18/02/2025
This is from Garry and Lincs2Nepal the charity we support with monthly contributions from kind yoga and meditation donations:
Namaste guys
There is not much to report at the moment, so I will combine this update with a review of 2024, which was a busy year for us.
At the beginning of 2024, we worked on rebuilding two villages in earthquake-affected Jajarkot. Narendra, one of the village elders, contacted me to seek assistance. His village and a neighbouring village had experienced over 30 deaths, numerous injuries, and 33 families were left homeless. I launched an appeal and funds were sent for emergency food, clothing, sanitary items, tents, and thermal quilts. I met with Narendra, and the necessary funds were provided to purchase materials for building new homes. By the time the monsoon rains arrived, all families had new homes.
In June, I learned that Adhyan, one of our nine-year-old students, has leukemia. There was nowhere in Nepal that could treat him so we sent him and his father to Delhi where Adhyan was treated for over 6 months at a cost of several thousand pounds but he has recently returned to Nepal and is on his way to a full recovery.
Also in June, some of our village students lost their family homes in the monsoons so we immediately sent the money over to replace them and staff from Jeevan jyoti school helped with the rebuild
In October, we became aware of the plight of the desperately poor villagers of Devendapur in Chitwan whose water pumps had dried up,leaving them no choicec but to walk miles every day to fetch water for drinking, cooking, washing and crop irrigation. We provided the funding to complete the digging of a trench and the laying of pipes to connect the village to the nearest water supply.
In July, we were contacted by a student from Kathmandu school of management who, together with four other students was seeking a sponsor for a project that they undertake as part of their studies. Project Muskan ( Nepali for project smiles) aimed to deliver educational support to a school, provide menstrual hygiene support and empower women in a poor, rural community, all things that Lincs2nepal have delivered elsewhere. We became their main sponsor, monitored the delivery of the project, I met with them in October and will be meeting them again in March to visit the project and put together a plan to help the community over a longer period.
Bidisha, the young nurse who we have sponsored through nursing college has now finished her 3 year course and is now a qualified nurse. We wish her well in her career .
Although it is amazing to get involved with smaller projects that help individuals, families or villages, our main projects will always be Jeevan jyoti school and 40friends HCC childrens home and we have had a busy 2024 at both
We began 2024 at 40F by demolishing the “kitchen” and building a proper kitchen and dining room. Below are a few before and after pics.
We have also welcomed new children into the 40friends family and taken the children and staff for their first ever holiday, a 3 day trip to the beautiful Pokhara where we had the most amazing time.
Its also been an amazing year for jeevan jyoti school, we had our big celebration to mark 10 years since our opening and we also had our first children graduate to sixth form with all 17 scholarship students in class 10 , scoring A’s and A plusses and going on to study as part of our first ever 6th form where among other things, they are able to study the Cambridge university A level course in the brand new, state of the art, Lincs2nepal physics, biology and chemistry labs and IT in the new Lincs2nepal computer rooms.
(See pics of the funded chemistry labs below)
We have begun 2025 by helping Bikendra Singh. Bikendra is 35 and was born with a badly deformed leg and foot. He supports his family by selling bread in neighbouring villages which he reaches by peddling his bread laden bicycle with his good foot. Unfortunately his bike is now beyond repair and he cannot provide for his family so we have bought him a specially made bike . Small acts of kindness like this don’t cost a fortune and only affect a few people but they give me just as much pleasure as anything else that we do.
That’s all for now, the next update will be in early April. I will just have returned home from Nepal, we will have new children join us at 40friends, 60 new scholarship children at Jeevan Jyoti school and news on the Muskan project, part of our ongoing KindNess project so bye for now and please remember that I cannot do any of this without your continued support which is valued and appreciated by myself and so many people who’s lives are directly affected by your generosity and kindness.
Love and light
Garry
(Note from Grant: I have flown out to Kathmandu and witnessed all the work Garry is doing. It is a worthwhile and amazing job and we are proud to support the Lincs2Nepal charity)
