Namaste, Friends and Supporters of dZi,

I just returned from my five-week trip to Nepal and India, and am excited and amazed at the overall health and continued progress of our projects there.

Garry Schalla and Ben Ayers—our India and Nepal Directors—continue to build the capacity of our in-country staff, making course corrections on existing programs, and looking for new opportunities in their respective regions. As we continue to scale up the work of dZi, we will broaden our base by continuing to hire in-country staff that understand the culture intimately and can help us navigate the political landscape.

We just received a grant to build 600 toilets in Gudel, Nepal, over the next 2 years: one at every home. The health ramifications for the villagers of Gudel will be staggering—over 6,000 individuals will be served. Baseline surveys will be conducted.

The communities themselves—following our Revitalize a Village model—will handle the construction of the toilets. We will hold community trainings to teach new toilet construction techniques; health and hygiene education classes will be conducted in all schools; and supporting educational materials will be sent to every household. Our experience tells us that we will see two things immediately: a marked increase in overall school attendance— especially among young women who stay home when they are menstruating, having no safe or private place to go; and a significant decrease in incidence of parasite and pathogen-bore diseases. We will keep you posted over the next two years as this comprehensive project unfolds.

I was so excited to finally see—with my own eyes—the new Sikkim Happiness Home. It is spectacular. We spent a number of days at the house, handing out new bed sheets, towels, doormats and drapes. We spent an entire afternoon doing an art project with the girls that included: glitter, cutouts, buttons and tons of glue— everywhere! The girls had a blast, and their creativity was fun to watch.

We, once again, conducted vision clinics in Ladakh, India for local and surrounding schools. It never ceases to amaze me how awesome this service is. Time and time again we would witness a child’s vision being corrected by prescription eyewear readily available at the clinic. If a child has difficulty reading the eyechart, we test their vision with a focometer; measure the refraction of their eyes; and fit them with corrective glasses—right then and there. This service is invaluable for the success of a student who has trouble reading or seeing the blackboard. In India, when a child does poorly in school, they are generally put in the last row of the class to make room for stronger performing students. If a student’s poor performance is because of his/her eyesight, our vision services can help and give them a chance of a better education and a brighter, healthier future. [Studies have shown that when a girl receives an education, it greatly affects the health and wellbeing of her future family as she grows up and becomes a mother.]

We are currently looking for more volunteers, Ophthalmologists and Dentists for our fall and spring clinics. Go to www.dzifoundation.org and click on Volunteer Trips. Once you have reviewed the dates and options for traveling with dZi, you can contact our Volunteer Manager directly.

One thing did resonate with me on this last trip: your support is truly changing the lives of individuals half-way around the world. I witnessed the impact of your support and our work first-hand: the healthier child who is receiving a nutritional meal through our Primary Education Sponsorship program; the six-year-old student who, after putting on his new pair of prescription glasses, proudly belted out the 20/20 line on the eyechart; the young nun who was finally relieved of constant pain after visiting one of our dentists; the communities building schools in untouchable caste villages; the newly-formed Parent Teacher Associations to support the schools; and much, much more.

All the best.

Jim Nowak
Executive Director

Long-time volunteer becomes Sikkim Project Director - Garry Schalla

We are delighted to introduce our new dZi Sikkim Project Director, G. Gyatso Bhuthia (“Gyatso”).

Gyatso has been influential in helping to identify and move forward dZi programs in this region. He has worked directly with Kelsang Phunstok (India liason for dZi) for the past five years in this capacity, and is excited to move to the next level with dZi. He brings a wealth of local knowledge and true compassion for his country.

In addition to working with Kelsang (and Kelsang’s trekking company—Wisdom Travels), Gyatso spent 10 years in the Indian Army—“Tibetan” regimen #22. Part of his service included training as a high-altitude specialist on the Ladakhi, Siachen Glacier that borders Pakistan.

We welcome Gyatso to the dZi family!

Peaceful Elections in Nepal Bring Surprising Results – Ben Ayers

[UPDATE: On May 28th, Nepal’s monarchy was officially abolished; Former King Gyanendra and his family moved out of the palace on June 11th.]

On April 10th, Nepali citizens turned out in massive numbers to elect representatives that will form a temporary government and draw up a new constitution for the country. The overall voter turnout was over sixty percent— an astounding number when one considers that nearly 10% of Nepali citizens are currently abroad, and that voting entailed returning to the town of one’s birth— a journey of many days for most Nepalis. The elections passed off without any widespread violence, although there were pockets of intimidation and rioting across the country. Overall, the results have been accepted by the Nepali populace and are regarded as free and fair enough.

There was a great feeling of pride and hope in Nepal on election day, and this emotion quickly turned to one of astonishment. When the very first results came in, it was clear that the former Maoist rebels were on their way to a landslide victory. This was a scenario that very few people anticipated, including the Maoists themselves. Upon the writing of this article, the Maoist party has won more seats than all of the other political parties combined, and this margin is expected to grow as results come in from the more remote districts. The true extent of the Maoist power has yet to be determined—at the moment, it seems that they will be the largest player in the new government, but will not have an absolute majority.

In a series of victory speeches, the Maoist leadership has pledged to cooperate with the other political parties, improve foreign relations, embrace capitalism, and to pull Nepal out of poverty. But nobody knows for certain how the Maoists will act once they officially assume power in the next month – the only certainty is that the current Monarchy will be abolished as the first act of business of the newly-founded Constituent Assembly.

We are confident that this latest turn of events will not significantly hamper our ongoing work in Nepal. Many of our target areas for our Revitalize a Village program have been areas that have long since been under Maoist influence, and our constant efforts to mobilize local communities in all phases of our project work has gained us a great deal of social capital. The most crucial task for the new Maoist government is going to be bringing tangible change and development to Nepal’s poor – exactly the sort of work that the dZi Foundation is doing.