Project Sarurun

Project Sarurun sponsors one organization with each crane auction. The name of the organization will be released  before the auction takes place, and is always with the consent with the recipient organization.

We are looking to donate to organizations that fit the following criteria:

1. Directly aids children affected by war and/or ethnic conflict.
2. Provides aid through innovative and effective methods.
3. Willing to work actively with Project Sarurun to ensure the success of this project.

Organizations that are small and need of funding, have a story behind their efforts, have an educational website, and publish annual reports will be given special consideration. 

Please contact us at project.sarurun@gmail.com for more information.

Organization Name: Namaste Kathmandu

Website: http://namastekatmandu.blogspot.com

Founders: Xeno Acharya, Dean Gadda

Year Founded: 2007

Location: Portland, Oregon

Field: Paurakhi Gaun, Kathmandu, Nepal

Mission Statement: To provide health, education, and employment opportunities to victims of civil war in Nepal.

Details: Annual Report 2009 [.pdf], Financial Statement 2009 [.pdf], Project Sarurun Endorsement [.pdf]

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ABOUT NAMASTE KATHMANDU

More than a decade of civil war in Nepal has displaced tens of thousands of families, including 40,000 children, to urban areas such as Kathmandu. Among those who migrated is an economically and socially marginalized group called the untouchables. They live in parts of town bereft of clean drinking water, medical facilities, schools, or entertainment centers.

From 2006 to 2007 Xeno Acharya spent much of his time in a riverside refugee village occupied by many of the untouchable Damai caste. This experience allowed him to gain a deeper understanding of the social and economic hardships these people must live with every day. 

After returning to the US in 2007, Xeno Acharya and Dean Gadda founded Namaste Kathmandu as an effort to continue supporting the children of these villages in any way they could. 

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 WHAT IS BEING DONE?

Namaste Kathmandu hosted its first official fundraising dinner event on May 21, 2008 and managed to raise almost $2500. With that amount, Xeno was able to return to Nepal and introduced the idea of building a new school to prevent flooding as well as provide better supplies and teachers.

Xeno's idea was met with much support from local villagers, and with their labor and local materials, Mechi Mahakali School was built in Paurakhi Gaun on July 26, 2008, on the banks of the Bagmati River in Kathmandu, Nepal.

Currently, Mechi Mahakali School has two paid teachers, a nanny, seven board members, and 43 children studying in three different shifts on weekdays.

Namaste Kathmandu provides money to pay the teachers and the nanny, who provides for the safety and well-being of students and their siblings as well as maintains the premises.

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WHERE WILL YOUR MONEY GO?

Money sent from the US is received in Nepal by the school's board members, who pay the school staff and buy books and school supplies. The remaining money stays with the village elders who make major expenditure decisions when needed. 

IMMEDIATE GOALS: 

• Expand the existing Mechi Mahakali School

Paurakhi Gaun lacks vital infrastructure necessary for good health, clean drinking water, and sanitation. Deep drilling a well would allow villagers to have drinking water that does not have seepage and contamination from the Bagmati River. In addition, establishing a well-stocked health clinic stocked staffed by an on-call/visiting doctor as well as proper latrines that use septic tanks that do not directly connect to the river will help to improve health and sanitation.