Covid 19 – Protecting the Vulnerable
The world continues to face widespread health and economic challenges brought about by the Coronavirus. NAFA has responded to the current health risks faced by the vulnerable in Nepal by allocating funds to project partners for the provision of (Personal Protective Equipment) PPE and essential supplies. Adequate supplies of PPE such as hand sanitiser, face masks, disposable gloves and infrared thermometers are vital to minimise the transmission of the virus.
The five ongoing programs currently receiving Covid-19 support are Nepal Association of Hard of Hearing, Tawal area health post, Sungava Home for young women with an intellectual disability, Butterfly Child Care Centres and VSN School at Thimi in the Kathmandu Valley. The VSN school will also receive additional earmarked donations from ex-child sponsors to support the school during this difficult time.
Unfortunately, the coronavirus is also having a serious impact on NAFA’s fundraising capacity. Due to the frequently changing Covid situation in Australia, we had to postpone our annual fundraising dinners in both 2020 and 2021. This event is a great opportunity to communicate with our valued supporters as well as being a hugely successful fundraiser. As we strive to raise funds to provide support during the pandemic, a number of regular attendees have pledged a specific donation in-lieu of their attendance at the dinner. As NAFA now launches a new campaign to raise funds specifically to provide assistance during the Covid-19 pandemic, we appealing to all our regular Dinner Guests who might like to do the same, and also to the broader community to help us at this uniquely difficult time.
We continue to set up stalls at Markets around Brisbane as the prevailing situation allows, but many have been cancelled. Of particular concern is our capacity to support the ten health, disability, education, and childcare programs that NAFA funds annually. These programs are the backbone of our development portfolio.
Visit our Donations Page to provide your support.
Distribution of Covid-19 Aid Packages to the Disabled in Pokhara
Govinda Raj Pahari is Director of the Butterfly Foundation (BNF) in Pokhara. In this post Govinda provides an update on the distribution of aid packages to people with a disability. Govinda is a deeply passionate man with a long history of helping the disadvantaged in his community, including the establishment of two childcare centres and assisting those affected by [...]
Education in the Age of Covid-19
In this post we are delighted to share some insightful updates in the form of two videos and a written report presented to you by NAFA's partners and beneficiaries in Nepal. Bijaya Rajbhandari – NAFA’s volunteer Coordinator in Nepal. Bijaya provides a particularly insightful overview of how Covid-19 has impacted Nepal. In his video Bijaya makes specific reference to [...]
Tackling Covid-19 and Intellectual Disability
NAFA is excited to share this video message prepared by Shovana Rai, Executive Board member and head nurse for Sungava Home in Kathmandu. Sungava Home aims to provide both residential and day care for young women with intellectual disability. Services include the provision of health care, life skills training and both educational and vocational training tailored to individual disability [...]
An Inspiring Video Report from Nepal
In Nepal, the death toll is increasing and life in general is becoming ever more difficult. By mid November there had been over 200,000 confirmed cases, with the infection rate more than doubling each month. The death toll has already exceeded 1,000 with a third of those in the more densely populated Kathmandu valley. The government imposed a lockdown [...]