News

Hutt Dir Loscht eng bildlech Rees an den Nepal ze maachen an déi villsäiteg Facetten vum Land kennenzeléieren? Wann jo, dann besicht d’Fotoausstellung «Népal, pays de contrastes » am Trifolion zu Iechternach, déi d’ONGD-FNEL an Zesummenaarbecht mam Filmregisseur Marc Hammer realiséiert huet. D’Ausstellung ass op fir den Public vum 6. bis den 19. Mee vun 12h bis 14h, ausser dem 8., 9., 14 an 15. Mee. Den 7. Mee ass den Vernissage um 12h, wou fir Gedrénks, nepalesesch Snacks an flott Animatiounen ronderëm den Nepal gesuergt gëtt. Dir sidd häerzlechst agelueden d’Ausstellung ze besichen.

Today our 12 partners in Nepal were gathered to share their activities, lessons learned and challenges. It was a great moment to exchange experiences and initiate potential collaboration between likeminded social organisations. A big shoutout to Shikharapur Community Learning Center for hosting this wonderful event!   "It was a wonderful experience to be part of ONGD-FNEL Nepal partners workshop and to share our experience with all the 12 partners involved, and great opportunity to learn from other organization’s experience. Great initiative for exchanging ideas!! And beautifully hosted by SCLC!!" Being Youth’s team

We are very pleased to announce the signature with the MFEA of a first Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) framework agreement, covering the period 2022-2024 for a total amount of €185,275. This 3-year framework agreement focuses on Making scouts and other young people more aware of the challenges of providing education and teaching for everyone in Nepal, through learning exchanges among young people.

Thanks a lot for supporting our event TOMBOLA JEAN-MARIE BIWER It was a big success Take care & Stay safe

According to a report on a national assessment of early reading, supported by USAID in 2014, 34% of second-graders and 19% of third-graders could not read a single word of Nepali. In fact, Nepali is the national language but a large part of the population speaks the language of their ethnic group as their mother tongue. However, the school is given in the Nepalese language, by teachers who do not necessarily come from the same ethnic group.   With the support of ONGD-FNEL, OLE Nepal is developing interactive digital platform to help early graders develop their basic reading and comprehension skills. They are creating and curating original stories for the platform, to help young learners through the use of familiar images and word references.    The game is based on local stories conveyed orally and on indigenous traditions in order to directly integrate local realities and cultures with which children can identify, and allow better learning.   Some examples: Meezan: Meezan is a free-spirited sensitive young boy who finds joy from his unconditional friendships with animals, fishes, birds. The protagonist is a refreshing change from the usual depiction of how a young boy is. This is also further reiterated by the particular location of the fishing community that he belongs to. Rayo ko Saag: The learning of the days of the week is made highly engaging through the humorous use of actions in different animals that are otherwise associated with humans. Bag bhari ko Rahar: Due to financial constraints, Fulmaya’s family can afford to send only one child to school, and consequently, it is her younger brother who gets the opportunity. It is a scenario that is familiar to the author as she, too, hails from a similar background. A drag and drop game to teach learners about words through the relevance of audio, texts, and images. In this game, the users have to identify the given image and the sound and drag and drop the given letters to form the correct word. A simplified crossword puzzle, where the users will be given visual and audio hints to guide them to drag and drop the correct letters in the puzzle. The words selected for the puzzles have been extracted from EGR stories themselves in hopes of reinforcing what they had learned in the story.   The platform is accessible free of charge and for free download here: https://katha.olenepal.org/    The content is also available on the learning portal of the Center for Education and Human Resource Development (CEHRD) of the Nepalese Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (MoEST). This portal, set up by the government following the first confinement and the closure of schools, has given much more visibility to the content produced by OLE Nepal.

In November, Julie Denève, ONGD-FNEL's manager visited our partners and established with them the balance of Covid-19 crisis on the field.

Till December 12th, Frënn vun de Caper Piwitschen and ONGD-FNEL are very pleased to invite you to discover the works of Moritz Ney, Menny Olinger and Pit Wagner at Galerie op der Kap 70, route d'Arlon à Capellen. The exhibition is open from Wednesday to Sunday from 3 to 7 p.m. with CovidCheck.lu The profits from the sale of the exhibited works will be entirely dedicated to generous charitable projects.

More information in the flyer below Hope to see you  

ONGD-FNEL invites you to try its Nepali Khel, an educational and fun online game that will allow you to learn more about Nepal, its culture, its people and its geography. Available in three languages (LU, FR and EN), the game is free and will be launched on September 30 on the website https://nepalikhel.lu/. Have fun and enjoy exploring Nepal!

THANKS A LOT

With the start of the school year, our exhibition “Nepal, land of contrasts” continues to move around Luxembourg and will be exhibited from October 7 in the Commune de Strassen (1, Place Grande-Duchesse Charlotte L-8001 Strassen).   Nepal is a fascinating country, where meet many ethnic groups and cultures, tradition and modernity, the crowd of the city and the calm of the remote villages, the highest mountains of the world and a dense and wild jungle. The exhibition from the ONGD-FNEL brings together images taken by Marc Hammer and will make you travel to the heart of this country and its multiple facets, to better understand it.   Exhibition closed on November 24th   Contact information for this event: Phone: 26480441 E-mail: julie@ongd-fnel.lu

Präis 25 euros fir Degustatioun Kommt a schmaacht mat eis déi neiste lëtzebuergzr Kreatiounen Fir ee klengen Häppchen ass och gesuergt. bezuelt gëtt op der Plaz FNEL-Fetschenhaff 61a, rue de Trèves L-2630 Luxembourg   covidcheck.lu

As part of the Festival Cinéma du Sud and in collaboration with “Kindernothilfe Luxembourg”, “Aide à l’Enfance de l’Inde et du Népal”, and “Unity Foundation”, ONGD-FNEL organise the screening of the movie Ubuntu. The screening will take place on Tuesday 13th of July at 6 PM at the Forum Geeseknäppchen, 40 boulevard Pierre Dupong in Luxembourg.   Please find below the link for the reservation of places, to respect the current sanitary situation a registration via Eventbrite is mandatory and places are limited. https://www.eventbrite.com/e/cinema-du-sud-act-now-face-the-change-ubuntu-tickets-160028701153?aff=ebdssbdestsearch   The African term “Ubuntu” means compassion and humanity and this fiction film about a group of Indian students and their engaged teachers tries to convey these values. When the elders of the town plan to shut down the local school for poor attendance, the kids unite and do everything to prevent their school from shutting down. Determined to take their future in their own hands, the protagonist have to convince more youth about the value of education to raise the number to 35. This movie highlight various topics and issues related to education that also happen in Nepal.   The evening will begin with a welcome snack and end with a discussion around education to discuss themes developed in the movie and link them to Luxembourg reality.   In order to comply with sanitary measures, the event will be placed under CovidCheck, we ask guests to meet one of the following conditions : - Proof of vaccination certificate (2 doses and the last dose after 14 days) - A negative Covid-19 test certificate : either a PCR test valid for 72 hours or a rapid test valid for 48 hours - A certificate attesting that you are in good health after having tested positive - Perform a quick test on site and keep the result with you in case of control  

ROSY THE TASTE OF SUMMER Cheer for fairness Soutenez nos projets au Népal en vous faisant plaisir avec un bon vin de rosé Ennerstëtzt eis Projeten am Nepal a maacht iech gläichzäiteg eng freed mat engem gudde rosé Hermitage St Pons/Côte de Provence 13€/bouteille/Fläsch 75€/carton de 6 bouteilles/Këscht 6 Fläschen A réserver par mail/Ze reservéieren iwer mail :  ongd@ongd@-fnel.lu  ou/oder Tel: 26 48 04 41 A enlever/Oofzehuelen : FNEL-Fetschenhaff 61a, rue de Trèves L-2630 Luxembourg Dimanche/Sonndes 13.06 (11H-18H) En semaine/an der woch (8H-17H)   

Gebakene Fësch (poisson frit) 28€ Gebaneke Fëschfilet (Filet de poisson frit) 25€ Sauce rémoulade + pommes de terre grenaille   UMELLDUNG/INSCRIPTION Bis den/jusqu’au : 07.06-12H Mail : ongd@ongd@-fnel.lu Tel : 26 48 04 41 bezuelt gëtt op der Platz/ Paiement sur place : FNEL-Fetschenhaff 61a, rue de Trèves L-2630 Luxembourg  

Greetings from Nepal, Firstly, I would like to share some stories of Corona from Nepal, from 29th April, the government has ordered a 2nd Phase of Prohibitory (lockdown). Schools, colleges are already closed since last week. Due to lockdown, important services are only in operation. People are mostly locked down in our homes. This is a good idea to break the chain of corona spreading. Our government has also given vaccines to the senior citizens and front liners. Front liners health workers got 2nd dose of vaccine while senior citizens and few teachers have 1st dose. Another important news is that Government has provided Chinese vaccines (Vero Cell) to public in different vaccination stations who are aged in between 18 to 60 years. This is good task of Nepal Goverment to save people from Covid-19.   I also got the 1st Dose vaccine; we are now waiting for the government notice for the 2nd dose. Our main problem now is the massive covid spreading in India, you might be aware about the Indian condition, more than 400000 people per day affected while more than 3000 people lost their lives. We have hundreds of open borders with India and millions of people working in India are returning to Nepal, so covid is spreading in drastic order in Nepal as well. Until today, we have 7000+ active cases per day and nearly 20+ death tolls per day, this is also scary, because Nepal does not have good medical infrastructure. The only way to be safe is to stay at home, stay contactless and apply safety measures as per the medical instruction by government. We needed to be much careful in this case.   We look forward to the chain break of corona outbreak very soon. Our school and college classes have turned into online. We are doing our best on it. Government schools' online classes are not running well due to lack of technology and access of internet in households. We have not opened our Computer Center for the public this time due to uncertainty of covid spread. The computer center was started in last year's pandemic for public. We installed 10 computers for public with access of internet and all other accessories. Everything is closed in our municipality but our Bottle House Project is running with safety measures. Since it is an agriculture-based project, we must work on it. We have a very good team in the project, so that we have all working people during this 2nd pandemic as well. I have prepared short update about the project for these 4 months. We have many some good news. Collaborating with Dakshinkali Municipality we are able to purchase a Boer Goat (87.5%). We can use this breed for producing more improved goats in our farm and also help the farmers who are doing goat farming. We also printed Covid Awareness Leaflet and distributed in public. A team of CLC is mobilized for spreading words of safety measures and prevention from covid using loud speakers. Some project activities are pending due to lockdown by government. Learning and Sharing has been integral part of Bottle House Project. Just before this 2nd Prohibitory order, we have few colleges from where we received social work students.  More than 400 students visited our farm who helped with manual works. During their visit, we share our social work practices and try to motivate them for social works. Thanking ONGD-FNEL and Whole Team for all kind cooperation and support… Stay Safe… Remembering ONGD-FNEL Family… please take care. @NirojShrestha @shikharapurCLC Niroj SCLC Project Manager

Camille Ceccaldi, ONGD-FNEL project manager, visited  Ratnashova Secondary School, 2 hours drive from Pokhara where our partner Right4Children is improving school environment and promoting children’s rights through art and educational programs. The main goal of the project is to contribute to reduce the risk of child labour, early marriage, trafficking, cases of child abuse and other child rights violations. Children expressed their rights through drawings and a drama focused on child labour was presented. 

Testimony of Mr. Man Bhadur Bhujal, beneficiary of our partner Forward Looking.   Forward Looking is present in district of Gorkha and Palpa (center of Nepal) with the objective of reinforcing the capacity of disabled and disadvantaged children in providing them an appropriate education as well as professional training for the sensibilisation of social question, health, and sanitation. The organisation is also fighting to improve the way disabled people are viewed and treated in society.   Mr Man Bhadur Bhujal was born in remote area of Rampur village, in Palpa district within a poor family and knows economic challenges since his childhood. When he was 13 years old, he got an accident, his family member could not afford his medical fee due to the poor economic conditions. Slowly, he had troubles with his left leg, and it became shorter than normal one. Following this accident, Man could not continue his education after secondary level and became the second disabled member of his family which added trouble to the family. Therefore, he was in search of opportunity to rise his critical condition, he heard about livelihood project of Forward Looking through Rampur’s social mobilizer. He got livestock support from Forward Looking and financial support through ONGD-FNEL. Now he has a small poultry farm and a small vegetable farm to be more autonomous. Mr Man Bhadur Bhujal attended livestock training provided by Forward Looking: he was grateful to get this opportunity. Now he hopes to be successful in his project for a better life and feels glad to be able to support his family members.   Despite his physical disability and many other challenges in his daily life, he is struggling for a better future. His success story and his struggle are one of the best examples for other disability persons.

“SCLC could not implement many of its planned activities due to various restrictions imposed by the government siting the action to contain the virus. However, all agricultural activities were never disrupted and the learning center also improved the cow farm and converted it to be more efficient, scientific and organized. Cattle rearing, milk production and food management are the regular activities of integrated cow farms, but recently we have also set up a center for the production of organic manure.” Niroj Shrestha, Project Manager of SCLC, Pharping One of our residents Mr Silash Chepang quotes, “I have seen all these materials going into waste in my village. I now have knowledge to convert the waste for the production of organic manure. After completion of the program, I would return back and will try to train villagers to do the same.”      Samjhana Danuwar is 24 year old and mother of a 2 years child, she is a beneficiary from our partner Hamro Palo, which offer workshops on education and empowerment for young, she tells : “I learned so many new things during my participation at the workshops, among them- the dangerous signs of pregnancy, financial literacy, and mental health topics were new and interesting to me. In addition, I learned that delivering baby at home is unsafe for a pregnant woman. I will visit the hospital if I decide for second baby.” She is a participant of our 15 day program called – Sneh, designed for young mothers       Nanu Tamang is a woman of 45 years old and mother of a 12 years old daughter, she participated to the Income Generating Training from our partner SETU, which support vulnerable families affected with HIV through trainings and scholarship. After a difficult period, Nanu has initiated her own small poultry in Naya Pati Kathmandou and plans to receive additional skills development training like vermi-composting which would add more efficiency and output to her current work. She says "Now I see no major reasons to be unhappy. At least I have my own small land and if I become mentally strong, I can do an impactful livelihood activity on my own and teach an important lesson to my daughter too."    

In this special year, thanks a lot for supporting our event TOMBOLA SUMO ! It was a big success Take care & Stay safe

Till December 13th, Frënn vun de Caper Piwitschen and ONGD-FNEL are very pleased to invite you to discover the works of Ben Goerens, Diane Jodes et Chantal Maquet at Galerie op der Kap 70, route d'Arlon à Capellen. The exhibition is open from Wednesday to Sunday from 3 to 7 p.m. The profits from the sale of the exhibited works will be entirely dedicated to generous charitable projects.

Nepal is a fascinating country, where meet many ethnic groups and cultures, tradition and modernity, the crowd of the city and the calm of the remote villages, the highest mountains of the world and a dense and wild jungle. The exhibition "Nepal, country of contrasts" from the ONGD-FNEL brings together images taken by Marc Hammer and will make you travel to the heart of this country and its multiple facets, to better understand it.   The exhibition will take place in the Fortuna Bank (130-132 bd de la Pétrusse in Luxembourg) from 9th of November 2020 up to 29th of January 2021. Price - Free Contact information:  Phone: 26480441 E-mail: camille@ongd-fnel.lu Internet: https://www.ongd-fnel.lu Organiser: ONGD-FNEL

From october 1st to December 1st, you can buy your tickets  -by digicash  - on http://shop.fnel.lu/shop/ticket-loterie-ongd-fnel/ - doing a transfer on BLUXLL LU514 0081 6905 8200 1003 with your e-mail adress in the subject and win this SUMO ! GOOD LUCK  

THANKS A LOT

Nombre de cas de Covid-19 recensés : 2634 (334 nouveaux cas depuis la veille) Nombre de personnes décédées du Covid-19 enregistrées : 10 Nombre de personnes guéries : 246   Le confinement au Népal a commencé le 24 mars 2020 et se poursuit jusqu'au 14 juin 2020 avec une très probable prolongation. Initialement, la période de confinement était d'une semaine en mars, et semaine après semaine, elle a été prolongée et la vie est devenue difficile pour de nombreux Népalais. Avec l’augmentation du nombre de tests, le nombre de personnes infectées a beaucoup augmenté au cours des derniers jours. Ce nombre est susceptible de croître de façon exponentielle car les risques de transmission sont élevés avec les migrants qui rentrent chez eux, le manque de compréhension des mesures de distance sociale et des autres pratiques d'hygiène. En outre, même si la population dans son ensemble comprend l'intérêt de suivre les directives, se laver les mains avec du savon et se couvrir le visage avec des masques de bonne qualité est loin d’être aussi facile pour la plupart des népalais. Les vols sont suspendus jusqu'au 30 juin 2020. Les frontières avec l'Inde et la Chine sont fermées jusqu'à nouvel ordre. Cependant, de nombreux népalais essaient de revenir au Népal par la frontière avec l’Inde et la plupart des cas positifs se trouvent dans provinces frontalières (provinces 1, 2 et 5 qui représentent à elles seules 2057 cas). Les entreprises peuvent ouvrir pour la production et la vente de produits agricoles et alimentaires, et de médicaments. Les services bancaires de base restent ouverts mais fonctionnent de façon ralentie.   Santé Le gouvernement a établi des centres de quarantaine dans tout le pays mais les médias rapportent que la plupart des centres sont mal gérés à cause du manque de connaissance de la maladie. Dans les villages reculés, la population craint l’arrivée de l’épidémie car l’accès aux soins sera difficile : "I am concerned about the health of the people in my village and also the health facilities because our village still do not have public transportation and if the pandemic hits our village, it will be scary because we do not have a health post in the village" - Pasmai Syangbo, 15, Golche, Sindhupalchowk. Le confinement rend également difficile l’accès à d’autres soins de santé : “Half a dozen of our trainees (current and former) are pregnant. They are facing difficulties with routine check-ups. Sometimes, the hospitals are demotivating patients to enter to the hospital due to Covid-19” – Shalik Ram Sharma, DIRDC, Baglung. De nombreux partenaires rapportent que le confinement a un effet négatif sur la santé mentale de la population, qui vit difficilement l’isolement et la crainte de la propagation du virus : « The town used to be so cheerful, but now it is all silent. People are not meeting their friends and relatives because they fear the virus” – Kishan Tamang, reintegrated boy from Umbrella Organization Nepal.   Ecoles Le ministère de l'Éducation, des Sciences et de la Technologie a donné pour instructions aux établissements d'enseignement de ne pas annoncer d'admission pour quelque niveau que ce soit jusqu'à nouvel ordre : "This uncertainty has made me think whether or not I will be allowed to join the school because my family's financial situation is poor and I might have to begin job searching to support them" - Sita Biswokarma, 17, Sindhupalchowk. Les examens de fin d’année qui devaient se tenir fin mars/début avril ont également été reportés : « Due to this lockdown, our board exam has been postponed and we don’t know when it will happen. We are very upset about it” – Nisha, NSEP graduate, Kathmandu. « We are in the process of launching our computer courses online soon. However, as it has been a little challenging because of unavailability and slow speed of internet/WIFI’s services in some parts of Nepal; we have been supporting with the mobile Internet data to those having no Internet at home” - Dinesh Chaudhari, Umbrella Organization Nepal, Kathmandu. De nombreuses initiatives sont lancées pour permettre l’apprentissage virtuel à la maison, mais ceci n’est pas réalisable dans les villages plus reculés où les professeurs ne sont pas à l’aise avec la technologie et où les étudiants n’ont pas accès à un écran et à une connexion Internet suffisante. Cette situation, si elle perdure, pourrait renforcer les écarts déjà existants dans l’accès à l’éducation.   Travailleurs migrants Étant donné que l'économie mondiale est gravement touchée par la crise, de nombreux népalais employés à l'étranger sont en attente pour rentrer chez eux dès que possible. Selon le Foreign Employment Board, 127 000 travailleurs migrants sont actuellement en attente de rentrer au Népal après avoir perdu leur emploi, et ils estiment qu’avec la crise jusqu’à 407 000 népalais travaillant à l’étranger pourraient revenir sur le marché de l’emploi national en fin de compte. Ce retour de travailleurs de l’étranger amène des craintes à deux niveaux. Au niveau sanitaire, les autorités et la population craignent que certains travailleurs migrants reviennent de l’étranger après avoir été infectés par le Covid-19, risquant de contaminer d’autres personnes sur le sol népalais. Selon les statistiques, certains travailleurs sont également porteurs d’autres maladies contractées à l’étranger, ce qui pourrait entraîner une recrudescence de virus tels que le VIH au Népal. Au niveau économique, le Népal est extrêmement dépendant des envois de fonds reçus de l'étranger, qui représentaient en 2017 28% du PIB. Une étude récente a estimé que la baisse de volume des transferts de fonds devrait se situer entre 15 et 20% au cours de l’exercice fiscal 2019-2020.   Emploi La pandémie a durement touché les personnes à faibles revenus, en particulier les travailleurs informels des secteurs de l'hôtellerie, du commerce de détail, de la construction et des transports qui ont un accès limité ou inexistant aux mécanismes de sécurité sociale. « Before the lockdown I used to cook in a restaurant after college to help cover for my living fees. Now the restaurant is closed, and it is getting hard for us to manage our money. Fortunately, we are supported by Umbrella in this situation” – Laxmi, NSEP graduate, Kathmandu. Les petites et moyennes entreprises sont quant à elles très fortement touchées : « More than 80% of our former students were engaged either in self businesses or salaried jobs or foreign employment. The livelihood of their families is depending on them. Due to the Covid-19, the income is disturbed and it created a big challenge for the survival of people as well as of their business entities” – Shalik Ram Sharma, DIRDC, Baglung. Avec l’augmentation du nombre de personnes ayant perdu leur emploi, le retour de travailleurs migrants et les 500 000 personnes qui entrent chaque année sur le marché du travail du pays, le Népal a grandement besoin de créer des opportunités d’emploi locaux pour cette main d’œuvre avec divers niveaux de qualifications. La Task Force mise en place par le gouvernement népalais pour gérer la crise économique a émis un certain nombre de recommandations pour relancer l’économie après la crise. Selon les experts le plus grand nombre d'emplois pourrait être créé dans le cadre de vastes programmes de travail indépendant basés sur l'agriculture. De plus, ils recommandent d’investir dans des instituts de formation bien équipés pour des métiers qui correspondent aux besoins du marché, afin de créer une hausse de l’emploi national.   Souveraineté alimentaire La perte soudaine et à grande échelle de travail pour les népalais exerçant des emplois précaires à revenus journaliers et peu élevés a poussé une masse de travailleurs migrants internes à rentrer des villes vers les villages. Ceci leur permet de survivre en aidant leurs familles dans leurs exploitations agricoles, au lieu de rester en ville où ils seraient rapidement tombés dans la pauvreté extrême. Au niveau de la souveraineté alimentaire, les personnes vivant en ville sont plus affectées que dans les villages. « The food supplies has been slowly a problem in the cities but it has not been a problem in village areas. The people in the cities do not keep food stock as they earn and buy in short time periods whereas people in village areas have good stock even for a year as they grow themselves. So, the lockdown has not much affected in the villages areas. So far, there is probability of shortage of those materials that need to be imported from another cities” – Shyam Lama, Umbrella Organisation Nepal, Katmandou.   Tourisme Les hôtels sont fermés jusqu'à la mi-octobre de cette année, en raison de l'impact du Covid-19 sur l'industrie touristique du pays. Compte tenu des restrictions sur les voyages internationaux et de la crise économique dans le monde, les recettes touristiques au Népal devraient diminuer de 60% en 2020, entraînant une perte de recettes en devises étrangères de 400 millions de dollars[1].   En conclusion, il est actuellement encore difficile de déterminer l’impact socio-économique que la pandémie de Covid-19 aura sur le Népal, qui dépendra de la façon dont les événements se déroulent sur trois fronts : La situation du tourisme, du commerce et de l'emploi à l'étranger, et leur conséquence sur le marché de l’emploi local et sur les revenus nationaux ; La propagation de la pandémie qui pourrait submerger l’infrastructure sanitaire ; La forte dépendance géo-économique du Népal à l’égard de l’Inde et de la Chine et le risque de contagion originaire de ces pays. Au milieu de ces incertitudes, nos partenaires continuent d’être optimistes afin de servir au mieux les communautés avec lesquelles ils travaillent : « The fear of uncertainty still exists, the cure for the virus seems farfetched and epidemic being contained seems impossible. Amidst all those uncertainties, we are busy with regular work in the bottle house. The production is expected to be good this year due to good rain. Overall, we are trying our best to be engaged and productive. Our students have been holding their hopes for better future and spending time learning and doing things they like. There is no doubt this period can be used creatively to fetch a long-term benefit in coming days.” – Niroj Shrestha, SCLC, Pharping.   Julie Denève, le 5 juin 2020   [1] ‘Rapid Assessment of Socio-Economic Impact of Covid-19 in Nepal’ - Institute for Integrated Development Studies (IIDS)  

In this unprecedented situation, the person in charge of our project with SCLC wanted to testify about the crisis and the work of its organization on a daily basis. They are continuing their actions as best as possible in the face of a complicated and constantly changing social and economic situation.   Chepang, an indigenous Tibeto-Burman ethic group, is one of the poorest communities in Nepal. Majority of inhabitants of Raksirang village in Makwanpur area of this ethnic groups. For ages, this community has been living in very harsh conditions and in extreme poverty and one can still observe poverty and primitive living today. It would not be an exaggeration that even today the government and non-government organizations have not been able to provide basic required facilities for the upliftment of those tribal groups. Since 2018, the Shikharapur Community Learning Center, support project of ONGD-FNEL has enrolled students from Raksirang in a residential study and learning program at the organization's agricultural project. As there isn’t any good school in the village and sending children to the nearest developed district, Chitwan, is next to impossible amid the expenses, Shikharapur CLC has brought opportunities to them. Shikharapur have started working for upliftment of the community by enrolling school dropouts to open school and training them in the Shikharapur Sustainable Farmers' School, an ONGD-FNEL specific support project. Silas Chepang is one of the first students who have passed SEE from open school and is currently studying in Arunodaya in grade 11. Presently, out of 14 participants in bottle house 4 are from the Chepang community including Silas. Late 2019 Wuhan province in China was affected by a new type of virus named Covid-19 but very few, including Nepal, had imagined this would take the form of a pandemic. While the virus had started to spread outside China things in Nepal were normal for some time. In the bottle house too, students were busy in their daily errands. But all of a sudden, fearing of importing the virus, Nepal also declared closure restricting international flights followed by restriction of public transportation. The country was completely locked down on an immediate basis. People hoped and waited for a few weeks for things to get better. Unfortunately, there were no chances of the situation of getting better and people started anticipating a prolonged locked down. In despair, people began to make arduous journeys to their respective villages and hometowns. Nepalese are generally very helpful and courteous. But this time the situation was different. People started seeing others, new faces with skepticism, suspicion and fear. In fact, with no help for travelers, the situation was terrible. Most of the people decided to be with their family and were eager to return home. Even though, the students in the bottle house were safe, due to pressure from family they decided to leave to be with their family. Those living nearby walked up to 4 hours to reach home. This wasn’t quite possible for 4 people from Raksirang village. Thus, with an assurance of their health, we asked them to stay at the bottle house.   Among those 4, Nosman Chepang was one of them. He was to appear for secondary examination, an examination known as an iron gate to one's carrier. After the examination he was supposed to get on the job training at the sustainable farm and also study high school (+2). For this he would be staying at the bottle house for 2 years. Now, as the government is also unsure of conducting the examination, he seems very frustrated and disappointed. We have encouraged him to keep on preparing for the upcoming exams. Amir Chepang is the youngest student of Raksirang studying in grade 8 in the open school at bottle house. He is waiting for the final result of grade 8 basic examination. Although the results of other levels have been published, the result of this grade is on hold. The result is published by the municipality. Amir is very content and excited for getting an opportunity to study in the open school and after completion of grade 12 with the technical knowledge on agriculture, he aspires to be self-reliant. When the virus started to appear in Nepal, we were a bit confused and worried about its spread. But after a while, realizing the importance of agriculture, the government showed some leniency towards the agricultural sector. The authorities granted assurance for the full functioning of the agriculture sector which provided a ray of hope to everyone associated in this sector including us. They even started distributing fertilizers and seeds to the farmers. This was a very good initiation taken by the government. After sometimes students, who had gone to the village, gradually started to return. Amid the lockdown we had already started commercial farming in about 30 ropanis of land. Nosman Chepang shares his experience and quotes "Before, I didn't know about lockdown. When all my friends went home, I also wanted to go. It was not possible to go. I stayed happily in this bottle house but was worried about the virus and I felt like I was going to die. At the same time, we finished all the farming work. I feel happy now. " Nosman loves to operate a power tiller. He has also learned to operate it too. He has also utilized his spare time using computers. At times, when he sees a lot of friends playing games on mobile phones, he also likes to play games on mobile. Whenever possible he never fails to play games on his mobile phone. He seems to enjoy it a lot and has fun doing so. Another student Amir Chepang quotes "I go to herd goats. I missed home a lot. The examination results are yet to be published. What to do? During this time, I was busy looking at the goats, selling milk in the bottle house and keeping accounts. But I'm also happy to see my work." Those non-returnee students Nosman, Amir and Silas have started planting tomatoes, creepers vegetables, maize, soya bean, pumpkin and cucumber in the bottle house. Taking the advice of agricultural technicians, they have also been informed and trained about diseases, pests and fertilizers. With all those jobs completed they have also been able to take good care of cattle viz cow. All in all, everyone seems happy at the bottle house. The fear of uncertainty still exists, the cure for the virus seems farfetched and epidemic being contained seems impossible. Amidst all those uncertainties, we are busy with regular work in the bottle house. The production is expected to be good this year due to good rain. Even though the production is good, we fear restrictions not being lifted soon. If so, it shall be very difficult to find the market for selling our produce. Earlier this year too, the production of potatoes are good but we had to sell it directly to the customers through social media. Overall, we are trying our best to be engaged and productive. People like Nosman, Amir and Silas have been holding their hopes for better future and spending time learning and doing things they like. They are trying to find light on the other side of the tunnel but the role of government plays a very crucial role in this scenario.  At the community level, organization like ours can assimilate agriculture and mobilize young farmers. If done right, it is certain that this sector shall be self-sufficient with its agricultural produce. There isn’t any alternative to agriculture and no doubt this period can be used creatively to fetch a long-term benefit in coming days. In this case, we find our project's mission very much effective in every situation. Education, Skill, Agriculture and self-sustaining models are been set as example for community, which Shikharapur CLC is doing in support of ONGD-FNEL, Luxembourg. Moreover, for this, the government needs to be proactive in bringing plans and implementing them to control the spread of the virus. We, the citizens, can only help the government. It shall be very difficult for the government to control if the virus spreads at the community level especially due to lack of sufficient infrastructure in the hospitals. Let's hope for the best to happen and remain positive at this hour and never lose hope.   Niroj Shrestha Executive Member/Project Coordinator Shikharapur Community Learning Center, Kathmandu, Nepal

In this unprecedented situation, the staff members of Umbrella Organization Nepal wanted to testify about the crisis and their daily work. They are continuing their actions as best as possible, facing a complicated and constantly changing social and economic situation.   "Namaste Everyone, My name is Dinesh Chaudhari, have been working as a youth officer in the Umbrella Organization Nepal for ‘Chautari Youth Club’ (CYC), relatively a new project of Umbrella for the youths' empowerment and strengthening through different workshops and skill based trainings. Since the whole world is facing the serious pandemic situation of COVID-19, a nation-wide lockdown has been implemented here in Nepal since 24th March and also it has been extended to 2nd June due to the increasing number of infected cases and some deaths cases. After the lockdown we started working from home and life in home quarantine is of mixed feelings for me as I experience difficulties in performing all the official and household activities inside the same four walls. Now, as we had to adopt new way of working, teaching and learning, we (youth officers) have been conducting the online workshops on the different relevant topics; building confidence and resilience, time management and goal settings and internet safety with the huge number of nation-wide youths' participation. The participants are from different ethnic and family backgrounds. The workshops are basically focused on interactive sessions, group discussions and energizers and brainstorming activities along with the participants’ collective feedbacks for the next session. Another exciting thing for us is that we are in the process of launching our computer courses online soon. However, as it has been a little challenging because of unavailability and slow speed of internet/WIFI’s services in some parts of Nepal; we have been supporting with the mobile Internet data to those having no Internet at home. During this lockdown the most important thing I learnt is to remain positive and not to think too far about the future.  I feel I am lucky because I still have a full-time job. This is a hugely worrying time for all of us but I do believe if we all stick together and support each other we will over come the situation. Stay safe and be happy."     "Namaskar! I am Santosh Sapkota, working as reintegration officer in Umbrella Organization Nepal since May 2016. The lockdown in Nepal started since 24th March 2020. When lockdown started, we had not guessed that lockdown will go longer and situation will get worse like this. From the very first day of the lockdown, we are staying at home. Managing food and vegetables for family is main priority during this period. Grocery shops here are allowed to open 3 hours in morning. I have bought food items in bulk and I am buying vegetables enough for a week. I do exercise in morning, play different games with family members and equally involve in family work as other members of my family to make homestay entertaining. Working from home is new experience for me. First few days were quite challenging to focus on office work as family expects help when they see me at home. As working from home extended, it became habitual for family and they realized my work. My prime office work nowadays is taking updates from reintegrated beneficiaries through phone calls, social media (Facebook) and updating weekly to the management. I also make sure that our beneficiaries are updated with the latest progress about the virus and the situation. I am to call each beneficiary twice a week. Taking phone update of few beneficiaries is quite hard as some family do not have mobile set and some are living in rural areas whose phone is unreachable most the of time. In such case, I call their villagers and call them in morning and evening hours. Monitoring through phone calls is not as effective as in-person monitoring but I am doing my best from my side to make it fruitful. Lockdown have surely disturbed our personal and official work plans. But, unfortunately we do not have other options as well. Staying positive and making ourselves busy in work are the only options to make ourselves engaged. Thank you! Stay safe! Stay healthy! Stay positive! "

Hello from our Luxembourgish homes this time, where we are both currently trying to make dal bhat (emphasis on “trying”) while listening to Nepali music. Thinking about days when Covid-19 didn’t make use so frustrated. The crisis has meant for us that we could only do 5 months of our 6-month voluntary service. We both feel similarly weird being back, like we’ve lost Nepal but got nothing to replace it with. It has been good to take things easy while we adjust and let Nepal sink in, at the same time, we’re not really knowing what to do with ourselves really. In Nepal we were super busy and very free and in Luxembourg we’re in a place where it’s the complete opposite.  We just got “swept away” right back to where we started with the Corona wave, before we even knew what was happening. One thing we’ve both heard from our volunteering friends that it hurts to say goodbye “just like that”, especially when saying it to young people for whom you really didn’t want to become one of the people that left without an explanation. Many of us have worked hard to engage with the beneficiaries in SAATH & SCLC, and now it feels like we’re letting them down in the most irresponsible way. And maybe all of us volunteers are being a little hard on ourselves here because leaving was not really our decision, and there was also no way we could’ve suspected things to take this turn.  Maybe it’s just that in these circumstances, we have the normal feelings that everyone has when big things end before you can personally draw a finishing line to them, but we have the feelings in an accentuated version,  And for any volunteer, it’s probably normal to feel like the end came super quickly, but at least they knew it was approaching. What’s really sad for us is that Corona “stole” our end, and we all had to leave with this super accentuated feeling of things going too fast, and then being over without us being able to draw our own finishing line.  As a final word, we both would like to say thank you to the ONGD-FNEL who made our EKHDAM RAMRO experiences possible, we both fell completely in love with Nepal and will be going back as soon as we can!  Please take care and stay in good health Tilly & Cathy

Considering the scale of COVID-19, ONGD-FNEL decided to cancel its GENERAL ASSEMBLY scheduled on March 17th. We 'll informed our members when a new date will be planned. Thanks a lot for your understanding

Hello from the other side, another month passed in the country of Never Ending Peace And Love N-E-P-A-L. Both of our voluntary services are still going very well, were both developing a deeper understanding of our NGO's work every day. With us having been invested in the tailoring trainings at SAATH (Cathy) and the education for sustainable development programs at SCLC (Tilly) over these past months, the projects have become much more our own, so are their little successes and failures. Both of our project managers should be given the credit for this, it's not easy to make a volunteers work count, but we do feel like ours does, and that's because SAATH and SCLC have given us a role and a place in their NGO. Especially during the week we spent following Julie and her work, we came to learn the importance of cooperation and accountability on both sides. We visited Setu and Umbrella in their offices, and saw that team work considering all the contracts and financial matters is key for a partnership on the same level. Then came the first of three field visits, where we visited two agricultural schools which SCLC (Where Tilly works) is looking to support by extending the practical learning opportunities. Having adopted a very all-round approach this support for better Training will hopefully help to give more value to rural farmers on the long-term. The visit was followed by a meeting at Bottlehouse, mostly about the April Meet-up of all partners in April and the Scouts camp in September.  Though we both did mostly observe, we didn't mind at all because we learned so much about the professional side of Julie's and the Partners work. The second and third visit were both more than 6 Hour drives away, but in different directions, meaning we took 3 days for each, with a stop back in Kathmandu. We started with Janakpur, where SAATH is providing tailoring and Mithila-Arts training to women from one of Nepals most marginalized communities. Getting this very rare insight into the lives of these women really helped us to understand why sometimes the most need of support are the hardest to reach out to. Their community is so shut-off that it seems like they have been left out when it comes to the development in education and hygiene, especially, which had thought to have reached every Nepali in 2020. Truth is, SAATH is one of very few of the 50000 NGO's in Nepal that is at least starting empowerment programs for this community. One of the positive take away from Janakpur is definitely that SAATH has achieved what many NGO's have failed: to take their beneficiaries out of the position as a victim and truly treating them as women who have a lot to be proud off: they are getting a qualification, maybe a business and then a bank account, nearly all of them have around three kids, and undoubtedly everyone has had incredible hardship, still they're going to school for the first time in their lives, on top of all they are wearing the most colorful saris. The third visit was with a relatively new partner, Forward looking, who is working towards equal opportunities in education. Two of their projects are supported by ONGD, both are aimed at enabling physically disabled people to live their life with more dignity and independence. Mostly through different trainings, like for example goat farming, tailoring, electrician or beautician trainings, the beneficiaries are able to do much more on their own, most importantly earn money. The area which we visited had the advantage of making facilities like schools and training centers relatively easily accessible for Forward looking to work with. With the experience gained from similar projects in 7 districts and with the support of ONGD-FNEL, Forward Looking could continue its work in Palpa and Gorkha districts last year with an approach where a little goes a long way. In Rampur, we visited 10 beneficiaries in their homes, and exchanged with them about how useful they would say the trainings financed by the ONGD were in enabling them to be more independent. For most, the main value of their training was that now  they could do something for themselves, they have more dignity. All together, we've learned a great deal during the field visits, thank you Julie for taking us to places we would never have been able to see like that! Cathy has got only two weeks left now and she can't begin to explain how sad she is to leave soon. She laughs about how she'll look like with teary eyes and hands full of souvenirs to remind her of her second home, when she arrives back in Luxembourg. No hands will be big enough to hold all the funny stories and great experiences we've had, one of the best things we got to see was the Himalayas on a clear day. The picture shows us two with our friend Nisha, after having trekked for hours through the Annapurna region.  In one month we had both half a meter snow in the mountains and 20 degrees in Kathmandu and Janakpur. We know a lot of the Nepali ways by now, but we're still a little surprised every single day.  Namasté, Cathy and Tilly

For supporting our projet 2019/2023 "Trainings for teachers and parents in rural schools with Dhulikkel Hospital" – Project 002

Hello to home! It's been a year since we updated you last, but it's not our fault! Both of us have had some great projects coming up at work: At Cathy's work they've celebrated 3 years of SAATH's shop Danfe and welcomed the new beneficiaries for which Cathy's been preparing sone math classes. At SCLC, a lot of maintenance is going on to prepare the farm for summer: we've made new bottleways, building a new washing place and a new cow-shed. At the moment we have a lot of visitors and interns from College coming to learn about social work, when I'm showing them around, listening to their discussions or planning projects with them, I'm learning a great deal about the importance, approaches and difficulties of Social work today. Of course, we're doing more and more exploring as well: together we went to Nagarkot for a dayhike where we saw a beautiful sunrise, Cathy went to visit friends in Sindhuli, Tilly has been looking around the monasteries and Hattiban forests in her village. Kathmandu is becoming more and more familiar to us as well, very slowly we're making our way around and are slowly able to understand more about Hindu and Buddhist culture everyday. Having had the time to accustom to the "Nepali ways" that might seem very funny in the beginning, we're both now shopping at the market, taking local buses and making friends with Nepali grandmas.  One of our favourite moments from last month was definetly Christmas Eve, we've celebrated it with two of our Nepali friends, a Finish girl who's volunteering and a Dutch traveller. We had dinner in Thamel and spend a great night wandering around the busy streets where both foreigners and Nepali people were wishing each other a merry Christmas. Cathy spent Christmas day with friends , cooking and Tilly with the family of a friend from her work in the Garden of dreams.Needless to say: special celebration Momos were involved. All in all, NYE and Christmas were very different than at home, but we can gladly  say that it was nonetheless a day to spent with friends that kept us busy so we didn't miss our families too much, still we were both a little extra happy that we could see them on a videocall, and lucky too because we called them right before a powercut. At the moment, we're crossing of one more destination of our list: Chitwan. We will just tell you one thing which is, of course, #visitnepal2020. We're also really looking forward to seeing the projects of the NGO alongside Julie next month.  Namaste, Tilly and Cathy

Nepal is a fascinating country, where meet many ethnic groups and cultures, tradition and modernity, the crowd of the city and the calm of the remote villages, the highest mountains of the world and a dense and wild jungle. The exhibition "Nepal, country of contrasts" from the ONGD-FNEL brings together images taken by Marc Hammer and will make you travel to the heart of this country and its multiple facets, to better understand it. The opening will take place on Friday January 31 at 7 p.m. in the Am Gronn space (12 rue Munster in Luxembourg) and you can discover the exhibition until February 14. During the weekend, we will also offer you a screen printing workshop and retransmissions of the film "Rajani", the inspiring testimony of a young Nepalese girl born in the high mountains and separated very young from her family. Price - Free Contact information:  Phone: 26480441 E-mail: julie@ongd-fnel.lu Internet: https://www.ongd-fnel.lu Organiser: ONGD-FNEL

Famill Theisen-Schramer vun Ueschdref huet am Kader vun hirem “AMAZING YEAR” Sue gesammelt. Op verschidden Eventer während dem Joer 2019 koumen esou 1000 € zesummen. Als aktiv Memberen vun der FNEL hu mir een DON un ongd-fnel gemaach. Mat deene Suen ënnerstëtze mer gären Alphabetisatioun vu Kanner am Nepal.

Hello from Pharping, a village about one hour from Kathmandu. Here, I have been working for one month in the "Sikharapur Community Learning Centre", more specifically on their model farm called "Bottlehouse".

Namaste, ech sinn Cathy an ech wunnen lo säit gutt engem Mount zu Lalitpur, enger Stad direkt niewent Kathmandu.Bis elo gefält et mir richteg gutt hei an hunn schon vill nei Leit kennen geléiert.

 

In November 2019 we invited Tsewang Norbu Lama, director of Umbrella Organization Nepal (UON) and Rajani Gurung, former beneficiary of the association, in Luxembourg for two weeks to participate in meeting and exchange workshops with young people in Luxembourg, as part of an education for sustainable development (ESD) project.    ESD in Luxembourg has been a focus of our organization since 2016, after a first round of schools visits and the development of our Nepal-Koffer (a set of materials and games that are designed to present Nepal) and the film Tara.   As a support for our workshops in the schools this year, we partnered up with UON and Marc Hammer, a Luxembourguish film maker, to film “Rajani”, a movie talking about the inspiring journey of Rajani. Born in a remote village in Nepal, Rajani was separated from her family at a very young age and went through difficult times before being taken under Umbrella's wing. Now 20, she continues her studies in social work to help other girls in return.   Over the two ESD weeks, we visited 9 schools, primary and secondary, we visited scout groups and we met friends and supporters of the ONGD-FNEL on the Charity Dinner or for the Lunchbreak organized by the “Cercle des ONG” regarding responsible volunteering. In total, around 400 students and scouts participated in our activities, most of the time in groups smaller than 15 which allowed us to have an interesting question and answers round.   We typically started by greeting the students, with a tikka and a scarf, to directly introduce them to Nepali culture. Then we briefly introduced everyone, our work and the story behind the Umbrella Organisation Nepal project. After this, we used the movie "Rajani" as visual support to launch the discussion. “Rajani” touches on many different aspects of Nepal : the way of life, the everyday activities but also the everyday hardships of the locals, evidently, the film also describes the struggles of any young girl growing up in Nepal today. With all this input that seems so far from what we know from here, questions quickly came streaming in. Especially the younger pupils were often very surprised about how much life in Nepal differs for our daily life. Questions ranged from the food, transportation and behavior of the monkeys to child marriage and the reason UON does the work they do. Even if sometimes, classes were quieter, they seemed nonetheless very interested, thus we got positive feedback, which of course, encourages us to further look into the way we can raise awareness in Luxembourg.   There are so many different aspects of Nepal, and most of the times, the time we had was not nearly enough to properly answer the questions, many teachers asked us for additional material (for example the Nepal Koffer or the pedagogical dossier we prepared), which made us very happy. All in all, it was an intense two weeks, though all participants would agree that it was very much worth the effort, because we not only took an important step in raising awareness about sustainable development but also have we exchanged many ideas. Rajani and Tsewang said themselves that they too learned a lot from the way our schools work and our approach to education as well.

Thank you to the Eecheternoacher Quaichleken who made us a donation of 1500 €

A lot of people participated to our conference on 14 November 2019 and had the opportunity to know more about Rajani Gurung's life and the work of Umbrella Organisation Nepal in the remote areas of Nepal. The Cooperation Minister, Mrs Paulette Lenert, put the emphasis on the importance of education and the work of the NGOs in this sector. Thanks a lot to all the participants for making this event a success !

Today in Luxembourg, literacy rate of female, as well as male, is close to 100%. What is considered as normal here isn’t in Nepal yet. Althought male literacy rate is estimated at 75%, only 57% of Nepalese women can read and write nowadays. Why such a gap?  A conference, organized by ONGD-FNEL Luxembourg with the support of Banque de Luxembourg (BDL) on Thursday, 14 November at 6.30p.m. in BDL’s auditorium, will help raise awareness among the public about the situation of girls in Nepal, the realities in the fields of education and support structures for young people, as well as regarding the trafficking of children, real plague for a country which at the same time knows a growing tourist development.   Patriarchal society and sociocultural norms still discriminate against women Although in recent years, the school enrollment rate of boys and girls has become equal, the dropout rate remains higher among girls. For young girls in Luxembourg, having their period is just a natural phenomenon; for Nepali girls, it can result in total drop-out. Indeed, many girls do not go to school when they have their period, fearing mockery. The lack of intimacy, infrastructure and information to local communities contributes to the academic failure of young Nepalese girls. In 2014 in Luxembourg, the the median age at first marriage for a woman was 30.7 years-old, while in Nepal, the same year, 25% of adolescent girls aged 15 to 19 were already married. Although there is a positive trend, girls in Nepal still face many obstacles to a decent life and a decent future, such as physical violence (at school or at home), parents’ unequal treatment of daughters compared to sons and failure to value their educations, early marriages and lack of adequate sanitary facilities.   Towards an evolution of Nepali society These young women, who do not have the "same odds" and the same opportunities for social development as other young Nepalese, can now rely on local associations like Umbrella Organization Nepal (UON). Created in 2005, this association aims at helping children that were trafficked, displaced or placed in orphanages as a result of poverty and internal conflicts in the country. It has evolved from a small organization operating childcare homes to a still small, but well respectedchild protection organization working for youth across the country. Since March 2019, UON operates a Youth Centre in Kathmanduwhere they provide advice and training on topics that are relevant to the youths. "In Nepal, there is little advice and information available to young people at the end of their schooling regarding their career plans or their autonomy, or other problems that may affect this age group (eg sexual and reproductive health, safe migration, peer pressure). This can lead to ill-informed choices at an important stage in their lives" says Tsewang Norbu Lama, Director of the association. Tsewang will honor us with his presence at the conference and will exchange with the public regarding the current situation of development in Nepal. Rajani Gurung, former beneficiary of the association, will also participate in the conference and will give an intimate, moving but nevertheless inspiring testimony in a documentary directed by Marc Hammer. This film, called "Rajani", will premiere at the conference. "It is through the work of organizations like Umbrella, who do a remarkable job, and to young Nepali people like Rajani that are willing to create a better futurethat Nepalese society will evolve. This film  reflects this soberly "says Julie Denève, Project and Awareness Manager for ONGD-FNEL.   Raising awareness beyond Nepalese borders ONGD-FNEL's mission is to develop the skills, knowledge and know-how of young people and adults in order to give them a chance to become responsible citizens living in dignity. This mission applies mainly in Nepal but also in Luxembourg by raising awareness among young people and the general public about development issues and local realities. "A better understanding of the Nepalese reality and the daily life of a person can encourage changes in values, attitudes and behaviors at the individual and collective level" says Nicolas Magnette, President of ONGD-FNEL. "This conference will be an opportunity to stimulate the public to think critically, to form their own opinions and to become actors of change," he concludes.   The conference will be introduced by Paulette Lenert, Minister for Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Affairs in Luxembourg and Nicolas Magnette. It will be followed by the screening of the film "Rajani" which will lead to an exchange between the main stakeholders, Rajani Gurung and Tsewang Norbu Lama and the public. The conference will be held in English with simultaneous translation into French.   Participants will then be invited to a cocktail offered by Banque de Luxembourg.   About the conference Date           Thursday, 14 November 2019 Time          6.30p.m. Location    Auditorium of Banque de Luxembourg Address    14 Boulevard Royal, 2449 Luxembourg English language (simultaneous translation into French available)   About ONGD-FNEL ONGD-FNEL is a non-profit association founded in 1989 in Luxembourg. Coming from the Scouting movement in Luxembourg, (the National Federation of Scouts and Girl Scouts of Luxembourg-FNEL), it supports many projects in favor of the development of education in Nepal. The ONGD-FNEL defends the values ??of solidarity, cooperation, commitment, responsibility by relying on strong local partnerships guaranteeing the smooth running and results of activities. The association works in partnership with local associations to ensure the effectiveness and sustainability of its actions. Our focus is Nepal's vulnerable children and young people since giving them access to education, training and understanding of their rights opens up opportunities for them. www.ongd-fnel.lu   Registration    Thank you for registering to our event by sending an email to ongd@ongd-fnel.lu before November 10, 2019  

Save the date ! The second edition of Let's care and share will be held on Friday, November 8th from 12pm - with a tasting of gins starting at 6pm - and on Saturday, November 9th from 11am until the Charity Dinner starts in the evening. Join us for this exceptional sale of objects found all around the world. The profits will go to the projects of ONGD-FNEL.

Mäi Numm ass Lisa an ech kommen aus engem klengen Duerf dat sech Iwwersiren nennt, mee ech hunn déi läscht fënnef Méint net méi do, mee zu Kathmandu gelieft, wat ech der ONGD-FNEL, enger Organisatioun, déi sech am Nepal asetzt an déi aus de FNEL Guiden a Scoute Lëtzebuerg ervir gaangen ass, an dem Service National de la Jeunesse ze verdanken hunn.

Den éischte Weekend am Mee sinn ech mam Eleanor, dat ech Enn Abrëll kennegeléiert hunn an dat grad en Stage an enger Klinik hei mëscht, an en klengt Dierfchen dat sech Sangachok nennt, gefuer.   D’Eleanor huet virun zwee Joer en Fräiwëllegendéngscht bei Umbrella gemaach a wärend der Zäit huet hatt zu Sangachok gewunnt an do de Kanner an der Schoul Englesch bäibruecht. Mir hunn eng Nuecht do verbruecht a bei senger deemoleger Gaaschtfamill gewunnt. Sangachok selwer ass en richteg schéint Duerf an et huet mir och gutt gedoe mol erëm kuerz aus dem heiansdo stressegen an dompege Kathamndu erauszekommen. De 6. war mäin Gebuertsdag, dowéinst sinn ech den Dag virdru mam Eleanor, mam Jackie a mam Fionnuala, deenen zwee anere Volontairinnen vun Umbrella, an nach aneren Kollegen eppes Iessen an dono een drénken an danze gaange fir a mäin Gebuertsdag eranzefeieren. Fir den Dag selwer huet meng Tutrice d’Imogen Kuch kaf de mer am Büro giess hunn. Owes sinn ech dunn nach eng Kéier mam Jackie a mam Fionnuala an en Restaurant bei eis an der Géigend, den d’Eleanor mer recommandéiert huet, iesse gaangen. Allgemeng kann ech mech wierklech net iwwert den Dag beschwéieren a ka glécklecherweis behaapten, dass ech richteg flotten 20. Gebuertsdag am Nepal hat. Wat d’Arabescht am Büro ugeet hunn ech dëse Mount mol ugefaangen, de Video, den ech iwwert de Chautari Youth Club vun Umbrella maache sollt, ze schneiden a sinn domadder och scho fäerdeg ginn. Ab der Mëtt vum Mount hunn d’Jackie an ech dunn ugefaangen, Englesch Coursë virzebereede well déi Jugendlecher, déi reegelméisseg an d’Jugendhaus vun Umbrella komme, gären hiert Englesch verbessere géifen. Ab nächstem Mount wäerte mir zwee dann zwee Mol an der Woch den Jugendlechen am Chautari Youth Club Englesch bäibréngen.

Déi éischt Woch am Abrëll war dem Jasime an dem Emer, deenen zwee anere Volontairinnen, hier lescht Woch am Büro vun Umbrella. Wärend deenen zwee Méint déi ech bis elo mat hinne geschafft hunn, hate mir dräi all Donneschden an engem Irish Pub en Pub Quiz gemaach, den eng Spendenaktioun fir eis Organisatioun ass. Déi Suen déi mer bis dohinner gesammelt haten hu mer dunn benotzt fir mat de Jugendleche vun Umbrella, déi grad bei enger Fleegefamill liewen, an en Waasserpark an de Kino an Klammen ze goen. Sou konnte mer hinnen och emol flott Aktivitéiten erméiglechen, déi hier Fleegeelteren sech normalerweis net leeschte kennen. Freides de 5. war dunn hire leschte Schaffdag, an nom Mëttesiessen huet all Member vun Umbrella sech baussen am Gaart versammelt fir deenen zwee Äddi ze soen. Den Owend si mer dunn och nach all zesummen eppes iesse gaangen.   Samschdes ass mäi Brudder dunn erëm Heem op Berlin geflunn, mee den nämmlechten Dag ass eng nei Volontairin dat och aus Irland kennt ukomm. Méindes war et dunn zwar relativ ongewinnt ouni déi aner zwee am Büro, mee d’Fionnuala ass och en richteg feint Meedche mat dem ech mech gutt verstinn. Wärend der Zäit hunn ech mech um Büro haaptsächlech em d’Sponsorship Updates gekëmmert. Ech hunn also deene Leit aus der westlecher Welt, déi sech dozou entscheet hunn eent vun eise Kanner finanziell ze ënnerstëtzen, en Bericht geschriwwe wei et dem Kannt geet, wei et sech entwéckelt, wei et sech an der Schoul mëscht, etc.   Déi Woch sinn dunn d’Jasmine an d‘Emer op Chitwan gefuer an en Freiden sinn dunn zwou Frëndinne vu mir aus Lëtzebuerg ukomm. Sonndes huet am Nepal dat neit Joer ugefaangen, dofir si mir Samschdes direkt op hirem zweeten Owend zu Kathmandu eraus gaangen an hunn an dat neit Joer eragefeiert. Wei dun rem jiddfereen do war, waren mir zwee Deeg laang, am ganzen zu 8 Meedercher a sinn oft all zesummen Iesse gaangen a souguer all zesummen op Bhaktapur gefuer fir duerch déi schéin al Staat lafen ze kennen.   D’Woch drop misst ech dem Jasmine an dem Emer dunn Äddi soen, wat mer net liicht gefall ass. Mee déi zwee hunn mer jeeweils en Bréif hannerlooss befirt se gaange sinn, an am Emer sengem stoung dass egal ob an Irland oder Lëtzebuerg oder Australien oder wou och ëmmer, mir géifen eis doudsécher eng Kéier iergendzwousch treffen erëmgesinn. D’Joy, meng Frëndin vun Lëtzebuerg, huet mech dunn Samschdes moies verlooss. No dem ganze Besuch den de ganzen Abrëll laang komm a gaangen ass war ech amfong e bësse frou mol erëm eleng a menger Kummer ze wunnen a mam Fionnuala eleng kennen ze sinn an hatt richteg kennen ze leieren.   Den Dag drop Méindes ass dunn nach een neit Meedche komm dat fir zwee Méint en Fräiwëllegendéngscht bei Umbrella mëscht. Hatt kennt aus Kanada, heescht Jackie an ass en richteg feint an interessant Meedchen. Ech mengen ech ka glécklecherweis behaapten, dass meng zwee Méint déi mer elo nach mam Fionnuala a mam Jackie bevirstinn zimlech wahrscheinlech genau sou flott wäerte gi wei déi dräi déi ech mam Jasmine a mam Emer zesumme geschafft a gewunnt hunn.

On the occasion of the 30th anniversary of ONGD-FNEL, Nepal will be honored at the Shopping Center la Belle Etoile from 4 to 13 April. Its crafts, gastronomy, culture and tourist attractions will be presented as well as a photo exhibition that will present and explain the development projects carried out by ONGD-FNEL in Nepal since 1989. Come and join us!

Mäin zweeten Mount huet domat ugefaangen, dass mer d’Chance kruten Nei-Joers-Karten fir d’ONGD-FNEL ze maachen, déi dann zu Lëtzebuerg un hir Donneuren verdeelt ginn. Den éischten Dezember hunn ech dunn en Deel vun den Karten mat den Kanner gemaach an fir d’éischt Kéier richteg Zäit mat hinnen verbruecht. Si waren all esou begeeschtert an motivéiert fir ze molen an hunn mech immens léif empfangen. Direkt vun Ufank un hunn se mech „older sister“ genannt, wat zwar normal am Nepal ass, mee mech awer richteg frou gemaach huet an ech kann soen, dass och ech deen Dag 8 nei kleng Schwësteren bäikrut. Duerno hunn dunn d’Field Visits ugefaangen, wou mer wärend 10 Deeg 8 verschidden Distrikter besicht hunn an zwar Makwanpur, Nawalparasi, Dang, Lumbini, Kaski, Lamjung, Tanahu an Gorkha. Mir waren zu 4 an engem Van ënnerwee dorënner d’Ranju, eisen Chauffeur den Shyam, d’Uma an ech. D’Uma ass eng Fra, déi mat 9 Joer an en Zirkus verkaaft gouf an dunn no 17 Joer et gepackt huet vun do fortzegoen an mat sengem Jong erëm an den Nepal ze kommen. Déi zwee sinn leider HIV positiv an d’Uma krut dunn an der schwéierer Zäit ugebueden un engem vun den Trainingen vun SETU Nepal deelzehuelen an säin Jong gouf ënnerstëtzt fir kennen an d’Schoul ze goen. No dem Training ass d’Uma erëm selbststänneg ginn, huet eng gewëssen Zäit fir SETU Nepal geschafft an ass och meeschtens bei den Field Visits mat derbäi. Hat ass eng immens léif an awer och staark Fra an mir haten all zesummen eng super gutt Zäit, an der mer vill zesummen gelaacht hunn. Wärend eisen Visitten hunn mer ënner anerem eng Schoul besicht, wou SETU Nepal en „Day Meal Program“ an och den Opbau vun enger Kichen well bedreiwen. D’Schoul hat nämlech virdrun keng Platz, wou d‘Schüler ze iessen kruten an sou hunn sech d’Kanner dann vun Snacks ernäert, déi virun der Schoul verkaaft ginn, wat net gutt fir hir Gesondheet ass. Mat dem Aféieren vun deem Programm kréien d’Kanner all Dag eppes Gesondes ze iessen an gläichzäiteg ginn d’Elteren, d’Schoul an  d’Gesellschaft besser iwwer gesond Ernierung informéiert an sinn an dem Aspekt am Liewen vun hiren Kanner involvéiert. Des Weideren hunn mer nach Fra’en besicht, déi un engem vun den Trainingen an 2018 deelgeholl hunn an et war schéin ze gesinn, wei frou an motivéiert si waren. Dat huet och einfach gewisen weivill SETU Nepal deenen Fraen hëlleft, déi schonn souvill duerchgemaach hunn an dann no den Trainingen mat neier Perspektiv erëm an hiert Liewen zréckkommen. Wärend deenen Meetings gouf ëmmer vill gelaacht an trotzdeem alles serieux behandelt. Zumools zu Nawalparasi, engem ganz einfachen Distrikt haten mer eng immens flott Zäit mateneen an och wann ech net ëmmer wousst wat jiddwereen sot, well natierlech alles ob Nepalesesch war, hunn mer eis awer verstane. Dann hunn mer och nach verschidden lokal Organisatiounen besicht, fir mat hinnen iwwert d’Aarbecht vun SETU Nepal ze schwätzen, fir dass si eis Fra’en kennen recommandéieren, déi un eisen Trainingen kennen deelhuelen. En schéint Beispill haten mer do zu Dang, wou mer duerch Zoufall ob en Meedchen ze schwätzen komm sinn, wat säin Bachelor gemaach huet an awer leider finanziell Problemer huet. Mir hunn d’Meedchen dunn getraff an vue dass hat immens léif an motivéiert eriwwer komm ass, gouf entscheet, dass hat am neien Joer un engem vun den Trainingen vun SETU Nepal kann deelhuelen. Et war flott ze gesinn, wei mer zoufälleg ob dat Meedchen ze schwätzen komm sinn an et elo dann villäicht vun SETU Nepal wäert ënnerstëtzt ginn. Mir hunn och nach verschidden „Home Visits“ gemaach, wou mer den Leit hir Geschäffter konnten gesinn, sou zum Beispill en Snackstand, en Kleedergeschäft an souguer eng Fëschfarm. Mir haten awer och en bëssen Fräizäit, wou mer Lumbini kucken gaangen sinn,  wou d’Gebuertsstätte vum Buddha ass an een ganz vill verschidden Tempelen kann besichen. Nieft den Tempelen schéngen ech awer och eng grouss Attraktioun gewiescht ze sinn an hunn mat ganz villen Leit Foto’en missten maachen. Dunn hat ech och nach d‘Geleegenheet zu Kaski (Pokhara) kennen Paragliding ze maachen, an zwar mat der Hëllef vun menger nepalese Am?, dem Ranju. Et wat eng immens flott Experienz, duerch d’Loft ze fléien an all d’Bierger an den Phewa Lake kennen ze gesinn an ech kann et wierklech jiddwerengem uroden et auszeprobéieren. Leider sinn ech dunn awer an deenen leschten puer Deeg vun eisen Visitten relativ krank ginn an hunn mäin Dag domat verbruecht ze schlofen an näischt kennen ze iessen. Mee d’Ranju, d’Uma an den Shyam hunn sech esou gutt em mech gekëmmert an no en puer Deeg, wei mer erëm zréck zu Kathmandu waren, war ech dunn erëm ob den Been. Wärend den Field Visits huet an der Organisatioun d’Aakanshya, en Meedchen aus dem Nepal, wat och en Volontariat bei SETU Nepal mecht, d’Karten mat den Kanner weider gemaach. Zesummen hunn mer se dann fäerdeg gebastelt: D’Biller vun den Kanner ausschneiden an ob faarwechen Pabeier pechen, nepaleseschen Pabeier an d’Karten pechen an dat ganzt dann nach en bëssen dekoréieren, huet laang gedauert. Mee mat „Milk Tea“, Popcorn an gudden Konversatiounen huet et sech koum méi wei eng Aarbecht ugefillt, an mir sinn esouguer en bëssen an Chrëschtdagsstëmmung komm. Am Nepal gëtt Chrëschtdag amfong net gefeiert, an fir dass ech déi schéin Zäit net allze vill vermessen, krut ech net nëmmen en klengen Adventskalenner vun menger Famill, mee ech gouf och nach gutt mat Schockela vun Famill an Kollegen versuecht. Awer och mat menger Famill hei am Nepal hunn mer en bëssen geféiert, sou hunn mer zum Beispill eng Planz als Chrëschtbeemchen dekoréiert an ech muss zouginn, dass eis Chrëschtdags-Palm sech wierklech konnt weisen loossen. Den 24. Dezember sinn mer mat den Kanner vun SETU Nepal an eng Schoul gaangen, wou Schüler mat Down-Syndrom betreit ginn an hunn do alleguer zesummen gefeiert. D’Kanner haten kleng Optrëtter virbereet an et war esou schéin ze gesinn, weivill Freed jiddwereen hat. Zesummen gouf gefeiert, giess an all Kand krut herno nach en klengen Cadeau mat Hefter, Faarwen an souguer en puer Séissegkeeten. D’Highlight vun dem Dag war awer wahrscheinlech deen Moment, wou een Meedchen am Rollstull, mat Hëllef vun enger Betreierin, och huet kennen danzen an seng Freed an säin Laachen mir sécher net esou schnell wäerten vergiessen. Et war net nëmmen fir d’Kanner en immens flotten Dag, mee och ech sinn dankbar fir dat Fest konnten matzëerliewen. Owes sinn ech dunn mat menger Famill eraus an eng „Mall“ iessen gaangen an nodeems ech hinnen erzielt hat wat meng Famill zu Lëtzebuerg wäert kachen an dass dat ongeféier aus 4 verschidden Gäng wärt bestoen, waren mir dunn och 4 verschidden Saachen iessen. Cheeseballs, Momo‘en, Fried Chicken an herno nach eng Waffel waren eisen Chrëschtdagsmenü an et war esou en einfachen mee léiwen Geste, deen eist Chrëschtdagsfest schéin ofgeronnt huet. Den nächsten Dag louch souguer en klengen Cadeau ënnert eiser Chrëschtdags-Palm an ech hunn den Dag zesummen mam Aakanshya verbruecht, mat deem ech mëttlerweil eng richteg gutt Frëndschaft opgebaut hunn. D’Aarbecht am Office besteet am Moment doran alles ze dokumentéieren wat mer wärend den Field Visits gemaach hunn an verschidden Artikelen fir eis Website ze schreiwen. Den zweeten Mount hei am Nepal ass esou schnell ëmgaangen, fir et zesummen ze faassen war dësen Mount eng immens flott mënschlech Erfarung, et gouf gutt gelaacht, genuch giess, ech hunn villes bäigeléiert an ech freeën mech ob den nächsten Mount!