More dZi Foundation History ...
In the fall of 2000, dZi volunteers remodeled the Chhulemu primary school and later built a 700 square foot Teachers House in the fall of 2001 (see Schools page). During this same period, the Foundation also funded the replacement of a roof on a historic building at the Taksindu Monastery. This building houses 70-year-old culturally significant religious paintings that were in danger of being destroyed by the elements (see Monasteries page).
Nepal's Political Climate
Despite the precarious nature of Nepal’s future, dZi has continued with its projects and humanitarian efforts there. Every year dZi has increased financial donations to projects, while remaining open to changes relative to the dynamic political climate in Nepal. The dZi Foundation has currently chosen to not fund buildings and capitol projects in the mountainous regions of Nepal. Although schools, teachers' houses and medical clinics are greatly needed in these areas, there are unpredictable consequences. The people who would oversee these types of projects would be identified by the Maoists and extorted for money that they do not have. The dZi Foundation’s heart is in Nepal but, as situations unfortunately continue to worsen, we have had to take extreme caution with what and where we fund projects.
With the expansion of humanitarian projects into Sikkim and Ladakh, India, The dZi Foundation was able to broaden the spectrum of ethnic groups that it could help. In addition, working in Ladakh and Sikkim allowed dZi to disperse risk as Nepal's future continues to be unclear.
Partnerships
One of The dZi Foundation's strengths has been its ability to partner with other small non-profit organizations. Bringing together the respective strengths of each individual organization has allowed us to accomplish things that alone would not be possible.
In 2002, dZi partnered with the Himalayan Dental Relief Project (HDRP). (see Dental Page).
At that time, the HDRP was well established in the Kathmandu Valley of Nepal but not in other Himalayan countries. The HDRP mission is to bring dental care to the children of Nepal and other regions of Asia. Volunteer health professionals deliver treatment and preventive care through mobile dental clinics to areas where care is beyond reach, physically and financially, for most of the population. Treatment is focused on children below the age of 18.
Since 2002, the partnership has run clinics in Nepal, Sikkim, India and Ladakh, India. Each year since 2002, the dZi Foundation has provided more funding to further the partnership, providing greater opportunities to serve our mountainous communities.
In 2006, the dZi Foundation will again increase it’s financial support of the HDRP. Currently clinics are scheduled in Ladakh for both spring and fall. The Foundation is very proud to have helped bring over $795,000.00 worth of dental care to the Himalayan regions we serve, with over 3550 children provided with primary dental care – all at no cost to any of the recipients.
In 2003, we partnered with an excellent group called the Nepalese Youth Opportunity Foundation (NYOF). The NYOF had been working in Nepal for a number of years and we found that we had similar missions, offering us great opportunities for partnership.
NYOF was founded by the visionary Olga Murry who continues to be its driving force. Olga and Jim Nowak became good friends over the years, trusting and respecting each other’s work. In an effort to help support the Nutritional Rehabilitation Home (NRH) (see Nutritional page) in Kathmandu, established by Olga Murry in 1998, The dZi Foundation now contributes 75% of the annual costs to the program. The Kathmandu NRH is the flagship of NYOF’s nutritional program. All remote NRH village staff are initially trained at the Kathmandu facility. The dZi Foundation's support has allowed NYOF to be able to open 5 smaller NRH Homes in rural areas.
Since 2004, the Foundation has continued to partner with quality organizations to provide projects that support those we serve. Find out more about our partnerships on the Current Projects page.
Committment
The dZi Foundation is fully committed to helping mountain communities of the Himalayan region... not just when times are good, but especially when times are tough. Despite the current political unrest in the world, The dZi Foundation has a thoroughly reliable infrastructure in place for money flow and coordination of all our projects. In our opinion, the only way to accomplish security and success is to be established with local people in the villages and communities of each project. Each year, our Directors spend 3 months on semi-annual trips, reviewing the success and efficiency of ongoing projects and investigating new projects.Today the Friendship House (see Girls At Risk) is still the cornerstone of our efforts since 1997. The constant thread over the years has always been keeping the girls' education and welfare as our prime directive.
We hope you will join us.
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