The Omprakash Foundation

Partnership with The Woodstock School

Woodstock School: Nagaland, India

Under the direction of Mr. I. Alem Aier in 2006, a number of educated youths pioneered the Woodstock School. Together, they sought to realize the vision of imparting quality education to the underprivileged and of cultivating in its students sound character, rich in both body and mind, to help them become excellent contributors to society. Our school’s motto is “Excellence and Triumph.”

Since 2006, with the exception of a few, most of the wards admitted into our school are found to be economically backward but to possess the capability to excel in all spheres. They only need opportunity. Woodstock School provides their basic needs to the best of our capacity and with the available resources to give them opportunity.

Therefore, our primary goal is to provide them with the early education that will make them competitive in mainstream education. Even with our willingness and humble resources, we have found that many of our students are hardly able to attend classes because of financial constraints. Unfortunately, we are not in a position to extend financial help.

Presently, Woodstock School is divided into three sections, and the medium for instruction is English:

1. Pre-nursery

2. Nursery

3. Junior section (every year we will add another class)

This year, we have classes up to Class 5. The academic year starts in the second week of January and ends at the beginning of December.

In addition to the education, Woodstock School also has one doctor for any medical emergency on campus. Every year, the doctor also provides medical aid to parents and the people in the school’s neighborhood.

In the near future, we hope to build a library for both students and teachers to use. We also would like to provide the teachers materials, such as audio and visual teaching tools, and to give students access to computers so that they may keep pace with much of the developed world. Most importantly, we need financial assistance to maintain the school’s staffing, to provide students with grants, and to cover maintenance costs. With this help, we hope to become self-sustainable in the near future.

Fundraising. The following are the costs for each student to attend Woodstock School:

-Admissions Fee: 1100 INR or 26 USD

-Monthly Fee: 200 INR or 5 USD (very poor student: 100 INR or 2.50 USD)

-Uniform (shirt, tie, belt, socks, pants/skirts): 500 INR or 12 USD

-Books, pencils, eraser, pen: 400 INR or 9.50 USD

Total cost for one student for one month: 2200 INR or 51 USD

Volunteers. In the future, we also will need volunteers to teach music and English. We currently have the room but need financial assistance to integrate volunteers fully into our school. Please stay in touch with our school for future volunteering opportunities.

In the meantime, we appreciate any assistance that you can provide. For questions or to help, please contact:

Mrs. Angami Asangla

Administrator

asangla_angami@yahoo.co.in

Or

Steve Le

The Omprakash Foundation

Steve@omprakash.org

Partnership with DEPDC

Project Profile

The Development and Education Programme for Daughters and Communities (www.depdc.org) combats the trafficking of women and young girls by offering them free education. Check back soon for more details.

Partnership with La Montana

Project Profile

La Montana (www.lamontana.com) is a Spanish-language school for tourists in Bariloche, Argentina. However, La Montana also coordinates a number of volunteer programs (see below), and visitors are invited to participate. Usually volunteer work programs require a minimum stay of one month and a good level of Spanish.

Unlike most Omprakash Partners, La Montana charges monthly fees for volunteers. The volunteer work program has a fee of US$100 for students of the Spanish School “La Montaña” (US$125 otherwise). This fee is paid monthly and it is destined to the coordination of the projects during the year and it is also important for the material that is necessary to keep them going. It also includes the possibility of participating of all the extra activities that the school organizes (salsa lessons, tango, truco, movies, hikings, etc.), free internet, plus a special discount in the family stay while doing volunteer work.

Please contact volunteerwork@lamontana.com if you are interested.

Partnership History

La Montana has been an Omprakash partner since June, 2008.

Need for Volunteers

La Montana offers volunteer opportunities at multiple projects, and has submitted the following descriptions:

Education

Escuela Pilar 2:

Barrio Pilar is a neighborhood in the outsides from Bariloche. It is near the city, but in a rural environment. There is an elementary school there. In order to arrive there you have to travel by bus for 20 minutes or a bit more. The bus ends at the school. There the volunteers might teach English, help the students with maths or organize some special workshops. Some students have fixed the old computers that the school and another possibility might be teaching the boys and girls from the school how the computer works.

Barrio Malvinas:

It is a neighborhood at 30 minutes from the school. One of the neighbors has built a community center behind her house. There, she offers free meals for the poor neighbors and different volunteers go once or twice a week in order to help the kids with their homework or to teach English. Some volunteers have also been teaching how a computer works.

Barrio 28 de abril:

It is a poor neighborhood inside the city. There there is a community center where volunteers teach local music and dances, help the boys and girls with their homework and conduct a reading workshop. Our volunteers have been teaching English there twice a week for many months.

Hogar al amparo de la roca:

It is a place in a rural area that is located next to a school. Many of the students come from the surroundings so, during the week they live in this house. The volunteers there might help the students with their homework and teach them some English.

Environment

Fundación Sembrar:

It is an organization that works with reforestation. The volunteers have to classify seeds, plant them, take care of them, feed them and, eventually replant them.

Parque Nacional Lanín:

It is a national park located 300 kilometers northwards from Bariloche. The volunteers might help the park rangers. This is only available in the summer.

Healthcare

Hospital Zonal de Bariloche:

It is the local hospital. There are two options. The most common is to be a “collaborator,” that is a person that help the volunteers to give information and organizes workshops for the kids that are living at the hospital or for those that are waiting for the doctor. Also, they might feed the patients.

The other possibility is open only for doctors that would like to do a “shadowing” program, if the hospital accepts them.

Other projects

Hogar de ancianos:

It is a house for old people where the volunteers might read to the old people living there or try to organize workshops for them.

Mercado de la estepa:

It is a Market where they sell crafts and homemade products from local crafters. They also sell products from rural towns and areas from the surroundings from Bariloche.

Partnership with South American Explorers

South American Explorers is a non-profit organization that provides resources and services to independent travelers in South America. SAE’s mission is to improve the social, economic and environmental conditions within South America by fostering greater awareness of this continent through the diffusion of information and cross cultural interaction. We are a club for those who want to plan their own trips, make their own decisions, book their own passage, and stay and move on when the spirit moves them. We offer clubhouses with luggage storage facilities, libraries, up-to-date, well-researched information, English-language events and much more in Buenos Aires, Quito, Lima, and Cuzco, in addition to a wealth of resources online. Consider joining at one of our clubhouses to make sure your volunteer experience in South America is as enriching and enjoyable as possible. If you join in Quito, membership for Omprakash volunteers is $30, discounted from $50, for a year’s worth of membership benefits.  Visit the SAE website>>

Volunteer in Kenya

Expanding Opportunities

For as little as two weeks or as long as two years, Expanding Opportunities (www.expandingopportunities.org) offers a variety of volunteer experiences.  Many volunteers participate in Expanding Opportunities’ official Service Journeys, but the organization opens its doors to anyone willing to show up and help, on any schedule.  2009 will offer short-term volunteer opportunities in Art and Artisan Selection; Teaching in Kenyan Schools; and service in our Children’s Home. Accommodations vary depending upon the service. Housing is in our Children’s Home, mid-level hotels while on the road, or camping in tents. All basic food, water and in country transportation is included.  Also offered are long-term service opportunities as House Parents, alternative technologies and organic gardening, and business development.  Participants must raise their own support. Specific 2009 volunteer opportunity information is available at www.exop.org/journey  

Learn more about our partnership with Expanding Opportunities>>

 

Partnership with Expanding Opportunities

Project Profile

Expanding Opportunities (www.expandingopportunities.org) is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization and a registered NGO in Kenya. The organization has several projects. The main focus is in Kenya. One of Expanding Opportunities’ major projects in maintaining and expanding the Joseph Waweru Home School; an orphanage in the Nakuru district of Kenya. Other programs include: an artisan support project with two ecommerce sites, Aina Moja,and 1st African Clothing,  a micro-loan project called Success Through Education, Money and Support, or STEMS,  a feeding program for street children in Kericho, Kenya, a books and other supplies distribution project, and a developing Distance Learning Center Project. The Artisan Support Project has expanded to the Ucayali area of Peru and some service volunteer projects are offered there as well.  Expanding Opportunities also has a project in the United States.  Camp Forest brings indigenous wilderness and survival skills from around the world to enrich the lives of children and engender an appreciation for the natural world around us.  

For more information, please contact Bev Stone at info@expandingopportunities.org, 207-722-3708 or at 84 Payson Road, Brooks, Me 04921.

Partnership History

Expanding Opportunities has been an Omprakash Partner since July, 2008.

Need for Material Resources

There is always a great need for resources. It is difficult to say, but money travels well. It weighs little and stretches far.  We are extremely conscientious with the expenditure of donor funds. If still in doubt, come with us on a Service Journey. You can watch and participate in the wonderful privilege of learning, growing, sharing and giving.  Below is a list of some of the needs of Expanding Opportunities.

Volunteer willing to make quilt squares with donor names embroidered, quilted or painted on to combine into hanging quilts to honor our donors and temper the echo of the stone Commons building housing the kitchen, and dining/study.

Donated potholders and aprons for our kitchen in Kenya.

$90.00 per month fully sponsors a child in the Home. You may select a child to sponsor at our website http://www.expandingopportunities.org/street_children/ics.html.

$1.00 per day feeds a child one meal

$5,000.00 builds a dormitory for 8 boys (our capacity will be 32 when completed)

$15,000 builds a complete family home (we have one and plan one more to provide housing for parents and 8 small children)

$50.00 purchases a bed, with mattress and bedding

$10,000 will provide start up funds for the girl’s home.

$250.00 per year fully supports a high school student

$30.00 purchases a uniform for a school child

$20.00 purchases a pair of school shoes

$10.00 purchases a desk

$5.00 - $10.00 purchases a curriculum textbook

$5,000.00 is needed to purchase a truck for transport of goods and people in Kenya

$50.00 provides a partial campership for a child to attend Camp Forest

$800.00 purchases a canoe for Camp Forest.

Any purchase at the websites, www.ainamoja.com or www.1stafricanclothing.com supports the organization and a Kenyan or Peruvian artist.

 

Need for Volunteers

Expanding Opportunities has an active volunteer program both in the USA and abroad.  Service Journeys occur to Kenya annually and volunteer programs are scheduled throughout the year. Housing is in our Children’s home, mid-level hotels while on the road or camping in tents. All basic food, water and in country transportation is included.  The scheduled Service Journeys are accompanied experiences. One or more of our USA staff accompany you on the entire journey. To see the current Service Journeys please visit, www.expandingopportunities.org/journey.  Internships, gap year programs and other long term volunteer service is scheduled individually– in other words, volunteers are not “required” to be part of a Service Journey in order to serve at an Expanding Opportunities project.  In the USA volunteers are welcome in the office, artisan support project and Camp Forest. Below, please see a description of some of the fields in which help is needed.

Education

Nursery, Primary and Secondary school operate on a 3 term per year schedule.  Schools are open January through March; May through July; and September through November. The public schools welcome visiting teachers to teach the Kenyan curriculum or special subject areas and presentations.

There are few teaching aids.  Bringing materials and/or creating teaching aids to correspond to the curriculum are extremely welcome service opportunities.

Many schools have no library or an inadequate library.  Assisting with the creation of a school library is a welcome service as well. 

Community Health

There are many small rural clinics and hospitals.  Depending upon your desires and expertise, you can carry and deliver needed medical supplies, or assist and work side by side with Kenyan medical staff in the clinics. Several of our health Service Journey participants have had the joy of assisting with a birth.

Street Children

Unfortunately street children are a common site in most of Kenya.  Expanding Opportunities has a small feeding program for children in Kericho, and often feeds street children anywhere the paths cross 

Joseph Waweru Home School

Expanding Opportunities has a small Children’s Home. There are always many opportunities for service at the Home.  Short term assistance as simple as helping with the dishes and long term assistance as a House Parent. The needs may change but there is always plenty of work.  

Alternative Technologies

The Joseph Waweru Home School is one of the few “Green” Children’s Homes. It utilizes solar power for both lighting and cooking, humanmanure composting, gray water irrigation, rain water catchment, drip irrigation, organic gardening, and is raising funds for a biogas generator for cooking.  These technologies need further development, maintenance and community awareness. The children and adults in the Home need training updates regularly. 

Workshops

The Children’s Home also desires to be a Community Center.  The Commons building is perfect for offering short term, or one-session workshops.  Solar cooking, international cooking, public health, soap making, organic gardening, or any number and type of workshops would enhance community awareness and development. 

Construction

The Joseph Waweru Home School is still under construction and a girl’s home is pending funding.  There is always some sort of construction project needing assistance. 

African Art

Expanding Opportunities’ Artisan Support project seeks out artists and works with a variety of artist to increase their markets.  Selecting, buying, discussing process, quality and price points is also an area of service. 

Business Development

Expanding Opportunities seeks 100% sustainability. To assist the community with employment opportunities and to generate funds for its projects, the

 organization seeks to develop viable small businesses.  One such business is the current Debley Rentals.  Assistance with business research, plans and marketing is always welcome. 

Public Relations

This service area is ongoing.  Writers, photographers, professional and amateur, are always welcome to help spread the word about Africa and its people, the work of the organization and the human stories that need to be told. 

Camp Forest

Camp Forest is located in Brooks, Maine and accepts volunteer apprentices year round. The apprentice works on indigenous shelters, primitive living skills and transfers their knowledge to adults at workshops and children during the summer camp.

 

 

 

Partnership with LHA

Project Profile

The Omprakash Foundation was first inspired by the model of the Louisiana-Himalaya Association (LHA). Based in Dharamsala (Mcleod Ganj), in the state of Himachal Pradesh in north India, LHA has become one of the biggest and most influential service organizations for Tibetan refugees living in that area. LHA employs local people and accepts volunteers from around the world to offer free English, Spanish, French, Tibetan language classes, computer training courses, vocational training courses, photography and blogging classes, health services and education, and environmental services and education to Tibetan refugees and the local Indian and Himalayan community. LHA can also arrange for professionals with a particular skill set to present workshops or seminars to the local community, or match their skills with the right community organization. Through our partnership with LHA, we hope to monitor and respond to the needs being articulated by the various Tibetan and Indian communities with which LHA is involved. To learn more about LHA, please visit www.lhasocialwork.org. To learn more about LHA’s American branch, visit www.lhainfo.org. To get involved, contact willy@omprakash.org.

Partnership History

LHA has been an Omprakash partner since January, 2005.

-In June, 2005, we donated $507 to pay the year’s rent for the LHA medical-treatment room in Dharamsala.

-In July, 2005, we paid $292 to ship eighty pounds of donated paperback books from the USA to the LHA library in Dharamsala.

-In June, 2008, we donated $25,000 to help LHA buy a new headquarters building in Dharamsala. This new building contains a library that will be open to the entire community, and also gives LHA more space to conduct its language and computer classes.  What’s even better is that this new building will also make LHA entirely self-sufficient and sustainable for years to come: the building will hold several locally-owned businesses, and the income from these businesses will cover all of LHA’s yearly expenses. It is also worth noting that all of the money LHA has paid for the building– including this donation from Omprakash– will be “recycled”: the former owner of the building is a monk, and has pledged to donate the entirety of LHA’s building payment to the Tibetan Government-in-Exile and social projects in Tibet.

-LHA received around 50,000 books (500 boxes) during our 2008 book-distribution project.  Many of these books will be kept in LHA’s new library in Dharamsala, and many others will be distributed to other schools and libraries in the area.

Need for Volunteers

LHA accepts volunteers year-round and can always use more help with its various educational programs.

Need for Material Resources

-LHA is constantly collecting clothing, books, and basic medical supplies to distribute to needy members of the Dharamsala community.

Below, please find a recent newsletter from Neil Guidry, LHA’s founder:

Hello friends,

With my two-finger typing skills I’ve managed to put together a little history of the Louisiana Himalaya Association “LHA” for our 10-year anniversary! This short blurb goes over some of our highlights and how we got to be where we are today. If you get bored just skip to the last paragraph about the new building! 

LHA has been serving the Tibetan refugees in India since 1997 and each year has shown growth and refinement of services provided. The organization had its beginnings in one tiny room in a Tibetan monastery and a corner table in a small restaurant in Dharamsala. After a couple years of grassroots social work and community organizing, LHA’s potential was recognized by a small group of wonderful friends who stepped into the picture and made things a bit more official. A beautiful brochure was created and non-profit 501c3 status was obtained. 

Soon more volunteers and supporters joined and in 2000 we moved into the first LHA building. With the donation of two laptops the first computer classes were underway, alongside the ESL language classrooms that held four classes per day with 10 students per class. The building also housed a crafts shop that generated money for the salaries of two full-time Tibetan staff. One of the staff members organized volunteers to teach English and computer skills while the other staffed the craft shop and a new medical project. After being properly trained by medical volunteers the Tibetan staff member would go out daily with a medical kit and assist the many Leprosy victims that beg along the streets. 
By 2002 the small building could no longer support the level of activity. With the help of some generous supporters, an annex building was opened with eight new computers and two new full-time Tibetan staff positions. The year 2002 was also the beginning of a new alliance with Tulane University. LHA was asked by the Tulane School of Social Work to lead a group of MSW students on an international Social Work expedition to Dharamsala, to work alongside LHA with the Tibetan refugee community. After the success of this first student group, Centenary College and Loyola University requested similar programs. We now assist four university groups each summer. 

After outgrowing the first building and annex by 2004, LHA moved into the current building owned by the Tibetan handicraft coop. Until recently, the building has been excellent for expanding the services provided and for accommodating the growing number of volunteers and Tibetan refugees seeking assistance, but we are now busting at the seams once again! In this past year alone over 400 volunteers from 37 different countries served through the volunteer coordination program. All seven English classes per day are full, with students often sitting in the hallway. The Computer School now offers four classes daily - also full. 

Some of the other services we now provide are: the collection and distribution of donated clothing; medical, dental and eye assistance and referral; massage therapy courses; inexpensive internet phone service; cooking classes; French, Spanish and Tibetan language classes; a Community Newspaper and a Library. 

In 2005 the now seven full-time Tibetan staff members established the Lha Charitable Trust, which is now a non-profit social service organization officially recognized by the government of India. Lha is a Tibetan word meaning protector spirit. The establishment of Lha was a major step toward self-sufficiency for the Tibetans we have been working with. Total self-sufficiency for the community served was one of the main goals of the founders of LHA. 
LHA and Lha were one organization but are now like two sisters in the same family! Lha Charitable Trust now has their own Board of Directors consisting solely of members of the Tibetan community; the staff members have learned to run a business and make all their own business decisions. A third sister now working closely with LHA and Lha is the Om Prakash foundation, which was established by three previous LHA volunteers. Om Prakash now coordinates volunteers and supports numerous social service projects around the globe. 

Since moving into the current Dharamsala building in 2004, Lha’s annual rent has been $9100. The rent has been successfully raised and paid for each year by the LHA New Orleans team and all our supporters. Since the 2004 move the Lha full time Tibetan staff have successfully managed their finances and the operations of the organization in Dharamsala. They have raised enough money each month to pay salaries, utilities, phone and any other necessary repairs or maintenance. While still offering all classes and services free of charge to hundreds of Tibetan refugees each month, the Lha staff have identified and developed services for the tourist population that generate enough funds for the organization to successfully and self-sufficiently operate (except for the rent). They offer tourists an array of services including Tibetan language and cooking classes, Yoga, massage and translating services. Besides earning enough for the monthly bills they have managed to accumulate some savings, which they are very happy to be offering toward the purchase of the new building. Once the new building is purchased the Tibetan staff of Lha Charitable Trust will be totally self-sufficient! 

Thanks for being patient with my lengthy thoughts back over the past 10 years. What an incredible journey it’s been. I hope some of you can help us out with this next step. We’ve made a deposit and have a purchase agreement signed for a new building. The total cost will be$175K. 50K is due as a downpayment when we move in on June 1, 2008. The good news is that we only need 11K by June 08 as the ball has already started rolling with 39K pledged for this year’s goal. Then we will need 30k per year for the following four years to clear the balance. More good news is that10K per year has already been pledged for the following four years!!! Please pass this info on to any others you feel may be able to donate or may be interested in getting involved. Once again, thank you so much for all the support and encouragement and a Happy 10 Year Anniversary to LHA! 

:0) Neil

Educational Resources

In cooperation with Health-Inc. (www.health-inc.org), we are proud to begin using our website to make curricular materials accessible to educational projects around the world. Below, you will find a number of different books available in either PDF or Quark formats. These books have been designed by Health-Inc. for use in Ladakh, and are written in Ladakhi, English, and Urdu.

To view a PDF file, you need Adobe Acrobat software. To view a Quark file, you need Quark software. PDF’s cannot be changed, but Quark’s can be translated into any language. Thus, any educational project with Quark software can download the books available below and translate them into the necessary language. If you do not have Quark software, hopefully the PDF’s will still serve as models for effective teaching and learning materials. If you would like to publish your own educational resources here, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Books for Early Readers Animals Journey- PDF Animals Journey- Quark Black Hen- PDF Black Hen- Quark Clever Cat- PDF Clever Cat- Quark Naughty Dog- PDF Naughty Dog- Quark Hen’s Holiday- Quark Hungry Horse- PDF Hungry Horse- Quark

Books about Health and Hygiene Girls’ Guide pt. 1- PDF Girls’ Guide pt. 1- Quark Girls’ Guide pt. 2- PDF Girls’ Guide pt. 2- Quark Pregnancy Guide- Quark Young Girls’ Guide PDF Math Books Goodnight Goat- Quark Books that Combat Prejudice Monster- PDF Monster- Quark

All Donations

Donations Made by the Omprakash Foundation

February-April 2005
$337 to help three different Tibetan refugees cover health and immigration fees.
$442 to pay one-year college tuition for Indian student.
$400 to buy a water-cooler and purifier for the Mother Teresa Home for the Dying and Destitute in Delhi.

June 2005
$1038 to pay eye surgery for Tibetan monk who otherwise would have lost his vision.
$400 to buy needed mattresses for the Mother Teresa Home for the Dying and Destitute in Delhi.
$507 to pay the year’s rent for the LHA medical-treatment room in Dharamsala.

July 2005
$292 to ship eighty pounds of donated paperback books to the LHA library in Dharamsala.

May 2006
$300 to subsidize facial surgery for Indian man in Dharamsala.

June 2006
$222 to pay embassy fees for Tibetan monk in Kathmandu.

August 2006
$6000 to establish Vocational Carpentry Class at a vocational secondary school near Lhasa, Tibet.
-Bought 39 tools and paid six-month salary for two teachers. The class is currently being taken by 58 students. The classroom is a functioning workshop that gives its students a marketable skill, provides a service to the local agrarian community, and also raises money that the school can use to pay scholarships for poor students.
-We are hoping to raise more money so that we can continue to support this project. Due to growing attendance, this vocational school is also planning to build a new dormitory to host 100 more students. We hope to endorse this effort as much as possible.

September 2006
$5000 to construct new classroom building at a small primary school near Aba, Tibet (Sichuan Province, China).

March 2007
$500 to support the Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan (RAWA)– an organization that promotes women’s literacy and empowerment in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Sixty-five dollars is enough to hire one teacher for a month. Check out www.rawa.org and www.afghanwomensmission.org

May 2007
$6435 to support construction of a library at the Golok Sengcham Drukmo Home for Girls, located in the Golok region of Qinghai Province in China (Tibet). Established in 2006, the Golok Sengcham Drukmo Home for Girls is a privately-funded branch of the local government school, and aims to give special attention and support to underprivileged girls. The library that we are supporting (construction began on June 7, 2007) will be open to all students at the government school, and to other community members as well. To learn more about this project, click here or visit www.trahelpsgirls.blogspot.com.

June 2007
$3160 to purchase one year’s worth of school materials (stationery and teaching reference books) for the 445 students at RAWA’s nine orphanages in Pakistan and Afghanistan.
$1850 to purchase one year’s worth of school materials (stationery, textbooks, and teaching reference books) for the 58 students at a RAWA school for Afghan refugees located in Peshawar, Pakistan.
To learn more about these donations, click here or visit www.rawa.org/orphanages.htm or www.afghanwomensmission.org/programs/orph/.

October 2007
$8,804.70 to Project Why (www.projectwhy.org) to cover all expenses for one year at two schools in the slums of Delhi, India. A total of 177 students attend these two schools. Please click here to see detailed budgets for these two schools, and to learn more about our involvement with Project Why. Please note: due to banking fees, the sum $8,804.70 is slightly higher than the actual operating costs of the two schools.
$10,000 to the Amy Biehl Foundation to help pay for a new after-school center in the Thandoluntu area in the township of Guguletu, near Cape Town, South Africa. The center’s operating costs, estimated to be about $25,000, annually, include co-ordinator and teacher salaries, learning materials, and food and transport for students. Please click here to learn more about our involvement with the Amy Biehl Foundation.

November, 2007
$539 to begin supporting a school-lunches program in the impoverished area of Lubangwe, Zimbabwe. Working with a representative from the A&K Global Foundation (http://www.akglobalfoundation.org), we hope to provide families with staple food supplies and enable the village school to guarantee a nutritious meal for every child every day. Please click here to learn more about this project.
$6,000 to support the new Women’s Center at Project Why (www.projectwhy.org) in New Delhi, India. This money will cover all operating costs for 6 months. Please click here to learn more about our involvement with Project Why.
$2,000 to enable Neary Khmer, a health-education NGO in Cambodia, to purchase 200 water filters and distribute them in the village of Kok Daung. Please click here to learn more about Neary Khmer.

December, 2007
$900 (IRS 35,000) to pay for electrification of the Domkhar learning center in Domkhar Dho, Sham, Ladakh (north India). The Domkhar learning center is supported by Health-Inc. (www.health-inc.org) and educates 120 students from pre-primary to Grade 12. It is one of the locations where Health-Inc. is implementing its innovative Love2Read program, featuring curricular materials designed for cultural relevance and printed in the Ladakhi language.
$2,134 (IRS 82,500) to pay a Ladakhi publisher to print books designed by Health-Inc. to be distributed to Ladakhi schools involved in its Love2Read program. To learn more about the partnership between Health-Inc. and the Omprakash Foundation, please click here.

January, 2008
$2,500 towards paying annual salaries for the three teachers and one headmaster at the Golok Sengcham Drukmo Home for Girls in the Golok region of Tibet (Qinghai Province, China). To learn more about this project, click here.

February, 2008
$1,000 to Neary Khmer for the purchase and distribution of 90 home water filters to poor villagers in Khnong Phnom Commune, Siem Reap, Cambodia. To learn more about the project, click here.

March, 2008
$200 to Xom Dua (Vietnam) to enable 30 children to receive daily lunch for an entire month and to pay two teachers’ salaries at the Nha Trang school. Click here to learn more.

April, 2008
$40 to buy books for Helping Hands school in Cusco, Peru. Click here to learn more about Helping Hands and to see photos of the purchased books.

May, 2008
$300 to buy art supplies for Helping Hands school in Cusco, Peru.

Fundraise

As our network continues to expand, we hope that our website can be a valuable resource for individuals seeking to support foreign social projects from afar. Whether you have just returned from volunteering abroad or you have never left your home country, you can use our database to learn about the needs of different projects, and then you can fundraise on their behalf.

Individuals fundraising under the Omprakash umbrella can use our site to help teach people about the causes they can support, and can use our tax-deductible status as extra incentive and reassurance for potential donors. By representing the material needs of different educational projects on our website, we hope to help build relationships between these projects and all of the different individuals and communities that are capable of helping them.

To learn about all of the different needs of the projects involved in the Omprakash network, please visit the Our Partners page. Below, you will find an abbreviated list of projects that can currently use your support. If you have already collected funds and are ready to donate, please click here.

Please remember: The figures listed below are only for your own reference. You do not need to donate to a specific project, nor do you need to donate a specific amount. All donations will make a difference!

Helping Hands, Peru: $50 will pay for one child to attend school and eat two meals per day for a full month. Learn more about Helping Hands, Peru>>

Golok Sencham Drukmo Home for Girls, China (Tibet): $133 will pay for one teacher´s monthly salary. Learn more about the Golok Sencham Drukmo Home for Girls>>

Maine-Ghana Youth Network, Ghana. Our partner in Ghana is struggling to re-supply its school after a devastating flood on May 18, 2008. Learn more about the Maine-Ghana Youth Network>>

Neary Khmer, Cambodia. $10 can buy a water filter for a family. Learn more about Neary Khmer>>

Project Why, New Delhi, India. Monthly costs of Project Why´s different schools are as follows:

• Primary Sanjay School: $322.50 for 80 children
• Primary Okhla School: $232.50 for 125 children
• Primary Govindpuri School: $207.50 for 65 children
• Early Education Govindpuri School: $235 for 35 children
• Senior Secondary School: $312.50 for 80 children

Learn more about Project Why>>

Xom Dua, Vietnam. $200 can enable 30 children to attend classes and eat two meals a day for an entire month. Learn more about Xom Dua>>

How to Help

It is dangerously easy to divide the world into “us”–the people able to help– and “them,” the poor people in need of our support and guidance. At the Omprakash Foundation, we feel that no such divide exists: we all need help, and we all have something to give. Above all, we can help each other learn about our world– our problems, our solutions, our differences, and our sameness. Thus, while our website certainly does allow visitors to find opportunities to help grassroots educational projects located outside of their home countries, we like to think that it also does something else, something even more fundamentally educational: simply by facilitating communication between people from different parts of the world, simply by acting as a conduit through which different ideas and different visions of “development” can be shared, our website allows all of us to help deconstruct popular assumptions and biases and remain open to that which we do not know. The more we appreciate difference, the more we open ourselves to the diversity of our planet, the more humble we become. It is only through a relentless commitment to such humility that we can obliterate the binaries of “us” and “them” and enter the expansiveness of a new “we.” Learn about our partners>>

At the Omprakash Foundation, we have made such a commitment. Please scroll down to learn how you can join us.

At the core of the Omprakash Foundation is a simple network of human relationships that continues to expand every day. Whoever you are, we want you to participate. Here are just a few ways you can help:

• Volunteer abroad! Learn about opportunities to volunteer abroad>>
• Direct funds or other material resources to projects in need! You can either donate directly, or you can start a fundraising initiative under the umbrella of Omprakash. All donations to the Omprakash Foundation can be earmarked for projects of your choice. Learn about donations and fundraising>>
• Direct other potential volunteers to this website! No matter who you are, you can encourage your peers to consider volunteering in the future. Contact us if you want to help introduce the Omprakash Foundation to your community.
• Help us expand our network. Perhaps you are currently volunteering at a worthy educational project that could benefit from having its needs represented on our website. Perhaps you just returned from a personal trip that exposed you to some worthwhile NGO’s, or you know a group of high-schoolers looking to raise money for a charitable cause. If you can put us in contact with other people seeking to give or receive help, you will be contributing to the circle of relationships that is the bedrock of the Omprakash Foundation. Message Board>>

Whatever you choose to do, we encourage you to email us and share your thoughts, concerns, and suggestions. We also encourage you to contribute to our discussion board and use this website as a platform from which you can share ideas with other potential donors volunteers, or educators.

2008 India Book Distribution Project

This summer, we are distributing over 200,000 children’s books to different schools and libraries throughout India.  All of these books are second-hand storybooks in English.  They have been collected in the United States by Thrift Recycling Management (www.thriftrecycling.com), and their transport to India has been made possible by the generosity and trust of those who support the Omprakash Foundation.  Please continue visiting this page throughout the summer for updates and photos.  See recipient details>>

 

Message Board

We hope our message board can help promote a dialogue between students, donors, fundraisers, and organizations abroad. We encourage you to write about your experiences, questions, and ideas and our wish is that you will find the Omprakash message board a welcoming place to connect with others all over the world. Write on the message board>>

About

Learn about Our Vision

Learn our History

Learn about Community Visits>>

Read about or download Educational Resources>>

Contact us

Contact Us

Willy Oppenheim:
willy@omprakash.org
Phone: 203 554 0350
Skype: willyoppenheim

Dan Furman:
dfurman1@jhu.edu

Nick Smith:
nick@omprakash.org

Ashley Moore:
ashley@omprakash.org
Skype: ashleysmoore

Gordon Guthrie:
gordon@omprakash.org
Skype: gpguthrie99

Steve Le:

steve@omprakash.org

Elliott Wright

elliott@omprakash.org

The Omprakash Foundation
c/o Willy Oppenheim
112 Rosebrook Rd.
New Canaan, CT
06840

Volunteer Application

Partnership with FABC

 Submitted by David Zonana (dzonana@bowdoin.edu) and Margot Kistler (mfkistler@wesleyan.edu)

Project Profile

Description and Background

Ecuador is a culturally and geographically diverse country overflowing with natural resources, and yet much of the population is unemployed and below the poverty line. The situation of many senior citizens throughout Ecuador particularly indicates this disparity of wealth. While many people emigrate away from the suffering economy in search of work, the oldest members of their family—usually too old or too sick to relocate—are often left alone to look after themselves. Furthermore, poor abuelitos in Ecuador suffer from minimal government representation and a deficit of public funds, to the extent that 86% of senior citizens were without social security and retirement benefits as of 2001.

Based in Quito, the capital and second-largest city in Ecuador, the FABC has worked to improve the circumstances of poor senior citizens from marginalized barrios for the past seven years. The foundation now provides for over 400 abuelitos, the majority of which live alone in inadequate conditions without the support of family and without access to steady income, social security, healthcare, or the fulfillment of basic needs. FABC’s mission is to equip the senior citizens with the tools necessary to help better their quality of life through learning and personal growth. It looks to promote a positive culture in which the abuelitos can live an active, dignified, healthy, and productive old age. Generally lonely and dispirited when they arrive at the foundation for the first time, most members rely on FABC as their only source of healthcare and their strongest network of support and social engagement. Many have learned about the foundation by word of mouth, and many travel over an hour by bus in order to benefit from services provided and to participate in activities on location at FABC headquarters.

Objectives and Activities

One of the FABC’s main objectives is to fulfill the basic health and nutritional needs of its members. It also encourages life-long learning, activity, and self-improvement through educational, recreational, and motivational services, which continue to expand and improve. Projects and services provided by FABC include:

• On-site doctor and medical clinic
• Physical rehabilitation center
• Literacy workshops
• Physical exercise classes
• Weekly day trips
• Breakfast and lunch four days a week
• Painting and drawing workshops
• Card-making workshop and business
• On-site bakery business
• Dances and games
• Choir
• Self-esteem and spirituality workshops
• Personal domestic visits
• Adopt an abuelito program

Need for Volunteers

Despite the wealth of services provided by the foundation, the administrators enthusiastically welcome motivated volunteers with the ability to better coordinate established projects or the initiative to spearhead new projects. The foundation offers a variety of services that guarantee that volunteers may work within their realm of interest, be it health, education, cooking, managing small business endeavors, or social work. In the past, volunteers have worked with the baking and marketing of bakery goods, leading personal health and literacy workshops and classes, leading up to forty abuelitos on weekly day trips, preparing meals, or travelling around Quito making house visits to check on the living and medical conditions of the abuelitos. A proficiency in Spanish would allow volunteers to take on more responsibility, though there are activities that could be performed with a more limited knowledge. The foundation also asks for a minimum commitment of 30 days from its volunteers.

 Need for Material Resources

In Quito and throughout the world there are minimal resources and services aimed at addressing the needs of poor senior citizens. FABC recognizes this deficit and feels strongly that there is no moment in one’s life when they become less worthy of help, support, and fulfillment.

Donations to FABC can be made by donating to Omprakash and writing “FABC” in the check memo. If you have a special use in mind for your donation, please include it. All donations are tax-exempt in the U.S. In the near future we will post more information on this page that describes what kind of difference your donation can make.

Please don’t hesitate to contact us if you’d like to learn more or help out. Direct any questions to David Zonana (dzonana@bowdoin.edu) or Margot Kistler (margot.kistler@gmail.com)

 

Partnership with Helping Hands

Project Profile

Based in Cusco–once the center of the Inca Empire, and now a bustling city in the southern mountains of Peru– Helping Hands (www.helpinghandscusco.com) works to improve the lives of disadvantaged women and children. The text below indicates their need for volunteers and other resources. We are proud to represent the work of this organization on our website, and we hope that Helping Hands will benefit from being part of the Omprakash network. To learnmore about ways that you can support Helping Hands, contact willy@omprakash.org or Mario at mariodiazugarte@yahoo.com.

Partnership History

Helping Hands has been an Omprakash partner since March, 2008.
-In April, 2008, Omprakash gave $40 to help buy books for the Helpìng Hands school.
-In May, 2008, Omprakash donated $300 to buy art supplies for the Helping Hands school. These supplies were delivered to Cusco by a group of volunteers from Saratoga, NY.

Need for Volunteers

The Helping Hands school in Cusco is funded entirely by donations, and thus can employ only one full-time teacher. However, the project´s directors, Mario and Rosa, are trying their hardest to find ways to expand the reach of their program, and eagerly hope to receive the help of volunteers. Spanish-speaking volunteers could contribute to the growth of this inspiring project in the following ways:

-Help teach reading, mathematics, and the other basic subjects that are already being taught from 8:30-12:30 and 2:30-5:30 five days a week.
-Introduce art, physical education, and other subjects that are not yet being taught at the school. Mario and Rosa also want to initiate a Reading Program, and need volunteers to read to the children every day and also to manage the school´s book collection.
-Help Mario and Rosa initiate a “street school” so that children working in the streets of Cusco can still receive some education.
-Volunteer during January and February, so that Helping Hands could initiate a summer-school program. At the moment, the school is forced to close during these months because no teachers are available.
-Help Mario and Rosa reach their long-term vision of founding a new high-school in Cusco. At the moment, Helping Hands teaches students only up to age 13, and then hopes that they can be admitted into local high-schools. However, with additional human and material resources, the school could potentially expand to offer education to children until the age of 18.

Need for Material Resources

The Helping Hands school is constantly in need of the following resources:
-Basic school supplies- pencils, notebooks, etc.
-Elementary-level books in Spanish.
-Art supplies, especially oil paints.
-Clothes for the children.

If you are a volunteer coming to Helping Hands, please try to collect some of these items in your home community and carry them with you. If you cannot volunteer at Helping Hands, but would like to try to meet these material needs in another way, please contact willy@omprakash.org.

Below, we have pasted text composed by the directors of Helping Hands. Please take the time to read this and learn more about the social context in Cusco, as well as the mission and future plans of Helping Hands. In addition, people seeking to raise or donate funds for Helping Hands will be interested to find detailed descriptions of the project´s current and projected monthly costs.

INTRODUCTION

We founded Grupo “Yanapaq Maki Kuna” in 2005 on the first of August, and therefore we are still quite a young organization. Grupo “Yanapaq Maki Kuna” means “Helping Hands” in Quechua, the original Inca language.

Our object is to help the children and single mothers who are in a state of poverty, abandonment, physical and emotional violence, malnutrition, and discrimination. At the moment our main location is in the San Sebastian district of Cusco.

The volunteers that have assisted our organization over the past few years have come from countries all over the world, including Holland, the United States, Germany, and many others. If you help us, on any level, you are working to improve many peoples’ lives and will forever be a part of this project.

THE LOGO

Our organization’s logo expresses exactly what we are about: to give and at the same time receive.

In the logo’s photo the small hand is giving to the larger hand; the significance being that even the poorest people of the world have something to give.Both hands need each other, because without one the other can neither give nor receive.

We can all be represented by both hands, the larger or the smaller, depending on the circumstances. The social situation in Peru is still rapidly deteriorating, both economically and educationally. Human misconduct and exploitation is a daily occurrence. The drive of our society, as it is in all others, is to survive and to work towards a comfortable life. However, here in Peru opportunities for happiness and prosperity seem destined for the few blessed with economic power. Over the past ten to twelve years, the problem of socio-economic difference has grown to appalling proportions. Many are experiencing poverty and the misery that accompanies it; this is the reality we live with. Ignoring the poor seems to be the easiest solution for many, including the government; however, we know it only makes the problem worse.

FROM PRE-INCA CIVILISATION TO NOW (Historically Taught Values)

In the pre-Incan period the ancient people of Peru abided by the three following words:

La mita refers to the “work” that had to be done within the society. People worked together as a community, for the good of the community; and at the same time to improve the circumstances of every inhabitant. Work was regarded as a moral responsibility rather than mandatory action. Participation in this activity was in fact to be part of the community.

Work changes your life, from the inside to the outside; it is a blessing, not a punishment. But the work must have one communal goal; the individual is second. What you do for the community is reflected in your personal life.

Mita= work, individual, group

El ayllu stands for “the individual within the group”. The key to forming harmony and solidarity within the community is respecting your fellow individual. Thus, in pre-Incan culture every person in the group had their own qualities and position, from the children to the elderly, and from the women to the men; every person was respected for his or her contribution.

Ayllu could be a boy in the street, a beggar asking for life, a poor mother with a hungry child, and people suffering because they don’t have friends or love. Ayllu is people living well and poorly. Ayllu is everyone you know and all the people that you will know. Every person has qualities in common with the other; we just don’t have the time or interest to recognize this.

Ayllu = people, personal, and group

El ayni incorporates the idea of each person’s individual rights and responsibilities within the group. The life of every person in pre-Incan society was guarded by the principle of “el ayni,” because it was the law of living together. The ayni existed in the actions of the people, not in papers or words: thus, for indigenous people, justice is action.

Ayni = the law, social order, natural justice

GROUP MISSION

The work we have already accomplished and will continue to accomplish in the future is based on the three ancient words: La mita, el ayllu, and el ayni; because we firmly believe this is the only way to successfully change people’s lives.

PLANS FOR THE NEAR FUTURE : (2008)

This year (2008) we hope to help 60 children with quality education, daily breakfast and lunch, medical assistance, and our love and protection. The school started the 3rd of March this year. The children study in one year what they normally would study in two years in a normal school, and thus have a chance to recover lost years. We are convinced this is possible because of the following three reasons:
1. Our classes are smaller than those in regular schools. While a normal Peruvian school works with classes of 40 children our classes will have half this amount. By teaching in groups of 20 children, every student will receive more personal attention and automatically the speed at which the entire group is able to deal with the subject matter will increase.
2. Our teaching methodology focuses solely on core education, rather than paying a lot of attention to “extra” subjects. A traditional school in Peru will teach religion for at least two hours a week; it will also teach “educacion civica” (teaching Peruvian national emblems, anthem, etc.) for two hours a week.
3. Our school offers a 7 hour program instead of the regular 4.5 hour program, increasing its efficiency.

FUTURE PLANS

1. THE EXTENSION OF THE SCHOOL BUILDING:

We believe that the construction of additional classrooms would be a solution to many of the problems in this area. Currently we have just 4 classes but we are planning to make 2 more in the next year. Right now the closest area school is completely full, which means that many of the children travel a substantial distance in order to receive proper education. With the construction of a new school these children would not have to make a long and expensive commute. With a school in their proximity, many children currently unable to study might be willing and able to participate.

Also the new building could provide the infrastructure for “COMMUNAL MEETINGS” and “PARENT SCHOOLS” as well as to provide a meeting point for students and professionals of education. In addition, this building might also be used as a “POPULAR DINING ROOM” (see point 3) and for “COMMUNAL SHOWERS” (see point 4).

In other words, an extension of our school could change the lives for many people in our community. We have a building where classes will be taught this year, but it is relatively small and we will need a bigger structure for the future.

2. EXTENSION OF THE SCHOOL’S SERVICE:

We are planning to offer an alternative form of education in order to reach the street children who are not fortunate enough to participate in our regular school program. These children do not study because school schedules are inflexible around their employment in the streets of Cusco washing cars, and selling postcards, cigarettes, crafts, etc. For this specific group of children we will offer a special program.
(At right: Mario with students.)

Seventy percent of the normal program will be offered in special autodidact materials. In this way the children working in the streets will be able to create a special schedule around their work. We will however continue to teach thirty percent of the classes to students in this alternative program in traditional form. This means the students will come to our school one or two days a week in order that adequate guidance and control can be maintained.

Thus our goal is to reach a bigger group of working street children so that these children will NOT LOSE YEARS OF EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITY.

3. IMPLEMENTATION OF A “COMEDOR POPULAR” (POPULAR DINING ROOM):

A “COMEDOR POPULAR” is a place where the poor can eat a good meal at a fair price. In Lima, these COMEDOR POPULARS are very common and have many clients. Normally alunch, in a restaurant, costs between 3.5 - 4 Soles, but in a POPULAR DINING ROOM, the cost of a lunch is around 1.5 Soles.

By providing a “COMEDOR POPULAR,” we hope to be able to feed 40 families living in extreme poverty. These families generally suffer from bad nutrition and every day it is a struggle for them to live on 5 or 6 Soles (one dollar is 2.94 Soles) for the whole family. The implementation of a “COMEDOR POPULAR” would completely change the lives of these families.

The most important spin-off of this initiative would be to informally educate many of the illiterate parents. Our experience has thought us that many of the parents involved in the project are generally reluctant to follow any classes to combat their illiteracy. Yet our same experience has shown that if basic commodities are provided for the family, the parents are generally more inclined to be educated about important things like disease prevention and basic hygiene.

4. IMPLEMENTATION OF “COMMUNAL SHOWERS”

This service is important because these families do not have facilities to clean their bodies. Many children do not remember when it was the last time that they took a shower. We believe that offering communal showers would help to change the hygienic habits of the whole community and to avoid many diseases.

OUR ACTIVITIES

2005 :

-Helping 15 children with their homework and keeping them hygienically healthy

-2 visits to parks in Cusco

-1 visit to the “Historical Museum of Cusco”

-Organizing soccer and volleyball games (one time per month)

-A Christmas party and presents for 15 children.

2006:

-Helping 30 children with their homework and keeping them hygienically healthy

-Starting the craft-work with 3 single mothers

-Selling our products to Cusco’s markets as well as to other countries

-4 visits to parks in Cusco

-4 visits to the museums of Cusco

-3 visits to archaeological sites in Cusco

-One general birthday party with presents for all children

-A Christmas party and presents for 30 children

-Haircuts for children and regular medical check-ups (4 times a year)

-Organizing a competition of kite-flying, soccer, and volleyball

-Regular soccer and volleyball games (one time per month)

-Occasional organized lunch and appetizers (depending on funds - around 30 times per year)
(At right: Helping Hands students on a field trip to Incan ruins in Cusco.)

2007:

-Helping 35 children with their homework and keeping them hygienically healthy; also

providing them with study materials (books, notebooks, pens, pencils, markers, etc.)

-Developing the craft-work of 15 single mothers and improving the commercial aspects

of their products.

-Starting literacy classes for single mothers and other under-educated women

-Starting informal education of illiterate and poor women about their rights and

important place in the family and within society

-Starting informal education about family planning, sexual education for teenagers and

young adults

-Selling our products to Cusco`s markets as well as to other countries

-6 visits to parks in Cusco

-8 visits to the museums of Cusco

-4 visits to archaeological sites in Cusco

-Two general birthday parties with presents for all 35 children

-A Christmas party and presents for 35 children; money for the presents was collected

by selling Christmas cards to our sponsors – the children made the cards with supplies bought by Helping Hands

-Haircuts for children and providing regular medical check-ups (4 times a year)

-Organizing a competition of kite-flying, soccer, and volleyball; commencement of

organized sessions in painting, singing and creating poems and short stories

-Regular soccer and volleyball games (two times per month)

-Occasionally providing lunch and appetizers (about 60 times per year, for 35 children)

-We have set up a new network of cooperation with local discoteque “Uptown” in

organizing a “Santa Clause” party. During the party Helping Hands has been able to collect voluntary contributions with a value of around 1200 soles. This money in turn will be advocated to help and provide for the poor streetchildren in Pisco (this province was affected greatly by the 2007 earthquake). Through contacts with voluntary organizations and single mothers in the city of Pisco, we gave materials educative to 120 children of the street in 10 February.

-Helping Hands has also recently organized a New Years BBQ. We invited many

volunteers and other interested people to join us in a day of football and volleyball matches and food. This event collected an additional 500 soles for our project.

2008:

-Official education of 60 children.

-Breakfast and lunch every day for 60 children during the year.

-Maintain hygienic checkups and continue to provide study materials (books,

notebooks, pens, pencils, markers, etc.) for these children.

-Maintain and develop the craft-work of the single mothers.

-Organize formal literacy classes for single mothers and other under-educated women.

-Provide informal education of illiterate and poor women about their rights and

important place within the family and society.

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