We were so lucky to miss Typhoon Mangkhut! We made it to Hong Kong on time and are on our way to Kathmandu. 

We had a great day at the Big Buddha and Po Lin Monastery. Facts learned- Fact One: 5 people do not fit in a Hong Kong Taxi. Fact two- Hong Kong cleans up quickly after a typhoon that did a lot of damage to trees.

Last weekend we completed our 5 year strategic planning process with our Mitrata Nepal Foundation for Children board and staff members and Leena and Yogesh Satyal from BSF, our partner in Nepal. It was a long day starting at 8:30 am and followed by a great dinner and celebration hosted by long time sponsors, Arlene Miller and Hewie Powell.

We focused on a specific plan for growth by adding 25 more children and another Contact Center, making some improvements in our current programs and relocating our current Contact Center to a larger space. It was a day of high energy, good discussion and brainstorming.

Documentary filmmaker, Amy Benson of Nonfiction Media, came to Saint Louis and showed her newest film “The Eldest Son” focusing on the Darnal family in Nepal struggling to lift themselves from poverty. This showing was attended by 60 sponsors and donors of the Mitrata-Nepal Foundation for Children and was a big success. Leena and Yogesh Satyal of BSF, our partner organization in Nepal, were also there to answer the many good questions about life in Nepal.

The audience asked a lot of good questions and everyone was able to see first hand what it is like to grow up in a village in Nepal and try to get an education to improve family life. The oldest son went abroad to make money to support the family and get them out of debt. He returned downtrodden and in even more debt than before he left.

Leena Satyal, Executive Director and Yogesh Satyal, Board President of BSF, our partner in Nepal are in Saint Louis, Missouri for 2 weeks of meetings with sponsors, our annual strategic planning, and some fun times with donors, board members and staff of Mitrata Nepal Foundation for Children.

Leena has a lot to communicate about the updates on our 124 children in Kathmandu, our sponsorship programs and the Contact Center.  A special thanks goes to the hosts of our many local Sponsor Coffee meetings this week,  Sandeep Nema, Pam Hughes, Rick Hendin. All  sponsors who attended received an update on their sponsored children. Leena and Yogesh also had time for tea at Margaret Gaal's house.

The children of the Mitrata Nepal Foundation for Children are truly  inspired by the  famous words of Winston Churchill,  "Success is going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm". We are so proud of our graduates from 10th grade this year! They passed the Secondary Education Exam (SEE) which allows them to go on to 11th grade. All 10 of our children passed! To honor their accomplishments, BSF staff took them to a movie and then celebrated with the 5 children who graduated from the Contact Center, our school readiness program, to go on to 2nd or 3rd grade in a private school. So it was a double celebration and a great meal, cake and fun for everyone!