In a recent Newsletter from the Social Welfare Council (WSC) of Nepal, TPRF’s Food for People (FFP) program in the Dhading district, west of Kathmandu, has been recognized as an “innovative intervention in Nepal.” WSC is a government body that regulates NGOs (nonprofits) in the country.

Food for People is “an exemplary model in Nepal,” they write, praising the feat of having distributed a record-breaking 110,138 meals by the end of January 2010. The article reports that since the opening of the facility in April 2009, “the children of this region do not have to worry about the lack of food; they attend the school regularly with pleasure and on time. The attendance of the school children has gone up in all the schools in and around the region, with the record of 90% from a low of 40%, along with an increase in the number of student enrollment in the schools.”

The urgent need for “a break-through in the vicious cycle of poverty” in this region is outlined in some detail. Poor agricultural yields from the rocky, infertile terrain are insufficient to support local communities for more than three months of the year. Before the FFP initiative, parents trapped in extreme poverty were reluctant to send their children to school, and attendance was low. A number of children were forced to take on casual labor, breaking rocks into pebbles at the riverside or washing dishes in hotels in nearby cities.

The SWC article gives high praise for the far-reaching impact of the program in its first year. Not only has the quality of education improved, but standards of hygiene have risen both at school and in the home. The development of the physical infrastructure, funded by TPRF, has mobilized local skills and labor, and this, along with the regular purchase of vegetables at market prices, has made a significant contribution to the local economy. Parents have gained new agricultural skills, and, with their children attending school, have more time to engage in income-generating activities.

The local team that runs the FFP facility is now engaged in a fund-raising campaign in nearby districts to encourage donations of both food and funds to support the program. Initial success has made them optimistic that the future sustainability of the program can be assured by contributions from local donors. The article concludes in uplifting terms: “A tiny piece of assistance can serve as oil for sustaining humanity that can shed light in the future. Hearty thanks to all contributors.”

Photographs Courtesy of Cynthia Allan