News
Read stories and updates from our work with the children of Nepal. To find our old newsletters from 2003 to 2018, visit the archive! Otherwise, click in the search bar below to locate blogs on a topics you’re interested in.
Dr. Christine Schutz Arrives in Kathmandu
Mitrata’s Founder and Executive Director, Dr. Christine Schutz has landed in Nepal! Here’s a recap of what she has been up to this week as she prepares for the rest of the team to arrive.
Follow Our Team in Nepal!
Our fall Sponsor Trip to Nepal begins on Friday, September 28, 2023! This year, our team is a diverse group of Mitrata staff, board members, child sponsors, and two members of our Young Professionals Board! A few individuals have traveled to Nepal in the past, but for many, it will be their very first time! We hope you will take the time to follow our journey.
Travel to Nepal with us in 2023!
We are thrilled to announce our 2023 trip to Nepal from September 29-October 15. We are so excited to return to Nepal this year, and we would love to have many friends of Mitrata join us in this incredible experience!
Happy Thanksgiving!
Our sponsors and staff are back home in the United States, very ready to rest, recover, and… celebrate Thanksgiving! As we celebrate this year, there is so much for us to be thankful for; from celebrating 20 years of Mitrata, to traveling to Nepal for the first time in three years, our gratitude is overflowing. Thank you for the caring support of these beautiful children, for your generosity that has lifted them out of the cycle of poverty, and for your commitment to Mitrata’s mission through the years. Happy Thanksgiving!
Time to Say Goodbye… For Now!
After two wonderful weeks that were spent trekking in the Annapurna range, exploring Kathmandu and Bhaktapur, and most importantly meeting and enjoying time with their sponsored children and the kids at the Contact Center; it was time for the Mitrata Child Sponsors to head home. Three members of the Mitrata leadership team remained behind to get some important work done. Executive Director Dr. Christine Schutz, Advisory Board member Stephanie Recht, and Sponsorship Committee Chair Danny Williger settled in to tackle serious business. And they did. They tackled it Mitrata Style!
It’s a Graduation Celebration!
One of the most exciting experiences for our Sponsors, and one of the most anticipated moments in the lives of our students is the Mitrata-Nepal/BSF Graduation Ceremony.
Throughout the pandemic, our NGO partner, Bhuvaneshwori Satyal Foundation (BSF) was not able to hold a graduation ceremony. For this reason, this year’s ceremony included all our 2020, 2021, and 2022 graduates.
A Busy Day At The Contact Center
Eight sponsors, Dr. Christine Schutz and Anna Wertman spent a busy day at the new Contact Center, our early childhood school readiness program in Balaju, Kathmandu. After spending a busy morning at the Contact Center, we left the children to their studies and went to visit the Vibhuti Vidhya Mandir School. We were then able to take a walk through the neighborhood and visit a few of our Contact Center students at home.
Warmest of Reunions
Shortly after arriving in Kathmandu, six jet-lagged sponsors went to dinner with their sponsored children in a beautiful open-air restaurant in Thamel, a bustling area in the heart of the city. The fatigue left over from days of travel quickly slipped away, replaced by joyous laughter, long anticipated hugs, and the joining of communities from opposite sides of the globe who think of each other often and wait in anticipation for just this day…
Gertraud Wild: One of Mitrata’s First Sponsors
Although our 20th Anniversary Celebration is over, we are still taking the time to reminisce on the past 20 years. This week, we are sharing a lovely story from Gertraud Wild, one of Mitrata’s first child sponsors. Gertraud was brave enough to go with Christine on the first sponsor trip to Nepal in 2003, despite the country being in a Civil War! Keep reading to learn more about these experiences from Gertraud’s perspective:
JOIN US in Nepal in 2022!
We are thrilled to announce our 2022 trip! This trip will take place from October 29-November 13. More details coming soon! We hope to have you travel with us this year and experience this life-changing journey for yourself.