Newsletter
Winter project for four primary schools

Namaste family and friends,

It’s time for another newsletter to inform you about two recently completed projects for four schools and the successful return of our mini stall on a quiet country lane in South West England.

To Nuwakot by jeep:

During the winter months in Nepal it can be pretty cold up in the hills of the middle Himalayas. As there’s no central heating in schools, the classrooms feel very damp and cold. Therefore we decided to distribute warm winter jackets and writing materials to 107 students of three primary schools in the Nuwakot district. The kids were extremely happy with the donations.

The black down jackets were made by a small sewing factory of Manoj Wosti in Kathmandu. The seamstresses worked super hard for a week to prepare all 107 coats in three different sizes.

Ram, who works for the Laxmi Support Foundation, has also stocked up on no fewer than 576 notebooks and other writing materials. A 4×4 jeep was hired to travel early morning to Nuwakot to deliver the goods to the three schools and return to Kathmandu that same day.

The first stop was at the Chakreswori Basic School where 85 students were pleasantly surprised with this help. Our foundation has been supporting this school since 2007 and it was therefore wonderful to be able to return once more. 

The Annapurna Basic School with eleven students also received a visit. The children come from families of the lowest caste in society, so it’s even more important that they are given a warm coat.

The final stop was at Dhadakharka Primary School with fifteen children. It was our first visit to this school and we have a feeling it won’t be our last!

Nice to mention that this project received the attention of the local news channel NDA News. Although in Nepali language, it’s still fun to watch. Click here: YouTube-NDA News.

To Pokhara by bus:

It has been some time since we executed a project for the 45 children of the Annapurna Primary School in Pokhara. After contacting the teachers, the wish was to hand out blue tracksuits instead of winter coats. And so we did…and more. We also distributed small backpacks and of course writing materials.

The tracksuits were made in Kathmandu at the same sewing factory as where the winter jackets were made. The other goods were bought in Pokhara. Early December, Ram and his wife Saraswati traveled for two nights to Pokhara by bus.

The welcome at the school was heartwarming. Wooden benches and desks were set up outside so that the ceremony could take place in the warm winter sun. Several speeches were held and Ram was presented with many traditional flower garlands as a mark of respect and appreciation. All the children were delighted with the new school clothes, backpacks and writing materials.

Mini stall on our lane:

Unfortunately, since the outbreak of the corona virus, almost all summer markets have been cancelled. So, we have set up a daily mini stall on our quiet lane in South West England (except on rainy days!).

In 2021 we earned over £415 with sales of handmade key rings and other goodies. This has been used to finance the above winter projects.

Thank you to all our sponsors!

A huge thanks goes out to all our sponsors. We simply cannot carry out these projects without your continued financial support. It’s difficult to express in words the joy our projects bring to the children and their families, but we can assure you that their gratitude is enormous. 

Please consider a donation so we can keep going into the new year. Thank you very much!

Lastly, take a look on our website: www.laxmi-support.com or follow us on Facebook.

Wishing You All a Very Happy Christmas!

Best wishes,

Laxmi Support team
Samantha, Alex, Ram, Jolanda, Geke, Sylvia

Namaste family & friends,

In early May, it became clear that the Delta variant, first discovered in India, had also taken hold in Nepal. The number of Covid-19 infections rose alarmingly fast, also in the Nuwakot district. In the beginning there were only a few infections, within a few weeks the number rose to over a hundred.

After a successful fundraising campaign, at the end of May we started providing medical support to people infected with Covid-19 in this particular area, who are in self-isolation at home or in isolation centers provided for by the government.

Beforehand, Ram Thapa of Laxmi Support, has been busy stocking up all the stuff in Kathmandu, which was not always easy due to the scarcity of the items caused by this second wave. Ram is a pharmacist by profession and works in the hospital, which came in handy as we were able to stock up on many medicines with a discount.

The relief package consisted of: vitamin B, C, D tablets and zinc tablets to strengthen the immune system, paracetamol, facemasks, hand gel, soap, thermometers and oximeters, to measure the oxygen level in the blood.

On May 24 we were ready to start the distribution of the items. Ram was assisted by his brother, Keshab Thapa, and a health worker from Nuwakot district, who was assigned to our project for two days. They managed to reach a total of 112 with Covid-19 infected people.

The mayor of Tarkeshwar Rural Municipality, Mr. Ramesh Wosti, kindly provided for a 4×4 jeep with driver for the duration of our project. This literally saved us a few hundred euros, which we could spend extra on medicines. 

The team wore fully protective clothing, which was extremely hot this time of year. The unpaved roads to the different villages were seriously bad; luckily we had a local driver who was very skilful at steering the vehicle through the hills.

The project was highly appreciated by the villagers, as we went door to door to distribute medicines, measure oxygen levels and give advice. This personal approach was very well received by all involved, one of the Covid-19-infected residents reported that his self-confidence and motivation had been strengthened by the personal attention of the team.

Fun to mention is that the project was broadcasted on Nepalese television. See the report here: YouTube.

A big thank you to our wonderful sponsors, who made it possible to make this project a reality. Thank you to your continued support, it warms our hearts and souls.

Check out our website or follow us on Facebook. We will be in touch soon.

Best wishes,

Samantha, Alex, Ram, Geke, Jolanda & Sylvia
Laxmi Support Foundation

Namasté family and friends,

Nepal has been hit hard by a second wave of Covid-19, mainly caused by the contagious Indian variant. The number of new infections increases by 7,000 and more every day. The healthcare system has passed breaking point and the peak of this second wave is not yet in sight. We must act now!

Our project will provide immediate assistance to 100 or more infected people in the Nuwakot district by means of medicines, masks, hand sanitizer, soap, thermometers and oximeters, to measure the oxygen level in the blood. It is also necessary to rent a jeep for two days to reach all the homes and to pay medical staff. 

Please consider a donation to our small but effective charity. Every amount helps! 

Donate now by clicking on the Donate button on our website (Paypal and credit/debit card options) or transfer directly into our bank account.

Our ING bank details are:

Accountname: Stichting Laxmi Support
IBAN: NL62INGB0002531574
BIC: INGBNL2A

Thank you very much for your support,

Laxmi Support Team
Jolanda, Geke, Sylvia, Ram, Alex & Samantha

Namasté family and friends,

In this newsletter we will share some good news and also worrisome news from Nepal. To start with the good stuff, last month we successfully completed our computer project at a school in the district of Nuwakot. The worrying news is that the neighboring country of India has been hit hard by a new wave of Covid-19, which will have damaging effects on Nepal.

Computer project:

Last month we successfully installed five Microsoft computers and a Canon laser printer at the Saraswoti Basic school in the village of Newarpani, Nuwakot. New carpet was laid in the classroom, we also supplied ten chairs, and two wooden computer tables, made by the local carpenter.

Students will now be able to learn the main software programs on the computers, such as Word, Excel and Powerpoint. Another enormous benefit is that teachers can print out questionnaires and other teaching materials to accompany their lessons. 

For most students it was a first to sit at a computer, which was hugely exciting. On the day of the opening of the new computer classroom, the school organised a grand ceremony with speeches, dance and music. 

Watch our 1-minute video to get an impression of our project:

Nepal and Covid-19:

The number of corona infections in Nepal increases daily, with 4774 new positive test on April 28, half of which are recorded in the Kathmandu Valley. The number of vaccinations is almost 2 million, which is just 3.5% of the total population. 

Hospitals in the Lumbini district, which borders with India, are overcrowded. Schools are closed until May 14 and a one-week lockdown of Kathmandu has been announced yesterday. Shutting down the economy brings great poverty for many people, however if the number of infections is not curbed, the hospitals will become overwhelmed soon. 

We keep a close eye on the news from Nepal. Follow us on Facebook to stay up to date.

Support our projects by ordering from our webshop:

Our webshop sells crocheted key rings made by Samantha and gifts from Bali and Nepal. The lavender bags are filled with lavender from Alex and Sam’s English garden. New in our webshop are cute dog paw key rings, perfect for the real dog lover. 

Orders can be placed from the Netherlands and England. To order from another country, please send us an e-mail.

We would like to thank all our sponsors for their continued support. We keep on going with our project for the children and their families of Nepal. With a new wave of Covid-19 on the doorstep, things will get worse in the months to come.

We wish everyone a good summer, do stay safe and be careful out there.

Best regards, 

Laxmi Support Team 
Jolanda, Geke, Sylvia, Ram, Alex & Samantha

Dear all,

Christmas is coming up in a few days time and the end of the year is almost in sight. What a year it has been! Laxmi Support was forced to stop two projects due to the outbreak of Covid-19 in Nepal, but fortunately we can now report that we have recently and successfully completed one project. Completion of the second project is scheduled for early next year.

Schoolsupplies for 10 students:

At the beginning of this year, we provided ten students from Taruka Hillside School in the Nuwakot district new school uniforms.These students come from poor families and have a ‘scholarship’ from the school, so that school fees do not have to be paid. As all schools were closed in March due to the outbreak of Covid-19, we were forced to put the project on hold. However in October the project was successfully completed by handing out textbooks, notebooks and writing materials sufficient to cover the entire school year. The mothers of the children were also present during the distribution and the appreciation of this support was enormous.

Computer project February 2021:

At the beginning of this year, we made preparations to set up a computer class for a senior school in Nuwakot. At the moment the students are given computer lessons using books but without any computers. The plan is to purchase a printer and, depending on the budget, four or five computers and chairs. Wooden tables will be manufactured by the local carpenter. This project had to be postponed as well, but we plan to carry it out in February-March next year.

Online Webshop:

Support our projects and order something nice in our newly opened online webshop. Handmade Christmas Snowflakes for only Euro 3.50, gorgeous for decorating the Christmas tree. We also offer handmade key rings, perfect for the school bag or bunch of keys, for only Euro 4.90 and other nice items from Nepal and Bali. Needless to say that all proceeds will go directly to our projects for next year.

Click here to view our webshop or consider a donation to support our projects:

Visit our webshop

Thanks to our sponsors:

We would like to thank all our sponsors for the support of the past year. Without your help we would not have been able to carry out our support projects.

With your help 109 families received food & hygiene packages during the months-long lock-down and all the rooms in the newly rented house of the Hopeful Home orphans have been completely painted and equipped with new carpets, curtains and bed sheets. Finally, we sponsored ten students for the entire school year. All this is not possible without the help of our sponsors! Thousand times thanks for this!

We wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a healthy 2021!

Namaste,

Geke, Jolanda, Sylvia, Alex & Samantha

Laxmi Support Foundation