Bridges Nepal UK Trust Newsletter 6 May 22
Family Education Programme / School Project
Our partner NGO in Nepal, Bridges Nepal NGO have successfully run the first year of a schooling support project benefiting 25 students from the villages where they work.
Sending children to school and keeping them in school (especially girls) dramatically reduces the chances of them being tricked into being trafficked and helps families stay together. It also gives them skills which will enable them to gain work as they get older and thus be able to support their families.
Although many families are keen for children to attend school, there are huge practical difficulties for the family to provide the support needed to ensure a child can regularly attend school. Young children often provide care to older family members, give practical support in the home, work on the farm or in a family business. They cannot do these things if they are attending school and families are often not able to cope without the children’s support. The NGO works on an ongoing basis with families to provide them with the practical support needed to enable students to attend school.
In discussion with Bridges Nepal NGO, we have agreed to extend our support for the second year now underway to allow the NGO to provide a range of support to the families as well as to the supported pupil. This will also allow Bridges Nepal NGO to spend time working with family and school through the year to maximise the success of the programme for the children.
The programme has developed from a traditional Schools Project into a Family Education Programme that we want to support each year. Providing support to a student and their family costs £120 per annum (£10 per month). Bridges Nepal UK Trust is trying to raise £3,000 every year to allow Yagya and Sally Singh and the NGO to support 25 students and their families through primary and secondary school.
Sending children to school and keeping them in school (especially girls) dramatically reduces the chances of them being tricked into being trafficked and helps families stay together. It also gives them skills which will enable them to gain work as they get older and thus be able to support their families.
Although many families are keen for children to attend school, there are huge practical difficulties for the family to provide the support needed to ensure a child can regularly attend school. Young children often provide care to older family members, give practical support in the home, work on the farm or in a family business. They cannot do these things if they are attending school and families are often not able to cope without the children’s support. The NGO works on an ongoing basis with families to provide them with the practical support needed to enable students to attend school.
In discussion with Bridges Nepal NGO, we have agreed to extend our support for the second year now underway to allow the NGO to provide a range of support to the families as well as to the supported pupil. This will also allow Bridges Nepal NGO to spend time working with family and school through the year to maximise the success of the programme for the children.
The programme has developed from a traditional Schools Project into a Family Education Programme that we want to support each year. Providing support to a student and their family costs £120 per annum (£10 per month). Bridges Nepal UK Trust is trying to raise £3,000 every year to allow Yagya and Sally Singh and the NGO to support 25 students and their families through primary and secondary school.
Project Updates (Reports from Nepal)
Water Storage Tank
During a visit to Bhadragaun in March, one of our BNUKT trustees saw the water tank and was excited about the progress made. There is a small committee of people who have been faithfully digging, carrying rocks up the hill from the main road and building over the past few months. We are delighted to report that the tank it is complete!! Now we want focus on phase two, which is permanent piping into the tank and the village.
Piping To The Village
Bridges Nepal NGO (our Partners in Nepal) now have agreement with the Local Government for access to a Government-controlled spring to run a pipe from the spring to the village storage tank, (approximately 2 km). We are releasing funds for the 2km pipeline and the final connections from the storage tank to the village. This will complete the project to provide a secure water supply to the village.
Family Education
We are glad to say that we were able to meet a few of the girls we sponsor while visiting in March. They were so grateful and it was good to encourage them to keep studying well.Tailoring Project
We are pleased to report that the young woman helping the NGO set up and run the tailoring project has in fact begun her own small business. She has managed to put herself in a position where she is no longer at risk of exploitation and we wish her all the best, trusting that God blesses all her efforts!
The government training that was due to run for tailoring and sewing has not yet begun. Therefore, the NGO is in the process of looking for someone else who can fulfil the management role. When selected, they will then attend the government training as and when it starts. The NGO is also progressing the selection of candidates for the first training course that is currently targeted for launch in autumn 2022.