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News Guardian, Thursday, April 7, 2011
How money collected in North Tyneside is helping to improve the lives of poverty-stricken villagers on
The heat is on in the hills of Nepal, thanks to some woolly thinking over here TEMPERATURES in the Nepalese mountain villages can plummet from 35C during the day to -10C at night. With no electricity for heating, the hills can be a bitterly cold place to live. Many youngsters in these remote villages come from impoverished families who cannot afford extra clothing to keep them warm. Their clothes are not adequate for the harsh conditions that come in winter, and people work in flip-flops or, more often, bare feet. North Tynesiders have stepped in to help, however, and responded in their thousands to the Rotary Club of Monkseaton Centenary’s appeal for unwanted A boy wearing donated knitwear.
balls of wool. Members of the Age UK North Tyneside knitting group have used the donated wool to create 1,128 hand-knitted items to take to young people in the villages. Past club president Barbara Connors-Fowler helped to distribute their knitwear to children at the Shree Raktakali Primary School in Thokarpa. She said: “It was absolutely amazing to be able to give every single child a gift of knitwear that has come from people in North Tyneside. “It is always a joy to distribute this much-needed knitwear to youngsters who really deserve it, and every child really was so delighted by the lovely hats and scarfs and
Water supply a huge boon to village
blankets. “We as a club are so grateful for the public, who responded magnificently to our appeal for wool, and the knitters at Age UK, who all did a wonderful job.” Children’s toothbrushes donated by Robert Chapman, of Newcastle’s Kingston Park Dental Surgery, were also give to all the pupils at the school. Headteacher Sanukaji Adhikari added: “Many of the children who come to our school are very poor. “Their parents cannot afford to buy them hats and scarfs and toothbrushes like these. “We are very thankful that all of our students have been given something to keep them warm. “We cannot thank people in the UK enough for their generosity.” Hundreds of blankets made by the Age UK knitters are now being stored at the health post in the village to be given to new mums for their babies.
Villagers no longer have to walk miles through the hills of Nepal, below, for water.
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News Guardian, Thursday, April 7, 2011
www.newsguardian.co.uk
the other side of the world THE Rotary Club of Monkseaton Centenary supports charity projects at home and abroad. Tegan Chapman went to Nepal with the club to see how money raised in North Tyneside is being spent there. TURNING on a tap to brush our teeth or standing in a hot shower are things we take for granted here in North Tyneside. But for some, just the simple pleasure of clean drinking water is more a luxury than a basic human right. In 2002, money given by people in North Tyneside and south east Northumberland helped to pay for the installation of running water in the Nepalese village of Thokarpa. Previously, villagers had to walk for miles to a well to fetch water several times every day, carrying 20-litre metal containers on their backs in baskets supported by straps around their heads. Javea in Nepal – a charity founded by Vera Russell, secretary of the Rotary Club of Monk-
Tegan Chapman handing out toothbrushes to children in Thokarpa. seaton Centenary, and Sitaram ‘Jack’ Timalsina in 2001 – raised the money to supply the pipes and equipment needed to install a water and drainage system in the village, to allow access to clean running water without a lengthy walk to get it. Vera said: “I was advised by Community Action Nepal (CAN) that it would be just £3,000 to get the materials to get the supply to the village. “The work was all done by
the villagers, organised by Jack and with technical advice from a CAN engineer. “The money is all raised in the UK and then Jack orders the equipment needed, and the villagers will do all the work required to complete the project. “This way the local people stay independent, with a pride of ownership. “They will know how to repair and upkeep everything with little more financial input
from the UK.” The work started in May, 2002 and involved several villagers digging channels with very basic hand tools – bare feet. Two concrete holding tanks were built into the ground, each holding 6,000 litres of water. Eight water taps, each with its own base, where laundry can be done and showers taken, were put in place, with one tap for every five homes in
the village. Vera added: “When all the water pipes were laid and connected to the next village, the water was turned on, the tanks filled and water flowed through the taps. It was an amazing feeling. “The project had been entirely carried out by the villagers, so they know how to maintain their water supply in the future. “The water project has been of enormous benefit to the village.” Jack’s dad, Kabi Prasad Timalsina, a resident of Thokarpa, said: “Having clean water so near to our house is a wonderful thing. “There is now less work carrying water up and down the hills as the water is a lot closer.” The charity also created a block of three toilets – one for girls, one for boys and one for staff – at the school, with the work again being carried out by villagers, to take advantage of the water supply. n The last of Tegan’s three sets of reports follows next week.
Health post saves hours of travelling IN the UK, there are about two and a half doctors per 1,000 people. In Nepal, there is one doctor for every 5,000 people, and most of those are in the valley – few or none are in the hills. Javea in Nepal founder Vera Russell said: “It was obvious that some sort of health post was needed. “We wanted to get a health post with a nurse or a doctor in the village, so people don’t have to wait hours to get the help they need. “After a few years of fundraising, we began to rent a Nepalese two-storey house next to the school.” The health post was opened in February 2006, and fundraising is continuing to keep trainee doctor Santosh Kumar Gupta in his role and his stocks of medicine up. Santosh said: “I wanted to work here because it was so good to have something like this in the hills. “Without the health post, people have to travel for many hours to get down to the bridge, and then they have to get a bus before they can see anyone who can help them. “I like being able to help people who would otherwise often go without the help they need.”
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