Season’s Greetings and a great big Thank YOU to everyone who helped us triple our fundraising goal for 2009. All donations large and small are sent directly to Nepal and no funds are diverted for overhead costs. We deeply appreciate your support.

Your generosity accomplished so much in 2009!

Full scholarships and boarding at HVP-Dang in southern Nepal for two children from Thehe village, Gyeni and Amrita Bohara, as well as scholarships for an additional 50 impoverished children from the local Dang area to attend HVP.

Furniture, teaching aids, microscopes and other much needed supplies for the small local school in Thehe village. The teachers from the Thehe school are very grateful for the assistance.

The founding of the Simikot Girl's Hostel, a boarding facility for 25 girls from Thehe that allows them access to improved schooling in Simikot (a five hour walk from their home in Thehe). The hostel provides boarding, school uniforms, nutritious meals, and leadership experiences. The hostel provides paid employment for four Thehe villagers who assist with the farming, cooking, maintenance, and overseeing the girls.

A large-scale sanitation project in Thehe Village: the building of 2 toilet buildings and washing stations. The project is funded by NCF, but is largely built by Thehe villagers themselves and provides vocational training for the participants in the project. Currently the buildings have been completed. The project will be the first bio gas system in the region and will work as a pilot scheme for other villages to follow. NCF's hope is to model an alternative to the extensive use of firewood for cooking and heating, which is contributing to heavy deforestation in the Himalayan region. The gathering of firewood is a monumental task for the people of Thehe.

In addition to the Thehe leadership council (named the Thehe Multipurpose Cooperative), which was formed by influential villagers to consult with NCF on how to improve the village, our full-time Thehe representative Suresh Bohara has helped found two sister organizations: Women's Welfare & Awareness Society (for 18-30 year old women) and the Thehe Sporting Club (for 18-30 years old men). These organizations will help involve more of the younger generation of Thehe to actively participate in the improvement of their home and their lives.

The hiring of a full-time teacher and supplies for the nuns in the Gargen Chyoling Nunnery in the remote Mustang area.

Thank you and Namaste!