Sponsor: A Boarder • A Day Student • A Young Monk • Before and After Stories • FAQ-About Sponsorship • Sponsor one of the 3 Monks who Live at the School - Donate: How to Sponsor or Donate • Wish List • Getting Money to the School • Astrologer helps School
• Kathleen Burckhardt Raises Money for SMD • How Karen and Emily Billing are helping SMD • A Gift From Rebecca •
Making a Dramatic Difference • NEW Sponsor Monks Meals During Yarney, Monsoon Retreat • Govinda our security guard needs help

SMD Wish List :


Any amount is welcomed and used to improve children's lives.

Note: Costs are rough estimates and are rendered in USD 
In compiling this list, we have attempted to chose projects which will create work in Nepal.


Some Seniors Going on a Pilgrimage with Jean B


"Seniors" are older kids who we keep with us so they can continue their education. They live in a flat across the street and are learning life skills, at Rinpoche's wish. Skills like budgeting, shopping, cleaning, paying bills, cooking and working things out together.

  •  - The Seniors are cooking on what is a gas hot plate (2 burners). An oven would allow them to make things other than stovetop food.

  •  - There are always + 15 kids in the flat. The fridge they have now is too small, It's suitable for one person who has a gnat's appetite. We've had some food poisoning in the monsoon. .

  • -The mosquitoes are having a heyday.  

  • - There is no central heating in Nepal. The buildings are made out of concrete and are very cold in winters, especially if the sun isn't shining. It gets down to 0 C.

  • - Ok, now you know about winter. Summer = monsoon = temperatures in the mid 30s C (+90 F) and maximum humidity. The kids have trouble sleeping. And a breeze keeps mosquitoes off!   

          

THE SEWER AND ROAD ARE FIXED!
A sewer main is broken on the road above SMD. During monsoon downpours, there is a river of raw sewage that runs a foot deep outside the school. (See the kids' story: http://www.himalayanchildren.org/kids-corner/sewage.htm All the small children and the Seniors have to wade through it to get to and from school, as do our staff members. We did not have the money to pay for this, but "robbed Peter to pay Paul" in a collective, neighbourhood effort. The amount above is what SMD has to pay to fix the main.

WE STILL NEED 3
Nepal has up to 18 hours of power cuts every day in the dry season, which is 9 months of the year. We bought a solar batter so the Class 10 kids (who face national board exams in the springtime) could study. We need more batteries for the Library, the Clinic, the stairwells and the kitchen.


We do not own the school buildings, and have to pay rent for all the room we use inside the compound and the four flats we rent outside.


More than two dozen students are studying overseas.  Most (but not all) travel costs are paid by their scholarships. Travel, (including travel to Delhi, where most Nepalis have to appear in order to apply for visas) visa fees and associated expenses are costing us thousands of dollars every year. A travel budget would allow for fundraising as well as visits to students who are overseas. 


Grades 11 & 12 are only offered in urban for-profit schools. Himalayan kids have nowhere to live if they are going on with their education, whether to high school, or university.  We keep them with us, and pay for their tuition. At the moment, we have 17 kids going on with their education. Three are in university and one is apprenticing motorcycle mechanic.


Beats watching unwholesome TV or videos. Beats stress. And gives kids practice at reading Tibetan, English and Nepali scripts while they are practicing pronunciation and learning vocabulary!


The school is unheated. Temperatures get down to 0 C at night. We'd like to buy 100 locally-made wool carpets (the carpet industry is languishing) to keep kids feet warm in their rooms, getting into and out of bed.
New Books from Halifax

We Need Books
We are building libraries at both schools. The little moks have read every book in their library at the Branch School! Books from Amazon are the only thing that gets past corrupt Customs officials. To see our wish list, click here:


41 Kids and Staff Members are Red Cross Certified. Training is part of healthcare at SMD

Healthcare Fund
Supplies for our clinic and for the healthworker's salary and to pay for lab equipment and supplies (parasite and bloodwork). Also for eye and dental care. This also covers hearing, vision, dental and hospitalization expenses for all the children and support staff. We share extras with the clinic at SMD Branch School $6000/year

Running Shoes For Everyone
This is a health issue. Most of our kids are playing sports in bare feet, running the risks of injury and hookworm infections. $4000

Picnic and Pilgrimage Fund
It's good for the kids to get out of the school compound once in a while and perfect when we can combine a picnic with a pilgrimage. One outing, including bus rental and food costs. $350/trip. See Pilgrimage to Pharping

Concert Fund
One of Thrangu Rinpoche's aims is to preserve the culture of Himalayan peoples.The kids learn the traditional songs and dances of Nepal and Tibet. We like the children to get a chance to show off what they've learned to the local community. It has the added benefit of reinforcing Himalayan culture, and everybody has fun. We do 4 to six full-on productions every year, budget permitting. When we did our last performance in December, a thousand people came! $250/concert


 

SMD Branch School Wish List



No vehicle for the Branch School...we almost lost this little guy


We almost lost this monk last year. He was critically ill, but there was no vehicle to get him to the hospital. Luckily, he survived (after 5 days in intensive care). SMD branch School is 2 hours away from the kathmandu valley. Often all the vehicle are out. This presents a serious risk when one of the monks is injured or sick. The nearest hospital is a couple of hours away on foot. $25,000


Rinpoche is eager to improve the monks' diet. All the kids who come from the mountains are malnourished. Any donation will be put to use to buy fresh fruit and vegetables.


Children who come from mountain villages know nothing about sanitation or recycling. Karma Samdup the vice principal of SMDBS has requested funds for cleaning equipment and supplies, so he can teach the boys about sanitation and conservation. $300/year


A set of new robes, underwear, socks and shoes for all the monks. It costs $35 to outfit a monk. $3500/year


What is a SoyaCow? It's a patented machine for making soymilk and tofu. We have one in the main school. It's helped us to improve nutrition (protein & calcium). And soy milk is cheap...a SoyaCow produces 30 to 40 litres of soymilk. One pound of soybeans produces about 1 gallon of soymilk.  We want to improve nutrition for the monks at SMD Branch School. Cow's milk is too expensive, but if we get a Soya Cow like  SMD main school has, we can give the monks soya milk every day. This will increase their calcium and protein intake. See for yourself: www.soyacow.com. $6000


The Branch School needs 6 new computers. The other computers need repairs: $2000


There is only 1 connection at SMD Branch School. The teachers (all monks) are requesting that the Computer Lab be wired to the internet so they can enrich their lessons and so the monk students can learn on the net. 


Especially needed: picture books for beginner readers. Please see our Wish List on Amazon (see above).


SMD Branch School is at Namo Buddha in the hills surrounding the Kathmandu valley. The hills are very steep at NB, so the little monks haven't anywhere to play sports. The side of a hill needs to be bulldozed flat, and the lower part reinforced so there will be no danger of landslide. $4000 of this money has already been raised. Still needed: $11,000 


Other Ways to Help

Donate Unused Air Miles
Contact Shirley <himalayanchildren@yahoo.co.uk>

Be a Yak: Carry Things
When you or anyone you know are coming here, let us know. There are many things we can't get:

Seeds: carrots, cucumbers, tomatoes, cauliflower, hot chilies, watermelon, beans, chard, hot peppers, pumpkins, squash, flowers

For the Clinic at both Schools
*Multivitamins
*Buffered vitamin C
*Iron tables
*Calcium tablets
*Wart medicine
*Bandaids and bandages


Thanks For The Vitamins! They Make A Huge Difference.

For Kids
*Board games
*Small stuffed toys
*Sports equipment
*Learning software
*Art supplies
*Warm underwear (vests)
*Warm socks