Durga Returns to Nepal 25 Years Later With Her Baby and Olga

Our inspiring founder Olga Murray still travels to Nepal every fall at age 93. This fall, her return to Kathmandu for the holidays was extra special because she went with Durga – the eight year old she brought to the US in 1993.

Days before their departure, Durga was interviewed by ABC News and shared her perspective on returning to Nepal after 25 years:

As an infant, Durga had rolled into a fire and suffered very serious facial burns. Her family invested everything they had — even her mother’s dowry jewelry — into Durga’s medical treatment following the terrible accident, but in Nepal the options for reconstructive surgery were extremely limited. Durga’s life changed dramatically when Olga arranged for a consultation with plastic surgeons in California.

Some of you may remember Durga as “Anjita” in Olga’s Promise (see excerpt below): her bravery facing repeated surgeries, her early life with dear NYF friends Joanne and Tot Heffelfinger, who raised her as their own – and her evolution from a tiny 35 pound firebrand with no English and totally unfamiliar with western life – to the smart, warm-hearted, charming young woman she is today.

Durga and her husband Scott married three years ago in Marin County, California with Olga as their officiant.  She walked down the aisle with her father who traveled all the way from Nepal. On Durga’s other arm was Dr. Angelo Capozzi who performed all 30 of the surgeries on her face. There wasn’t a dry eye in the house.

Last April, Durga gave birth to an adorable little boy.  With the wonders of technology, she’s remained very close with her large Nepali family and was eager for them to meet her son, and to give and get Dashain blessings. It was a grueling trip – 15 hours to Hong Kong, and then a 12 hour layover before the six hour flight to Kathmandu. Durga and Olga were exhausted, but the considerate baby slept most of the way.

After Dashain, they also joyously celebrated the little boy’s “rice feeding ceremony,” the time a child first eats solid food – usually a couple grains of rice.  It was a very festive occasion, with a healthy contingent of Durga’s relatives in attendance.

The special satisfaction of the long-term impact of NYF’s work makes us all even more grateful to all of you – the NYF family of supporters. Your generosity makes all of our work possible.

Excerpt of “Anjita’s” story in Olga’s Promise:

Winter Newsletter Bonus Content

If you received our Winter Newsletter and are curious to read more, please click on any of the links or pictures below:

Durga (“Anjita”) Returns to Nepal

If you’ve read Olga’s Promise, you may remember “Anjita” who rolled into a fire as an infant and suffered serious facial burns. Olga brought her to the US in 1993 for surgery unavailable in Nepal.

25 years later, married and with a new baby, she returned to Nepal with Olga to introduce her son to her family.

Click here for more.

Celebrating 20 Years of Saving Lives

In 1998, we opened the first Nutritional Rehabilitation Home (NRH) in Nepal to restore severely malnourished children to health after they were prematurely discharged from government hospitals.

Twenty years later, lifesaving treatment continues at 17 NRHs across Nepal built by generous friends like you.

Click to see more near-miraculous transformations of babies like Tara.

Seniors Only!

If you are 70 ½ or older, you can make a direct transfer of IRA balances to a charity like Nepal Youth Foundation to satisfy some or all of your Required Minimum Distribution.

Olga’s Promise: One Woman’s Commitment to the Children of Nepal 

To read more stories like Durga’s (Anjita); the beginning of our nutrition program that is succeeding on a national scale in partnership with the Nepali government; the early days of NYF’s Kamlari rescue program, and so much more; check out Olga’s book – Olga’s Promise: One Woman’s Commitment to the Children of Nepal.

Available here.

Celebrating 20 Years of Saving Lives

At 22 months “Tara” was among the first children to receive lifesaving treatment at a Nutrition Rehabilitation Home (NRH). Before 1998, malnutrition may have ended her life. Thankfully, timely support like yours helped restore Tara’s health and taught her mother how to keep their family well-nourished.

With continued help from people around the world, we’ve built 17 NRHs where more than 20,000 children like Tara have received a second chance. Malnutrition can be remarkably simple to address in Nepal with treatment and education using local foods. Just $350 (less than $1 a day) can save a child’s life in 3 weeks.

In 20 years, NYF has built 17 NRHs, successfully transitioning 15 of them to the Nepali government after 5 years of operations. Our first flagship Kathmandu NRH remains our permanent treatment, training, and monitoring center, and NRH-17 is in its 2nd year.

It is the generosity you share that makes it all possible. Dhanyabad! 

Your Support is Helping NYF and Mandira Create a Ripple Effect of Help

Mandira was 15 years old when electricity finally reached her remote village in Nepal.  Everyone was delighted, but when the power went down, no one knew how to “bring it back.”  Remarkably, a young person – a female— in their own village had a dream to be able to do exactly that. From one of six children in a farming family to a successful electrician who teaches at Olgapuri Vocational School, Mandira’s dream is now a reality.

Whether or not you had the chance to read NYF’s Fall Newsletter in which Olga writes about the tremendous success of our vocational training program in the context of alarming unemployment and underemployment in Nepal, we hope you are inspired by Mandira’s journey.

Mandira was raised in a remote village, where her parents were farmers.  She walked an hour each day to and from school, and, along with her siblings, helped with the farm work before and after class.  She finished high school, received vocational training, and worked for five years as a professional electrician.

Mandira is an excellent instructor and a charming, socially minded young woman. One of her duties is to convince employers who have never hired a woman electrician or plumber before that women are fully capable of doing the job – an effort in which she has been very successful.

She attends college from 6 to 9 am, works full time at Olgapuri Vocational School in her role as a trainer, and finds time on weekends to help disabled youngsters play basketball and other sports.

Your support of NYF’s work not only creates life-changing opportunities for the youth in our programs, but empowers knowledgeable women like Mandira to transform their communities.  Dhanyabad!

Successful Nutritional Rehabilitation Homes Handovers “On The Road”

These lifesaving Nutritional Rehabilitation Homes that you helped NYF establish will continue long into the future.

Nutrition Rehabilitation Homes (NRHs) Handovers – July 2018 This month, Nepal Youth Foundation held ceremonies to hand over four of our NRHs to the Nepali government.  Located in Dailekh, Dang, Butwal, and Baglung , these NRHs will now be fully operated and funded by the government, with ongoing monitoring and training from NYF staff at our main Kathmandu NRH. Honored dignitaries, including the Deputy Mayor and Chief of the District Coordination Committee, joined NYF-Nepal Executive Director Raju Dhamala and NYF staff at these special events. The Chairpersons of the Hospital Development Board applauded NYF’s long-term work to transform children’s health,  and they assured full commitment in continuing these vital services post handover. NYF is so grateful to the Hospital Development Boards and The Child Health Division (Government of Nepal) for their partnership and key roles in the remarkable success of this program.  Learn more about NYF’s Nutritional Rehabilitation Homes and our sustainable model where the homes we establish are transitioned to the government over the course of five years. Our 17th NRH was established in 2017 in remote Dadeldhura and will be operated by NYF through 2021. While our permanent flagship NRH in Kathmandu continues to provide treatment and serve as a training hub, as of this month 15 NRHs have been fully transitioned to the government. This partnership will ensure the continuation of life-saving services for the future – as we leverage our expertise to take nutrition “on the road” to remote and isolated villages. “On the Road” Nutrition Outreach Nutrition Outreach is bringing life-saving specialized nutrition education and treatment to remote communities that are isolated by rough terrain and lack of transportation. Through each two to three day camp, NYF reaches 500-800 children and their caregivers whose health and lives are forever transformed thanks to supporters like you. The goals of this program include both intervention, and prevention. Camp activities include nutritional screening and general health checkup of children; hygiene and nutrition education, with a special emphasis on using locally available ingredients; distribution of medicine to children as needed; and transporting severely malnourished children for treatment at the closest NRH (estimated to be at least 14 child-mother pairs per camp). Thanks to your generosity, some of the most desperately malnourished, ill children in Nepal have a chance to lead healthy, productive lives. Please click here to support NYF’s work and make a profound difference in the lives of so many. If you’re interested in sponsoring a Nutrition Outreach camp, with a donation of $3,000 to $5,ooo, please contact us directly at  Julie@NepalYouthFoundation.org.

Happy Birthday x 80!

With support from friends like you, the children of Olgapuri celebrated all of their birthdays at one big party this Saturday!

They were delighted by comedy and dance performances and showed off their own moves as well before opening presents — and of course enjoying birthday cake.

Rain might have moved the celebrations indoors, but it didn’t dampen their spirits.

We hope you enjoy pictures from this much-anticipated, joyous occasion.

Of all the gifts NYF’s children may receive, your support for their well-being will make such a difference in the year ahead. Dhanyabad!

Valentine’s Day Donation, Friends Like You Are the Heart of NYF

Valentine’s Day Donation – Thank you for sharing your heartfelt support with NYF and brightening so many lives.

Please send your own Valentine’s Day donation message to the children of NYF by leaving a comment below.
It will mean so much to them to know you care.

Dhanyabad!

You can also make your special Valentine’s Day donation by clicking here:

Celebrating the Difference You Make: 2017 NYF Highlights

From advancing two essential programs to celebrating the first anniversary of Olgapuri, 2017 has been a remarkable year…all thanks to you!

The video below celebrates the difference you make with highlights from the year.

Every year, NYF provides intervention that saves the lives of malnourished children; scholarships that offer previously unimagined opportunities to bright, impoverished youth; support that empowers young women who spent their childhoods in servitude;  a safe, healthy home for orphaned and abandoned children, and so much more.

Please make a donation to help ensure a brighter future for Nepali children.

Happy Thanksgiving to You From the Children at Olgapuri

We are so grateful to have you in the NYF Family.  Your support enriches and brightens lives.

On behalf of all of us at NYF and especially the children and families you support, THANK YOU.

Happy Thanksgiving!