This year, International Women’s Day falls on Pancake Tuesday, March 8. To mark the day and generate much-needed funds, Irish charity Foundation Nepal is asking people to throw a pancake party at home, at school, or at work and ask people to donate €1, €2 or as much as they can afford.
The initiative will help severely disadvantaged communities in one of the poorest countries in the world, and is also a chance to enjoy a good old-fashioned fun get together on Pancake Tuesday. To register and to receive a pancake pack containing posters, further information about Foundation Nepal, and even some tasty recipes, visit www.pancakeflip.org Foundation Nepal was founded in 2006 and has since developed a strong track record in helping the most vulnerable in severely disadvantaged Nepali villages to work their way out of poverty. The organisation works to bring about lasting change through improved food production, micro-finance and micro-business, education, and healthcare, with a particular emphasis on supporting women, which in turn helps children and the entire family unit.
Life for many women in rural parts of Nepal is incredibly tough. Women are responsible for all heavy physical work including farming, food production, and carrying water, and on average work 14 to 16 hour days. The majority of women give birth in unsanitary animal sheds, in fact only two per cent of births were attended to by trained health workers prior to Foundation Nepal’s arrival. Women particularly suffer from high levels of malnutrition as they generally eat the family’s leftovers. Life expectancy in Humla is 54 years of age.
In 2009, with the support of Foundation Nepal, some 650 women received maternity care, 2,317 people received family planning, and 670 mothers were trained in agri-business. In 2010, 283 mothers took part in agri-business pilot programmes which increased women’s income by 100 per cent in some cases. By early 2011, 283 women were trained and running their own micro-finance groups.
Visit www.foundation-nepal.org for further information including detailed results and accounts.
