Girls and Grandmas in the New Nepal

Girls and Grandmas in the New Nepal        
By Kathleen Hendricks, Special to the ASSIST News Service

KATHMANDU, NEPAL (ANS – November 21, 2015) -- Recently Nepal completed a new constitution and now has a new Prime Minister and first female President, operating within a multiparty system.

However, the hopes of the people quickly dashed when the India embargo stopped the flow of goods, gas and oil from entering the country for nearly a month now. The struggle for minority rights and revision of territory boundaries remain an issue for the new government to resolve. During the finalizing of the constitution, violence erupted; killing forty people including police and children.

Nepal is still reeling from the 7.9 and 7.3 earthquakes this past spring, in which nine thousand people were killed, fifteen thousand injured and one half million displaced. Many people are currently living in temporary housing built by churches and NGOs. Most of the foreign relief funds went for medical care and food during the months following the quake.

The rebuilding process has been very slow leaving the most vulnerable, (children and elderly) living in the streets and in the doorways of Hindu temples and churches. Churches with foreign partners fared well as their partners assisted in rebuilding efforts. Those without foreign partners borrowed funds from banks to house members and neighbors temporarily in zinc plate houses.

One small NGO, BNI Intl., has begun building a two story permanent house for girls and grandmas abandoned to the streets and temples. They will provide the grandmas with micro business projects while the girls are in school to help with the monthly expenses. The project is called New Beginnings Homes. They hope to build several of these homes in major cities.

BNI Intl is impacting the lives of women coming out of sex trafficking, bringing healing and restoration to them with micro biz ideas and training. They have also reached out to the poor in feeding and clothing and training in life skills.

Here is one of their stories:

The ragged teenage girl was used to sleeping on the hard cement sidewalk, but today her stomach seemed to ache even more due to hunger. She dosed off and dreamed of a woman reaching down to her dropping a basket of food. Oh, how she wished that dream was real!

Halfway around the world another teenager was sleeping in a nice comfy bed. She dreamed of a Himalayan Mt. girl reaching for her Starbucks latte. She woke still tasting the latte she had enjoyed with her parents that evening after church.

There she had heard the guest speaker explain how one latte could feed a family of four for one day in the Himalayan Mts. Her mom spoke earlier about sacrificing her and dad’s daily lattes on the way to work. She would give the money instead to feed street girls and grandmas in the Himalayan Mts.

These statistics shock the “Western” mindset! So little can do so much!

* $4.50 20 oz. Starbucks latte

* $3.00 feeds four girls for one day

* $28.00 1 haircut

* $20.00 feeds four girls for one week

* $99.00 talk/text/data mobile phone bill for one month

* $80.00 feeds four girls for one month

You too can make a difference! Please make a monthly commitment and give up that latte, lunch or dinner to help feed one abandoned orphan girl and a grandma who lost her home in the earthquake.

During this season, we remember the greatest gift...THE gift of God, His son Jesus for our sins so we could have eternal life. Let’s ask God what to give and know that He will multiply our gift.

Only once a month will you click on the link below and paste it in your browser to give a gift? www.youcaring.com/criesofhimalayangirls .

BNI Intl. is a work of God changing the world! Be a world changer by partnering with them. They have been living in the Himalayan Mts. since 2006. You will receive a tax deductible receipt at the end of the year.

Check out this powerful prayer video courtesy of http://www.prayercast.com , that takes you to Nepal! Cut and paste in your browser to view. http://www.prayercast.com/nepal.html .

Photo captions: 1) Grandmother Rita Muktan, injured in the initial earthquake, carrying her one-year-old grandchild. (Photo: ACT Alliance/FCA, Antti Helin) 2) Street-view of women and girls. Kathmandu (Photo: R. C. Camphausen). 3) Nepalese families receiving aid.

About the writer: Kathleen Hendricks is a freelance writer living in SE Asia.

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