Newsletter 24 December 2015

Dear All,

Unfortunately Nepal has received very little attention in world news since the great quakes of the spring 2015, but the country is still in a deep national crisis due to the natural disaster and the following blockade of the Indian border. Many goods are scarce, particularly gasoline, medicines and cooking gas which leads to all kinds of deprivations. As the blockade enters its third month the Nepalese are forced to cut down trees to cook their family meals even though it has been illegal for many years. Many families have to walk for many hours to find wood.

Also, many Nepalis are using electric stove to prepare their tea and meals but this is also difficult as the government allows only a few hours a day in a system known as load shedding. In particular, the young and elderly are at great risk and even UNICEF has warned of a major health threat in the coming cold months. You can find more information on the current situation in Nepal on our Facebook page.

Distributing school supplies to two primary schools in the Nuwakot district:
We are, however pleased to report that Ram and Saraswati did succeed in bringing the necessary school clothing and writing materials to the 120 children at the two primary schools in the Nuwakot district. In November, Ram collected all the materials which Samantha and Ram had purchased last summer from the different suppliers in Kathmandu and purchased 40 liters of petrol on the black market for the three hour road trip to Budhasing. Warm school sweaters, hats, sandals, exercise books, pens and pencils were distributed to the children, which was a wonderful treat especially with the cold months starting.

Temporary classroom for the Chakersur Primary School in Budhasing:
In July 2015, Alex, Samantha, Ram and Saraswati traveled by jeep to the Nuwakot district and met with the teachers of the Chakersur Primary School at the crossing over the Trisuli river. Unfortunately, we were not able to visit the school at the time as the roads to the village during the rainy season were particularly bad. At that time, we purchased and distributed tin sheeting to the teachers for them to build a temporary class room as their stone building was partly unsafe after the earthquakes.
In November 2015 Ram and Saraswati returned to Budhasing to report on the progress and was able to make pictures of the temporary school building which was built after the monsoon rains stopped. We are very very happy that at least the children have had a roof over their heads for their lessons.

Stover School Christmas Market:
Laxmi Support was present at the annual Christmas Market at Stover School in Newton Abbott, Devon. Our stall was filled with various things from Nepal, Bali and second hand toys and books. It was extremely busy and we were delighted to report we collected more than £ 130. A big massive thanks for the ‘Friends of Stover’ School who provided our charity with a lovely large stall at no charge, which means that all proceeds go directly towards our projects. Also in November, we collected over £100 from the monthly village market in Staverton. We are very pleased with our extra fundraising and hope to start up other useful projects in the coming year.

Laxmi Support would like to thank all our sponsors for their tremendous support over the past year and wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year.

For more information and photos please visit our website and follow us / share us / find us on Facebook for more background information about Nepal and Laxmi Support actions.

If you have any questions, please let us know.

Best wishes,
Laxmi Support team