dZi Newsletter: Volume 5,
Issue 10 - December 9, 2006
December Update
Dear Friends and Supporters of dZi,
 I'd like to share with you some of our achievements, as we reflect upon the past year and rapidly close in on the New Year. In 2006, dZi undertook 31 different projects in Nepal, Ladakh & Sikkim, India. We have directly served over 15,000 individuals this year and our budgeted goal is to serve over 30,000 individuals in 2007. All of this may seem like a lofty goal, but our history and performance have proven that it is attainable. Your support has been the catalyst for all that we have accomplished; we hope it continues and expands as we strive to be even more efficient with funding and continue to serve those who desperately need our help. Thank you.
In 2006, our focus at the dZi has been to increase our internal capacity as our organization continues to scale up. We now have better support in our stateside dZi office and we have added three in-county project coordinators. Bill Rohs and Dr. Neena Jain worked in Ladakh and Sikkim this Fall and focused primarily on hygiene and sanitation issues. Around the world, two million children die each year from diarrhea and many of them are in the Himalaya. Our hygiene and sanitation model is three-fold: contain the drinking water to prevent contamination, build sanitation facilities to contain human waste, and educate the children in the local schools about these health issues. We will see this model implemented in at least 10 communities in Ladakh & Sikkim, India, in 2007 along with the many other ongoing projects we have already established in these regions.
Ben Ayers is taking the lead for dZi in Nepal; his model of Appreciative Community Development will work within four Village Development Committees (VDCs). Training is going on right now and the proposals (written in Nepali) will be submitted to dZi project staff. Funding will take place in mid-March based upon the feasibility, merit, and quality of the proposals. The building of schools, sanitation projects, and providing clean water will take priority.
Our homes for girls at risk, The Friendship House (Kathmandu) and The Sikkim Happiness Home are doing wonderfully. The love, support and structure that the girls receive allow them to strive for their greatest potential. The Friendship House continues to lead the way with our girls continuing to excel. We have added 5 more girls at The Friendship House and, between the two homes, we have 40 girls receiving our support. Once little girls and now young women who are graduating from college with nursing degrees, sociology degrees, and as mid-wives, is something that all of us can be so proud of. But this success is two-fold. The girls have excelled academically and can support themselves in Nepal society, but the secondary effect of their personal accomplishments will impact thousands of lives over their individual careers.
We have also taken on two large building projects this year. We have a 3000 sq ft Health Building under construction in Leh, Ladakh, which will become the hub for our dental and vision clinics in the region. This is scheduled for completion next June. In Sikkim, we have just poured the third floor for a new home for our Sikkim Happiness Home girls. The girls are scheduled to move in next May and will have a home that they can call their own.
Our partnership project with the Himalayan Dental Relief Project hit a milestone early this year. We have held 12 clinics and treated over 5000 children in the past 4 years of our partnership. This represents some staggering numbers: 4200 fillings and 1600 extractions. If this amount of work was carried out in the US, it would cost over $1.2 million; we accomplished it for $50,000.
We hope it is evident that our dedication to our work is sincere. Please join us to reach our goals for 2007. Your support has and will continue to change people's lives on the other side of the world.
Wish List
Many of you have seen our amazing dZi film on DVD, clearly illustrating the depth of our work in Nepal, Ladakh and Sikkim, India. We have secured underwriting for the production of our next DVD, which we will start work on in Asia this coming spring. I am looking for a donor to underwrite the graphics and reproduction of 5000 copies of the new DVD when we finish production. These new DVDs will last us at least 2 years and are a key component to increasing awareness and donor support. The underwriting support that we will need is between $6,000 and $7,000. If you are interested, please contact me at kara@dzifoundation.org or 970-626-9765.
All the best and Happy New Year,
Jim Nowak
Executive Director
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