1- Divali - lichtjesfeest 

Nepal is een overwegend hindoeïstisch land waarbij de belangrijkste feestdagen in oktober en november zijn. Divali (ook wel Tihar genoemd) is bijvoorbeeld het lichtjesfeest waarbij katoenen watten in geklaarde boter (ghee) of sesamolie worden aangestoken. De watten worden traditioneel 5, 7 of 11 maal gedraaid tot er een lont is. Hierbij wordt stilgestaan dat het goede in onze gedachten en in ons handelen het kwade zal overwinnen. 

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Beste donateurs en sponsors,
In december 2022 heb ik onze projecten in Nepal weer bezocht. Hierbij een kort verslag.
1- Eco-bouw Annapurna
Het is bijna zover! April 2023 zullen de 38 kinderen van het Annapurna Self-Sustaining Children home verhuizen naar de nieuwe locatie. De bamboebouw van de eco-gebouwen heeft 3 jaar geduurd en we zijn heel erg blij met het resultaat en het design.

Nieuwsbrief_Nepal_2023_-1_Hands_with_Hands_Holland.pdf

Beste donateurs en sponsors, Sinds de start van corona was het niet goed mogelijk om naar Nepal te reizen en eind 2021 moest ik mijn eigen reis ook annuleren. Gelukkig is het de oprichtster van Hands with Hands, Kira Kay, in 2022 wel gelukt om twee maal de projecten te bezoeken. Zelf hoop ik december 2022 ook weer te gaan en hierbij een update. 

Nieuwsbrief_Nepal_2022_-1_Hands_with_Hands_Holland.pdf

1- Corona in Nepal deel 2  Eerder schreef ik over de situatie in Nepal en dat COVID-19 een grote impact heeft. Onderstaande komt uit mei 2021:  "Verhoudingsgewijs zijn er nu méér besmettingen dan in het zwaar getroffen buurland India. Dagelijks overlijden honderden mensen in het ziekenhuis, op de stoep ervoor of thuis omdat de zorg overbelast is. Er zouden dagelijks tienduizend besmettingen en honderden doden te betreuren zijn. 

Nieuwsbrief_Nepal_2021_-1_Hands_with_Hands_Holland.pdf

We give heartfelt thank you to Ms Devika Gautam for her very kind gift of Eye checkup camp at our Annapurna Children Home. Every child and mothers’ eyes were checked in a safe and hygienic way! Devika's BM/TPB Foundation Eye Care center provided all the technical support. It is truly a blessing and gift to have our children's eyes properly tested and checked, especially in this time where we have to do so much online study with technology. And thank you Devika for giving our children inspiration what career choice they might have as well! Thank you from our heart to your whole team. We are particularly encouraged when successful Nepalese visit and support our children as it gives them culturally appropriate inspiration for their own future lives.

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With great JOY we celebrated the wedding of our eldest daughter Aasha. “Dearest Aasha, we are so proud of all your achievements, graduating school, completing your nursing qualification, and finding a permanent job nursing in the hospital and now this next big step in your adult life - marriage. We all wish the very best for you and your husband. We celebrate you and shower you and your beloved with love and good wishes!”

Aasha was one of our first children at our Annapurna Self Sustaining Children Home. We have supported her through childhood education and then 3+ years of nursing training. Now we witness Aasha successful and respected in her career and embarking upon marriage with a lovely man from the local village. We truly feel a sense of full circle, especially as since her nursing graduation Aasha has returned and directly inspires our other children, always available for medical support and joining our festive days and helping out on her days off. This is truly a sustainable outcome!

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Happy Deepawali to all our friends we wish you and your families a wonderful celebration! We share here some pictures from our Laxmi puja, with our beautiful Laxmi's. This is one part of Nepal’s major festival days that celebrates connection and reminds of life’s abundance that we need to invite into our lives. This ritual engages the youngest girls, representing innocence and curiosity, to walk barefoot through the blessing pathway to create a doorway for Laxmi, the goddess of abundance in Hindu tradition, to enter our Home. Plus it is a wonderful occasion to feast, dance and enjoy together!

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Being prepared for the real world, it is not going to be easy during these complicated times. However, you will make it, with all the hard work you have put in all this past year, we are sure. Super Congratulations to all of you Shubas, Sharmila & Sadhna for successfully completing your SEE examination - we truly wish you the very best in your next step in life. In Nepal having passed SEE exams allows so many more employment possibilities for our children’s future. This is why we make it a priority to tutor and support our children to obtain this possibility that opens doors for their future life. It is also why you are donors and sponsors are so important as without your financial support we could not offer the extra tuition and guidance that our children, many who have had trauma, require to master this important step in their life.

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On the occasion of Teej, an annual women festival in Nepal, our mothers and girls dress up, make up, dance and celebrate, bringing some joy during the ongoing lockdown time in Nepal. So uplifting to see their joyful faces and energy. Teej is a special women celebration festival in Nepal where women fast, pray/worship and feast, dance and honour each other. This year our girls fully enjoyed dressing up, doing make-up for each other and truly celebrating. We really needed some uplift energy during these times of lockdown continuing in Nepal. We wish all our sisters around the world blessings & love on this special occasion of Teej

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Nepal ligt tussen 2 landen waar COVID-19 een grote impact heeft; China en India. Aanvankelijk leken het aantal besmettingen en doden laag. Maar in Nepal heeft men niet de financiën om grootschalig te testen, dus waarschijnlijk hebben veel meer mensen het virus dan uit de cijfers blijkt. Door de quarantaine en gevolgen van lockdown zijn er nu een aantal grootschalige effecten ontstaan. Nieuwsbrief_Nepal_2020_-1_Hands_with_Hands_Holland.pdf