By peter humphris | Chairperson IGWR Inc.
“Tidings of comfort and joy”
As we approach Christmas, we are filled with thoughts and images of gifts, family gatherings and of that ‘comfort and joy’ that the season represents.
Several our committee and sponsors have visited Nepal in the last few months, the first time since the Covid outbreak, and we’re all delighted by the ‘comfort and joy’ that comes from the generous giving of all who support this life-giving work.
Christmas is also a celebration of birth and coming at the end of the year it heralds new beginnings; that’s exactly what your gifts represent to the kids in Nepal. We give them a chance to live beyond the confines of poverty, we give them a real opportunity for ‘life’.
Sponsoring a child gives that child a new beginning, and as we maintain a commitment from primary through to tertiary studies, we also enable that child to make a difference and break that cycle of poverty for the family and so too the wider community.
A gift that lasts a lifetime…
Raja, our director in Nepal, is like a proud father and shares in the joy these two students have as they graduate from university. One of the boys I first met when he was in primary school, and he had no chance of studying beyond year ten. However, with help from sponsors he, and many others truly shine as they are given an opportunity to reach their potential.
In many respects we follow the Christmas tradition of Saint Nicholas, also known as Nicholas the Wonderworker. “In one of the earliest attested and most famous incidents from his life, he is said to have rescued three girls from being forced into prostitution by dropping a sack of gold coins through the window of their house each night for three nights so their father could pay a dowry for each of them.” This is the work your donations support, and together we are ‘wonderworkers’, making a real difference in the world,
Single mums and vulnerable Children…
The iconic nativity story poetically captures the vulnerability of a small child and the ‘hopes and fears’ that accompany every birth. The ‘lowly manger in a stable’ captures the poverty of the situation: and for those of us birthed into a world of abundance and wealth this remains an iconic story. However, for those we support in Nepal it is a lived reality.
We are currently supporting 46 children and 16 single mums, for them it is like Christmas, for your generosity has given them hope instead of fear. Your gift is a gift of life that will last a lifetime and that in turn will bring light into the darkness of other’s lives.
Having recently visited the ‘manger’ of Nepal; I am inspired by the reality that our little can achieve so much. No child should be left without a loving family and without an education.
“A family of families”
Raja’s experience in the child welfare sector has led him to evolve a family centred approach to helping vulnerable children. Some of the children supported by IGWR-Nepal had no family connections when rescued from the streets of Kathmandu, and some had lost their parents; however, rather than an institutional ‘orphanage’ solution we created a family home with caring housemothers and at the same time sought to trace relatives and family connections for the children.
We are also supporting single mothers with children; enabling their children to go to school rather than have to work in order to help out with the family rent.
What has evolved is a delightful ‘family of families’; and the often-quoted proverb “It takes a whole village to raise a child” becomes a wonderful lived reality in ‘village’ that is IGWR-Nepal.
Take a moment to appreciate that you are part of this wonderful ‘village’; it is your gift that has given these kids the opportunity that they have so readily embraced.
Financially we manage, but things are getting tighter.
Funding our operations is very much like a tight household budget and each month we seem to have just enough for us to get through. The focus of our committee is to find additional sponsors that can ensure our commitments are fully underwritten.
Two new committee members are looking at establishing our ‘Single Mums’ support as a separate initiative that might enable us to seek funding from organisations directed at women’s empowerment programs. In the meantime, we need to engage new child sponsors, we need to bring more friends into the village.
IGWR Compliance and Transparency.
We are committed to ensuring that we achieve real outcomes with the funds that are entrusted to IGWR, and we strive to set a standard of practice that will ensure that we operate with a ‘best practice’ set of standards. We have our policies and practices available on our website, and are happy to receive questions, comments and suggestions from supporters that can assist us in making improvements.
Thank you for everything
One of our sponsors, took two pictures of the kids she has been supporting five years apart. It shows the joy of giving and it clearly demonstrates that our gifts make a real difference.
Thank you for the blessings you share.
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