Sometimes, terrible events bring out the best in people and present you opportunities you never expected to have. They may lead you to meet amazing people and give you the chance to make a difference in people’s lives and use your skills to give back, which is something a lot of us seek to do but often simply don’t know how.
For me, this happened in the form of the massive earthquake in Nepal in April this year. The project is called the “Early Childhood Development Centre” and is led by the amazing Pushpa Basnet.
The project
The Early Childhood Development Centre (ECDC) provides a home and family for children who would otherwise grow up in prison due to their parents’ incarceration and lack of a legal guardian. It provides accommodation, food, care and education for over 40 children. The new “Butterfly Home” a new building owned by the ECDC, was scheduled for completion in fall 2015, but the April 2015 earthquake destroyed 60% of the building.
The person
Inspired by a visit to a women’s prison during her studies, PUSHPA BASNET started taking care of children at age 21, resulting in the founding of ECDC. Pushpa provides hope, family and education to stigmatized children to break the cycle of poverty and crime. Pushpa’s efforts are documented in the film “Waiting for Mamu” and she was awarded the CCN Hero of the Year Award in 2012.
How did I get involved?
In April 2015 after the Earthquake in Nepal, I found out that my dragon boat team member Thomas Morgan is a film producer and was trying to raise funds by showing his movie “Waiting for Mamu”. The home they were supposed to move into and was close to completion had been 60% destroyed in the earthquake.
I decided to support the efforts, assisting to get the movie through regulators, setting up a GoFundMe site online and raising funds in my team as well as back in Germany and of course through Gabriela Soto Pascual, a student from the Full-time MBA’16 class and the President of the RSM Charity Club.
Together with my family back in Germany we got in touch with “Ein Herz für Kinder”, a German charity and to everyone’s absolute astonishment, they decided to cover the reconstruction of the building, which meant that it could be completed with only 3-4 months delay to the original schedule.
During this process I became close friends with Pushpa and realized I can support her long-term with my skills.
Being between jobs, I visited her for 18 days in October to talk to her about details and opportunities. The next steps for me are to help revamping the website, get her newsletter going and assist with the planning of the grand opening. We are also exploring if we can create an income generating opportunity here in Singapore by selling some of the handicrafts made by the children or their mothers.
My thoughts on the time I spent in Nepal
This whole experience has taught me so much, about people, charities, volunteering, culture, politics, news. Even a week after it’s hard to summarize all the impressions – about Nepal, the ECDC and how it influenced me on a personal level.
As far as the ECDC is concerned, the biggest realization is that those kids are not sad stories, but success stories. Life has given them a hard start, some of them witnessed incredible things. However, now, they have a family and opportunities they would otherwise never have had. They get a chance to change their future, to study and to make a difference for themselves, their families and the economy. They learn to be responsible, take care of each other and the household, to study hard and to play. It really encouraged me to make the best out of what hands you are dealt, take each opportunity you get and turn hardship into opportunity and success!
We often ask ourselves how we can give back. There are many charities to donate to worldwide, but through a personal connection, seeing where the money goes and that everything is well managed makes a huge difference. Knowing now what particular items they need or which would help them in their daily life helps to ask for TARGETED donations that will be used for a particular cause, which makes people more comfortable (I asked my friends to sponsor blankets for example).
As far as donating and volunteering goes, often well meant efforts may not be what people actually need, clothes donations for example are sent with great intentions but money helps in 2 ways by also supporting the local economy. You gain valuable experience and insights through volunteering, but make sure you come with a plan and use your skills. Sometimes you can help more from afar than being an extra mouth to feed in a disaster zone! Nevertheless, we MBA’s all have skills that can be put to use even from afar… logistics, IT, management advice, entrepreneurial insights, business plans, accounting… think about sustainable solutions or the possibility to be involved long term.
What really impressed me personally is the sheer resilience of the Nepalese people. I am always amazed how people in the worst conditions seem to make the best out of their lives. A week before my stay, a fuel crisis had begun and since then (over 6 weeks now) hardly any fuel has reached Nepal through their Indian borders. They are running out of fuel, cooking gas and supplies are getting more expensive by the day. Electricity is rationed, so between 7-18 hours a day, this is also no alternative for many. Tourism has basically come to a halt. Considering this was a large part of income for many families, it’s hard to say how people will manage through the winter. Only slowly, news about this possibly bigger humanitarian crisis than the earthquake are reaching the international awareness.
For the country I hope that the political situation gets resolved soon, so rebuilding can continue. I’d also love to see tourists return to this place as it is filled with impressive sights (despite the destruction which is still VERY visible), breathtaking landscapes and amazingly friendly, resilient people.
If you’d like to know more about this project, feel free to drop me a line, contact me on Facebook or connect via Gabriela and the Charity Club.
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26 Jul 2015, 04:20
