Women's Association at Plymouth Church

SCHEDULE CHANGE!

Unfortunately the Women's Association at Plymouth has had to cancel their luncheon this Wednesday.

We have rescheduled for Wednesday, APRIL 20, at 12:00 pm.  I will be presenting a slide show discussing my travel and work in Nepal to the Women's Association at Plymouth Church.  It will emphasize my efforts to assist education and improve literacy by raising money to build a library in rural Nepal.

If you would like to learn more about the Library project or to make a donation please click here.

Plymouth Church is located at:
2860 Coventry Rd.
Shaker Heights, OH 44120

Please join us if you can.

Peace!

Jennifer Gerard in a Bicycle Rickshaw at the front gate of the Kathmandu Guest House.

My apologies to my regular blog followers.  I have been extremely busy with back to back shows in Nashville, Chicago, Atlanta, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, Cleveland again and Richmond.  My show schedule is here, if you would like to see me in person.  I will get a break from the travel at the end of March.  -Yes, I do drive to all of these places.

In between shows, I have been giving presentations trying to raise money for the library.   Lately, most of the money I have received is from people at the shows who say, "Keep the change."

I have also been attending my children's performances, designing T-Shirts and the show program for my son's play, and at the same time laying out images and text for a children's book that I've been working on.

Today, I am cleaning house because I have invited 4 show vendors to stay with us during the Cleveland show.  I will be making chicken soup and baking the "Best Bread Ever!" tomorrow. Link for the vendors at the Intergalactic Bead Shows.

There hasn't been much time to read or write recently, but hopefully, I will get back into the groove soon.

As my gift to you, I am leaving you with my "Best Bread Ever!" recipe.

THE BEST BREAD EVER!

1 C. uncooked oatmeal

2 C. boiling water

2 pkgs. yeast dissolved in 1/3 cup water

1 tsp. salt

½ c. honey

2 Tbs. butter

2 ½ C. to 3 C. white flour

1 ½ C. to 2 C. whole wheat flour

Directions: In a small bowl, dissolve the yeast.  In a big bowl, put the oatmeal and add the boiling water from your teakettle, also add salt, honey and butter.  When this mixture has cooled, add the dissolved yeast and the flour.  Knead 7 to 10 minutes.  Let it rise twice, once in the bowl and once in two pans.  Bake at 350 degrees F for 35 to 40 minutes. (If you are in Nepal, I'm afraid you will have to make a few adjustments.) Read more: High Altitude Yeast Baking http://www.globalgourmet.com/food/special/brody/baking.html#ixzz1DaV6R6Gf

Visiting the Rotary Club in Shaker Heights, OH

School children in Nepal's Rasuwa District

Tuesday February 1, 2011 at 7:30 morning I will be attending a meeting and giving a powerpoint presentation to the Rotary Club of Shaker Heights, Ohio.

Thank you Shaker Heights Rotary!

I will hopefully be receiving support and advice about our Library Project in Nepal.

About the Library Project: Shree Nawabijayee Mahendra Secondary School is a recently constructed school in the Rasuwa District of Nepal.  These students are in desperate need of reading materials.  When I visited almost one year ago in March 2010, the school had only the one small bag of books that I brought to them from my blog friends and neighbors. Your contribution is going directly to the building and stocking of a library for this school.  Not only will 320 students be able to use this library, but the library will also be made available to the 1500 inhabitants of the  nearby villages. The Joy Foundation is the non-governmental organization (NGO) in Nepal overseeing this project.

Budget Details in US Dollars:
Cement 30 bags, cost $400
Sand 180 bags, cost $430
Skilled builders, 50 people, cost $290
2 doors and 6 windows, cost $500
Furniture, cost $500
Concrete, cost $40
The community will provide volunteer labor to assist in the construction of this building.
Once the building is complete our goal is purchase 500 books through Room to Read valued at $500.  www.roomtoread.org
We would also like to deliver 2  laptop computers valued at approximately $350 each.
Total Goal - $3360

The Joy Foundation http://joy.org.np/

More information at http://goddessoftheconfluence.blogspot.com

Total contributions including PayPal are currently:  $1259.49.  Thank you for your contributions.  We are making progress.



To see who has donated and learn more about this project, click below:  http://goddessoftheconfluence.blogspot.com/2010/11/library-project

The Library Project

Shree Nawabijayee Mahendra Secondary School is a recently constructed school in the Rasuwa District of Nepal.  These students are in desperate need of reading materials.  As of March 2010, the school had acquired only one small bag of books.  Your contribution is going directly to the building and stocking of a library for this school.  Not only will 320 students be able to use this library, but the library will also be made available to the 1500 inhabitants of the  nearby villages.  Please consider making a donation.

Budget Details in US Dollars:
Cement 30 bags, cost $400
Sand 180 bags, cost $430
Skilled builders, 50 people, cost $290
2 doors and 6 windows, cost $500
Furniture, cost $500
Concrete, cost $40
The community will provide volunteer labor to assist in the construction of this building.
Once the building is complete our goal is purchase 500 books through Room to Read valued at $500.  www.roomtoread.org
We would also like to deliver 2  laptop computers valued at approximately $350 each.
Total Goal - $3360

The Joy Foundation http://joy.org.np/

More information at http://goddessoftheconfluence.blogspot.com

Total contributions including PayPal are currently: $1499.64
To see who has donated and learn more about this project, click below:  http://goddessoftheconfluence.blogspot.com/2010/11/library-project

A World of Good, Inc is not a non-profit organization.  This donation is not tax deductible.

The Library Project, Update

This weekend Plymouth UCC in Shaker Heights, OH will be helping to collect donations for the Library Project.
I have to be out of town, so my son, Josh, will be encouraging everyone to donate as an alternative giving idea for the holidays.

Thank You, for your support!  Read more about the project below.  I have been updating your donations.  Yes, you can send your donation directly to the Joy Foundation in Nepal.  Just let them know that you want to help with the Library Project in the Rasuwa District.

The Library Project!

Kids in the Rasuwa District in need of Books!

I received the most wonderful birthday present today.  The Joy Foundation sent the translation for our Library project in Nepal.  The project has been approved!  Hooray!

Now I'm going to need a lot of help.  Please spread the word.  The first part of the project will be building the library, the second part will be filling it with books.

I have thought of 2 ways I would like to raise money for this project.

1. Direct donations;  If you are moved to help with this project, please send a check to:
A World of Good, Inc.
3120 Chadbourne, Rd.
Shaker Heights, OH 44120
All of your donation will go to this project and you can even choose what you would like to pay for.  (Sorry, I still do not have my tax exempt status so there is no tax write-off.)
email: butternutsquash2@gmail.com

2. Nepal Tour; travel to Nepal, at your own risk, with me as your guide.  You will pay your own travel expenses and donate one laptop computer to the library.  You may deliver it yourself if you would like to hike up there with me.  Contact me and we can tailor a trip for you:  Jennifer Gerard email: aworldofgood@gmail.

Below are the particulars of our project.

Applicant:  Shree Hawabijayee Mahendra Secondary School, Valaydada, Rasuwa.
Chairperson: Shree Keshar Bahadur Bulan
Contact Person: Balaram Dhakal (The school principal)
The Request:  Though this school is quite close to the capital of Nepal, it was started only recently in BS 2019 or 1963 according to the Gregorian calendar, due to the poor economy of the community.  It began as only a primary school and then added a lower secondary school very recently.  The physical structure of the school is very poor and there is a lack of basic educational materials so there is a need to start a library to help the students with their studies.
Location of Project: Shree Hawabijayee Mahendra Secondary School, Lahare Pauwa-6, Valaydada, Rasuwa, Nepal.
Beneficiaries: 320 students from 250 households of the community and the library will be available to 1500 inhabitants of the area.
How the project will be maintained: After completion of this project, the school committee will appoint a librarian to open the library and allow community people to use it every day except public holidays.  Any repairs and maintenance will be taken care of by the school committee.
Budget Details in US Dollars:
Cement 30 bags, cost $400
Sand 180 bags, cost $430
Skilled builders, 50 people, cost $290
2 doors and 6 windows, cost $500
Furniture, cost $500
Concrete, cost $40  (Thank you for your gift, Richard Gerard)
The community will provide volunteer labor to assist in the construction of this building.
Once the building is complete our goal is purchase 500 books through Room to Read valued at $500.
We would also like to deliver 2  laptop computers valued at approximately $350 each.
Total Goal - $3360
If we collect more than we need we will be able to buy even more books.  A donation of any amount will be gratefully accepted.  Thank you for all of your help!

Together may we bring peace to the world through education.

Contributions received from:
Richard Gerard- $100
Nancy Rowe-$35 http://www.naborow.com/
Anonymous Donors-$304.50 (Customers at Shows)
Elaine Maki- World Atlas, 3 volume Websters Dictionary
Eileen Black-$30
The Mac Gregors-$35 http://ofscarabs.blogspot.com/
Jan McGee -$20 http://www.janhelenmcgee.com/
Nancy Atkinson -$100 http://lifeinthesecondhalf.blogspot.com/
Plymouth Church Members -$75
M. Koutroumanis -$20
Eileen Mudgett - $100
The Love Family - $25
The Martin-Rouse Family - $75
Marja and William Blom - $50 http://dutchcorner.blogspot.com/
Dr. Sherry Meinberg - $100
J. Wanstrath - $10
J. Sisson - $10
L. Chatain - $20 http://beadroom.com
Morgan - $20
Benjamin D. - $10
Dawn Doup - $20
The Neary's - $100
The Divakarla Family - $25
SiS Jewelry - $9 http://sisjewelry@etsy.com
S. Scaparotti - $20
Marc P. - $10
Janis Z. - $1.14
Pamela and Gerald B. - $100
Scarlet Fire - $75 http://www.scarletfirebeads.com/

Current total: $1499.64

Please tell me if you do not want your name listed and I will write anonymous.

THANK YOU!

Good News!

From the left: Me, Mrs Neupane, Belief, Mr. Neupane, JR Neupane, Tania. Atit was up in the mountains teaching.

For the past six months I have been writing about a two week trip that I took to Nepal in March 2010.  Above you can see us on our last night out before we left Kathmandu for home.  The strike in the Terai lasted only one day.  Unfortunately, I did not get to tie up loose ends with my suppliers before I left.  I have become very flexible about the details of my orders because there are so many unforeseen situations. I had to make apologies by email to the people who were waiting for me to return. They live in this unpredictable environment, so I think they understood my dilemma.  I have established ways to make pick-ups and payments even in my absence.

Recently, I heard from the young men whom we were helping to go to school in Nepal.  Belief was able to get a scholarship to attend school in Finland and Atit earned entry to a business school in Nepal.  Congratulations Belief and Atit!  We are so proud of you.

The village school has submitted two proposals to the Joy Foundation and I am hoping that after the Autumn Hindu festivals they will have more concrete information for me.  The plans for the library are going forward.  It is very good news!  When I have a list of their needs for the library, I will be letting everyone know and asking you and all of your friends for help.

Thank you all for accompanying me on my journey to Nepal.

Smile, you are here and this is now. Here, in this moment, your journey begins anew!

Learning Patience

We are used to instant gratification in the west.  Some people become hysterical when the red light does not change quickly enough or if their fast food order does not arrive in under one minute.  Did you see the woman who smashed the window at a McDonald's drive-through because she couldn't get her McNuggets for breakfast when she wanted them?  In many developing countries people are used to waiting for things.  I remember waiting to have breakfast on the top of the roof of my hotel in Nepal.  My order was taken, drinks appeared, and about an hour later a boy came back from the market with a bag of materials to cook our breakfast.  Breakfast took two hours, but we had a good view while we waited.

We were only in Kathmandu for three full days before we left for the jungle, yet in that short amount of time we finished most of our business in Patan and Kathmandu and met with the Joy Foundation founders, who treated us to a fantastic dinner of rice and dal, vegetable curry, spicy potatoes, okra, spinach, and for desert papaya, oranges and then vanilla yogurt with pomegranate seeds. You have to try putting pomegranate in sweetened yogurt, yum! We were also introduced to Chang, Tibetan beer, which was kind of sweet and yummy and deceptively powerful.

At the gathering we met several people from Australia who had been working with the Joy foundation for more than 10 years.  They were there visiting the sites of some of the projects that they had helped to create.  They did a lot of work with schools and prisons.  I was horrified to find out women are sometimes jailed with their children in Nepal and they might stay in prison past their release time if they can not pay their fine!

The day before we left for the jungle we were able to get everything arranged for the school so that they could submit a proposal for their library, and we were able to establish contact people for the school.  Now, five months later, we are still waiting for the school to submit their proposal.  There isn't much more I can do but hope that someone in Nepal will steer the ship.  When they do, I should receive a list of items that they need, with price tags for books, shelves and other equipment.  I will be asking everyone I know to help us donate what is required at that time.  Until then, we wait.

Searching for Customers

I would like the library to happen very quickly, but there are some things that I simply have no control over.

Getting Down to Business

When I was a teacher in Japan, I had 11 regular classes of 55 students and 4 special classes of 25 students. I had to give speeches on occasion to as many as 2000 students and faculty. So, although I was surprised by the lavish attention and the impromptu speech making, I was able to whip up a little something. I found that the more I spoke, the more I promised. By the time I had finished talking, I was not just donating a few books but a whole library.

Tania and Jeri with the teachers and elders of the community.

The two older gentlemen were among the first in the community to organize and create the original school.

These are some of the school teachers. All of these men were very interested in the books that we brought and in discussing the educational facilities in the US. There was one female teacher, but regrettably, we did not get a picture.

There were a lot of female students.

When I asked the children what they wanted for their school, one boy asked for sports equipment. I was imagining a soccer ball regularly flying off the side of the mountain hundreds of feet to the river below. Another young man asked for a laboratory. They have science workbooks with standard lessons that they are supposed to get through to pass their levels, but they can only read about experiments because they don't have any equipment. I promised science books but I wasn't sure that I could provide a laboratory.

The teachers showed me three old donated computers that were no longer working. If they had modern lap tops, they would be able to get a satellite connection to the Internet, although it would be very costly. The children had helped to create a promotional video for the Italian biologists to generate donations in order to get their school built, but they have never been able to see the video.

This entire community has a passion for education! They have, without the help of government, figured out who to ask for help and how to get things accomplished. Their latest idea is that they will provide a house for a volunteer to come and teach English to their students. They can't provide food, or a salary, but they will gladly give the space and generously invite a foreigner to live among them in their community. If I were young and single again, I would do it in a moment. The offer is wide open, even if you have only two months of your time to share and no formal college education. Literacy is often the qualification for teaching school in Nepal. Let me know if you are interested, contact: butternutsquash2@gmail.com

Here is the situation that we encountered. These students have only government approved workbooks to learn from. The books that I carried to them were the first that they had had in the school. There was no library to contribute to. For most of us in the developed world, that is simply unimaginable. What is a school without books? But for people whose families might make only $1 a day, there are more important things to buy with that $1.

By the end of our discussion, I had a lot to figure out. For political reasons, it is not possible to make a direct financial contribution to anyone at the school. I had to find the proper channels to make good on my promises within the following week of our journey.

I want to give a big thank you to Leenie of Sidetrips for sending books. As well as my dear friend Sarah who also sent pencils. I also received useful photos of children from Australia and the US to share from Leenie, Irene and Sarah. They were fascinated by your books!

The pencils were particularly wonderful, because I was having trouble getting the children to come close to me until I pulled out the pencils, I did not see any pencil sharpeners, but I was assured that the students were accustomed to sharpening pencils with a sickle.

If you want to make a donation of books or money, contact me and I will put you in touch with the proper channels.