Rotarians Ula and Gillian travelled to Pokhara in Nepal to distribute 130 Days for Girls Kits
These kits are made here in Bairnsdale by Ula and her team of volunteer sewers. All fabric is still being cut by PHF Colin Toohey from Top Trim, saving much needed time. Ula has sewers in Orbost, organised by Alma Mundy, Twisted Threads in Johnsonville plus the many workshops she has at her own home, even taking her team to Mallacoota. Members of Inner Wheel have been willing helpers on the packing days, as the kits have to be prepared in a specific way.
Ula and Gillian carried 130 kits from the local team and then in Moradabad, India, 135 kits were provided by a Melbourne chapter.
Ula and Gillian carried 130 kits from the local team and then in Moradabad, India, 135 kits were provided by a Melbourne chapter.
This is the fourth time that kits have been taken to Moradabad, as an add on to the Polio Plus immunisations, the second time for Ula and the third for Gillian. While in Moradabad, through a contact Doctor Arif Kahn, three schools benefited. Ula, as a Health Ambassador for DfG, gave all the presentations, sometimes with the help of a local Health Worker, Sima and sometimes having to improvise and mime the instructions (or pantymime as she called it, a DfG joke).
At all schools they were gratefully received by the girls and some who had received them three years ago, could not speak too highly of the difference it has made. They were in great demand, even the teachers wanted the packs. Thanks to all the Melbourne Rotarians who carried them over to India and helped make a difference
Then it off to Pokhara in Nepal, where Ula had made contact with the local Inner Wheel club, who organised for the two ladies to go to a remote village 2 ½ hours from Pokhara, Karkaneta. To get the 130 kits to Nepal Ula and Gillian looked like a pair of packhorses and carried nearly 71kgs between them of clothes and kits.
The trip to Karkaneta was a story in its self as they travelled in a Mitsubishi, Triton, dual cab, designed to carry five, with at sometimes eight inside and three in the back. Away off they went climbing up the hills on very narrow winding roads. A welcoming committee was in the village, with musicians and dancers to herald the arrival.
The local Secondary School was badly damaged in the earthquake of 2014, although some work has been done to rebuild, everything has come to a grinding halt, but
the Rotary Club of Pokhara New Road is hoping to raise the funds to complete.
What seemed like the whole school, together with some villagers gathered in the dirt courtyard and the morning began with a distribution of stationery packs to the younger students, which was a project of the Inner Wheel Club. Then it was Ula’s turn to try and speak to over a hundred students, teachers and Rotarians. Our original interpreter, Prem, the President of the Rotary Club started to translate but one of the Inner Wheel ladies thought he was not doing a good enough job and took over the task, very well indeed. Eventually 90 kits were distributed, once again to very grateful students.
Back in Pokhara, at the Childrens Welfare Education, Ula made contact with Deepak who arranged a visit to a poor school on the city outskirts. The principal had to be shown the kits and agree that they could be distributed to the girls. He was very impressed and next day Ula was able to hand out the remainder of the kits to some very needy students.
What was wonderful is that in Nepal talking about menstruation is not taboo and was discussed openly, which makes the job of distributing kits and helping the girls all that much easier. In India to some extent it is not discussed openly and certainly not in male company, which put certain restrictions on the team.
The plan is to go back to Nepal and start an enterprise, teaching the locals to make the kits themselves and perhaps creating a micro industry, so watch this space for more information.
At all schools they were gratefully received by the girls and some who had received them three years ago, could not speak too highly of the difference it has made. They were in great demand, even the teachers wanted the packs. Thanks to all the Melbourne Rotarians who carried them over to India and helped make a difference
Then it off to Pokhara in Nepal, where Ula had made contact with the local Inner Wheel club, who organised for the two ladies to go to a remote village 2 ½ hours from Pokhara, Karkaneta. To get the 130 kits to Nepal Ula and Gillian looked like a pair of packhorses and carried nearly 71kgs between them of clothes and kits.
The trip to Karkaneta was a story in its self as they travelled in a Mitsubishi, Triton, dual cab, designed to carry five, with at sometimes eight inside and three in the back. Away off they went climbing up the hills on very narrow winding roads. A welcoming committee was in the village, with musicians and dancers to herald the arrival.
The local Secondary School was badly damaged in the earthquake of 2014, although some work has been done to rebuild, everything has come to a grinding halt, but
the Rotary Club of Pokhara New Road is hoping to raise the funds to complete.
What seemed like the whole school, together with some villagers gathered in the dirt courtyard and the morning began with a distribution of stationery packs to the younger students, which was a project of the Inner Wheel Club. Then it was Ula’s turn to try and speak to over a hundred students, teachers and Rotarians. Our original interpreter, Prem, the President of the Rotary Club started to translate but one of the Inner Wheel ladies thought he was not doing a good enough job and took over the task, very well indeed. Eventually 90 kits were distributed, once again to very grateful students.
Back in Pokhara, at the Childrens Welfare Education, Ula made contact with Deepak who arranged a visit to a poor school on the city outskirts. The principal had to be shown the kits and agree that they could be distributed to the girls. He was very impressed and next day Ula was able to hand out the remainder of the kits to some very needy students.
What was wonderful is that in Nepal talking about menstruation is not taboo and was discussed openly, which makes the job of distributing kits and helping the girls all that much easier. In India to some extent it is not discussed openly and certainly not in male company, which put certain restrictions on the team.
The plan is to go back to Nepal and start an enterprise, teaching the locals to make the kits themselves and perhaps creating a micro industry, so watch this space for more information.