Educate the Children

December 2009
Educate the Children News
In This Issue
Dolakha Update
Follow Us on Facebook
A New Name? We Want Your Help!
Give the Gift of ETC!
Quick Links
Donate Now!

Follow us on Facebook

ETC Supporter Survey
Join Our Mailing List

Greetings!

womeninliteracy
"I had nothing.  Now I am the most financially successful woman I know.  I am able to pay for all of my children to go to school." 

 

This is what Maya Malbul, a Dalit or untouchable, told me when I visited her in Tanchhintar Village last summer.  Maya is a member of an Educate the Children women's group, where she learned to read, understand basic math, and the basics of kitchen gardening.
 
After most of the group got started on individual kitchen gardens, they turned their attention to vegetable sales. Because Maya's woman's group formed a micro-credit savings pool, Maya was able to borrow funds to rent a small allotment from her landlord and buy tomato seeds for a garden.  
 
Her first crop was a success and Maya was able to pay back the loan and borrow more money for an even bigger plot the following year.  After another bumper crop, Maya saved over 60,000 Nepali rupees-around $800-in her own bank account, a truly remarkable achievement.
 
Maya's story is far from unique.  Creating opportunities for thousands of women like Maya to better their lives is at the very heart of Educate the Children's mission in Nepal.   
 
Success stories like Maya's are made possible by the generous donations of friends like you.   Thanks to our supporters, Educate the Children is able to work, side-by-side, with the poorest Nepalese to help them transform their lives through education, credit, and health programs.
 
I hope that you will take a moment now to support Educate the Children.  By making a gift today, you will help ensure that thousands more women in Nepal have the opportunity to improve their own lives and feed and educate their families.
 
Whether we are forming women's groups, building schools, training teachers, assisting with tuition, uniforms and supplies for children or providing basic sanitation, Educate the Children helps empower women and children in Nepal to build a better future.

By supporting Educate the Children, you will help to dramatically improve the lives of even more Nepalese women and children in the year ahead.  Women like Maya, who spoke up so eloquently about what Educate the Children has meant for her and her family.
 
On behalf of the board and staff of Educate the Children, thank you again for your support.  It makes a world of difference to hundreds of women and children in Nepal, whose lives are forever transformed by your generosity.

Sincerely,
beth signature
Beth Prentice

President, Board of Directors
 
P.S.  Your tax-deductible gift to Educate the Children will create lasting and positive change in the lives of hundreds of women and children in Nepal.  Please take a moment and make a gift now!

DOLAKHA UPDATE: HUNDREDS OF LIVES DRAMATICALLY IMPROVED
WITH THE HELP OF ETC! 


dolkhagirlFor the last two years, Educate the Children's has operated primarily in the Dolakha District of Nepal.  With the support of generous friends, we have been able to accomplish a great deal in a short period of time.  Today there are:
 
·  42 women's groups (850 members)
·  635 women enrolled in basic literacy classes
·  850 kitchen gardens
·  650 children on ETC scholarships (mostly girls)
·  26 dramatically improved schools
·  4,170 children helped by school improvements and   teacher training
· 14 pre-primary school kindergarten classes
· 14 children's clubs
·  7 school-based garden projects, involving over 210 children and their families
· 3 agriculture demonstration plots 

Last month, nearly 650 women started advanced literacy classes.

There is still a great deal more work to do, with many women and children waiting to be able to join our programs. Thanks to our friends like you, we will continue assist these women to help themselves. 

FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK

Get up-to-the-minute news on Educate the Children, see photos and video of women and children participating in ETC programs, and much, much more by becoming a fan of ETC on Facebook.
A NEW NAME? WE WANT YOUR HELP!

As we embark on our 20th year of helping women and children in Nepal, we are considering an "organizational" makeover. Specifically, we are contemplating renaming the organization so as to more accurately reflect our mission of working with women as well as children. We feel this will improve our organizational visibility and enhance our capacity to fulfill our mission to support and empower women and children in Nepal.

And so, we are seeking input from those who know us best. We welcome any suggestions of a new name for ETC and kindly ask you to email us your ideas.  Also, if you know of a professional graphic designer who would be willing to donate his/her services (as we would be selecting a new logo to go along with this new name), please let us know. Thanks, and we look forward to hearing from you
.
GIVE THE GIFT OF ETC
THIS HOLIDAY SEASON!


By giving a gift to ETC this holiday season, you can honor your loved ones by helping others. For example, by making a gift of $25, you enable ETC to provide the materials for a kitchen garden to one family; a gift of $50 will provide the resources necessary to furnish a family with the materials needed to construct a toilet; and a gift of $75 dollars will provide one women's group with  Legal Literacy classes for 2 hours a night, 6 nights a week for 3 months.

We will provide you with gift cards, or send them directly to your friends or family acknowledging that you made a gift in their name. These are gifts that truly give twice! 
It's that simple.Give the gift of ETC today!
Thanks for your support!  You make ETC's work with women and children possible and for that, we cannot thank you enough!