Thursday, June 26, 2014

Koseli Newsletter 2013-14

        
Dear Koseli friends and family, 
Warm Greetings!!!

Thank you for being associated with Koseli and continuously supporting and nurturing the growth of the children in Koseli.  Koseli would not have been where it is today without your support. We would like to share our yearly events with you.
Introduction: Koseli means “a gift” in Nepali.  The aim of “Koseli” is to reach out to under privileged children whose family can barely afford one meal. Education, health, clothes and hygiene are in no consideration of their need. Koseli provides the children, a clean environment like that of any other school. The children are made to feel special while they are in the premises of the school. Their basic health and hygiene needs are taken care of; they are served a hot, wholesome meal in the afternoon and a snack in the evening before they leave for home.
The objective of education at Koseli is not to make these children literate but give them the power to dream. At Koseli, they follow the syllabus prescribed by the government of Nepal. There is a special focus on improving their reading, writing and communication skills. The children also learn computer skills in addition to performing arts like dance, music and theatre. Another impressive thing is that each child is being nurtured according to his/her interests and level of learning. Koseli School works from Sunday to Friday throughout the year.

Koseli Family consists of 8 board members, 13 Staff members and 110 students and our numerous supporters and donors.
We have children from age group for Nursery to grade 6. After that we transfer our children to study in main stream school with sponsorships. The highlights of the academic year 2013-14 are as follows:

Constructions: This year we have added another room to accommodate the growing number of children in school. The school has also extended the height of its boundary wall by two feet wire mesh to enable the kids play football without worrying about losing the ball. The teachers and elder students painted the walls of the school for a cleaner and refreshing look.
A beautiful reading room, called “The Kachhua Club” has also been added to the school. This room is donated by a British Non-Profit organization run by Mr. John Mathews, “The Children of the Mountain”.
We extend our deep gratitude to him.

Events: Like every year, we celebrated Dashain, Tihar, Christmas, Sarawati Puja and Holi in school with much fan fare.  An annual school carnival was organized for the children. The carnival is a much awaited event with swings, games, magic show and face painting. The students participated enthusiastically in all the events and presented songs and dances. All the events received support from Koseli supporters.

A fund raising FUN-MELA was organized by a school member, Ms. Sanjana Agarwal for a child’s treatment. Menuka, 14, has problem in the veins of her leg and the fund collected from the Carnival is being used for her treatment. The carnival was a fun filled event in which the students had a blast. It also helped in spreading a word about Koseli in the society and added new support members to our growing family.
This year, we celebrated  Holi with a cultural program performances by students, followed by a ice creams sponsored by Pulkit Bhimsaria and a hearty feast thereafter. The whole program was aired on Himalayan TV. Thanks to Dayaramji Agarwal to give a chance to Koseli Foundation to come in lime light of the general public. This program can be viewed on YouTube, “Apno Nepal, Apno Gaurab,” episode 132.

Introduction to living life beyond- Meditation and mindfulness: We are proud to announce that Koseli children have been following a rigorous mindfulness routine. This routine is introduced and run by Supathya-Learning to Care, a Kathmandu based Non-Profit run by Ms. Jun Maya Pandey & Sirish Bhatt. The routine focuses on spiritual development of the child. As part of this routine, the children meditate regularly for twenty minutes a day and write a gratitude journal. This has now become a part of school curriculum.

Achievements: Chandra Tamang  Studied at Koseli for 5 years and now completed his training from A-La-Carte and is working as an assistant chef.
Likewise, Dilmaya, 16 years old, too was a student for 4 years at Koseli and now she is towards completion of her training as a beautician. Dilmaya is the bread earner of her family and thus was very keen on doing a vocational course so that she could start supporting her family financially as soon as possible. She has been enrolled into a beauty training school, where she has 5 hours of training everyday.
Based on their excellence, 6 Students from Koseli have been sent to other main stream schools.
Over the years, 23 students have been sent to join in the various main stream schools on basis of their academic excellence/ progress.

Targets & Issues:
1. Restroom Problem: The restroom at Koseli is not connected to main sewage outlet, hence, get clogged every few months, and we hire people to clear them manually. We intend to re build the toilets and find a solution to not go through this expensive and tedious task each time.

2.Health issue.:- Suman Roka has problem in kidney and Respiration and needs regular medical support.
Menuka has malformation of the veins and abnormal growth of tissues on her leg.
-Raj and parbati also suffering some physical problem.
Koseli Foundation takes care of all the treatment and medication required for all the students.
Each month, we pay 8-10 thousand for medicine expenses.

3.Stationary:-We need text book for class Ukg for  new session. Every month we have expenses worth 22-28 thousand for stationary item.
4. Deficit: Koseli is facing a deficit of Rs. 1 Lac each month. To overcome this problem, Koseli Foundation is organizing a charity show, a play by Anupam Kher in near future.
Volunteers
We have about 12 Volunteers from St. Xaviers College, Reliance College, Thames College and Mega College coming to Koseli on different days. They share their knowledge and dreams with children, which definitely add a new energy to the daily routine of the school.
We have various volunteers visiting from overseas who run some wonderful programs and workshops for Koseli Family.
We extended our gratitude to Emily Larson  for doing a workshop on “Positive Mindfulness” for the Koseli Staff and Mr. Odin and Ms.Holly, who conducted sex awareness program for students.
Such  programs  are  highly beneficial for the growth and development of the children.
We welcome your ideas and suggestions on fund raising and benefits of Koseli.  
Follow us @ Koseli… facebook-nepal Koseli,
nepalkoseli.blogspot.com

Future events and dates for the diary: KBHSK anupam kher fundraising program