UPDATES FROM THE FIELD
June 1, 2023
See our new Blog Page for the most recent updates!
See our new Blog Page for the most recent updates!
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May 13, 2023
On Her Way Please join us in honoring seventy-five HIO mothers studying in our Be Part of Her Dream (BPOHD) women’s empowerment program. Twenty-five women like Tara have participated in BPOHD since 2016. Fifty will begin classes next month. All show remarkable courage, vision and strength. These women are poor not because they lack initiative, but because they lack resources, opportunity and education. They're unseen and unheard. When HIO gives them a second chance to learn as adults, they're shocked. What a smart choice to say yes! Read More |
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April 8, 2023
A Leap of Faith At the outset, we really know very little about the girls we sponsor. We visit their homes and try to establish trust with their mothers and sometimes their fathers, though most families are not intact. We learn more about each girl along the way. As they transition from their early years to adolescence and young adulthood, the going gets tougher. Marginalized and poor, our girls face uphill challenges we can hardly imagine. Though we encourage them to have goals for the future, the ultimate prize is simply keeping HIO girls in school, avoiding early marriage and pregnancy. Graduating high school unscathed is a huge accomplishment in itself. Read More |
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March 8, 2023
Empowering Courageous Women On this International Women's Day, we celebrate courageous mothers of HIO girls who are gaining confidence and practical skills in our Be Part of Her Dream (BPOHD) women’s empowerment program. These smart, dedicated women were denied access to school as young girls. Your belief in their right to education is truly making a difference in strengthening their community. For mothers like Dhan Maya Magar, BPOHD classes are a vital opportunity for a second chance. Read More |
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February 3, 2023
Keeping Her Dream Alive One of our rising stars, Shreejana Basnet, began her HIO sponsorship at age six. She's now in her mid-twenties. Shreejana is soft spoken, pensive, bright and altruistic. Even as a young child, she seldom had care-free moments as most children do. Both of her parents worked, earning barely enough to feed their small family and pay rent. Shreejana became the unofficial parent in the household. She cooked and cleaned for her family each night, cared for her younger sister, Shreena, and went to school from 9 to 5 each day. Read More |
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January 1, 2023
Your Care and Support Make All the Difference As we turn the calendar to the new year, we're humbled by all you do to improve the lives of girls and women we serve in Kathmandu. Your loving support empowers 175 marginalized girls to reach for the stars through our sponsorship program. You encourage their mothers to develop confidence and financial security while gaining literacy and vocational skills. You provide a wonderful early education program for 100 profoundly poor children. And you promote a community of caring through food relief efforts, psycho-social counseling and access to healthcare when people are ill. Read More |
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November 3, 2022
Help HIO Girls Reach for the Stars Having recently graduated from 12th grade, Jyoti’s now at a critical juncture. She's applied to a unique college program at the Asian University for Women (AUW) in Bangladesh and is waiting for the university's decision, hoping to gain acceptance to a four-year bachelors program in economics. It's humbling to think of the thousands of ordinary lives our strong, capable, rising HIO stars will impact one day. Without your support, they could easily become victims of teen marriage, early pregnancy, and low-wage menial jobs, challenges that are sadly still prevalent for girls in Nepal. Read More |
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October 12, 2022
Corresponding with Your HIO Girl Corresponding periodically with your sponsored girl goes a long way toward developing lasting bonds. You can write about your own experiences with school and encourage her to stay in school to brighten her future. Include photos of yourself, your children, grandchildren, pets, hobbies or interests. Our girls and their families cherish sponsors’ letters and often hang them in their rented rooms. Read More |
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August 16, 2022
Celebrating our HIO Girls We have some GREAT news to share. Two of our eleventh graders, Shristi Tamang and Urwashi BK, earned full scholarships to attend United World College (UWC). This unique early college program has campuses around the globe with the shared aim of making education a force to unite nations and cultures, promoting peace and a sustainable future. Shristi will study in Montezuma, New Mexico and Urwashi at Pearson College in Victoria, Canada. Read More |
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July 26, 2022
Addressing a Food Crisis Our HIO families in Kathmandu feel the pain of a global food crisis acutely. Most of our girls’ mothers are day laborers with unstable income that hasn’t kept pace with inflation, now at a six-year high in Nepal at roughly 9%. The cost of lentils has risen 14% since last year, and cooking oils a whopping 30%. Eggs are now a luxury item. As prices skyrocket, supplies are running dangerously low, especially in urban areas. With family food budgets shrinking, our HIO community’s health could be at risk. Read More |
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June 21, 2022
A Man for All Seasons Dave Garets was a very good man with a kind heart. He became a member of our HIO community in the mid 1990’s, when he first met our Nepal Director, Ram, in Kathmandu after a trekking adventure. The two formed a lasting friendship, and Dave’s commitment to HIO’s mission grew. He sponsored several HIO girls over the years and will always be remembered for his no-nonsense advice as a board member and for his profound generosity. Read More |
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May 7, 2022
When Women Succeed, Everyone Benefits Your belief in the power of education is truly transforming the lives of mothers in HIO’s Be Part of Her Dream (BPOHD) women’s empowerment program. This lovely sisterhood of support gives a second chance to marginalized women who were denied the opportunity to attend school as young girls. We’re inspired by women like Hemu, who’ve shown courage and deep commitment to their studies throughout the pandemic. Read More |
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March 8, 2022
International Women's Day Message At HIO, we envision a world where girls and women are empowered by equal access to education. Where gender-oppressing norms are questioned and changed. Where a young Nepali girl from an untouchable caste can reach for the stars to become a leader in a profession she’s destined for. Read More |
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February 12, 2022
Your Heartfelt Connections Transform Lives Laura is traveling once again to Kathmandu. It’s been ages. Renewing relationships with our girls and their families and begin making new bonds will be so exciting. We typically hand deliver sponsors’ notes and small packages whenever someone is traveling to Nepal. Mail delivery is nearly impossible in Kathmandu. This year, our bags are filled to the brim with materials for our learning centers. Read More |
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January 2, 2022
Your Care and Support Make All the Difference As we turn the calendar to a new year, we're humbled to reflect on all you do to improve the lives of girls and women we serve in Kathmandu. Despite the ongoing challenges of 2021 — gender inequality, profound poverty, illiteracy, and a global pandemic — not one of our 170 sponsored girls was lost to child marriage or teen pregnancy. A small miracle that speaks volumes about your dedication to HIO's mission. Read More |
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December 17, 2021
Changing the World We’re delighted to add Sarah Tamang and Mamata Rai to our Nepal leadership team, effective December 1, 2021. Both young women were sponsored HIO girls themselves and served for many years on our sister board in Nepal. They bring boundless passion, enthusiasm and creative energy to our programming. A freshness of spirit for wanting to change the world. Read More... |
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October 28, 2021
HIO Girls Are Continuing to Reach for the Stars The impact of your long-term investment in our girls is truly profound. It goes so far beyond benefitting just one promising young woman. Your generosity is cultivating a remarkable generational shift. It's humbling to think of the thousands of ordinary lives our strong, capable, rising HIO stars will affect as they carry forward your gifts of education. Read More... |
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October 11, 2021
In Honor of International Day of the Girl The most significant obstacle HIO girls face is dropping out of school because of child marriage and teen pregnancy. It's a problem that's been exacerbated during the global pandemic. Look for stories in HIO's Fall 2021 newsletter that illustrate how we're addressing this challenge through access to education. The success of our HIO graduates speaks volumes. Read more... |
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September 10, 2021
A Measure of Food Security With a generous grant from Arthur and Lisa Berkowitz, HIO has a solid nutrition program for our families in Nepal. Food relief is offered each October during Dassain, the largest Nepali festival, and at the start of the school year in April. HIO families have been stretched particularly thin with loss of income during the global pandemic. It’s a very simple formula of survival. No work, no money to buy food. So we organized a third distribution during the summer months. Read more... |
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August 20, 2021
Storytime - A Small HIO Miracle Like many children around the world, our HIO girls in Kathmandu have been learning remotely because of the pandemic. Lockdown conditions keep in-person classes and activities with friends a distant memory. Outdated mobile phones and spotty internet access made this challenging situation even more disheartening. We were inspired to lift our younger girls’ spirits by offering a virtual Storytime. A wonderful group of HIO volunteers breathed life into the idea. For 45 minutes each week, our girls escape into other worlds on Zoom, exercising their imaginations and building community with their HIO sisters, sponsors and teachers. Read more... |
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June 15, 2021
Higher Education - Celebrating all that HIO Girls Can Become Pandemic or not, our HIO sponsored girls have only one chance to use the power of education to change their lives. We must boldly look past the COVID fallout, keeping the spark of a brighter future alive. While they have your support, our girls' time is now. College and career counseling as we know it is all but non-existent in Nepal. There are few professional women in our girls’ lives to serve as their role models. HIO's emerging Coming of Age program aims to shift this narrative. Read more... |
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May 10, 2021
A Dire Situation in Nepal Though we've turned a corner in the U.S., the pandemic situation in Nepal is dire. The daily number of new positive COVID cases is staggering! If numbers continue soaring, lockdown conditions could easily extend for several weeks or much longer. We're strategizing daily with Ram, Palmo and the rest of the Nepal team and appreciate their strength and dedication through these uncertain times. Last week, just as the variant coronavirus began spreading throughout Kathmandu like wildfire, our team members were making home visits and educating children. Two of our learning center teachers tested positive for COVID along with one of our staff members, though they’d been recently vaccinated. All are recovering, thankfully. Read more... |
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April 27, 2021
Supporting HIO's Women HIO's Be Part of Her Dream women's education program is a lovely sisterhood of support. Our classes help marginalized women develop literacy skills, financial independence, and an understanding of human rights. Women like Jamuna and Hemu gain the confidence and practical skills that make earning a high school diploma, starting a small business, and living violence-free lives well within reach. Your loving support makes all the difference in their success. As the pandemic rages on in Nepal, help us honor the indomitable courage and resilience of these strong women. Read more... |
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March 31, 2021
Honoring A Beautiful Life We're deeply saddened to share this tragic and shocking news. Santoshi Shrestha Sapkota, a dear young mother in our Be Part of Her Dream women's education program, was killed by her abusive husband this month. Her husband is in police custody awaiting trial for her murder. Santoshi was a smart, courageous, and well-loved member of our HIO community. Her family had been living in the Balkhu slum near the Strong Roots Learning Center. Having married as a teenager, she'd recently separated from her husband and had filed for divorce. She was working so hard to make a better life for herself and her son Read more... |
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March 8, 2021
Celebrating Women's Success We have so much to celebrate on this International Women’s Day. Through determination, hard work and heart, our girls and their mothers are keeping sight of their dreams and ours. There’s no stopping our Be Part of Her Dream (BPOHD) women’s education program. Two graduates, Meena Tamang and Rana Basnet, moved forward earning high school diplomas last fall. Hemu Sunuwar, Jamuna Giri, Nabina Nepali and Santoshi Sapkota are being encouraged by their BPOHD teachers to earn diplomas too. More than 30 mothers attend weekly Human Rights classes on Zoom using their mobile phones. Sarah Tamang, our first HIO girl to earn a law degree in Nepal, leads engaging discussions that help break down caste differences and develop the women’s self-advocacy skills. Read more... |
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February 3, 2021
Update from the Field The political situation in Nepal is in a shambles. Prime Minister Oli responded to harsh criticism about his handling of COVID-19 by dissolving parliament. Protest and distrust rage and Oli has been ousted by his own Nepal Communist Party. Many worry that economic recovery will be delayed and public health is in jeopardy. Our concerns remain keenly focused on the futures of our HIO girls and their mothers. The isolation and economic fallout of the pandemic is wreaking havoc on girls' and women's progress worldwide. Sadly, child marriage, teen pregnancy and domestic violence are all on the rise. We’re disheartened that one of our 5th graders recently eloped at age 15 - our program’s worst nightmare. Yet we realize our losses could have been much worse. Our social work team works tirelessly keeping our HIO community intact. Read more... |
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January 19, 2021
Making Dreams Come True Two fundraising campaigns have dramatically increased our capacity to support HIO girls’ higher education goals. We’re delighted to announce our Rudi Dundas Higher Education Scholarship. With deep gratitude for the immense generosity of Yangchen Lama and 45 of her dear friends and family, this fund is being established with an initial deposit of $75,000. Our on-line auction was also a superb success, thanks to the remarkable efforts of HIO board members Kate Turner and Carolyn Schmitz. Wonderful news for our Higher Education Dreamers. Read more... |
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January 5, 2021
Silver Linings As we close out a year of many challenges, we’re humbled by your care and generosity. COVID cases continue to rise in the Kathmandu Valley, where Ram and Palmo describe life on the street as close to pre-pandemic normal. They fear the government may find no other way of dealing with the overwhelming nature of the virus than to act as though it will go away on its own. We pause to give thanks for the many moments of light that make every bit of work worth the effort. Silver linings from the last couple of months remind us that it's your profound generosity and trust that make such goodness possible. Read more... |
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November 20, 2020
The Loving Face of Generosity Ken and Jossy Nebenzahl were lifelong, kindred spirits for well over 60 years before Ken’s passing last spring. As antiquarian book and map dealers, both had an intense passion for travel and adventure, making several trips to the Himalayas. For three decades, Jossy and Ken have supported HIO girls through their loving sponsorship. Among them, Nyima is now a physician in Kathmandu, her sister Pema an IT college grad, Kanchan, an engineer and Duke graduate and Sabita has a masters degree in micro-biology. Jossy continues sending along treasured articles of clothing for any of our families in need. Read more... |
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October 27, 2020
Update from the Field October is typically a festive time in Nepal, when the whole country celebrates Dashain, the most important Hindu holiday. This October feels vastly different for our families in Kathmandu. They’re staying closer to home and celebrating more modestly. Some have lost loved ones to the pandemic. The economy is sputtering. The Ministry of Education is grappling with how to manage a school year that looks to be a near loss. The Ministry of Health has thrown up its arms as hospital beds overflow with COVID patients. Despite a steady of increase of COVID cases in the Kathmandu Valley, the Nepali government has yet to formulate a national response plan. Read more... |
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September 3, 2020
Remote Learning During a Pandemic Nepal’s second lockdown continues indefinitely. Meanwhile, HIO’s profoundly poor families are living in dire conditions, working hard to meet basic needs. Nepal's Education Ministry is struggling to produce viable plans. Everyone is frightened by the record numbers of COVID-19 cases reported daily in Kathmandu Valley. The same scenario plays out each week. Government officials meet, rumors abound, and a lockdown extension is announced. Our Chandra Kala and Strong Root preschools are temporarily closed, waiting for the government’s green light to reopen. We’ve assembled a team of tech professionals to help mitigate the challenges of learning while living in poverty during a pandemic. Read more... |
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August 16, 2020
Finding Our Way Forward Challenges of the pandemic loom large for us all. They’re put in stark perspective when we imagine the overcrowded, dark alleyways where our HIO families live in ramshackle huts. It’s hot, humid and rainy in the Kathmandu Valley. Difficult to get from one side of the city to the other. COVID-19 cases have escalated, putting everyone’s nerves on edge. Nepal’s government has imposed another lockdown, just three weeks after the last one abruptly ended. Large areas of the city are now sealed by police and free movement is heavily restricted. Terrifying! We’ve learned from the last stay-in-place orders how we might do things differently this time. We've put a number of relief actions in place. Read more... |
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July 28, 2020
Changing Lives Schools in Nepal will remain closed until the fall. Classes usually begin in April. The government encouraged on-line classes during lockdown, yet prohibited private schools from collecting tuition. Stuck in the middle, of course, are poor children. On-line classes added some structure and motivation for our girls during the pandemic lockdown. Without classes, educational inequities we’ve worked so hard to address could easily increase. Our social work team is kicking into gear with solutions. We’re partnering with schools to keep our girls’ minds active and their spirits up, offering small group activities, journal-writing, and additional counseling during this critical time. Read more... |
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July 7, 2020
A Quiet HIO Heroine in Action A key component of our pandemic relief plan was designating volunteers to assist our small staff. Someone we could thoroughly trust to distribute cash stipends and food relief and who could relay valuable information to us. Someone who would reach out to struggling mothers to ease their worry. As we read through Ram and Palmo’s field notes from May and June, one phrase repeats itself over and over: family received food and stipend with the help of Mena. The 34-year-old mother of two HIO sponsored girls, Mena is soft spoken and quiet. Yet her determination to make a better life for her girls is readily apparent and gratefully acknowledged by her HIO sisters and our social work team. Read more... |
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June 23, 2020
A Social Safety Net To effectively reach our HIO families during the pandemic, we’re developing a reliable network of HIO heroes. Every one of them has the power to inspire courage and spark joy. Over the past three months, our heroes have selflessly helped deliver food, emergency stipends and countless acts of kindness. This social safety net of sisterhood includes many of our sponsored girls' parents. A mother of two children, Pushpa scoffs at the notion of being considered a hero. She works long hours for little pay. She can’t read or write her name. "I’m a cleaning woman and a mother," Pushpa says. "How can I be a hero?" Read more... |
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June 9, 2020
Making All the Difference Life has come to a grinding halt for our already marginalized HIO families in Kathmandu. Nepal’s lockdown is now well into its third month with no clear end in sight. In these uniquely challenging times, providing for our girls’ basic needs is vitally important. The profound help of our volunteer heroes brings a measure of hope and relief to families living perilously close to the edge. Sunita Rana serves is a dedicated teacher at our Strong Roots Preschool in the Balkhu Slum. She lives footsteps away from the school and has provided such a grounding force for our Strong Roots families throughout the lockdown. Read more... |
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May 19, 2020
HIO Sponsorship Transforms Lives The HIO family is a tightly knit group and totally committed to caring for one another. Loyal sponsors are our backbone. Your yearly support covers school tuition, books, uniforms, healthcare and emergency family relief for our girls. The new school year in Nepal would normally have begun the third week of April. Our partner schools' openings will be delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic, but we'll begin paying 2020 tuition bills for sponsored girls soon. Such a blessing to have received so many of your sponsorship donations and contributions to HIO's family relief efforts during these unsettling times. Read more... |
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April 29, 2020
Honoring Mothers Everywhere Mother's Day this year was like no other. With social distancing keeping many families apart, gatherings with loved ones were limited. While celebrating Mother's Day, we were awestruck by your kindness toward our HIO families in Nepal. Your generous gifts to our emergency relief program during the current pandemic make a profound difference in their lives. Your loving care and support is truly changing lives. One girl, one mother at a time. Our most heartfelt gratitude for your kindness on Mother's Day and always. Read more... |
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4/17/2020
Finding Our Way Forward - Silver Linings Amidst our worry and concern, we are once again filled with hope and light. Grounded by thoughts of our true purpose. The essence of Hands in Outreach is forever the wonderful promise of you encouraging a young girl's dreams. Instilling confidence that places her on a path out of deep-rooted poverty. Achieving a better life for herself and her family. It’s your kind support that makes all the difference. Read More... |
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3/31/2020
Updates from the Field and...Harvard Bound! In the midst of the coronavirus news dominating the airwaves, we received an excited silver lining note from Nirupama Magar, an HIO senior from the Budhanilkantha School, one of the top in Nepal. Nirupama shared that she’d just been accepted to Harvard on a full scholarship. Marvelous news for Nirupama and our HIO family. What HIO girls can achieve! Read more... |
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3/20/2020
COVID-19 Response - Caring for the HIO Family With the rapid spread of COVID-19, we’re reminded of the need to care for the many wonderful people who make up our HIO family. If there's a silver lining to this global health emergency, it may be that it forces us all to take a deep breath and focus on what's most important - community, compassion and the well-being of our girls. Read More... |
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3/8/2020
International Women's Day - Be Part of Her Dream In Nepal, girls and women have the least opportunity for education. Since the time they were able to walk, they've been raised as subservient caregivers. They're treated as marginalized citizens in a patriarchal society that views girls and women as less than their brothers and husbands. HIO's women's education program, Be Part of Her Dream (BPOHD), is helping to shift this narrative for women like Renuka Moote. Read More... |
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2/23/2020
Food Relief Efforts Few of us can imagine the immense daily challenges HIO families face. Seemingly simple necessities - food, clean water, and clothing - can be remarkably hard to come by. If one of our girls arrives hungry to school, her chances of learning are diminished. Your support helps us provide desperately poor families in Kathmandu a modest but meaningful measure of security for two months out of the year. Read more... |
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2/3/2020
Taking Precautionary Measures to Prevent Coronavirus Nepal shares it’s northern Himalayan border with China, and the two nations are key trading partners. With the outbreak of Coronavirus in China dominating world news, our thoughts immediately turn to the safety of our HIO girls, their families and teachers and our staff in Kathmandu. Teachers at our Strong Roots and Chandra Kala preschools are re-teaching children and their mothers about basic steps for keeping their hands free of germs. We have ample handwashing facilities at each school, and additional hand sanitizing supplies have been purchased. Read more... |
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12/31/19
Higher Education Fund Grows We're so excited. You grew our Higher Education Dreamers Fund by $30,000. Your kindness is just amazing! While an inspiring 2019 comes to a close, 2020 promises so many new beginnings. With your abundant generosity, your faith in the power of education, and your trust in HIO, we're delighted to begin celebrating our 35th year of serving poor girls and women in Nepal. Together, we can accomplish so much good. Read more... |
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12/16/19
Meet Nepal HIO's Board Meet Niyma, Sarah, Binita, and Mamata. All have served as valued board members for Sano-Sansar - Hands in Outreach Nepal - our sister NGO in Nepal. These gifted, hard-working young women epitomize the phrase - achieving the unimaginable. HIO’s caring network of hope created pathways toward their success. All of these young women have mothers who envisioned more for their daughters than teen marriage, low-wage menial jobs, and dead-end lives on the street. Read more... |
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11/17/19
Neru and Jamuna—Success Stories Jamuna Giri was married at age 18 and now has three children. A self-described housewife, she pridefully cooks and cleans, caring for her family's modest two room apartment. Two beds for six people. Jamuna's a star student in our women's education program. She attends early morning class nearly every day, and her confidence is growing. She's recently added lots of English verbs to her vocabulary and she's learning to make lovely beaded bracelets as part of our vocational training initiative. Read more... |
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11/3/19
Nepal Staff Delivering an educational intervention to poor families in a developing country is a daunting task. HIO's Nepal staff tirelessly rise to the unpredictable day-to-day challenges of their work. At the heart of HIO's success, Ram Adhikari, Palmo Tamang, and Kanchan Adhikari brilliantly manage our sponsorship, educational and social service programs. Their commitment and dedication enable our girls and their families to reach for big dreams and achieve the unimaginable. Read more... |
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10/23/19
Pooja and Kritika—Success Stories HIO sponsors the education of 165 girls from kindergarten through college. Families we serve are most often headed by poor, single mothers. All are working hard to provide a small measure of stability for their children. Most never had a chance to attend school themselves. A generational change is evolving through a lifelong, family-centric approach to education. Most HIO girls go on to college and many now attend graduate school studying medicine, dentistry, business, ecology, and law. Truly astounding. Read more... |
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8/22/19
Yangchen Lama—HIO Alumna Last June, Yangchen Lama delivered the keynote commencement address to the class of 2019 at Moses Brown School in Providence, RI. Offering advice to this promising group of MB graduating seniors would be considered a great privilege by anyone. For Yangchen, this moment was particularly meaningful. She grew up in a remote village at 17,000 feet in Nepal where girls and women receive few chances at education. Yangchen’s father so valued education that he moved his family to Kathmandu where Yangchen started kindergarten at age nine. At the top of her ninth-grade class, she came to the US four years later with a scholarship to Moses Brown in Providence. Yangchen graduated from MB in 1994 and is now a highly successful Senior Vice President of Wealth Management at Morgan Stanley and is a valued member of the HiO board. Read more... |
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5/22/19
Your Donations Help People See Access to reading glasses is a global health problem that Hands in Outreach is trying to help solve. This problem came to our attention through Restoring Vision, an organization that empowers people in developing countries by providing them with glasses. Access to glasses. Access to education. Our missions are so closely aligned. Palmo and Ram, HIO’s co-directors in Nepal, were quick to recognize the huge impact new reading glasses could have on the communities we serve. Read more... |
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422/19
No Ordinary Day at the Park Hands in Outreach supports two lovely inner-city Kathmandu preschools. They provide beacons of hope to some of the poorest children in the city. Our Strong Roots Preschool is located in the heart of the Balkhu Slum. Poor people from all over Nepal, mostly women and children, co-exist in this muddy area of cobbled together huts on the banks of the fetid Bagmati River. All hope for a better life. Gary Jost, a former HIO Board member, stopped by Strong Roots during a recent visit to Nepal. Like anyone who’s blessed to enter this tiny haven, Gary was heartened by a warm, loving sense of community. And discouraged by the lack of decent outdoor play space. Strong Roots children battle daily with wretched air quality. Sticks and rusted pipes become their makeshift playthings. During monsoon season, they tiptoe through ankle-deep muck on their way to school. Gary was determined to help these bright-eyed children get out of the slum...at least for a day. He envisioned them going to the zoo and he left enough rupees behind to help make this happen. Read more... |
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4/1/19
HIO Girls Celebrate Coming of Age In developing countries like Nepal, talking openly about sex and feminine hygiene is taboo. This can make adolescence a particularly confusing time for many girls. HIO teens are especially vulnerable. Too many have troubled home lives and are easily influenced by the street. Our loving support and guidance are vitally important as they navigate awkward teenage transitions. Hands in Outreach is committed to helping our girls understand, take care of, and be proud of their developing bodies. Read more... |
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2/6/19
Saving Money, Changing Lives Money is hard to come by for our families in Nepal. Most HIO-sponsored girls live in households led by single, illiterate mothers. Many of these women work at back-breaking, menial jobs hauling bricks and sand at construction sites or working as domestics. Often, our mothers earn no more than a few dollars for a 10-hour day of work. Shifting our girls’ understanding of how financial systems operate could help break the endless cycle of poverty they live in. Last August, Palmo came up with a brilliant idea—actively teach our girls that saving money can be empowering. Kanchan and Lata, who teach our women’s literacy classes at Chandra Kala, were quick to offer their help. Our team bought enough clay piggy-bank pots so that each of our girls at Bijeswori School could have one. Read more... |
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1/29/19
With So Many Thanks to Former HIO Board Members As per our by-laws, board members rotate off the board every year or two, allowing us to bring in new people and keep former board members engaged as advisors. With deep gratitude we lovingly acknowledge Carolyn Schmitz, Yangchen Lama, Lisa Sheble and Harry Dickens for their dedication and service to our girls and families in Nepal. Read more... |
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1/15/19
HIO Girls Love Receiving Your Letters! In early March, Laura Hunt and Ricky will travel to Nepal to make home and school visits. Mail delivery is near impossible in Kathmandu, so we encourage direct hand delivery whenever an HIO friend is traveling to Nepal. We have lots of room in our bags for your letters. It’s never too late to begin building a relationship with your sponsored girl and her mother. They simply adore receiving your letters. If you’ve never communicated directly, why not start now? Your letter needn’t be long. It’s really the thought that matters most. What a loving affirmation it is for a child to know that someone halfway around the world cares enough about her to write. Read more... |
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1/4/19
Serving our HIO Families in Nepal The educational programming made possible by your generous support is allowing 165 girls and 50 of their mothers to have access to education, along with medical care and a measure of food security. Your support is helping train dedicated teachers into superb educators who'll benefit not only our HIO girls, but hundreds of their classmates in our partner schools as well. Offering social services to poor families halfway around the world is a daunting task and is only possible through your kindness and the dedication of our wonderful HIO staff. They’re the boots on the ground that make our heartfelt intervention possible. Read more... |
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10/15/18
Holiday Food Giving During the week of October 8th, for the Nepali Dassain Holiday festival, HIO staff successfully carried out a major food distribution effort in five locations around the Kathmandu Valley. Over a three-day period, the HIO team provided food for 177 families. Our team leaders, Palmo Tamang, HIO Deputy Director, and Kanchan Adhikari, CFO, had wonderful assistance from several HIO college young women and our students in the 11th and 12th grades, along with all of the teachers at Bal Kendra and Strong Roots. What a marvelous achievement! Read more... |
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7/6/18
The Faces of HIO The generosity of HIO sponsors currently supports the education of about 160 girls from age 4 to 25, from kindergarten through college. Several girls are now in graduate school studying medicine, dentistry, business and law. Our HIO families are predominantly headed by poor, single mothers who work hard to provide a small measure of stability to their children. Our girls and their mothers are smart, strong and brave. They’re resilient and grateful. Here are just a few of the girls you so kindly support. Read more... |
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6/7/18
Celebrating the Mothers' Education Class
On Thursday, May 17, 50 women came to class for their final lesson, marking a two-year journey of empowerment. These amazingly dedicated women came to class for an hour and a half every day to help lift themselves from their desperate poverty. Today they’ll be singing, dancing and enjoying special foods cooked in their honor to celebrate their wonderful accomplishments. Read more...
Celebrating the Mothers' Education Class
On Thursday, May 17, 50 women came to class for their final lesson, marking a two-year journey of empowerment. These amazingly dedicated women came to class for an hour and a half every day to help lift themselves from their desperate poverty. Today they’ll be singing, dancing and enjoying special foods cooked in their honor to celebrate their wonderful accomplishments. Read more...
4/27/18
A New Library at Strong Roots: The Alan and Barbara Boroff Community Library
We’re very pleased to report that in March, a wonderful new community library was opened at our Strong Roots preschool in the heart of the Balku slum in Kathmandu, one of the poorest neighborhoods in the city. Most families live in squatter huts made of corrugated metal with no plumbing or electricity. The project was made possible with funds from Friends of Nepal, who are former Peace Corps volunteers who served in Nepal, and from generous HIO donors. We’re especially grateful to the very significant gift made by Lisa and Arthur Berkowitz. To recognize their kindness, the library has been named in honor of Lisa’s parents, Alan and Barbara Boroff, who’ve generously donated to HIO for over 30 years. Alan passed away last year and is deeply missed. Read more...
A New Library at Strong Roots: The Alan and Barbara Boroff Community Library
We’re very pleased to report that in March, a wonderful new community library was opened at our Strong Roots preschool in the heart of the Balku slum in Kathmandu, one of the poorest neighborhoods in the city. Most families live in squatter huts made of corrugated metal with no plumbing or electricity. The project was made possible with funds from Friends of Nepal, who are former Peace Corps volunteers who served in Nepal, and from generous HIO donors. We’re especially grateful to the very significant gift made by Lisa and Arthur Berkowitz. To recognize their kindness, the library has been named in honor of Lisa’s parents, Alan and Barbara Boroff, who’ve generously donated to HIO for over 30 years. Alan passed away last year and is deeply missed. Read more...
1/19/18
Supporting the Sustainability of HIO: The True Costs of Sponsorship
Our HIO Board recently drafted a 5-year strategic plan with sustainability as one of the major components for our long-term wellbeing. What follows is a brief explanation for how, with your support, we can collectively ensure the sustainability of HIO going forward. Read more...
Supporting the Sustainability of HIO: The True Costs of Sponsorship
Our HIO Board recently drafted a 5-year strategic plan with sustainability as one of the major components for our long-term wellbeing. What follows is a brief explanation for how, with your support, we can collectively ensure the sustainability of HIO going forward. Read more...
9/6/17
Brave Women
A Recent Message from HIO Deputy Director, Palmo Tamang
I have the greatest respect for the HIO mothers who come to the Be Part of Her Dream mothers’ education class. Their day starts very early and ends very late. They come to the Bal Kendra learning center in the early morning at 6am for tea, and then learn in their class from 6:30am until 8am. Except for a few hours of house chores, they spend their time working to earn enough rupees to feed their families. Read more...
Brave Women
A Recent Message from HIO Deputy Director, Palmo Tamang
I have the greatest respect for the HIO mothers who come to the Be Part of Her Dream mothers’ education class. Their day starts very early and ends very late. They come to the Bal Kendra learning center in the early morning at 6am for tea, and then learn in their class from 6:30am until 8am. Except for a few hours of house chores, they spend their time working to earn enough rupees to feed their families. Read more...
7/18/2017
Corresponding with Your Sponsored Girl
We're happy to report that this spring you made it possible for 18 new girls to go to school under the HIO umbrella, bringing our total to 150 sponsored girls. It’s wonderful that you've done so much toward providing a group of very poor girls with the gift of education. We’re ever grateful for your kind support.
Our girls and their families love getting your letters. It’s never too late to begin a relationship with your sponsored child. If you’ve never communicated directly, why not start now? English is the curriculum language in our partner schools. Read more...
Corresponding with Your Sponsored Girl
We're happy to report that this spring you made it possible for 18 new girls to go to school under the HIO umbrella, bringing our total to 150 sponsored girls. It’s wonderful that you've done so much toward providing a group of very poor girls with the gift of education. We’re ever grateful for your kind support.
Our girls and their families love getting your letters. It’s never too late to begin a relationship with your sponsored child. If you’ve never communicated directly, why not start now? English is the curriculum language in our partner schools. Read more...
5/26/17
Following Her Dream
Jarmit Magar is a lovely child with a very kind, pleasing face. She is quiet and always pleasant to speak with. At eleven years old, Jarmit is in the 5th grade at the LMV School. She’s a very hardworking, motivated child who knows her responsibilities both at home and in school. She never complains about her schoolwork and difficulties she might have at home. Jarmit can cook her own food when her parents are not around. She helps her mother with all the household chores and talks about wanting to be a doctor. In so many ways she’s a blessing to her mother Shardha. Read more...
Following Her Dream
Jarmit Magar is a lovely child with a very kind, pleasing face. She is quiet and always pleasant to speak with. At eleven years old, Jarmit is in the 5th grade at the LMV School. She’s a very hardworking, motivated child who knows her responsibilities both at home and in school. She never complains about her schoolwork and difficulties she might have at home. Jarmit can cook her own food when her parents are not around. She helps her mother with all the household chores and talks about wanting to be a doctor. In so many ways she’s a blessing to her mother Shardha. Read more...