Namaste, Friends and Supporters of dZi,

The other night I was at a dinner party and a friend asked me what I thought would be the highlight of my upcoming trip to Asia this spring. I told him that it is always an adventure and I am constantly surprised at what evolves as I travel from region to region to review our projects. Projects that you thought were “spot-on” have an issue or two that need to be dealt with, and what you thought was a problem with an individual, method of delivery or measurement of, has been resolved and is back on track.

We have not been able to go back to the villages of Chhulemu, Deku, and the Taksindu Monastery area for the last 5 years due to the Maoist conflict. This is the area where Kim and I were married in a Sherpa “Demchang & Zendi” Ceremony that lasted 4 days with 200 Nepali friends from the surrounding area. You want to talk about a party! As we trekked for days to get to the site, the going joke was, “Walk 75 miles and bring a covered dish to Jim & Kim’s Wedding.”

Since our last trip, the Nepal Army and the Maoists have ravaged this peaceful area of the Solu Region, each attempting to control the area. The Maoists ruled by night and the Nepal Army ruled by day and, as in most conflicts, the villagers were caught in the middle, terrorized by both sides. With this 10-year chapter of Nepal’s history (and 12,000 deaths) hopefully behind us, we look optimistically towards the future.

In the non-profit world, assessments and immediate impacts are goals of projects for financial efficiency and responsibility to our donors. This is all-important but, when you step back and take a look at our work, it is an interesting blend of putting western accountability on a project and, in reality, what we are often doing… investing in the human spirit. Amongst the thousands of individuals that dZi has helped in Asia, with just a small amount of help from the outside, we have witnessed people soaring to new heights, far greater than the mountains that surround them.

Karma Sherpa is one young man who embodies the concept of investing in the human spirit. We met Karma many years ago, when he was probably 6 years old, and I can remember him playing in the dirt in front of his house in the village of Deku. Over the years, we passed through Deku many times and saw him grow up as we climbed and trekked in Nepal. Kim and I were excited to hear that Karma wanted to be the first person from Deku to graduate from college. We decided to sponsor him for his college education in Kathmandu.

This story has come full circle. Karma is now a young man and has graduated from Kathmandu University with a B.A. in Business. He has been elected as the president of the Taksindu Social Welfare Council. As a child, he attended the primary school in the next village of Chhulemu. Now the village elders and the dZi Foundation have entrusted him as the person who is in charge of the construction of the new Chhulemu School. As I just wrote this and considered the reality of what has taken place over the years, tears started to role down my face. Honestly, I don’t know why. I am exhausted trying to get my life wrapped up for the next 6 weeks, before I leave in 2 days. But one thing I can tell you for sure, I will give you a first hand report, in the next newsletter. On May 9th when we walk back into Chhulemu and Deku to inaugurate the opening of the new primary school, it will be an off-the-charts celebration.

A saying we often use around dZi is, “with privilege comes responsibility”. Karma is living this saying and we can’t wait to see him beaming when we walk up the trail into Chhulemu.

All the best.

Jim Nowak
Executive Director

A Tale of Struggle, Yet to Tell…

by Maya Shrestha

How do you know how a child grows? I was born and grown in a tense environment. My father had already married to another woman and left my mother. On one hand I always had an empty corner for a father and on the other hand, my mother’s earning alone was not enough to fill five persons stomachs. I spent my childhood having things only in dreams. In spite of my poverty and struggles, I still had a dream of being a successful woman. As days passed, I was in doubt whether I would be able to give my dream a concrete shape or not.

When I came to Friendship House, then I saw how family members live. I saw people talk and behave with each other differently. I had never seen people talking and living in this polite way. In the beginning, it was just like a dream. It was difficult for me to digest, too. As days passed, I learnt many things from our house parents Uncle Hem, Aunty Binu, as well as from my brothers and sisters. My emptiness for my father has been fulfilled by Uncle Hem.

Now, my life in Friendship House is really happy. I don’t have to long for anything here. My life has got a meaning – I believe that now life is not always unhappy. Through struggle and community anyone can become happy. Now, I am preparing for my S.L.C. I do have hope for fulfilling my dream of being a successful journalist in the future.

Maya is one of our girls at the Friendship House in Kathmandu, Nepal. She is preparing for her S.L.C., which is similar to the S.A.T. in the States. The photo above is Maya with her good friend Dr. Neena Jain, Health Coordinator for dZi and long time advocate of our work.

A Perfect Mother’s Day Gift

Nutritional Rehabilitation Home Sponsorship

$250.00

The dZi Foundation partners with the Nepalese Opportunity Youth Foundation to run this excellent program started by them. The gift made in your name will support one severely malnourished child and her mother for five weeks at the Nutritional Rehabilitation Home in Kathmandu, Nepal. This contribution will provide the food, medical supplies, doctor visits and nutritional education classes used to bring the child up to 80% of her target weight. Once the child has returned to their village, three follow-up visits will be made to support the child’s progress. The mother also takes her newly learned nutritional education back to the village to share with her community.

280 children saved, 280 mothers educated in 2006.

Photo is a “before & after” montage showing a malnourished child on arrival at the Nutritional Rehabilitation Home in Kathmandu, and that same child five weeks later, ready to go home!