Tea Helps Chaurpatal

NEPAL

The non-profit Himalayan Homes Trust supports the remote village of Chaurpatal Village in Nepal, a region badly affected by the April 2015 earthquake.

Funds have been raised in several different ways but one project is to serve and sell Nepalese teas at events held by the trust in the UK. Last year the money raised funded the training of the village community in an earthquake safe method of building known as ‘Earthbag Technology’.

This provided employment for villagers and hands-on experience in building homes that can withstand natural disasters. The women who set up and run the trust, Jenny Sherpa (whose husband is from Chaurpatal) and her sister Joanne Carrigan, have also recently run a winter clothing appeal which was supported by the parents and children of St. Mary’s Catholic Federation, school in Carshalton, London, who donated warm clothing and school uniforms for the village children.

Most families in Chaurpatal cannot afford to buy a uniform, so many of the children have to attend school in their everyday clothes, but now they have proper uniforms. On their return to the UK, Jenny and Joanne said, “We have witnessed first-hand just how poor the environment and the facilities are. We have therefore decided that all our fundraising efforts this year will be dedicated to assisting the children and the school. We will work with the school and the community to ensure that the funds go to where they are needed most.”