Letter From Keith the President of Nepal SEEDS:
Namaste Friends It has been a while since we wrote to you, so I want to take this opportunity to update you on our latest projects and to ask for your continued support.
In 1986 I first visited Nepal and fell in love with the country – the people, the mountains, the culture.
In 1998 KP Kafle inspired some of his U.S. friends to found Nepal SEEDS to “help me give something back to my country”.
In 2010, having just returned from another trip to Nepal, I feel prouder and more inspired by the changes that our little organization has wrought in some of the most remote places on earth.
When we first visited the Nubri Valley in 1997, no child had ever received a first grade education, childhood mortality under the age of 5 was 45%, there was virtually no health care. What a joy to now see a fully-functioning school in Sama village with 100 children registered!
To hear the kids recite the English, Tibetan and Nepali alphabets; to see them eating healthy meals paid for by your generosity; to see them laughing and playing instead of toiling in the fields.
Preventable childhood mortality is receding - now there are clinics throughout Nubri that serve hundreds of villagers throughout the year.
Other organizations have moved into the region and work hand in hand with Nepal SEEDS’ medical practitioners.
12 years ago, we provided scholarships for 4 young children from Nubri to study in Kathmandu. Our scholars are an absolute delight and have made us very proud. They are sweet, smart and have excelled at school.
Now, their villages are reaping the benefits- Dawa Norbu has returned to Sama as a teacher. Pema and Tsewang are at nursing school and can hardly wait to bring their skills back to their villages; Nyima is as bright as they come and wants to be a teacher in his village.
As we travelled through Nubri, we were inundated with requests to fund new projects, from health clinics to simple requests such as providing each child one egg per week!
Although the villagers have moved beyond Nepal SEEDS on many levels, taking the initiative to build on the seeds we have sown, - such simple requests are still hard to refuse.
Maybe one day, you will be able to visit the Nubri valley with KP to experience the warmth, kindness and gratitude of these lovely people whose lives are improving because of the seeds that we have been able to plant through your donations.
We would appreciate your donation now to help the people of Nepal bring about improvements in their lives.
Our model of collaboration, local ownership, and mutual responsibility is working; projects last and lead to greater things, Please take a moment to make another donation.
You can visit our beautiful re-designed website (www. Nepalseeds.org) and donate there or send in your donation in the enclosed envelope.
And now you can follow us on Facebook – search for Nepal SEEDS and watch some new videos! We cannot thank you enough for your help over the years.
Regards,
Keith Goldstein, Nepal SEEDS president