WELCOME TO HANDS IN NEPAL
Parvati at Sewing school
The article below was written by Alan Rowoth. It relates the story a how Alan met Parvati. Alan opened his heart and decided try to make a difference in Parvati's life.
Hands in Nepal is now sponsoring Parvati to go to sewing school and providing basic living expenses.
Hands also bought her a sewing machine and a bicycle so she can get to her classes.
I first came to India with a yoga retreat in the winter of 2019.
I never imagined I would fall deeply in love with the people, the culture, and the cuisine of the region, but I have. I’m spoiled, as most Americans are, by the endless opportunities and resources our nation provides. I marveled that these people who are impoverished by American standards display such grace, joy, and gratitude for the lives and opportunities that they do have. Few of my American friends have as upbeat and positive an attitude. The Hindus inspire and energize me. But still I see their challenges and ache to help them overcome some of them.
My friend Parvati lost her 8 year old daughter in July of 2021. Shandhya fell and cut her head. On the way to the hospital, there was a traffic accident. Parvati survived. Her daughter did not. At 23, Parvati had already experienced great heartbreak. Her alcoholic husband had abandoned her and her two children a couple of years before. Married at 16, she hadn’t even completed her secondary education. By the time 2021 rolled around she was living with her 2 children and her aging parents in a 1 room apartment in Devaprayag, working with them in a stone quarry that employs mostly guest workers from Nepal. It pays pitiful wages for hard, dangerous work. Her parents, herders for most of their lives, are of a different time. They can’t read or write. They did their best to help but our world is changing so fast.
Parvati’s sister Sita was the first in her family to attend college. She was employed as a math teacher in Nepalgung. Together, Sita and I decided we had to get Parvati out of the stone quarry. Shattered by the death of her daughter, Parvati was more than happy to leave Devaprayag behind. She moved in with Sita in Nepalgung. Without a high school diploma, college was out of the question for her. Tailoring seemed like a skilled profession she could enjoy and excel at, so I financed a beginner level course for her and set about trying to find somewhere we could get her her own sewing machine. Many manufactured goods are in short supply in Nepal. And the power grid is so undependable there that old fashioned manual sewing machines are preferred. Few companies even make these any more.
And that is when I discovered Jan Sprague and HANDS in Nepal. They had already helped a number of women navigate this same path. I had really just been trying to find out who sold sewing machines in Nepal, but when Jan heard our story, HANDS decided to provide Parvati with more comprehensive training, her own sewing machine, and living expenses while training so she can succeed at managing these challenges. This was far more support than I could have managed alone on my fixed income. HANDS’ sponsorship for her is invaluable. She will now be able to provide for herself and son (and very likely her parents) in the years to come. She will serve as an inspiration and role model for other women in the community facing similar challenges.
As we talked, I got to know Jan better and began to realize the scope of the incredible job that their organization is doing in Nepal.
Need in the region is so great that most Americans can’t even imagine the conditions that people live under. Most of the mountain villages are without infrastructure. This means no electricity. No paved toads. No running water or indoor toilets. No heat in their simple earth and wood homes and no refrigeration to store and keep food fresh. Often fresh water needs are met with a single viaduct dumping glacier fed spring water into a shared water source that frequently serves also as a wash pit for the entire village.
The mountains can get very cold in the winter and many residents sleep in their clothes on the dirt floor of their home without even the benefit of blankets. Without wood stoves or proper chimneys, fires indoors pose the risk of carbon monoxide poisoning, so sometimes they need to go outside and build a fire to get warm. Their resourcefulness is an inspiration, but life just shouldn’t have to be so hard.
Observing this, our natural first instinct is to play whack-a-mole filling the most critical need for food, blankets, and medicine. But if we only plug the holes in the dike, we are eventually going to run out of fingers and people will be no better off.
The real solution lies in education and training for tomorrows world. This transition isn’t always easy in a region where subsistence farming has been a way of life relatively unchanged in hundreds of years. The entrenched poverty and illiteracy of the region has been self perpetuating. HANDS recognizes this and they have been building schools and libraries to help bootstrap the next generation. They also swim against the undertow of the traditional caste system and the established patriarchy. Women are undervalued and under appreciated in many communities. For everyone’s sake, this has to change. HANDS understands this.
I continue to try to help my many friends in the region independently and recently sponsored school and bus fare for three young girls in Surkhet. Their father lost his leg in that same stone quarry in Devaprayag. They found a place to live in Surkhet thanks to another NGO, the Oda Foundation, who are also doing good work in the region. Oda put a roof over their heads and some food on the table, but felt they didn’t have the resources to put three girls thru school. The traditional role of women in Nepali culture doesn’t prioritize education for girls. Schools in Nepal all charge tuition. Education is not free. The locals still think of men as the breadwinners. I, however believe education is essential for everyone, especially women in a culture where circumstance could set them adrift as it did Parvati.
Sushila is 15 and dreams of becoming a flight attendant. She’s bright, hard working, and highly motivated. My sense is that those around her think that her dream is unrealizable. I think it is on her very doorstep. She is working hard in school. She can already speak Hindi, Nepali, and conversational English. She begun learning a couple of additional languages (always an asset in the international travel industry.) She has promised to stay focused and avoid the diversions that often distract American teens from their studies. I have a high confidence level in her eventual success. Her two younger sisters are 10 and 11 years old. Neither is thinking yet about adulthood and careers, but it is my hope that Sushila will inspire them and, ultimately, like Sita, be the fulcrum that enables her family to escape the cycle of poverty and illiteracy that they have been trapped in for generations. There were two brothers who died. These girls are the family’s only hope for success in this generation.
We live in a new world. In the 21st century all peoples are bound together with a world wide network of digital data. Remote villages that don’t even have proper roads connecting them to the outside world are now on the information super highway. With a little help perhaps the current generation of Nepali’s won’t have to send their men to Devaprayag to toil in the quarry for pennies and send money home to buy clothing, medicines, and other necessities. Maybe they can grow up in their own communities to be doctors and teachers, scientists and inventors, tradesmen and tailors. Maybe women can finally take their rightful place as equals in the villages.
If we leave these people behind, nothing will ever change. We can make a world of difference for them. HANDS in Nepal is doing just that. Building schools and libraries. Teaching about sewing and water filtration and Women’s hygiene. They are engaged in too many worthwhile projects for me to enumerate. But I hope that anyone who reads this will take a deep dive into their website and get inspired to help them with this mission. I know I am.
Alan Rowoth
For more photos and updates, please click on the Projects link above.
Meanwhile, if you’d like to donate to HANDS in Nepal, please use our PayPal button, or you can send your tax-deductible check to:
HANDS in Nepal, PO Box 738, Santa Margarita, Ca. 93453
We will continue to update our website and FB page and post photos as we receive them, but the good news is, HANDS is back in the business of helping where help is most needed!
If you would like to share a message of solidarity and hope with our friends in Nepal, we would be happy to forward it along. Simply reply to this message. Although we are physically distant, our social connection and support is more important than ever.
As always, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us should you have any questions or concerns, or if you simply wish to connect. We are always here for you.
Namaste, be well, stay healthy!
The article below was written by Alan Rowoth. It relates the story a how Alan met Parvati. Alan opened his heart and decided try to make a difference in Parvati's life.
Hands in Nepal is now sponsoring Parvati to go to sewing school and providing basic living expenses.
Hands also bought her a sewing machine and a bicycle so she can get to her classes.
I first came to India with a yoga retreat in the winter of 2019.
I never imagined I would fall deeply in love with the people, the culture, and the cuisine of the region, but I have. I’m spoiled, as most Americans are, by the endless opportunities and resources our nation provides. I marveled that these people who are impoverished by American standards display such grace, joy, and gratitude for the lives and opportunities that they do have. Few of my American friends have as upbeat and positive an attitude. The Hindus inspire and energize me. But still I see their challenges and ache to help them overcome some of them.
My friend Parvati lost her 8 year old daughter in July of 2021. Shandhya fell and cut her head. On the way to the hospital, there was a traffic accident. Parvati survived. Her daughter did not. At 23, Parvati had already experienced great heartbreak. Her alcoholic husband had abandoned her and her two children a couple of years before. Married at 16, she hadn’t even completed her secondary education. By the time 2021 rolled around she was living with her 2 children and her aging parents in a 1 room apartment in Devaprayag, working with them in a stone quarry that employs mostly guest workers from Nepal. It pays pitiful wages for hard, dangerous work. Her parents, herders for most of their lives, are of a different time. They can’t read or write. They did their best to help but our world is changing so fast.
Parvati’s sister Sita was the first in her family to attend college. She was employed as a math teacher in Nepalgung. Together, Sita and I decided we had to get Parvati out of the stone quarry. Shattered by the death of her daughter, Parvati was more than happy to leave Devaprayag behind. She moved in with Sita in Nepalgung. Without a high school diploma, college was out of the question for her. Tailoring seemed like a skilled profession she could enjoy and excel at, so I financed a beginner level course for her and set about trying to find somewhere we could get her her own sewing machine. Many manufactured goods are in short supply in Nepal. And the power grid is so undependable there that old fashioned manual sewing machines are preferred. Few companies even make these any more.
And that is when I discovered Jan Sprague and HANDS in Nepal. They had already helped a number of women navigate this same path. I had really just been trying to find out who sold sewing machines in Nepal, but when Jan heard our story, HANDS decided to provide Parvati with more comprehensive training, her own sewing machine, and living expenses while training so she can succeed at managing these challenges. This was far more support than I could have managed alone on my fixed income. HANDS’ sponsorship for her is invaluable. She will now be able to provide for herself and son (and very likely her parents) in the years to come. She will serve as an inspiration and role model for other women in the community facing similar challenges.
As we talked, I got to know Jan better and began to realize the scope of the incredible job that their organization is doing in Nepal.
Need in the region is so great that most Americans can’t even imagine the conditions that people live under. Most of the mountain villages are without infrastructure. This means no electricity. No paved toads. No running water or indoor toilets. No heat in their simple earth and wood homes and no refrigeration to store and keep food fresh. Often fresh water needs are met with a single viaduct dumping glacier fed spring water into a shared water source that frequently serves also as a wash pit for the entire village.
The mountains can get very cold in the winter and many residents sleep in their clothes on the dirt floor of their home without even the benefit of blankets. Without wood stoves or proper chimneys, fires indoors pose the risk of carbon monoxide poisoning, so sometimes they need to go outside and build a fire to get warm. Their resourcefulness is an inspiration, but life just shouldn’t have to be so hard.
Observing this, our natural first instinct is to play whack-a-mole filling the most critical need for food, blankets, and medicine. But if we only plug the holes in the dike, we are eventually going to run out of fingers and people will be no better off.
The real solution lies in education and training for tomorrows world. This transition isn’t always easy in a region where subsistence farming has been a way of life relatively unchanged in hundreds of years. The entrenched poverty and illiteracy of the region has been self perpetuating. HANDS recognizes this and they have been building schools and libraries to help bootstrap the next generation. They also swim against the undertow of the traditional caste system and the established patriarchy. Women are undervalued and under appreciated in many communities. For everyone’s sake, this has to change. HANDS understands this.
I continue to try to help my many friends in the region independently and recently sponsored school and bus fare for three young girls in Surkhet. Their father lost his leg in that same stone quarry in Devaprayag. They found a place to live in Surkhet thanks to another NGO, the Oda Foundation, who are also doing good work in the region. Oda put a roof over their heads and some food on the table, but felt they didn’t have the resources to put three girls thru school. The traditional role of women in Nepali culture doesn’t prioritize education for girls. Schools in Nepal all charge tuition. Education is not free. The locals still think of men as the breadwinners. I, however believe education is essential for everyone, especially women in a culture where circumstance could set them adrift as it did Parvati.
Sushila is 15 and dreams of becoming a flight attendant. She’s bright, hard working, and highly motivated. My sense is that those around her think that her dream is unrealizable. I think it is on her very doorstep. She is working hard in school. She can already speak Hindi, Nepali, and conversational English. She begun learning a couple of additional languages (always an asset in the international travel industry.) She has promised to stay focused and avoid the diversions that often distract American teens from their studies. I have a high confidence level in her eventual success. Her two younger sisters are 10 and 11 years old. Neither is thinking yet about adulthood and careers, but it is my hope that Sushila will inspire them and, ultimately, like Sita, be the fulcrum that enables her family to escape the cycle of poverty and illiteracy that they have been trapped in for generations. There were two brothers who died. These girls are the family’s only hope for success in this generation.
We live in a new world. In the 21st century all peoples are bound together with a world wide network of digital data. Remote villages that don’t even have proper roads connecting them to the outside world are now on the information super highway. With a little help perhaps the current generation of Nepali’s won’t have to send their men to Devaprayag to toil in the quarry for pennies and send money home to buy clothing, medicines, and other necessities. Maybe they can grow up in their own communities to be doctors and teachers, scientists and inventors, tradesmen and tailors. Maybe women can finally take their rightful place as equals in the villages.
If we leave these people behind, nothing will ever change. We can make a world of difference for them. HANDS in Nepal is doing just that. Building schools and libraries. Teaching about sewing and water filtration and Women’s hygiene. They are engaged in too many worthwhile projects for me to enumerate. But I hope that anyone who reads this will take a deep dive into their website and get inspired to help them with this mission. I know I am.
Alan Rowoth
For more photos and updates, please click on the Projects link above.
Meanwhile, if you’d like to donate to HANDS in Nepal, please use our PayPal button, or you can send your tax-deductible check to:
HANDS in Nepal, PO Box 738, Santa Margarita, Ca. 93453
We will continue to update our website and FB page and post photos as we receive them, but the good news is, HANDS is back in the business of helping where help is most needed!
If you would like to share a message of solidarity and hope with our friends in Nepal, we would be happy to forward it along. Simply reply to this message. Although we are physically distant, our social connection and support is more important than ever.
As always, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us should you have any questions or concerns, or if you simply wish to connect. We are always here for you.
Namaste, be well, stay healthy!
CONTACT US!
Email: Jan Sprague: [email protected]
Kevin O'Shea: [email protected]
Write us at: HANDS in Nepal, PO Box 738, Santa Margarita, Ca. 93453
UPS or FedEx: 22595 I. Street, Santa Margarita, Ca. 93453
Call us at: 805-801-3809 or 805-423-0120
HANDS in Nepal is a registered 501(c)3 NGO.
Our Tax ID # is 27-0777768.
Email: Jan Sprague: [email protected]
Kevin O'Shea: [email protected]
Write us at: HANDS in Nepal, PO Box 738, Santa Margarita, Ca. 93453
UPS or FedEx: 22595 I. Street, Santa Margarita, Ca. 93453
Call us at: 805-801-3809 or 805-423-0120
HANDS in Nepal is a registered 501(c)3 NGO.
Our Tax ID # is 27-0777768.
Thank you for your support!!!
