Friends of Nepal

Ninth Inning. Two outs. Bases Loaded

Thanks to you, we won in the early innings getting a full $450 million authorization in the crucial House Subcommittee. Thanks to you, we won in the middle innings getting the entire House Subcommittee – all Republicans and all Democrats – to vote the full $450 million appropriation to build the bold, new Peace Corps.

Now it’s the final inning in the Senate Subcommittee for State, Foreign Operations and Related Programs. On July 7th, that Senate subcommittee will be marking up the Bill that gives money to the …

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ENCORE HAS a full-time, six-month position, with room for some flexibility depending on the background of the volunteer. Experienced fundraisers with India experience whose schedule does not permit them to leave the country for six months this year (2009), could have the option of performing some of the duties from the U.S., and making one to two strategic trips to India as necessary. Note: The initial visit to India must be a minimum of one month and must be completed no later than November 1st 2009.

The Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation (the Foundation - http://pedaids.org) is a worldwide leader in the fight against pediatric AIDS, working to halt the pandemic and help those already infected with HIV. Continue Reading »

LOWEY LEADS THE BEGINNING OF THE BOLD NEW PEACE CORPS

Last night at 5:30pm EST Congresswoman Nita Lowey, appearing with Colombia RPCV Journalist Maureen Orth, on the Chris Matthews show announced that we got the full $450 million for the Peace Corps in 2010, a $110 million increase out of the House of Representatives subcommittee.

Watch the Chris Matthews segment where Lowey makes the announcement.

When the President’s 2010 budget came out $76 million short, people thought the campaign was over. But guess what, the Peace Corps volunteers never gave up. Now, we are helping to fulfill Obama’s own vision of a bold Peace Corps.

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This letter written by former PCN Director Donovan Russell.

Dear President Obama:

On Saturday of this week there will be a rally at Freedom Plaza in Washington in support of a proposed appropriation for the Peace Corps in the amount of 450 million dollars. The intent is to promote resources sufficient to our President’s vision for the Peace Corps. I am in strong support of this appropriation. Having worked as a Country Director of the Peace Corps in two countries, it seems to me that if a comparative cost benefit analysis of all government departments and agencies were done, it would turn out that the Peace Corps has no rivals.

Allow me to speak to one nearly failed country (Nepal), to demonstrate how very vital the Peace Corps can be to development, peace and human survival. There is no doubt that the Peace Corps is needed in Nepal more than ever.

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WRITER EDITOR:
Encore! Service Corps International (Encore!) is seeking the services of a senior writer to work in East Africa with one of the world’s leading international research and development agencies. The successful candidate will have strong background in journalism and or public relations and will work as part of a three-person creative team over a three-month period. Continue Reading »

This info courtesy of Doug Hall. Just do a search on YouTube for “Bhutanese refugee” and you’ll find quite a
few videos of various sorts.  New ones keep cropping up and old ones are
taken down

Here are a few

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4kYk-XQg1o8&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1dBhpEE89qE&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Up29_ppJ_2g&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EeqqZG9rK0g
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zq3w8EjtTuI&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eU_MsYB9LlE&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dYQ_h-spedg&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DryNAyeFDo8&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jPlCLg3B7WI

The best ones, which were quire detailed, were from Atlanta. But those have
already been removed by their author.

If you read the comments on the videos, ignore those by Drukpa123. He/she is
a spokesperson for the Bhutan government and is bent on denying the refugee
situation.

There are already quite a few organizations and websites of Bhutanese.
Whether they would be better places for refugee communication is an open
question:

http://bhutanusa.com/
http://www.bhutaneserefugees.com/

And teh website of the Association of Bhutanese in America is currently down
while it is being redesigned.

GlobalGiving is proud to host the amazing Olga Murray, the founder of the Nepalese Youth Opportunity Foundation (NYOF), on Thursday, June 4, from 5:30-8:00 pm. at the Thurgood Marshall Building: 1816 - 12th Street NW, Washington DC (between S & T streets, just a few blocks from the Metro Green Line/U Street - Cardozo station).

Wine and snacks will be served.

NYOF is devoted to bringing hope to the most destitute children in Nepal. With a personal touch, they provide these children with what should be every child’s birthright - education, housing, medical care, and loving support.

Olga was recently featured in the San Francisco Chronicle
<http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/02/07/MN7P15HD60.DTL> , which aptly described Olga’s dedication and accomplishment. Continue Reading »

ENCORE is seeking three nurses to teach in Africa, all expenses paid, for four month time periods.  One position is in Kenya. Two are in Ghana.

See below for more details. Continue Reading »

We are all so proud of Catherine Foster for winning the Lillian Carter Prize which will be presented to her by President Carter.  A sample of how the Nepali staff feels about it is below:

Catherineji,  Lillian Carter Puraskaar paaunu bhaekomaa Peace Corps Nepalko sabai staff saathiharuko tarphbaaTa tapaainlaai haamro haardik badhaai ani Shubhkaamnaa chha. tapaainle yo puraskaar paaunu bhaekomaa haami harshle gadgad chhaun. Swayamsebikako rupmaa tapaainle Nepaliharulaai dinu bhaeko sip, sewaa, ani yogdaan haami sadhain samjhinchhaun. tapaainko saphaltaako kaamnaa gardai muri muri badhaai. Namaskaar !

(On behalf of the Former Peace Corps Nepal Staff, hearty congratulations and best wishes to you in honor of receiving the Lillian Carter Award. We are overwhelmed with happiness for this award that you have received. We will always remember the skills, service and contributions that you offered to the Nepalese people as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Nepal. Tons of congratulatulations and our best wishes to you and your successes. Namaskaar!)

Shivaji Upadhyay, Chairperson
Former Peace Corps Nepal Employees Committee (FPCNEC)
Kathmandu, Nepal