Another New Project in Nepal and Other News!

Things are finally moving along with Girls Ed (and rather quickly). We've partnered up with a variety of NGOs in order to get our projects going, and we've got three new projects in addition to the Khane girls' school renovation project. Heidi and I are incredibly excited and meet once or twice per week. Here's a summary of what we are up to:

1. We are planning a variety of fund raisers including a wine and cheese dance party at the Trilogy in Boulder; a BBQ fund raiser, with music by Sengalese musician Justin Faye, and slide show (hopefully with Pete Takeda) at the Hanger Restaurant in Estes Park; a wine and cheese art show with music by a local Salt Lake City musician during the summer Outdoor Retailer Trade Show; and potentially a few other dance parties. We're also interested in having fund raisers in Crested Butte, CO, and Sun Valley, Idaho.

2. We've partnered up with Mountain2Mountain and will be doing some joint fund raisers with them in 2009. They also may co-sponsor our event at the OR show.

3. We've solidified our relationships with The CARE Foundation, Pakistan, and are currently working out the details for not one, but two projects in Pakistan. We plan on trying to get some of the renovations to the Khane school finished this year, and we hope to build a school for girls in the village of Khanday, which is in the same valley, Hushe.

4. We are working out the details for our relationship with Common Ground Society in Liberia. We decided that in order to adhere to our mission we are going to work exclusively in the northern, mountainous regions of Liberia, including Bong and Nimba counties. We will start by providing 25 girls with scholarships. It should cost approximately $3000.

5. We are partnering up with The Mountain Fund and the Nepali NGO, Empowering the Women of Nepal, to support and promote their project, Child Labor Rescue. We hope to Girls Education International has recently partnered with the Nepali NGO, Empowering the Women of Nepal, to support and promote their Child Labor Rescue program. The Mountain Fund will be organizing a Trek4Good that will take people on a tour to the Annapurna region of Nepal, utilizing local guides from the 3 Sisters Adventure Trekking company. The trek will embark November 1st and end November 15th. Part of the money participants spend on the trip will go directly to the school. More information will be made available over the next few weeks.

It costs $600 to house and educate one girl each year. We are hoping to encourage people to support/sponsor individual girls in the school. We plan on providing our sponsors with photographs, a status report of their girl’s progress, and letters from that girl.

The Child Labor Rescue Program
The mission of the Child Labor Rescue program is to declare the Annapurna Trekking Route as a child labor free trekking route. The aims and objectives of the program are to provide help and support for children rescued from child labor and to stop child labor practices by involving local community leaders and government. EWN hopes to do this by educating the community about the negative impact of child labor on tourism and also identifying working children who can either be returned to their families or given shelter at EWN’s children’s home in Pokhara.

Girls Education International seeks raise funds to provide the $600 scholarships to as many girls as possible. We hope to inspire individuals to sponsor new students, and we plan on expanding the program.

Background:

In the sparsely populated region of Mustang, Nepal, 20,000 inhabitants live and work along the Annapurna Trekking Route. Tourism hugely boosts the economy of the area, and family-run restaurants and hotels cater to both international and national visitors.

Unfortunately, to assist in their business and household chores the majority of hotels, restaurants and domestic homes use child labor. Most of the children are brought from the poor settlement areas of Pokhara Municipality.

On a visit to the Mustang area in 2006, Empowering Women of Nepal spoke to many of these children. Most of the children told how their parents were not able to provide them with food, education and care and sent them to this hard place with the assumption that their children would get such things from their employers. Many children explained how they had been sold by their parents for money. Most of them are deprived of education and health care. Physical and verbal abuse is common and they are also very vulnerable to sexual abuse. They normally work more than 15 hours a day, starting early in the morning and working until late at night. Their hands and feet are swollen and bloody. They look very dirty and smell and it seems they have not washed for months. A child worker complained that even at night her employers locked her inside the room, fearing that she might run away.

Child labor restricts children’s potential to become productive adults. It deprives them of good health, education and takes away their future. It is an affront to social justice. Child labor is prohibited by the government of Nepal.