CURRENT, FUTURE & PAST PROJECTS

COVID Relief: July 2022

The COVID-19 pandemic had a profound negative impact on tourism in Nepal and cut off the income upon which many of the families in the Basa area depend. This, in turn, demonstrated the value that generating revenue from sources other than tourism could provide.

 

Villagers have requested assistance from the Foundation to develop an agricultural project that would allow them to sell vegetable and fruit crops as well as livestock. The villagers are working with the BVF-Nepal to identify markets and establish a co-op business for the community. When the plan and a budget is prepared, the BVF-USA will work with our partners in Nepal to help capitalize the cooperative business. For more information about the status of this project and how you can contribute, contact Jeff Rasley at jeffrasley@gmail.com.

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COVID Relief & the Need for Trekking
Fortunately, the village of Basa has not seen the ravages of health due to COVID-19 as the rest of the world has. Yet, due to the lack of tourism, which Nepal relies on, fewer funds are reaching the villagers that rely on the trekking industry to supplement their incomes. Basa Foundation Nepal, with contributions from other organizations, have taken steps to supply Basa villagers with supplies needed to not only protect their families from COVID, but also needed supplies for sustenance, such as rice.

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Starting August 31, Nepal will be opened for international travel, hoping to safely supply the trekking industry with willing tourists. Our board member, Sydney Frymire, will begin running treks through her company, The Trek of Your Life. If you are interested, we encourage you to reach out to Sydney to see what a trek to Basa and other areas of Nepal will entail. She utilizes Adventure Geo Treks (AGT) which is run by the chairman of Basa Foundation Nepal, Niru Rai, who is our primary liaison for organizing and funding projects for Basa village. AGT hires porters predominantly from the Basa region which in turn provides income to the families of Basa.

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Expansion of School Yard 2019

Children need safe grounds in which to run and play. Through a generous donation from a donor, Basa village received funds from Basa Village Foundation USA to expand the current space and safety walls on the steep grounds in the valley Basa village is built in.

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Funding English Teacher for 5 Years 2019
It was recognized that learning English is paramount to support the overall education of children in Basa as an additional language. Knowing English opens doors for families who rely on t he trekking industry to supplement incomes and provide a healthy and thriving lifestyle. Our board, which includes a teacher, Melissa Hudson, interviewed two candidates and recommended one. This teacher, thanks to generous funds donated to Basa Village Foundation USA, is now funded through 2024.

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Earthquake Repairs 2015-2016

The Basa Village Foundation USA Inc. opened a GoFundMe account as a way for those who would like to respond to the pressing needs in Nepal due to the earthquakes in April & May 2015. We have a sister foundation with HQ in Katmandu, Basa Village Foundation Nepal NGO, which is in charge of distribution of funds raised for purchase of needed goods and services. Our main contact in Nepal, Niru Rai, Chairman of BVF-Nepal reports that Basa village has suffered catastrophic damage.

We are prudent in how funds are distributed and remain true to our corporate principles of culturally sensitive development in partnership with the local people who will do all the work for re-building and construction without compensation and own the results of our financial contributions.

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As of October 2015 we transferred $40,000 to the account of the Basa Foundation NGO in Katmandu. Nirus team will use these funds to purchase rebuilding materials for residents of Basa and other nearby villages. We also released funds for the purchase of a brick making machine in the amount of $2,000 to go to the New Hope Foundation hospice & womens shelter to help with rebuilding its facility. We received an earmarked donation from fundraisers by our friend, Mary Shuller, of $4,061 for rebuilding the village of Ramati Nepal by the Hope and Peace Foundation. Per approval of our Board, that same amount has been released to contribute to the rebuilding project in Ramati.

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Building of a New School 2014
On March 4, 2014 the BVF-USA agreed to provide $5,000 to the BVF-Nepal to construct a new school building in Basa village. Sol Himal, a French NGO, is contributing $7,000. The combined contribution of $12,000 will provide sufficient funds to purchase the materials needed to construct a new school building for the 5-grade village school. Villagers will provide the labor necessary for the construction, which is supervised by the members of the village school board.

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Water Delivery System – 2012-2014
The BVF-USA successfully completed its fundraising campaign for a water delivery system for Basa village in November 2012. The Foundations members approved transfer of $29,000 to our sister organization, the BVF-Nepal, at our annual meeting on Dec. 11, 2012.

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During the monsoon season, water is typically plentiful in the Solu-Khumbu region, cascading from the hillsides and filling terraced rice paddies. Throughout the rest of the year, the people of Basa have to walk long distances over very steep terrain to bring buckets of water to their homes. The BVF-Nepal retained a local engineer, Bharu man Rai, to design a system which will divert water from a nearby spring and pipe it to taps outside the homes in the village. BVF member and engineer, Ben Snyder, trekked to Basa in September 2012 to review Bharus plan. Ben approved the design and budget for all materials and transportation in the amount of $29,000. The villagers will provide all labor for construction at no cost. The system will be maintained and owned by the village. It will be managed by a committee of supervisors chosen by the villagers. Construction was planned for the winter of 2013.

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BVF members in conjunction with Marian University students trekked to Basa village in late May 2013 and reviewed the status of the water project. We reviewed plans with village leaders and inventoried the PVC pipe that has already been purchased for the project. Under Bharus supervision villagers intend to begin construction in the fall after the monsoon rains end. Our group also delivered additional educational materials and supplies to the village school and reviewed the educational curricula for the classes and use of the computers previously supplied to the school. The villagers finished the water project in 2014.

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Basa Village Visit and Donation of Resources- 2011
In October 2011 our philanthro-trekking group of Mike Miller, Joel Meyers, Dennis Mathews, Chris & Jeanne Taylor, Karlin & Ursula Meyers and Jeff Rasley went to Basa village. The following donations were made:

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The group delivered 5 laptop computers, 23 pairs of childrens shoes and miscellaneous school supplies to the Basa Village School; Chris's employer, Nimbus, donated the computers; Changing Footprints of Indianapolis donated the shoes and group members donated the school supplies.

Chris and Jeanne spent an afternoon instructing the schools faculty and five hand-picked students in basic computer skills on the laptops. One of the teachers, Assam Rai, helps teach all students how to use the laptops.

Hydroelectric Electricity 2011
The group also witnessed the success of the Hydroelectric Project and use of lights in the village, which was made possible by the The First Friends Basa Village Project and Miller Family Foundation. In 2010 The First Friends Basa Village Project and Miller Family Foundation raised $20,000 to purchase and install 2 hydroelectric generators and wiring for electricity for the Basa village area of 62 homes. On February 21, 2011 lights were turned on for the first time in the history of Basa village. Deforestation has been reduced as firewood is no longer needed for lighting.

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The electric system and computers will greatly benefit the school children. School children have had no access to the outside world, as there is no regular mail delivery, phone service, TV or Internet connection in the village. Unfortunately, many of the school children will be forced to leave Basa as the small family farms cannot support extended families. So, preparation to cope with living and working in an urban area, like Katmandu, is extremely important for the school children. Providing lighting to the village and computers for the school will thus not only improve the quality of life in the village, it will greatly benefit village children as they will be computer literate when they move to an urban area.

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Smokeless Stoves by First Friends Project 2011
The First Friends Project raised sufficient funds in 2011 to purchase the parts to construct 62 smokeless stoves for the village. Members of our trekking group visited homes throughout the village and were shown the smokeless stoves now in each home in Basa. The villagers were especially proud of their own work in assembling the stoves and building chimneys into their homes.

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Smokeless stoves will have significant health benefits for the villagers. Currently firewood is the primary fuel for heating and cooking. Villagers inhale carbon smoke every day, so by significantly reducing the reliance on firewood, there should be a great reduction in cardio-pulmonary disease and cataracts. Smokeless stoves will also significantly reduce deforestation. The smokeless stoves have reduced the number of sticks needed for cooking and heating from more than 9 sticks per day to 3 per day.

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Basa School Project – 2008
The Basa School Project was successfully completed as to fund raising in 2008. This project was intended to raise funds for the village school in Basa, Nepal in a remote area of the Solu region. Niru Rai is in charge of the distribution of funds and in March 2009, he reported that the following improvements have been made to the School by use of the funds donated: Cracked floors have been patched, window frames have been painted and repaired, additional benches have been built, a playground and safety wall have been constructed, and teaching materials and workbooks for grades K through 5 were shipped and delivered to the school.

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Sufficient funds have also been raised (and held in the School’s Trust Account) to hire and pay 4th and 5th grade teachers for three years, so the School was able to expand from grades 1 through 3 to 1 through 5. All of this was accomplished with donations totaling $6,300.00. La Campagne Ministry, Inc. of Bloomington, IN is the charitable organization which sponsored the fund raising campaign and transferred the funds raised to the School’s account, and only charged a 2% administrative fee for its services. Donations ranged in amounts from $50 to $1000 with over 30 donors participating. The study materials were provided at not cost as “discard items” by the Indiana Dept. of Education.