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CCF Update
A Year Well Spent
Congratulations to all on a remarkable year! Not only has Conscious Connections Foundation raised over $180,000 in response to a wide array of Earthquake Relief Projects, but thanks to your help and support of the Power of 5, we were once again able to continue the education of 98 students for this upcoming year and beyond! The 2nd Annual Joy Attwood College Scholarship is soon to be awarded and there are 3 amazing finalists. This means that another girl will have the chance to pursue her dreams into college, and hopefully beyond! Finally, after a successful three months in Nepal, thanks to Vice President Cameron Conner and Research Associate Grant Gallaher, the entire CCF team now has a more comprehensive and accurate understanding of how CCF's earthquake response should develop in the future.
Now is the time:
Though 2015 saw its share of disaster and set back, the winding road to recovery has at last set hope and inspiration at the forefront. This shift in the past months connotes a drastic change in the focus of CCF on earthquake relief, we have made the transition from temporary to permanent aid and have turned the corner from immediate relief to long term recovery. People are ready to rebuild, they want their lives back, and it is all we can do to keep pace with them. The following projects are just a few ways in which we are attempting to do so:
The Baseri Clinic
This week CCF representatives in Nepal will gather to finalize the construction design of the Baseri Clinic: the biggest project in the history of our organization will soon be underway, and a goal which so many have striven for over these past nine months will soon be realized! Having raised close to $60,000 for its reconstruction, we have the ability to not only rebuild the clinic, but to do so better than ever before. The Baseri Clinic 2.0 will be built with the most earthquake resistant technique available. Apart from being made to last it will have additional room specifically for maternal health issues, an adjoining exam room, dispensary, office, birthing center, and community room, as well as three full time staff. Better yet, thanks to the hard work and dedication of CCF Board Member Sita Gurung, the Nepalese Government has agreed to pay for the majority of the salaries of these three health workers, with the hope that the success shown by this clinic will serve as a model to others in the area. The Baseri clinic has been reincarnated in many different forms, from its initial one story, three room facility, to a small propped up shack in the months following the earthquake, and now we hope, to this newest vision. Yet no matter what form it has taken, the same spirit has lived on, and we at CCF will do whatever is necessary to allow this spirit to flourish.
Together with our work in Baseri the CCF team has focused on pursing additional projects that have greatly expanded our original horizons, both in terms of geographical reach and our mission to advance "education, healthcare and economic opportunities to marginalized communities and individuals". Such projects include:
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Nepal Update
Nepal Blockade Ends But Protests Continue
from The Wallstreet Journal
We are hopeful that some of the products that we haven't been able to get will soon be arriving, given this good news:
Ethnic minority groups in Nepal called a halt to a months long blockade of the main border crossing with India on Monday in the interests of relieving severe shortages in the Himalayan nation, even as they promised to continue their opposition to the new constitution.
Leaders from the United Democratic Madhesi Front, a coalition of political parties that says it represents ethnic Madhesis living in Nepal's southern plains, said they were lifting the blockade in light of the problems the standoff was causing the country.
The landlocked nation has suffered a dearth of fuel, cooking gas, medicines and other items since the blockade began in September in protest of the new constitution, which some ethnic minorities said doesn't adequately represent their interests.
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Power of 5 Spotlight
Sanjhana Shrestha
Sanjhana is one of 3 finalist for the Joy Attwood Scholarship fund. Many girls applied for this opportunity to receive financial assistance for college. Read more about Sanjhana below:
"That wa
s my turning point. It was a big d
ay for me, I felt like I was flying in the sky." Shared Samjhana joyfully remembering the day she scored 89% in School Leaving Certificate Exam.
Sanjhana Shrestha aged 17 is the school topper of 2071 SLC batch. She was also the recipient of Girl Child Education Allowance. Math is her favorite subject. Beside, her studies, in her spare time she likes to chat with her friends, check out facebook, read books, and watch movies. She loves to dress up casually in jeans and t-shirts, and loves humming!
Currently she is studying PLC nursing. She was highly inspired by her brother who is studying engineering. She said, I also want to study engineering. But all her teachers and relatives advised her to go for nursing as it has better scope in Nepal as well as in abroad."
She said smilingly, "My goal is to go abroad for higher degree in nursing, gain some experience and return back to my motherland to serve my country and my fellow countrymen. Hence, to fulfill my dream, firstly, I have to complete my education over here. "
Though academically strong, she feels is the cost of covering her three years education in Nepal is putting huge financial pressure on her family. She says if she receives the scholarship, "it will motivate and encourage me to study and release the financial pressure on my parents."
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Here's to Community!
Sitting at my
kitchen table in Eastern Washington, where I get most of my
work done, I sometimes feel isolated and small in the scope of the events of the larger world "out there". The earthquakes and embargos in Nepal... the refugee crisis in Syria...the thousands of people, especially women and children, who suffer daily due to violence and neglect. It is daunting to say the least.
And then I think of the communities I belong to, the networks that have been created and the work that has been done when all of us band together to achieve common purpose and I realize that I am not alone. Through relationships and communities we are all connected and together can accomplish so much, even as we sit in our isolated spots.
I want to start this year off by thanking our Fair Trade Community for all that you have done. With you Ganesh Himal Trading and the Conscious Connections Foundation and our producer partners in Nepal have been able to weather an amazingly intense year in Nepal and bring continued work, education and much needed help to people who were victims of an unbelievable natural event and an unforgivable political embargo.
Without you and your purchases and donations we could not have survived what we did
and offered what we have.
Common purpose unites us, and as we act out our common dreams in our isolated worlds we impact others in ways unimaginable alone. Your donations to earthquake relief have come in every day, unsolicited and helped us to raise enough money to provide immediate and long-term relief to thousands, to build homes, a school and rebuild the clinic. You have continued to support the educational stipends to 100+ children as well as provide a college scholarship to a hard working young woman...and most importantly your purchases and understanding of the constraints our producers faced gave Ganesh Himal Trading the best year in sales
ever
. It is true when I say we owe you all so much for your support.
So this year we celebrate Community and the fabric we weave together to make us all strong and vibrant. To strengthen our ties in our Fair Trade community we are sending Ganesh Himal staff members Austin Zimmerman and Sarah Calvin to the Fair Trade Conference in April to join in the celebration of Fair Trade and to meet up with and reconnect with so many of you there. To strengthen our community in Nepal, Ric, Cameron and I will go to help rebuild the Baseri Clinic and meet up with and encourage all of our producer partners who still struggle immensely one year after the earthquake and through India's heartless embargo. And to celebrate the community of women who struggle around the world we honor the "1 billion rising" movement by donating 20% of all sales of our Joy line of textiles in February to CCF for ACP's girl's education program in Nepal.
Here's to COMMUNITY! Thank you for being a part of ours on so many levels!
It is because of you that we have been able to weather this storm and rest what weight we can from the shoulders of our partners in Nepal, helping however we can to bear the load alongside them. May 2016 see us all rise together to support each other, love one another and find strength together.
Namaste,
Denise
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NEW Journal Packaging
Journal Bundles Available
*no plastic! |
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Cotton Infinity Scarves Knit
KI-K-CMS
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NEW Soap Packaging
Wrapped in Tree-Free Paper
*great for displays! |
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Kitchen Coasters
with box!
STX-D-CRT |
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Well, there's a little bit more to the this love story....
The new colorful packaging for our Silk Soap brings together two of our existing artisan groups to produce one beautiful product.
Both producers, Nepal Silk and
Bhaktapur Women
Craft Paper make products that are handmade,
sustainable, and kind to the earth and its living creatures. The tree free paper saves forests in Nepal from being destroyed and the silk used in the soap is cruelty free (no silk worms die!).
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Cutting a large block of soap
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By choosing Ganesh Himal Trading's Silk Soap, you are also being kind to yourself, as the soap is chemical-free and contains the powerful healing property of silk protein. The amino acids in this
protein are a jelly like consistency that binds the tiny fibers in silk. When added to the soap they help prevent dehydration of the skin. Ask Eileen, our Operations Manager about her experience using it, she loves it and looks 20 years younger than she actually is :-).
Two great fair trade products come together for one beautiful display in your store!
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