KG Blog - Kehi Garoun

student project 01

9/2/2017

Design for change framework helped the students to solve their problems at Shanti Sikshya Secondary School. After completing the FIDS session they have improved their learning . while doing this framework students had listed all problems that they have been facing in their school everyday. After it, they chose the important problems by voting. Once it is done, they imagined the various solutions and listed the plan to solve it . Finally they solved their problems with the help of design for change project.

student project 03

8/31/2017

Students of Kankeshwori Lower Secondary School have done design for change project, while doing this project students were very much excited. They had listed the problems that bothered them and list out the plan to solve it . when they solved it they were happy for their efforts.

"For Kids by kids" a fund raising event

6/8/2017

For kids by kids program was designed by a group of mentors from 12 different schools. The program was successful held on 8th June at Kanya Mandir Secondary School, Chhetrapati. Around 400 students were present at the event. Students put all together 15 cultural acts and 12 Food stalls. The total revenue of the event was RS.26,000 which will be used in DFC projects led by students themselves.
Testimonial by Sarala Panta (Teacher, Kanya Mandir School):
I have never experienced an event like this before where teachers and students from different school come together at a common place and work together in a non competitive way.

Student project 02

4/3/2017

Students of Shanti Sikshya Secondary School were happy in doing design for change project. With the help of this projects they were able to solve their problems in school. They have chosen the toilet cleanliness projects which is most import problem to them. Support of teacher, school admin and students were able to solve it with good effort.

INSIDE OUT CHANGE RETREAT

1/31/2017

Kehi Garoun has been working for the last ten years towards self-empowerment. Yet, somehow we are seen as yet another charity organization, adding to the very culture of dependence that we are trying to change. In our attempt to rethink our work, Nabin, Pravendra and Umanga attended a 3 day retreat on Reimaging Education in Ahmedabad, organized by movedbylove.org. The retreat was an experience of generosity, connection and learning. It was truly rewarding experience for our 'hands, hearts and heads.' Details of the retreat is here.

Inspired by our experience, we replicated a similar retreat for Kehi Garoun volunteers from January 27-29 to explore the potential of "inside-out change" - the social change that results from personal change. We did not have a rigid agenda, yet we had a prayer that each of us will get some clarity for oneself, and kindle heart-connections with others.
"EACH OF US GUARDS A GATE OF CHANGE,
THAT CAN BE UNLOCKED ONLY FROM THE INSIDE."

The retreat, thanks too all participants and volunteers, happened to emerge with a framework of how we can co-create possibilities of Inside-Out Change at the level of schools and colleges. There were many moments of inspiration and connections. Our first evening was rainy and cold but was made peaceful and warm by the volunteers who sat around, in the distant glow of a heater, to share their stories of inner change. Saturday was a busy day of breakout sessions and prayers and laughter. Many of us left at the end of the day with a piece of an inner sun shine. Sunday morning, a small group took a long walk through the flower-fields to Ichangu temple before saying goodbye to the inspiring location of Whitefield Residential School.

We believe that the retreat was meaningful for each of the participants. For Kehi Garoun, the retreat was a collective articulation of the model of change it has been exploring. We were reminded of how joyful yet difficult is the journey of self-care, social-empathy and humility. And in that spirit, we share this email with you to highlight:

Our gratitude to the many hands that helped - Aparimita gifted us the beautiful envelopes, key rings, quotations etc. that touched us all. Ram Shrestha provided us 5 Sleeping bags without which we could not have imagined a warm sleep. Monica worked for many days before the event, and tirelessly during the retreat, to ensure we all felt welcomed and taken care of. Pratishtha specifically worked behind the scene to ensure we had yummy food and regular tea. Kanchan provided her vehicle and driver to take volunteers and materials from THE office to the retreat, not to mention, her treat of momos to us all on the first evening. And finally, to Paras Shrestha who gifted us the use of the venue, and all the logistical help, including full use of the kitchen and his housekeeping staff. All this would clearly not be possible without their help, and the help from so many others who have supported us so that we could provide the free retreat as a gift to us all.
Open sharing of resources so that our collective work may ripple out. This folder in Google Drive has the material we used and generated in the retreat. MovedByLove shared their retreat music on line so teams like us could spread the love. The list of our email addresses are shared there so you can continue building on the connections you have already made.
The photos are here in Google Photos Album; which you can view here.

We hope to continue host these retreats as part of our program "Dialogues," as one way of sharing the experience of self-empowerment. If you would like to volunteer for these retreats in future, please contact us. And once again, here is A final "HUG" to you all, from us all.

EDUCATORS RETREAT: AHMEDABAD

1/31/2017

Every month, movedbylove volunteers host a 3-day experiential service retreat on the outskirts of Ahmedabad, Gujarat. To deepen the participant's experience of generosity, build community amongst each other, and reflect on subtle values embedded in acts of giving. This retreat was going to be on "Reimagining Education". Nabin, Prevendra and Umanga from Kehi Garoun joined the retreat.

Summary:
The experience was so inspiring that Kehi
Garoun held a similar retreat on inside-out
change as soon as their team got back to Nepal.

Highlights:
The retreat started with simple introduction of all the participants and the volunteers. All shared their moments of joy in education. There were break out sessions on compassion quotient. We visited Sewa Cafe, an experiment in giving, and listened to Nemo's songs.

On the second day, we listened to experiences in informal education by Chetanya Bhai who concluded with the merit of replacing external examinations by 360 degree evaluation (by self, peers, parents and teachers). On the third day, we heard from Nipun Mehta about the movement towards compassion and from Jayanti Ravi on her personal journeys that served as the foundation for implementation of large scale change in Gurjrat's education program. The final day of the retreat was spiritual in nature, and all participants were palpably moved by the end of it.

Annex: Kehi Garoun team stayed for an extra day to visit some interesting works in education. Our visit to the Riverside International School led us to integrate their "design for change" curriculum into our own Dignity Circle program. and also the "i can " challenge for the schools. We also heard about their salient lessons from Gandhian education from the Registrar of Ganghi Vidyapith.

board circle

1/31/2017

We moderate dialogues among leaders of various organizations who wish to serve as a sounding board to one another.

The board circle is a safe space that treats the discussion in strict confidentiality.
The board circle operates as a co-learning space for emergent solutions.

We create spaces for conversations and connections, for self-reflection and enhancing perspectives.
This practice was built on the experience of holding "Sambaad - a dialogue forum" for individuals' dignity and responsibility here, in collaboration with Janata Media.

KEY TERMS

1/5/2017

Inside Out Change: A change-model where changes at a personal level ripples out as social change. This is in contrast to standard model where social, legal or governmental change channels person’s behavior.

Mindful Actions:  Actions that combine inner reflection and outer engagement, as expressed by our logo. Such actions thus ripen positive changes at a personal level.  There changes (wellness for oneself, empathy in relationships and excellence in work) ripple out as positive social change. 

Australian Consolidated Milk (ACM)

7/12/2016

Australian Consolidated Milk (ACM) is Australia’s fastest growing dairy company . They collect milk from their valued suppliers and deliver dairy ingredients directly to end-user customers in the domestic and export markets.
In November 2015 , They sent donation of 3000 Australian Dollar which is NRS.225,462.39 to Kehi Garoun Nepal which was utilized for Sweater Campaign 2015/2016

Saira D Budhrani also known as Reshy is Philippines based Dance instructor and choreographer.
She with the help of her friends promoted a campaign called "#raise4nepal" and raised total amount of Rs.89,276 for Nepalese children.She donated the entire fund to Kehi Garoun Nepal to help childern of earthquake victims
Out of Rs.89,276 Kehi Garoun used Rs.35000 for providing stationery materials to 100 students of different government school and Rs.54000 was used to provide mid-day lunch to 30 students.

Theo Wels , a resident of Strasbourg, Schijndel, France is a philanthropist who believes in caring and loving human being. When Nepal was devastative by earthquake and people were in need of help, he donated $500 to help especially children in need ,Kehi Garoun has been using his donation to provide educational material such as school uniform, school shoes, bag, stationery and mid-day meal to students of various government affected by earthquake.

PP Prasai Foundation was established in February 18, 2011 as a tribute to Late Prajapati Prasai, popularly known as PP. The Foundation was established with the main intention of keeping alive aspirations of PP particularly in developing and promoting the education and tourism sector of Nepal.
The PP Prasai Foundation was established with the objective to develop, promote and contribute to the national development by creating opportunities; recognizing potentials; inspiring and supporting individuals and institutions committed to change for the better and for identifying, developing, preserving and promoting destinations and heritages in these two particular sectors.
In 3rd Sept 2015, Kehi Garoun and PP Prasai foundation agreed to collaborate to fulfill mutual agreed goals by signing MOU where PP Prasai donated Rs.105000 to help and support children in need with their educational materials.

Volunteers are from Ullens School, Rato Bangla School, Trichandra College and Nepal Commerce College. They are Aleena Shrestha, Prapti Sharma, Ishaan TheKop Rijal, Dolkar Nyangmi, Shristi Bhetwal, Sishtata Neupane, Karishma Keshari Tuladhar, Roshan Chapagain, Aashish Joshi, Biraj Koirala, Shristi Shrestha, Praven Maharjan,Prena Manandhar, Keshab Raj Joshi, Kriti Dhital, Ram Shankar Ale Magar, Krishna Dhungana, Akshaya Prasai, Mihir Pyakuryal, Gaurav Jaysuwal,Utkrista Pandey , Sulana Shrestha, Sabina Adhikari, Ankita Bista, Bicky Shrestha , Aashaya Upadhayay, Smriti Pandey, Jayshree Jain and Karma Dolma Gurung.

Umanga Pandey, founder-president, is interested in philosophy and management. He heads the Compliance Committee.

Nabin Linkha , executive Officer, is a musician and a basketball player. He serves in the Compliance Committee.

Praven Raj joshi, vice-president, is an educator and IT entrepreneur. He heads the Program Committee.

Sara Subba, secretary, is a development consultant in Nepal. She heads the Resources Committee.

Gaurav Rana, treasurer, is a physicist with interest in psychology. He serves in the Program Committee.

Ingo Wagleri, from Germany, worked for Kathamndu municipality.

Shawn Cole, Professor at Harvard Business School, focuses on “Business at the Base of the Pyramid.”

Danny Levinson, an technology enthusiast in China and HK.

Prakash Tiwari (New York) is a student of sociology in CUNY

Janneke Versteeg
provides PR advisory from Amsterdam.

Pratigya Upadhyaya is an environmental researcher based in DC.

Kavita S. an architect and an actor, is an observer in the board and coordinates the Advisory Group.

Saurav Shrestha
Founder of S&S Lekhaa Services.

Kamal Nath Mishra.He is a Advisory of organization development.

Pratishara Manandhar served as the Program Officer in 2015.

Rajeshwor Pradhan is a Fellow Chartered Certified Accountant.

Uttam Sharma is an economic researcher in Australia. He heads the Program Committee.

Miru Vaidya served as a tresurer and manager for 5 years.

Tak Chun Chung, a private equity investor in Hong Kong, is interested in education.

Sudarshan and Mahima are professionals from Virginia.

Issa and Lubna are lawyers based in California

Arvind Ramaswami is a chartered accountant based in Manila. He provides suggestions regarding long-term sustainability.

Theo Wels , a resident of France is believes in caring and loving human being.

SaraAdhikari (Kolkata), a journalist for 25 years both in India and the UK, is the founder of Small Change, a communications agency for non-profits.

Prerana Bhatta, was a co-founder, and served in the board for 2 years.

Sahara Rayamajhi served in the board for 2 years and as staff for 2 years, and initiated Stationery Campaign.

Guru Srinivasan is an IT engineer in the US advises on keeping process simple.

Anupama Pokhrel, Treasurer, is the Lead Researcher at Kehi Garoun.

Bibhu Shah is a mechanical engineer

Khagendra Poudel, works at Kankayshwori
Higher Secondary School.

Sailesh J. Pandey, having worked in the founding team of KG, represents KG in Canada.

Surendra Bhatta is an International Development Professional who works as a Freelancer.

Bishal Shrestha is a student in Canada. He joined KG's Trust Board when he was a director at a management school in Nepal.

Arudra Burra teaches philosophy at the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT)-Delhi.

Dadhi Adhikari is an economic lecturer in TU, currently in Uni of New Mexico.

Nabraj Khanal was program officer

Aashish Joshi, a fresh BBA-BI Graduate from Ace Institute of Management, is Finance & Admin Officer.

Rishav Shrestha was an active member and volunteer

Myriam Chaour, a social worker from France, promoted active learning for children in 2012

Shilpa Sahi Gurungwas staff for 2 years.

Sarad S. Dhunjel was an intern. He is MBA graduate from Ace Institute of MAnagement

Samjhana KC ,a student of Saint Xavier was staff

Pallavi Manandhar is a Graduate of from Ace Institute of Management. She managed the Gifts Program for 2 years.

Sushmita Satyal, an MBA student, is a Program Officer.

Pravendra Maharjan is an MSC student at St Xavier College

Reecha Acharya, a graduate of Development Studies, leads the Education Venture.

Aleena Shrestha is an MSC student at St Xavier College

Shreshna Basnet is an ethnographic researcher. She provides editorial and research guidance.

Shrayashi Rayamajhi a BSW student of Saint Xavier College was program intern and volunteer .

Shristi Bhetwal a BBS students from St. Lawrence, is a programme officer.

Saruna Subba with a master's degree in HR, streamlined our HR and stationery campaign modality in 2011.

KrishnaTiwari, graduate from Ace and Budhanilkantha School, is a programme coordinator.

Nakim Uddin is a chairperson of an entertainment company. He is interested in channeling youth towards social change.

Saruna Subba, alum volunteer-staff, a master's degree in HR, streamlined our HR and stationery distribution modality for education network in 2011.

Deepika looks after the kitchen and the office premises. She is swift in her works. She works like a Ninja. She likes to learn English in her spare time.

Alok Maskey is a restauranteur. He looks to represent KG in his alma matar St.Xavier's School and was a member in 2012.

Avritti Bhattarai involved in KG in 2014

Bimarsha Raj Giri, works as a volunteer.

Chandan Nimkul,works at Kehi Garoun in 2013.

Dilli Ratna Tuladhar ,is an ex-Student of Shanti Nikunja School. Now a rich man, In 2013, he gave 1800 pieces of notebooks and 1800 pieces of pencils to the kids

Dipak Chaulagainassociation with Kehi Garoun as a self responsible member.

Dikshya Regmi, worked as a volunteer staff.

Kranti Thapa, worked as a volunteer staff.

Karisma Keshari Tuladhar worked as a volunteer.

Kripa Khanal worked as a volunteer

Nikki Hamal, worked as a volunteer.

Nima Rajbhandari,teachingat Shanti Siksha Sadan since the last 12 years.

Prayush Shakya, BBA student at Kathmandu University School of Management.

Prem K. Subba,is a semi-retired development specialist with more than 30 years experience in the children’s welfare and education sectors all over the world.

Pratyush Shah,a Ullen-KG Circle volunteer

Romisha Maharjan worked as a volunteers for different campaigns

Campaign Page
To be able to provide stationery in mid-April, the Volunteers decided to start off the stationery campaign in March itself. It was calculated that Rs 350 (USD 3.5) would be sufficient to buy stationery for 1 student for 1 year.

Activities:

On April 30, Volunteers from Kusom visited Nepal Adarsha School, Bal Bikash School and Bal Ujjwal School and distributed stationery to 81 Students.
On April 28, Volunteers from KUSOM visited Krishna Mandir, Kesh Chandra and Arunodaya School and distributed stationery to 92 students.
On April 23, volunteers from KUSOM visited Adarsha Ni. Ma. Bi. and distributed stationery to 88 Students.
On April 12, volunteers from KUSOM and KG team members met to discuss the presentation to recruit volunteers from other colleges.
KUSOM volunteers will approach 10-12 colleges in the next 3 weeks.

Summary: We have to learn to care. We don't know how to do that well enough, and that is the root of our collective non-performance.
Why We Recommend this?
An act of change may live on by inspiring others, one person at a time.

May 27 2012: from Umanga's Blog

Today the Prime Minister said to the media that what politicians say to the public, for public consumption, is not relevant.
And he is right.
The politicians can say one thing to us and do just the opposite. There is no consequence. We the people do not know how to care enough that we gain politicians' respect, their accountability.
Next election, I will care to remember this. I will care enough to vote for those politicians who think the public matters, that what they say to the public matters. In fact, I will vote to emphasize that 'what politicians say to the public is the ONLY thing that matters'.

Sweater Campaign

12/21/2015

Many children in public schools and orphanages continue to be deprived of basic materials that support their educational needs. One such common need is the school uniform, that many poor families struggle to provide to their children. This becomes a glaring need in the extreme cold of the Kathmandu winter, when many children lack a sweater to wear to school. This not only affects the health of the children, but also affects their motivation to attend school.
In this shivering season, you can give warmth to the children by donating Rs 450 per sweater. All 100% of your donation will be used for the purchase of the sweaters.

2015/16 Sweater Campaign Status Updates

HISTORY:

In the winter of 2012/13, we held clothes drive which helped over 200 children.
In the winter of 2013/14, a Sweater Campaign was held and 164 students were served.
In the winter of 2014/15, we held a sweater campaign with a target of 250 students and found out that the need was X5 (five times). We borrowed, took shop-credit, helped 1250 students in need.
This winter 2015/16, we helped 889 needy students through Sweater Campaign which started from 10th Dec 2015 - 5th Jan 2016.

AUSTRALIAN CONSOLIDATED MILK PTY LTD

12/15/2015

Australian Consolidated Milk (ACM) is Australia’s fastest growing dairy company . They collect milk from their valued suppliers and deliver dairy ingredients directly to end-user customers in the domestic and export markets.
In November 2015 , They sent donation of 3000 Australian Dollar which is NRS.225,462.39 to Kehi Garoun Nepal which was utilized for Sweater Campaign 2015/2016

Education Venture

11/20/2015

Kehi Garoun has started a new program ‘Education venture’ with the vision of improving the educational system. We are looking to work with schools as a consultant or as a part of school management itself.
Our education vision is to inspire the education community through the merits of the culture of self-learning.

We envision a self-learning culture where teachers and students are curious and internally motivated to undertake self-initiatives to learn.
We want to instill the values of individual responsibility and global citizenship in our students.
We aim to prepare students for life-long learning, a value that has shaped liberate-arts education.
We will serve as an ‘R&D Lab’ to study and provide services that aim to improve education that is accessible to students of modest economic backgrounds from all over the country.

Our venture is based on three pillars:

Curriculum that reaches beyond the walls of the classroom: To supplement the academic curriculum, we will design activities where students can use their energy and curiosity to undertake Project-Based Learning, on topics that are relevant to them as global citizens. Based on the past 10 years of KG's volunteering experience with college students, we have found that “learning-by-doing” has a lasting impact.
Guidance counseling that provides the skills needed for self-direction: To promote individual responsibility and ownership in one’s education, we will provide guidance resources and in-person counseling sessions, starting from the Induction Week where students carry out their goal-setting exercises. Based on the our experience through Kehi Garoun's “Insight” guidance counseling program, that has reached over 12 schools in Kathmandu, we have found effective ways of engaging students in finding out “what they, with all their heart, love to do”. Their studies then become a source of joy and excitement.
Management that is rigorous in following the Standard Operating procedure: In order to manage administration, admissions and teachers’ careers (recruitment, evaluation and training), we will develop and implement standard operating procedures. Based on our experience from Kehi Garoun's Giving program, that scaled up from helping 40 students a year to over 2000 a year, we have learnt the value of putting rigorous management processes in place.

THEO WELS

11/13/2015

Theo Wels , a resident of Strasbourg, Schijndel, France is a philanthropist who believes in caring and loving human being. When Nepal was devastated by earthquake and people were in need of help, he donated $500 to help especially children in need, Kehi Garoun has been using his donation to provide educational material such as school uniform, school shoes, bag, stationery and mid-day meal to students of various government affected by earthquake.

PP PRASAI FOUNDATION

9/24/2015

PP Prasai Foundation was established in February 18, 2011 as a tribute to Late Prajapati Prasai, popularly known as PP. The Foundation was established with the main intention of keeping alive aspirations of PP particularly in developing and promoting the education and tourism sector of Nepal.
The PP Prasai Foundation was established with the objective to develop, promote and contribute to the national development by creating opportunities; recognizing potentials; inspiring and supporting individuals and institutions committed to change for the better and for identifying, developing, preserving and promoting destinations and heritages in these two particular sectors.
In 3rd Sept 2015, Kehi Garoun and PP Prasai foundation agreed to collaborate to fulfill mutual agreed goals by signing MOU where PP Prasai donated Rs.105000 to help and support children in need with their educational materials.

SAIRA BUDHRANI

9/24/2015

Saira D Budhrani also known as Reshy is Philippines based Dance instructor and choreographer.
She with the help of her friends promoted a campaign called "#raise4nepal" and raised total amount of Rs.89,276 for Nepalese children.She donated the entire fund to Kehi Garoun Nepal to help childern of earthquake victims
Out of Rs.89,276 Kehi Garoun used Rs.35000 for providing stationery materials to 100 students of different government school and Rs.54000 was used to provide mid-day lunch to 30 students.

Book Fair

8/30/2015

For more pictures, click here.

Kehi Garoun is itself inspired by J. Krishnamurti, and proudly displayed J.K publications in the 19th Nepal International Book Fair at Bhrikutimandap, Exhibition hall, Kathmandu where more than 50 books and DVDs were displayed.
The book fair was held from 21st August to 29th August.

SILENCE SPEAKS CAMP

7/26/2015

Expressing voice of silent citizens, silent opinions that are
ignored by the media, politicians, donor agencies and the government bodies...

How to participate?

Join us in the events through facebook
Support other activist groups (in 'Why Nepal' blog)

In 2011, we held 100+ events towards ‘responsible citizenship
+ accountable leadership’.
In 2012, we carry a voice that says ‘बाँच र बाँच्न देऊ’

June 2012: "बाँच र बाँच्न देऊ" - Kathmandu Cares For the Whole of Nepal
Challenge: Kathmandu is insensitive to plights of the rest of the nation; Only when Kathmandu suffers long bandhs do people here agitate.
Response: We learn to care about what's happening outside Nepal. We will support 'No-bandh' long as there is a bandh anywhere in Nepal.
What we do? Every Friday 6pm Thamel - Show that we care for that people all over Nepal are free. Stand for 15 minutes for Nepali everywhere.
May 2012: "बाँच र बाँच्न देऊ" - No to Ethnic Politics, No to Bandha
Challenge: Politician's ethnic-politics is turning neighbors-against-neighbors.
Response: Be Human - prove to yourself that your humanity is bigger than your ethnicity!
We may not change politicians but we can reassure the silent mass that not 'all' newars, limbus, tharus etc. want ethnic nationalism.Wiki - "An ethnic conflict or ethnic war is a conflict between ethnic groups often as a result of ethnic nationalism. They are of interest because of the apparent prevalence since the Cold War and because they frequently result in war crimes such as genocide."
What we do? Silent Rally - 10 am Thamel - Show that our silence is not your approval of ethnic-agenda.
Walk for "individual freedom and communal harmony", whichever ethnicity calls for bandh, people from same ethnicity come and rally against that. We can make this a citizen's habit.

2011: Responsible Citizens + Accountable Politics
Problem: Politicians have time and again pushed constitution deadline; we citizens seem to give them license to do just that. Unless we care for accountability, why would the politicians?
Response: We should become responsible citizens and contest better political alternatives.
What we did:  We stood in silence for 15 minutes, promoting a simple message:  "It is our responsibility as citizens to bring accountability from politicians."   We did that over 100 times (daily for 3 months, and weekly for 3 months) at Durbar Marg. It was organized under the theme of मेरो देश, मेरै दायित्व! (Mero Des, Merai Dayitwa) in partnership with Nepal Unites.

KG is getting International Recognition

7/18/2015

Response to Earthquake

6/16/2015

Our response: Relief > Resume > Rebuild

Relief: In response to the recent earthquakes to hit Nepal, volunteers have provided health-relief packages to those in need. As of May 18th, KG Nepal distributed health packages, tailored to women and children, to over 10,000 families in over 40 locations.

Resume: After earthquakes, it is natural to help out in "Relief". Yet, we all hope, "Rebuild" will start at some point. KG Nepal intends to focus on 'Resume' so that we do not get stuck on Relief-aid economy.

Rebuild: A team of engineers and architects were arranged to inspect the schools to see which ones need to be rebuilt.

The “Resuming Schools, Resuming Lives” program focused on the 25 schools in its network with the objective to start the classes as soon as possible.

Stationery Campaign-2015

6/14/2015

In 2011, we distributed stationery to 1040 students in 31 schools.
In 2012, we distributed stationery to 998 students in 30 schools. (Ace Social Fund sponsored Rs. 300K)ha
In 2013, we have distributed stationery to more than 525 students in 25 schools till date. We also started to give priority to teachers, schools and parents who are willing to contribute 10% of the cost (that is Rs. 3 per notebook) in the spirit of ‘shared responsibility’.
In 2014, we distributed stationery to 900 students in 30 schools.
In 2015, we distributed stationery to 1386 students in 28 schools.

Campaign status file

Photos of activities

As new academic session in schools start, students are in need of stationery. When their parents cannot afford to buy these notebooks, they are embarrassed to come to class , they can’t write notes in class, can’t do their homework and hence have no material to review later.

In the last few years, over 20,000 notebooks have been delivered with various stationery aids to over 3000 students in need from 30+ schools in Kathmandu. This year we are all geared up for 1000 plus students with 7000+ notebooks with other stationery aids.

Do you recall when as a child you were excited by new notebooks, a sleek pencil or a fancy eraser? It was an excitement for the ones whose parents could afford them all but there are still children using loose papers, blunt pencils and erasers rubbed to grains.

This is the glaring reason behind most of the students in government schools lagging in studies. To avoid the embarrassment in class when teachers would ask for notebooks, to ignite the interest in students and motivate them to learn and to avoid putting pressure on their cash-strapped parents; since 2011, Kehi Garoun has been distributing stationery to government schools in Kathmandu.

NIKKI HAMAL

6/11/2015

As a KG Nepal volunteer, I have had the privilege of being involved in 3 programs so far. I must say the overall experience was very fulfilling. It has helped to reaffirm my commitment to the values of the social work profession. After joining KG, I feel more dedicated and inspired towards working for the betterment of the society. Thank you KG Nepal for the opportunities, guidance and support.

Meal Campaign 2015

6/10/2015

KG provided mid-day meals (साझा खाजा) to some students who can not afford to bring lunch.
Since 2005, KG has shared over 21,000 meals with students who otherwise would have stayed hungry in their classes.

History of meal campaign

Children in need of meal:

Anju Khadka needs lunch(Rs.900 for 45 days):Pledged by Saurabh Pahari
Kritika Karki needs lunch (Rs.900 for 45 days):Pledged by Suresh KC
Karsuna Kusle needs lunch(Rs.900 for 45 days)
Prashna Sundas needs lunch(Rs.900 for 45 days)
Purnima Tamang needs lunch(Rs.900 for 45 days)
Reena Balami needs lunch(Rs.900 for 45 days)
Rishita Manandhar needs lunch (Rs.900 for 45 days)
Sanju Khadka needs lunch (Rs.900 for 45 days)
Karina Shrestha needs lunch(Rs.1800 for 90 days)
Srijana B.K. needs lunch(Rs.1800 for 90 day

Children Helped

Resuming Concept

5/20/2015

After earthquakes, it is natural to help out in "Relief". In response to the recent earthquakes to hit Nepal, volunteers have provided health-relief packages to those in need. As of May 18th, KGNepal distributed health packages, tailored to women and children, to over 10,000 families in over 40 locations.

Yet, we all hope, "Rebuild" will start at some point. KGNepal intends to focus on 'Resume' that will connect the Relief phase to the Rebuild phase.

KGNepal's plan is to go from move past quick Relief to focus on Resume so that the long term Rebuild may commence. Or else, we may be stuck in an aid-dependent economy that displaces market economy (as was the case in Haiti after earthquake).

KgNepal's founder Umanga Pandey shares his opinion on how people from different walks of life can help:

How you can help the healing process? Earthquakes will continue to come. Hence, let us not wait around for another shock. Instead, let us calm our nerve, and limp ahead into daily life so that we may restore our trust in our own capacity to rebuild our lives.
Why we should resume lives, and not wait for aid? If we get stuck in a relief-aid economy, that will displace a market economy. Efforts to 'resume' lives will ensure we reach a healthy rebuilding phase. First, we should not wait around for another specialist or another truck-load of relief-aid. Instead, let us go back to doing what we used to do before earthquakes. Meanwhile, there are two ways in which to help:

school we work with

5/18/2015

This is the list of schools we regularly work with. Details of the schools are in this blog.

WANTING TO BE HERO BY RIZ DAHAL

5/16/2015

What we do is so mundane sometimes, packing, stapling, making paper bags, counting inventory, writing down a numbers and whether it's female or family, flattening out boxes and sometimes just packing the kits in a sack, we get a lot of time to think...well when it's quiet anyways.

So many people have taken our kits and our main concern it that it's reaching places it needs to go to and we really have to try and make sure that there is no duplication in efforts or people aren't being lazy and dumping their relief items. So I started thinking about some group who took our kits on the first week after the earthquake and wondered what motivated them to start and what were their reasons to stop. Maybe they were already going there with other reliefs, maybe they felt compelled as human beings to go out there and help, maybe they just wanted to contribute what they could because it was obligatory or maybe they wanted to play hero. But whatever their reason was, they were helping.

Being unemployed when this happened gave me this opportunity to do what I can in a way I can. If this was a workforce, our office is very much a back office where we never get to meet our clients, so we rely very much on volunteers and teams who are going out there distributing to give us the correct information. We don't have stories to share; of bravery, of sorrow, and everything else the victims and volunteers are experiencing right now. We are just a group of friends who realized we don't have any disaster relief knowledge, so with the help of few meetings and a quick email to my friend who studied public health in disasters decided to procure and pack, hoping maybe we will prevent the spread of some disease.

So yeah, part of our reason was probably also to be a hero, maybe not the ones who are directly involved with the displaced survivors but maybe a subtle hero.

It will be three weeks tomorrow since that day, the day we will never ever forget in our lives but my true heroes are those that's helping me subtly, the guys who take me to and fro every morning and evening, guys who make us tea when we really want it (and milky coffee of course), Be Raj, because it was bit too hard without him for few days, Ayasha who does everything there, always helpful and never complains, all the volunteers who don't complain about our tasks and dedicate fully, the guy and the girl who makes the volunteers do their tasks sometimes by shouting at them ;), those who procure everything so all we need to do is demand, and those who make us chuckle and laugh throughout the day so we forget for a while what a terrible time we are all going through.. thank you all for creating such a positive energy in the volunteer-space and subtly providing all of us with such a good support system. And lastly, everyone who has supported us financially, we would have had no money to continue after last week without your support. So even though none of us will be featured in any magazines or papers, you are all my post-disaster heroes..