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Sunrise Children’s Association Inc.
“Bringing a brighter future to the needy children of Nepal”
1 www.scai.org.au
Dear Friends, In case you have missed out on any emails or Facebook updates this year, please enjoy reading
below all our news so far this year!
SCAI News In July 2014 SCAI Australia and NGO partner in
Nepal, Sunrise Orphanage (SO) celebrated their 9th birthdays, which also represent 9 years of
partnership. On the same day we also celebrated some of the childrens birthdays, the great
results of our SLC graduates and Teachers Day. As always we had a wonderful celebration,
with cake, games, song and dance, and we were
blessed with the company of many of the college children and re-integrated children.
Above: Celebrating the 9 year birthday’s of SCAI and SO at Sunrise home in Nepal.
News from Sunrise home 18 children re-integrated to their families
At the end of the school year in April, 17 children were re-integrated back to their families,
then 1 college student in early August. As is part
of the agreement with their families, we are continuing to fully support their education to the
same level as when they were at Sunrise home. We are also monitoring them closely through visits to
their home, school and phone calls to those further
away. Most of the children that are close enough to Kathmandu have continued to return to Sunrise to
share in any major events at Sunrise home, such as
quarterly birthdays.
5 new children and 2 new staff join the Sunrise family!
Sadhumaya Buddha (15 years) was re-integrated back to her family in far western Nepal in early
2011, however was left orphaned when her mother
passed away a few years later, so returned to Sunrise in April 2014. 3 year old Gagan Karki also
joined in April when his mother Shanti moved to Sunrise as a live in carer. Sisters Yasodah and
Anuradah (9 and 11 years) joined Sunrise in May
2014 and last but not least bubbly 6 year old Josanna Rana Magar joined us in early September
after the previous home she was in was closed down by the government of Nepal in an emergency
rescue. Kaptan Tamang joined us in July, mainly to
care for our new cows and calves (more about that below!) Welcome Sadhumaya, Gagan,
Anuradah, Yasodah, Josanna, Shanti and Kaptan!
Above: In pink, 6 year old Josanna, and in
brown, 9 year old Yasodah, 2 of the 5 new
Sunrise children this year.
More exam results to be proud of... We are delighted that even with it being their first
year at their new school, that all children passed except 3 (94% of total) in their 3rd Term exams.
11 children (20%) got a Distinction, 24 (44%) got
1st Division, 16 (30%) 2nd Division. 40 children improved from 2nd to 3rd term - 23 children
improved by 10% or more.
NEWSLETTER January-September 2014
Sunrise Children’s Association Inc.
“Bringing a brighter future to the needy children of Nepal”
2 www.scai.org.au
School Leaving Certificate (SLC) graduates pass with flying colours and now at college!
Our 4th group of SLC graduates (class 10) ALL
passed with fantastic results yet again, with 7 of the 9 children attaining 1st Division (with Khim
Maya only missing out on a Distinction by 2%) and 2 attaining 2nd Division.
To put these great results in perspective, only
43.9% of SLC students across Nepal passed.
All 9 youth have now gone on to college, to study the courses of their choice, Science or
Management. HUGE congratulations to Khim Maya
in particular who won a full scholarship at NIST College to study Science.
Above: This year’s 9 successful SLC
graduates, now all at college in Kathmandu
Congratulations Pasang – our second Sunrise son to be married!
After meeting at Kalika Devi School while teaching, Pasang and Nisha soon fell in love and sealed their
union in marriage in April.
Above: Pasang Sherpa with new wife Nisha
Karki, with some Sunrise sisters during their wedding celebration with the Sunrise family
First Aid and Earthquake Training In March all staff underwent 1st Aid refresher
training with the Nepal Red Cross and all staff,
teachers and senior children underwent earthquake preparedness and evacuation
training, both theoretical and practical.
Above: First Aid refresher training
Above: Isak Tamang, one of the Sunrise teens practising using a fire hydrant
Above: Staff and teachers during earthquake
preparedness and evacuation training
Sunrise Children’s Association Inc.
“Bringing a brighter future to the needy children of Nepal”
3 www.scai.org.au
Recycling Training Under the guidance of long term volunteer and
Sunrise ‘grandpa’ Michael Jackson, Sunrise staff
Krishna and teen Pramod converted an old water tank stand into very cosy new dog kennels for our 4
dogs.
Above: Pramod and Krishna with new dog kennel from recycled water tank stands
Jobs/Work Experience Two teens, Bishnu Sharma and Lal Bahadur BK
from Sunrise home undertook a 3 month chef course in their holidays, giving them both
theoretical and practical experience in addition to
their Hotel Management studies at college.
Outreach (social) work The Sunrise teens have enthusiastically participated
in a few trips to the Kalimati slums to help distribute
donated clothing, new school bags and uniforms and most exciting of all, to introduce “plastic
bottle lights” which have brightened up around 15 homes so far. When sunlight passes
through the top of the bottle it is refracted by the water in the bottle, producing the equivalent of a
50watt light bulb on a sunny day. Chlorine helps
prevent the build-up of algae in the bottle, enabling them to work for up to 5 years.
Above: Mansingh Aidee helping install the bottle lights into some of the dark homes in
the Kalimati slums
Above: Saugat Mainali from Sunrise helping distribute uniforms to the children in the
Kalimati slums
Festival fun
The children have also had the opportunity to appreciate and celebrate numerous festivals this
year so far; across January to March there was National Martyrs Day, Buddhist Losar Festival,
Sarswati Puja (worship of Sarswati, the goddess of
education and knowledge), Democracy Day, Women’s Day, Shivaratri Festival (worship of Lord
Shiva) and one of everybody’s favourites “Holi” in March, the beautiful bright colourful water festival
were celebrated.
Above: Nikki Thapa and Jeevan Tamang enjoying the wet and colourful festivities of
“Holi” Festival, where people around the country cover each other with coloured dye
and water to welcome the monsoon rains and
crops
Sunrise Children’s Association Inc.
“Bringing a brighter future to the needy children of Nepal”
4 www.scai.org.au
The April to June quarter was quieter in terms of festivals but some of the teens did make it to
Ropain, the ‘Rice Planting Festival’, which turned
into a game of rugby in the muddy rice fields with about 40 other crazy people!
Above: 2 of the Sunrise teens at the muddy
Rice Planting Festival before getting totally covered in mud during a rugby game!
July-September The children enjoyed their summer (monsoon)
vacation in July (with some holiday tuition thrown in), followed by Teej Festival in August. During
Teej women and girls from all over the country fast and dress up mainly in red and flock to the temples
to pray for the long life of their husbands (or
husbands to be!). It’s also a great opportunity for women to get out of the house and enjoy some
time celebrating with other women, so the Sunrise teens and staff did just that!
Above: Some of the Sunrise girls heading out
to celebrate “Teej” Festival
General Activities and Outings...
Educational trip to the “Eco-Fair”
A few of the teens enjoyed a day out at the eco-fair in Kathmandu where we visited a host of different
stalls and learnt more about solar technologies, rain water harvesting and a myriad of other interesting
things we can hopefully put to good use. One of particular interest is a bicycle that with additions
can be pedalled to grind grain, do the washing...will
keep everyone fit if nothing else if we trial it soon!
Above: Saugat Mainali testing out an eco-bike
The children enjoyed various activities at home as well as a few outings during school holidays. As
many as possible also spent some time with relatives during the end of school year holidays in
April.
Above: The Sunrise children at the zoo
International Music Day jam with the littlies The Sunrise children enjoyed a crazy jam session
with some new tambourines and maracas on
International Music Day – let’s just say we are not planning on putting out a demo tape in the near
future!
Sunrise Children’s Association Inc.
“Bringing a brighter future to the needy children of Nepal”
5 www.scai.org.au
Above: Some of the Sunrise children enjoying a jam with their new instruments
Special visitors Special friend Dr Chintamani Yogi generously
gave his time to visit us and share his knowledge about ‘values based education’ and provided
counselling and moral guidance to all staff and children. The staff and children are always
captivated by his energy, his song and his inspiring
words. Thank you Dr Yogi!
Dr Yogi is a founder of several organisations in Nepal all with a strong and conscious commitment
to inspiring and unifying young people, and visits
Australia annual, most recently on his “2014 Art of Life” Tour.
Above: Dr Chintamani Yogi greeting the very
enthusiastic children from Sunrise ad Kalika
Devi school on his arrival
Volunteers Ron Olson, retired Science and Maths teacher from
Australia, joined us for a month earlier in the year.
Ron was of great help at the school, putting his knowledge and expertise to very good use, which
was appreciated by all. In addition Ron spent time
helping the senior children with their homework and going for long walks and other activities in the
holidays. Thank you Ron!
4 Sponsor visits We were thrilled to have visits from four of our
monthly sponsors in recent months – Paul,
Vanessa, Jade and Kane Hameister, Jimmy Gibbons, Pat O’Keefe and Laura Taylor. The
children are always excited to meet in person the very generous people who make their education
and life at Sunrise possible and who they write
letters to each year. Thank you for your ongoing support and for making the time to visit us!
Above: Kane, Paul, Jade and Vanessa
Hameister from Melbourne
Above: Jimmy Gibbons being warmly welcomed to Sunrise home
Sunrise Children’s Association Inc.
“Bringing a brighter future to the needy children of Nepal”
6 www.scai.org.au
Above: Pat O’Keefe being welcomed by his
sponsor child Palchhen Lama
Above: Ex volunteer and now sponsor, Laura
Taylor on her visit to Sunrise, helping paint the new playground at school
Other visitor & donations Inneke, a long time friend of Sunrise, along with
her friend Akka from Holland visited us at Sunrise home and very kindly donated wardrobes for the
staff as well as sports equipment for the school. Everyone at Sunrise is always so happy to see
Innekes smiling face and jovial laugh on her visits!
Sunrise Children’s Village (SCV) (Project name of Sunrise home and new English curriculum school block for Kalika
Devi Community School)
After moving in to our new home and school in June 2013, we have slowly been getting the garden
established, planting fruit trees, vegetables, getting the new playground going at the school and finally
getting the bio-gas up and running, which is
now being used to cook the meals for 1 of the 4 flats, another step towards our plan of self
sustainability in the future.
Above: The early stages of our lawn, paths, and gardens out the front of our Sunrise
home
Above: Amber one of the many Sunrise children who are actively involved in the
development of the crops and gardens
Meet Ronaldo, Messi and Coco and calf! Ronaldo and Coco are now not only providing
fresh milk daily for our Sunrise home, but we
are now also selling the excess to generate income for the home. They are also responsible
for driving a significant portion of the bio gas through their waste!
Sunrise Children’s Association Inc.
“Bringing a brighter future to the needy children of Nepal”
7 www.scai.org.au
Above: Ronaldo and Coco, our new suppliers of milk and bio gas
Above: Binam and Bipin helping feed the
calves at Sunrise home
Kalika Devi Community School (in partnership with SCAI and SO)
This year we have 232 students (51 from Sunrise)
and our SMART goal is to increase this to 300 students in the new school year in April 2015. There
are only 70 houses in our local village so we are looking to extend our facilities to children from
further away through the provision of a school bus, so that many more children can receive a quality
education, equivalent to a private school in
Kathmandu, in the beautiful natural surrounds of Gurje Village.
Above: Some of the children enjoying their new school
To recap, before Sunrise partnered with the local
school there were only classes from 1-8 in Nepali curriculum. In the last 2 years Sunrise has enabled
the school to now run classes up to 10 (SLC) in
Nepali curriculum as well as added a whole new English curriculum from Nursery to class 10. The
government of Nepal is hoping that all schools will be teaching in English within the next few years.
Above: A series of planning sessions with the
staff and management of Kalika Devi school
Education Scholarship Programs The 5 Education Scholarship Programs are
still going very well. Through these programs we now sponsor the education of 482
children, an opportunity many of these children would not have had if it weren’t for our extremely
generous program donors. The programs are vitally important for keeping children with their families,
helping reduce the trend of families sending their
children to orphanages or other institutions for a better education, which often leads to unnecessary
long term separation. It is also helping reduce the number of street children, particularly in the
Kalimati slums.
1. Kalimati Program – now sponsoring 172
children (91 at school, 10 at college, 71 at pre-school) thanks to the incredible support of
Kathmandu Kids in Perth.
Kathmandu Kids just held their annual fundraising
event in Perth on September 15th and raised over $56,000 which goes to support both the
Kalimati and Jhapa programs. Thank you Kathmandu Kids!
Sunrise Children’s Association Inc.
“Bringing a brighter future to the needy children of Nepal”
8 www.scai.org.au
Above: Pre-school students in Kalimati slums 2. Kathmandu Valley Program – now
sponsoring 91 children (81 at school, 10 at
college) thanks to Paul Hameister and his family in Melbourne.
We were thrilled to have Paul, Vanessa and children
Jade and Kane visit us at Sunrise home (where they also sponsor 2 children) as well as some of the
schools and homes of the children in this program.
This year Jade and Kane made the special effort to launch our new schools program
“Live like a Nepalese child for a week” at their college, Haileybury, raising over $4000.
Thank you Paul, Vanessa, Jade and Kane!
Above: Paul, Jane, Jayde and Kane visiting
one of their sponsored children
3. Jhapa Program – still sponsoring 100 children this year, in a very poor and basic
rural area, also thanks to the support from Kathmandu Kids
Above: Some of the children sponsored in
Rajgadh, Jhapa District in South East Nepal
4. Sindupalchowk Program – sponsoring 59 children, in an area prone to exploitation of
girls, thanks to Paul Cody and family
5. Mustang Program –sponsoring 60 children
in a poor mountainous region, thanks to Michael Tetzner
Community Sewing Centre The sewing centre in the Kalimati slums continues
to attract new students each month, and on completion of the 6 month course, enable many of
the women to gain employment.
Above: Some of the women being trained at
the sewing centre in the Kalimati slums
Fundraising Challenges Two schools have taken up the “Live like a
Nepalese child for a week” fundraising challenge
for school children in Australia – Pembroke College in Adelaide and Haileybury College in
Melbourne, raising over $2300 and $4000 respectively.
The challenge, which involves school children giving up things like electronic equipment or
hand washing dishes clothes and floors for a week, was kindly facilitated by Angus Sobels and
his family at Pembroke and Paul Hameister's children Jade and Kane at Haileybury.
A huge thank you to all the participants and the staff at both Pembroke and Haileybury for
their wonderful support of the program!
With great thanks and appreciation to
everyone that supports our work in Nepal, SCAI Team
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