HDFA Newsletter | April 2017

Three years on – HDFA’s 3rd birthday and future plans
Ghunsa School – a new English and Tibetan teacher started work
Upper Indrawati – Two Health Posts established and a development officer
Treks – HDFA Yangri Peak Trek October 2017
Donations – April 2017 Snow Leopard Heli-Trek & Fundraising Dinner

Thank you for your ongoing interest in the Himalayan Development Foundation Australia and the work we do in Nepal. 2017 proofs to be another exciting year with our new project starting in Upper Indrawati, as well as some great treks planned. Read more about what has been happening and future plans in this newsletter.

Three years on – HDFA’s 3rd birthday and future plans

Our strategy is to operate in several locations with communities in remote areas where the impact is usually higher and the need more urgent. We work in depth on a “whole of community development” rather than one particular aspect. Fixing the roof on a school doesn’t help if there are: no teachers or books; or the children are not well enough to learn…

Having spent three years working with the Ghunsa community and delivering some earthquake emergency response in Gorkha and Sindulpalchowk (Seti Devi school rebuild); HDFA is now adding the Upper Indrawati Project 45km north of Kathmandu in the foot hills of the Langtang Himal.

As we grow as an organisation we will asses other regions of Nepal such as the Far Western Humla region, as our capacity allows.

Ghunsa School – a new English and Tibetan teacher started work

Thanks to our monthly donors the children in the Ghunsa School have a new full time English and Tibetan language teacher - Mr Sangay Sherpa. Learning English is an important step to better employment opportunities both locally in the emerging tourism industry and further afield. On behalf of the children at Ghunsa and HDFA a big thank you to the monthly donors for the ongoing support and making a real difference. Sangay arrived mid March at the Ghunsa school in the Kanchenjunga region of eastern Nepal. These regular donations allows HDFA to plan ahead and support better educational outcomes.

Upper Indrawati – Two Health Posts established and a development officer

Our new Upper Indrawati project commenced in early January 2017 and Andrew Stace, Jo Chaffer and Duncan Chessell were able to visit the area with Rudra Neupane the Operations Director for PHASE Nepal (our on the ground delivery team in Nepal).

The first stage was establishing an Out Reach Clinic (ORC). This ORC provides health care for communities too remote to the government health posts. The second stage was for our development officer to travel through the entire area and collect objective base line data from each school, health post and household within the two VDCs and map out an needs analysis and recommendations and priorities.

Later this year we will collect further subjective data and work with the community on the action plan, the Health Posts (ORC) will continue for the next 3 years and help establish a bridge of trust with the local communities in addition to the primary health care function.

Treks – Yangri Peak Trek October 2017

A 12 day introductory level trekking holiday in the Nepal Himalaya, 8 days trekking, 2 days sightseeing/touring | October 2017.

This trip is aimed as a parent & child trip (during school holidays) with a number of ‘pairs’ already committed (expected children’s ages 10 to 16).

It’s a great chance to spend some time with your child in a mind broadening location, with picturesque villages, classic ridge-top walking, a small peak (3770m) with fantastic Himalayan views (Langtang and Ganesh Himal) and a real ‘off the beaten track’ feel to it. We also trek past and stay at HDFA’s Upper Indrawati project site where health posts have been established in an area severely affected by the 2015 earthquakes.

After a stay on the valley rim at Nargakot and an early morning view of the Himalayas we finish back in Kathmandu for some sightseeing of incredible world heritage listed historic sites and shopping in Nepal’s chaotic, charming capital city and it’s crowded laneways staying at the Hotel Shanker which was previously a palace.

More info or to book

Donations – April-May 2017 Snow Leopard Heli-Trek & Fundraising Dinner

Seven intrepid trekkers from Adelaide are currently in Nepal for the trip of a lifetime. Trekking the Mt Kanchenjunga Circuit to Base Camp (5,140m high) in the Nepal Himalayas. They will visit beautiful Ghunsa, meet the locals and see how HDFA works and then exit via helicopter over the famous Everest Base Camp.

Earlier this month the trekkers held a fundraising dinner for HDFA at Taste of Nepal Restaurant on The Parade at Norwood. An amazing $5,972 was raised on the night from ticket sales and generous gifts for the silent auction. Trekkers, their family and friends enjoyed an amazing selection of delicious Nepali food accompanied by wine kindly donated by CMV Farms. With over 20 items in the silent auction, happy guests walked away with holidays to the Barossa and Kangaroo Island, tickets to watch the Crows, cooking items, hair pampering and products, car servicing and plenty of wine. 

The night was a wonderful success and we could not have achieved what we did without generous sponsors, bidders and donors. Many thanks to – CMV Group, The Harrold Family, Sealink, CMI Toyota, Routleys, Steven Professional Hairdressing, Lexus of Adelaide, Mercedes Benz Adelaide, Harrold & Kite Pty Ltd, Peter and Lisa Weeks, Alan Dean, Richard and Jette Hamilton, David and Nicole Crawford, Taste of Nepal and PhotoJo. Funds raised went directly to projects and if you would like to contribute directly to HDFA, please visit the HDFA donation page.

Thanks for your support,

Duncan Chessell and the rest of the HDFA Team