there are many challenges which might exclude them from fully participating in the education system.

Sunu has risen above these challenges and is now in her final year of a Fashion Degree at a Kathmandu College of Fashion Technology. She hopes to gain an internship in 2017 to launch her career.

It is Sunu’s personal qualities, hard work and appropriate support at crucial times of her development that have brought Sunu this far.

It is serendipitous that she has been financially supported by a university alumni who recognise the value of education and chose to support a little girl in far off developing country who had a dream!

End of an era with NAFA Knitters

NAFA’s knitting program started in 1998, when Ross and Brenda identified a need: many children in poor farming communities had only one change of clothes.

Since then, with up to 150 Australian knitters purling away, NAFA has sent over 11,000 jumpers and 14,000 beanies to these families. That’s over 4,000 kg of much-needed warmth to hundreds of children!

Unfortunately, the logistics involved in managing such volumes have proved difficult, and we are instead focussing on the myriad of health, education, community development and remote village infrastructure projects in Nepal.

Would you like to become a member of NAFA?

NAFA’s work relies on a broad membership base, to help us make a real difference to the lives of disadvantaged people in Nepal.

How involved you’d like to be is up to you: members are welcome at monthly meetings, where you can hear more detail about NAFA’s work and contribute your ideas and experience. NAFA’s team of volunteers (‘Red Shirts’) are very special, organising NAFA’s fundraising events.

Membership of NAFA is for a calendar year and costs $20, which helps cover the cost of insurance, bank fees and other small, unavoidable administration costs. This allows NAFA to keep its promise to donors that 100% of their tax-deductible donations and the net proceeds of funds raised at NAFA events go directly toward NAFA funded projects in Nepal.