Shristi KC, the founder of ‘Blind Rocks!’, an organization with a purpose to change the way society and individuals portray disabled people. Shristi shares how losing her sight at the age of 16 gave her a vision in life.
In Nepal, a country where girls’ voices are traditionally not heard or valued, young women are speaking up and stopping practices of human trafficking, child marriage, abuse and discrimination. Her Turn is at the helm of this transformation.
In the three weeks since Nepal’s Kathmandu valley region was rocked by a 7.8 magnitude earthquake, UNOCHA – who does what where and when have been tasked with search and rescue, and the provision food, health and shelter for thousands of people. The quake affected 3 districts, 5 municipalities, over 130 wards. Many of these communities are situated in remote and inaccessible regions have been the last to receive aid. In a local effort to bring relief to these communities more quickly, a local organization, backed by a US organization is utilizing open map technology to make visible remote communities, open spaces for logistical operations to set up, and to highlight any and all areas that might hinder or help the relief effort.
Circus Katmandu comprises a troupe of 13 young performers, almost all who are survivors of human trafficking. Providing “ethical entertainment”, Nepal’s only contemporary circus combines Nepali culture, theatre, dance, acrobatics and cutting edge art and delivers shows that have been seen in England, Dubai and Australia.
The tragedy in Nepal has been devastating, and the road to recovery will be long. Through this, it is important to share some of the country’s many successes. As a country that many endangered species call home, Nepal has officially declared a second full 365-day cycle of zero poaching. From February 2013 to February 2014, not a single elephant, rhino or tiger was illegally killed. In 2011 they also officially declared that not a single rhino was illegally killed. This is a huge accomplishment, as the country boasts many animals that are commonly hunted, and illegally killed, for horns, tusks and pelts that sell for large sums in Asian markets.
iDE, a Winnipeg based non-profit organization that supports business opportunities in the developing world, will work with Nepali small business owners and local entrepreneurs to scale-up the production, marketing and sale of simple latrines using a novel approach successfully demonstrated in Cambodia and Nepal: marketing simple, low-cost toilets as a status symbol and sanitation as an affordable source of pride.
