September Update

Greetings Again from Kathmandu

Hello Everyone! Namaste!

Although we’ve had some recent non-damaging earthquakes, it is still frightening, especially for the children (and even us older ones!), so we hope this will now cease as the month long festival of Desain begins. It will be the time when all of our children return to their villages for this period. We emphasize community bonding as our children are being trained to become community leaders for the future.

Included in this month’s newsletter is the list of our new NECO Foundation board members, an outstanding group of people.

We also want to thank all of you who have provided special contributions to help our children and repair our damage facilities after the two devastating earthquakes.  So much has been accomplished but we still desperately need more financial help to pay for all the reconstruction. The costs were unexpectedly enormous and above our budget. More on this below.

The new residential hostel is almost ready for occupancy. Folks, it’s going to be a beautiful building. It is earthquake resistant, well ventilated with high roofline, and has a huge amount of room. Again we wish to thank Mr. and Mrs. Frank Ward of Bloomfield Hills, Michigan for their sizable contribution.  Also, we would like to acknowledge and thank Cyrus Parvini and his organization, Children Education Foundation, for their special, last minute contribution to complete this project. More details below. And of course, we wish to thank our President Mr. Bishow Bhatta, who in truth, sacrificed substantial income from his job and worked tirelessly for over 3 months, first in a wheelchair and then on crutches, to bring this about while suffering in pain from his broken arm and leg injuries.  Our understanding, because of working instead of resting during his healing time, he’s still suffering discomfort and having difficulty in walking.

Our webmaster said if more people would log onto our website, it would increase our ranking in the searches. Please visit if only you have a second or two. It would really help for others who are searching for information on Nepal orphanages. In addition you can review the purpose of our mission. And remember we are now attempting to update you more regularly through our Facebook so be sure to invite us as your friend. Thanks.

Remember, “helping others outside our own families and nations helps bind humanity as one people, a demonstration to show other nations, other peoples, and other races our love, which contributes to achieving unity and world peace.”

Activities at the Orphanage

Our boys have passion for soccer/football. They play at least 3 hours a week.

This picture, shows football cones that are drying after being washed by them.

Lack of Funding Delays Permanent Housing

Due to construction delays, the boys are still sleeping in the cow barn.

Now more than 4 months living in these open conditions, very soon the kids messy room with no door and windows will change into a nice new hostel (see Construction Update).

    

But in addition, we need furniture such as book and clothes shelves to replace what is now being used.

Construction Update

MAIN BUILDING:

The main building has been donated by the owners for the use of the orphanage.

We have repaired the ground floor of this building where the girls room and kitchen exists.

    

Hallway After:

    

Girl’s Room Before:

    

Girl’s Room After:

    

We have completed major repair of the girls’ room.  We still need to fix the door and windows.

And of course painting. $$$$

The wall, which had a deep crack, has been torn down and a new concrete wall has replaced it.  A Steel I-beam was also installed to give more support.  We are currently using the room although it needs painting and lighting improvement.

THE ‘WARD’ HOSTEL BUILDING

We are in the last phase of this project, so we soon can house all of our orphan children. It is an earthquake resistant building. With so many local homes under reconstruction, regular labor is difficult to find which slows down our progress. Currently the electrical wiring is being completed.  The aluminum windows and doors have already been designed and fabricated and installation is nearing completion.

    

 

New Children

Two new children were admitted to NECO last month replacing recent graduates.

They are very sweet and friendly.

Rashmi Kandel

   

Rashmi in the blue dress, 9 years old, born in the village of Dagam, Gulmi on 26th August, 2006.

Her father, Jagadish Kandel, died on 26th March, 2013. He was suffering from HIV aids. After that Rashmi’s mother, Laxmi, had to rear two kids; Rashmi and her younger brother Milan. They have no any property except a small house made up of mud and wood in their village and have no source of earning.  After that, Rashmi’s mother also left her and went away. Rashmi and her younger brother went to the street to beg.  One of our Board members (Treasurer) Mrs. Kalpana Acharya got know about Rashmi and her family and referred her to get admitted to NECO Home. Rashmi’s brother is staying in another shelter.

Resham B.K.

   

Resham on the left. 8 years old born in the village of Sertung, Dhading on 29th May, 2017.

Resham is the younger son in his family.  His mother, Shanti Maya, died on 2011 due to long term sickness.  His father, Mr. Buddhiman Kami, was an iron worker. He used to own a small  hut where he made household tools for gardening, digging, grass cutting etc. This work pays very little. One can hardly buy one meal if they work a whole day. Because of that kind of desperate situation Resham’s brothers left home.  After being old and sick his father also died. Last month we got to know about Resham who was no longer attending his school,  staying in his father’s hut without food or appropriate clothing . There was nobody to take responsibility of Resham.   Thus we gave shelter to him for some days in NECO and later after the board’s decision and the paper works were completed,  Resham was formally admitted in NECO Home.

 

New Pets

    

 

City Infrastructure Problems Continue

» POWER CUTS

Power cuts have been scheduled for 6 hours per day, depending on water supply, but as monsoon season is closing, the hours will increase eventually up to 12 hours a day.  Cold weather is also approaching. The sleeping hostel is unheated.

» WATER SHORTAGES

Despite general increased water supply, the municipality only provides so many liters of metered water to each home.

Our large number of people exceeds the water quota. So this continues to force our children and staff to walk 2 km. daily to fill buckets of water for drinking, washing and bathing.

New NECO Foundation Board Members

NECO Foundation is our main support organization based in the United States.  Currently they are under reorganization to provide the orphanage with better funding, management, accounting, transparency, and professionally supervised child care. Your prayers and support are needed. These highly qualified members are presented below.  New membership is still in transition so we’ll continue to update you on any changes.  Any inquiries or questions about the Foundation and as well as volunteer opportunities may be directed here.

BISHOW BHATTA

President

Bishow was born in Gorkha, Nepal, educated in Kathmandu and Calcutta, India. Throughout his earlier life in Nepal, he’s had extensive experience in electronics, customs and shipping, construction, business renovation, bookstores and publishing, and hotel and restaurant management. In Kathmandu, he owns several properties and a home in Goldhunga.  By 2006, he and his wife, Deepa, and four children immigrated to the United States. During this time, he was employed by Google in Mountain View, California. At the same time, he co-founded the orphanage, Nepal Children Orphan Home, in Goldhunga, Kathmandu. First started with 4 children, the orphanage has since expanded to 32, plus staff. In the past, Mr. Bhatta has been a member of Kiwanis Club International, the National Rifle Association, and the Nepal Red Cross. Currently he is a member of the Child NGO Federation of Nepal (CNFN) and a member of the Bahá’í Faith, where his projects exemplify “the earth is but one country and mankind its citizens.” NECO Home is a platform to teach that all humanity is one family, women and men are equal, universal teachings from all religions should be taught, destructive prejudice must be overcome, and world peace should be the goal of our time.”

 

FARAMARZ MARK YAZDANI

Treasurer

Faramarz  is an economist by education with a Ph.D. from Stanford University.  He worked for about 20 years in the energy market, helping independent power producers negotiate power purchase agreements (PPA) with their respective utilities.  His last assignment, 1999-2008, was assisting the Government of Indonesia restructure the Indonesian electricity market.  After that assignment, and for the last six years, he has been building homes in the San Francisco Bay Area and been active in other areas of the real estate market.  He is also the treasurer of another nonprofit foundation, the Hakone Japanese Garden and Estate in Saratoga California.

 

SHARON LUND

Secretary

Sharon lives in Traverse City, Michigan USA with her husband Dave, who are co-founders of the orphanage.  They both are successful parents and grandparents. She is a retired educator with a Masters Degree in Social work with school certification. Her experience includes childcare, children with disabilities, family counseling, sexual abuse counseling, therapy with youth and children, poverty, foster care, adoption, and children in trauma.  Sharon served as a Bahá’í Volunteer in Nepal for 5 months in early 2011.

 

DAVE LUND

Dave Lund is now 72 and for the past 18 years has been retired as a Vocational Rehabilitation Administrator. He and his wife, Sharon, are founding members of Nepal Children Orphan Home established in 2006. They have visited Kathmandu two times for a cumulative total of one year. He and his wife live in Northern Michigan but vacation in Mexico to avoid Michigan’s long winters.  Dave has been on the NECO Foundation Board for the past two years in order to improve the health and welfare of the orphan children.

 

KAREN HERMANN

Karen served on the NECO Foundation board for the past two years while working as a technician for an engineering firm nearby Topeka, Kansas.  She and her husband, Mark have a rural home in Berryton, about a one hour drive west of Kansas City. They are also members of their local Bahá’í community: Mark since 1978, Karen since 1979. Their home in Berryton is actually a small farm which has chickens and turkeys as well as a large garden that grows vegetables for themselves and their nearby family. Karen and Mark have three daughters ages 28 to 33 and two grandsons. They learned about the orphanage work from their eldest daughter Lauren, who volunteered serving the children in Kathmandu for about a month in 2008, after learning of the orphanage from Sharon & Mark Lund. All of their stories about their visits to Nepal touch the rest of their family. They say they are honored to be able to help with their support which has now lasted for several years.

 

ROBYN  JAVIDAN

Robyn is a Sales Manager at Google since 2004. She currently works with SMB advertisers, focusing on understanding their marketing goals and partnering with them in order to be even more successful online. Robyn has 2 daughters and is passionate about children. She understands that education is of the utmost importance so is very excited that NECO Foundation is not only focused on the physical needs of the children but focuses on their education and moral training.

 

ANTHONY A. LEE

Anthony A. Lee, Ph.D. (UCLA, 2007) teaches African American history at UCLA and at West Los Angeles College.  He lives in the Los Angeles area with his wife, Flor Geola, M.D.  He is also co-owner of Kalimat Press, an independent Baha’i publishing company. Lee has a number of academic publications in his fields of interest, African history, African-American history, and Bahá’í Studies.  He is the general editor of the twenty-three-volume series Studies in the Babi and Baha’i Religions (Kalimat Press).  His full-length book,The Baha’i Faith in Africa, was published by Brill (2011).  Lee is also a poet.  His first book of poems, This Poem Means, was the winner of the Naomi Long Madgett Poetry Award for 2005 (Lotus Press).  He is the winner of the Poetry of the Sacred Award for 2012 (Merton Institute).  His translations have been published in Táhirih: A Portrait in Poetry: Selected Poems of Qurratu’l-‘Ayn (Kalimát Press, 2004).  He is also co-translator of Rumi: 53 Lessons on Love: Poems of Sorrow and Renewal (White Cloud Press, 2014), Desert Sorrows: Poems by Tayseer al-Sboul (Michigan State University Press, 2015), and Love Is My Savior: The Arabic Poems of Rumi (Michigan State University Press, 2016).

 

SAFDAR IGHANIAN

Safdar obtained his Bachelor’s degree in accounting in Iran and then his MBA at Jose State University in California. He and his wife have two married daughters with a four month old grandson. Currently he is working with the Hakone Foundation as a part-time Accountant, a non-profit Japanese Estate & Garden in Saratoga, California. Prior to this he has more than 30 years experience as a Finance veteran of Silicon Valley Hi Tech Companies, his last position was Vice-President of Finance, Fujitsu America, Sunnyvale CA. Safdar also has been treasurer for the Local Spiritual Assembly in California for more than 30 years. Volunteer work includes tax return preparation for low income families (a program founded by IRS and United Way), tutoring at Alum Rock Elementary School in San Jose (sponsored by United Way), Stanford blood bank, treasurer of Mountain View Tennis Club, member of Children Class Committee in San Jose, Chief teller of the Regional Bahá’í Council, and Alpha Omega Homeless Shelter program. His hobbies include tennis and swimming.

 

BAHRAM NADIMI

Bahram is a system’s engineer working for an optical network company in Silicon Valley and a member of the Baha’i faith.  One of his passions is studying how the various major religions have advanced civilization and sharing these insights. His interests include traveling, volunteering, and film.  A recent project was helping a friend to produce films about the spirit and history of the Garifuna culture of Central America.

 

GERALD BABEL-SUTTER

No photo or bio-data yet submitted

 

ADVISORS

Cyrus Parvini

Cyrus is the founder and president of the non-profit tax exempt charity Children Education Foundation of Mountain View, California. The foundation promotes Virtues Educational Programs to many orphanages and schools around the world. Cyrus received his BS degree from California State University at East Bay in Industrial Management/Planning and Scheduling.  His experience in International Business and Real Estate Development spans over 30 years. He and his wife, Simin, are the owners of the Little Prodigy Preschool, a high standard Preschool in Northern California with over 90 children. Cyrus is also the producer of the documentary film “The Promise of World Peace- A Bahá’í Perspective”, which has been broadcast on 40 TV Stations in United States and reached 67 countries in various languages. His foundation is a major supporter of our orphanage.

 

John Snyder

John is a retired, decorated veteran of the U.S. Army. His undergraduate studies were at four American colleges and universities, earning an AA from Northwestern Michigan College and a BA from Ambassador College, before his MBA studies at the University of Southern California. During this time he became a member of the Christian faith. His subsequent business and humanitarian works earned him several awards by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors. Although an American citizen, he has been living and working on the Indian subcontinent since 1984. A resident of Kathmandu, he sponsors the education of five children from his two ‘adopted’ families: one in Nepal and the other in Sri Lanka where he has a winter home near Colombo. In Asia, his executive and managerial business experience includes hotels, restaurants, bookstores, and book publishing. He was co-founder of Pilgrims Book House in Nepal and India and served as Executive Editor of Book Faith India and Pilgrims Publishing. Now semi-retired, he is Guest Lecturer in Business Communication and Management at the Global Academy of Tourism and Hospitality Education (GATE College) in Kathmandu.

URGENT HELP IS NOW NEEDED

We are now indebted by over $17,000 which resulted by being forced to rebuild after the two devastating earthquakes here in Nepal.  So our budget is desperate. We still have many unpaid bills and unfinished projects.  And in the meantime we still need to feed and educate our kids! Your tax-deductible financial gift to help continue this important mission is deeply needed and appreciated at this time. Thank you

 

SO CAN YOU HELP?

Whatever you can: $5, $10, $25, $100, $1000 … or more…  to help rebuild, continue and enlarge this outstanding program to educate these children into a better opportunity, for self and community. 

Visit our Website to learn more about our mission and visit www.virtuesproject.com for the program we wish to add.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Credit / Debit / Pay Pal donations can now easily and securely be made: GIVE NOW or Mail check or international money order to: NECO FOUNDATION 696 Alberta Avenue, Apt. 3, Sunnyvale, CA 94087 USA Telephone: +1-650-417-5977 Website   Email (Any check made out to “NECO Foundation” will be earmarked for NECO Home in Kathmandu) (Examples: $140 to provide full sponsorship for one child per month, $40 to provide for one month English-medium education; $50 to provide food for one month; $10 to buy one pair of shoes or school uniform)

 

If you know a friend, relative, or member who would be interested in this important and ground-breaking work in Nepal, consider forwarding this newsletter to them. Or, you cansend us their email address and we would be happy to send them a “one-time only” Letter of Introduction about this important work.             Our subscription list is strictly confidential and never shared with anyone.