Neighbour helping neighbour
We have now set up so that you can donate through CanadaHelps.org to World Neighbours Canada and specifically earmark it for Nepal Relief. Just look for the little dropdown menu and select “Nepal Earthquake Relief” instead of “General.”
https://www.canadahelps.org/en/charities/world-neighbours-canada-society/
posted by Judy Gray, with information from Suresh Shrestha
Suresh has continued to update us with information about the situation in the Ramechhap area and the immediate needs of the people.
Here is what Suresh says:
“The victims need the tent & rice for immediate relief. The demand of tent is very high due to massive damages of households all over, but the supply is very limited. Therefore, the government is also unable provide enough tent/tarpaulin.”
Suresh has let us know the costs of a reasonable quality tent/tarpaulin ($50 Can.) and a 50 kg. bag of rice ($25 Can.). A donation of $75 Can. would be sufficient to cover the immediate needs of a family. Continue reading “What $75 can provide”
A request for support, from Suresh, in the earthquake aftermath
posted by Judy Gray, with information from Suresh Shrestha 
As Suresh, of our partner organization in Nepal (TSS) states so clearly in his most recent email, the effects of the recent earthquake are significant in the Ramechhap area. The death toll is, fortunately, quite low, but many many homes have been damaged.
Here is what Suresh says:
“Due to (the) devastating earthquake, over 75% of the houses have been damaged in Ramechhap. These houses, most of built by mud & stone, are no more suitable to live. The families have been displaced and they are staying in plastic temporary tents. Almost all these families belong to poor and backward. We don’t know whether our government will have enough relief funds for reconstruction and/or renovation of the damaged houses.”
Suresh continues by asking for any support WNC can provide, to be used for food and shelter, until these families can get back on their feet. Continue reading “Help needed for Ramechhap”
Impact of Nepal’s earthquake in Ramechhap province
posted by Dale Dodge, with information from Suresh Shrestha, TSS employee and WNC partner in Nepal
We are lucky to have been receiving emails over the past two days from Suresh in Nepal. The WNC project is east of Kathmandhu, in the province of Ramechhap. Included here are descriptions, in Suresh’s own words, about the devastation in the province and his country. Thankfully, both he and his family are safe!
postings from newest to oldest
Apr. 27 3:11AM
Due to devastating earthquake, over 75% houses have been damaged in Ramechhap. These houses, most of built by mud & stone, are no more suitable to live. The families have been displaced and they are staying in plastic temporary tent. Almost all these families belong to poor and backward. We don’t know whether our government will have enough relief funds for reconstruction and/or renovation of the damaged houses. Continue reading “Few deaths … many homes damaged”
by Judy Gray ~ WNC director
I recently had the opportunity to travel to Fada, Eastern Burkina Faso to visit the World Neighbours Canada project site there. As part of the tour, I visited a number of villages that are participating in projects to generate revenue, increase food security and improve the state of the environment. Though many of the villagers have not attended school and indeed many are illiterate, 
they need no formal education or scientist to inform them of the effects of climate change … they live the effects of desertification on a daily basis! Over the past 5 – 10 years, they have noticed the irregularity of the once predictable rain patterns, with the rainy season arriving later and ending earlier than it did 10 years ago. Furthermore, their efforts to improve food security by planting a market garden, during the dry season when food becomes scare are met with frustration and even failure as the hand dug 6 to 7 meter wells are drying up as the water level drops … an effect of climate change and desertification. Continue reading “Climate change in action”
By Judy Gray ~ with excerpts from an article by Joe Penney, published in the New African magazine, January 2015
I returned a week ago from an eight day visit to Fada, Eastern Burkina Faso to monitor the World Neighbours Canada (WNC) project there. It was a unique and heart-warming experience and one that I will post more about over the coming months. However, the visit also inspired an interest to learn more about the recent political upheaval that the people in this country faced. Brad Fee, the colleague who travelled with me to Fada, sent me this article which elaborates on the struggle which recently occurred in this country. Continue reading “Burkina Faso: After October 30, 2014”
Creating a new constitution
posted by Dale Dodge, with information from Suresh Shrestha
After 6 years of democratic government, the government of Nepal has been unable to get the job done of writing a constitution. There are too many parties, too many vested interests, and too little power. The following is the final question and answer from an interview with Lok Raj Baral, author and political science professor in Nepal.
Question: You touched on many aspects of governance. It will soon be a year since the formation of the government under Sushil Koirala. How would you assess its performance?
Mr. Baral’s response: This government has not done anything; it has been a non-functioning government. It was barely able to even appoint ambassadors. It failed to expedite the constitution and it has not been actively inclusive. It has been a failure. But I would not just blame Sushil Koirala. It was the same during the tenure of Prachanda and Baburam Bhattarai.
This is a fault of the system. There is no single-party majority so any government needs to take other parties along with it. So either you need to satisfy your coalition partner or you need a prime minister with the personality to do what needs to be done. But I also don’t know what the alternative is. Furthermore, we are forced to deal with multiple crises at the same time—governance crisis, leadership crisis, constitutional crisis, corruption crisis, etc. And none of the parties abide by their ideologies. The NC is not socialist, the UML is not Leninist-Marxist, and the Maoists are not Maoist. That is why we need a minimum understanding between the major parties.
Harsh words, but echoed in the report sent to us recently by Suresh Shrestha, our TSS partner in Manthali.
Continue reading “The rocky road of political change: Nepal’s challenges”
Interesting article published two days ago in Science Daily about one of the ways Burkina Faso is attempting to deal with its very difficult climate and soil conditions.
“In Burkina Faso, what was once stony semi-wasteland is now covered in verdant crop fields, rescued from relentless desertification. Using simple agricultural techniques largely spread by word-of-mouth, this tiny West African state has rejuvenated vast stretches of scrubby soil over the past 30 years, proving they are not doomed and giving hope to other vulnerable areas in the region.”
Though the article in the newspaper is about a village in northern Burkina Faso (Rim), the technique is being used more and more in our project area, Fada. The results are not yet as remarkable as those in Rim, but farmers, both women and men, are using the technique more and more.
Click here to watch a short video and a more thorough explanation
Since 2000, World Neighbours Canada has been using WNC and matching CIDA funds to put in sealed, hygienic toilets in many villages of Nepal. What at first was a hard sell to villagers who have practiced ‘open defecation’ all their lives, has now become a highly requested item. Our partner, Tamakoshi Sewa Samiti (TSS), has been fielding increasing numbers of requests from villages who already have a water system in place, to help with the installation of the new toilet. Outhouses and pit toilets have been tried in the past, but there has always been problems with smell and with the attraction of unwanted pests, vermin and insects. The design of the sealed, hygienic toilet overcomes these issues.
The loss of CIDA matching funding has resulted in a drop in activity in Nepal over the past year, but TSS has still managed to install 3 water systems in the villages of Saduagaun, Jagirgaun and Kyama. Funding was partially from WNC, but also from Rotary International via Rotary Aldergrove, and from a student based NGO called CACTES (Caring About Communities Together to Eliminate Struggle) from Surrey, BC. The three systems combined have brought water to a total of over 500 people. Unfortunately, the toilet program has been suspended because of lack of funding.
In the coming year, we plan to concentrate on toilets again, especially in the villages that now have water. We have seen the combination of accessible water and sealed, hygienic toilets reduce gastrointestinal diseases by 80%, and the requests from villages for toilets is as high as ever.