Category: NYF News
Founders Day 2019
Founders Day 2019 Celebrates Milestones and Planting Seeds for the Future!
Founders Day 2019 was held Thursday, June 6th, NYF friends gathered for our annual Founders Day event to celebrate Olga’s 94th birthday, the organization’s life-changing work, and all that our generous supporters make possible.
We are so grateful to our Host Committee members who made special gifts to support the Founders Day 2019 event. From last year’s inaugural group of four, we had 13 tables hosted this year! We appreciate everyone who brought new friends to introduce to NYF. And many thanks to our silent auction donors who helped generate bidding wars that raised over $5,000 for NYF’s programs!
Guests enjoyed hearing from NYF Board Chair Brian Ferrall who planted seeds for NYF’s upcoming 30th Anniversary in 2020, and President Som Paneru shared the latest news from our programs in Nepal.
Founders Day 2019 will host a special guest speaker Chhori Maharjan, currently on sabbatical from her work at NYF’s Ankur Counseling Center while earning a doctoral degree in Clinical Psychology, spoke about the importance of psychological counseling throughout NYF’s programs.
Of course, the birthday girl herself, Olga Murray, warmed our hearts with her reflections on the last 29 years of transforming lives.
As we plan ahead for Founders Day 2020, it’s not too early to start thinking about joining next year’s Host Committee and donating auction items! Please email us.
Olga’s Promise
Learn more about NYF! In our inspirational founder’s new memoir, Olga Murray shares endearing stories, challenges and anecdotes – all infused with her humor, can-do attitude and love of adventure.
From President Jimmy Carter:
“Olga Murray, at 90, has been a tireless crusader for the freedom and dignity of thousands of young girls in Nepal… Olga’s Promise is her personal story, which I hope will inspire others to action.”
Happy Birthdays!
There’s nothing quite like the excitement of a child on their birthday.
The Annual Birthday Party is one of the most anticipated events of the year for the children who call Olgapuri home.
This April, all 75 children enjoyed a once-in-a-lifetime jungle adventure in Chitwan National Park!
They worked up an appetite in the great outdoors before devouring their birthday cake and opening a few presents. And like kids everywhere – they loved splashing in the hotel pool!
Of all the gifts NYF children receive, your support for their well-being will make such a difference. Dhanyabad!
#GirlPower Stories of the Year, Celebrating International Women’s Day 2019
In honor of International Women’s Day 2019, we are sharing some of our favorite #GirlPower stories of the year. Your support makes such a difference for the women and girls of NYF. Dhanyabad!
Mandira
From one of six children in a farming family to a successful electrician who teaches at Olgapuri Vocational School, Mandira is not only an expert in a traditionally male field, she is deeply invested in helping other women succeed. Read more here.
Radha
Born in a remote village in western Nepal, “Radha” grew up at a time when it was common for impoverished Tharu families to reluctantly bond their daughters into servitude to subsist. From a child servant to a respected member of the police force, Radha’s story is sure to inspire. Read more here.
Our very own founder Olga who inspires us all
Known as “Olga Mom” to thousands of Nepali children, Olga is living proof that getting older doesn’t mean slowing down
Olga – one of the few women graduating from law school in the 1950s – became a research attorney for California Supreme Court Chief Justice Phil Gibson. During her 37-year tenure at the Court, Olga helped to write important decisions in the areas of civil rights, women’s rights, and environmental policy.
She retired from the law in 1992 to devote herself fully to helping impoverished children in Nepal.
You can read more about Olga’s journey and how NYF came into being, with stories from the early days in her book, Olga’s Promise, available here.
The future women of NYF
Education is the key to a brighter future – and yet, girls from impoverished Nepali families too often aren’t able to stay in school.
In fact, an old Nepali adage claims “Educating a girl is like watering your neighbor’s garden.” Overcoming these attitudes, NYF prioritizes opportunities for female, disabled, and low-caste students facing cultural barriers.
With support from the NYF family, futures are limitless! Your #girlpower gift today can transform a life.
Nepali Valentine Day, Love From Nepal Children Supported by NYF
Happy Valentine’s Day from all of us! Thank you for keeping the children of NYF close to your hearts. Your support ensures their well-being and gives them so much to smile about.
We hope you enjoy the Nepali Valentine Day pictures in the slideshow below.
If you would like to share one of these Nepali Valentine Day cards made by the children, you can simply right click the image to save it and then print or email.
You can make your special Valentine’s Day donation by clicking here:
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.
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.
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!