Monthly Newsletter – July 2012

Namaste

Hope you have been enjoying your summer. The foundation is busy getting all of our programs underway. The girls are now immersed in schoolwork and we have also officially started our Mentoring Program (Didi Program). We are currently coordinating with the school to get the Physical Well-being Program (Aayush) started.

First interactive mentoring session held

(The Didi Program) held its first meeting this past June, but we held our first interactive session between the mentors (Didis – Nepali for Big Sister) and the students (Bahinis – Nepali for Little Sisters) at the ASC Library. The Didis and Bahinis got to know each other through fun games. The Didis also stressed the importance of non-textbook learning so they agreed to write reports on articles of interest to the Bahinis. Read this excellent post that the Didis wrote up after their visit. We will be publishing some of those articles for our supporters to see.

Lessons on women empowerment and education from Mongolia

One of our honorary board members and key contributors in terms of girl empowerment and gender-based issues, Ms. Eri Taniguchi, has written a wonderful post about what lessons Nepal can take from the situation of women in Mongolia. She provides some startling data about how despite being well educated, women in Mongolia still suffer from discrimination and disenfranchisement. She offers ideas on how we can improve the situation for girls in Nepal through quality education. This is a quality read for anybody interested in learning more about the nature of discrimination and how complex the solution ot this problem is.

What to look forward to

Look for more posts about visits to the Bahinis’ homes. These visits help the Didis get a better understanding of the Bahinis and also helps them to establish a trusting relationship, which is so important for our mentoring program. We are also planning additional funraisers and are now selling t-shirts that you can purchase ($25) to show your support for the foundation. You ain’t cool unless you are wearing on these great tees :-).