Progress Report Newsletter 7. & Notification of Charity Closure. Achievements Read about our success and achievements.

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1 Newsletter 7 Table of Contents Progress Report 2017 & Notification of Charity Closure Achievements & Charitable Work Goals Met 5 Separation from Children s Shade (CS) 6 The Namaste Students House (NSH) 7 The NSH Family 8 Independent Support Requests 9 NEWS: Ending Operations in the UK 10 Our Decision to Close Down Official UK Charity Status 10 Plans for the Future 11 The Namaste Students House (NSH) 11 Grants and Support for High Land English School 11 Higher Secondary Education 11 NSFN Profile 13 NSFN Through the Years 14 Information 25 Achievements Read about our success and achievements. News Closing down our official UK charity status. What the Future Holds How we intend to continue.

2 Foreword It s been another tough year for us, but one with many enormous achievements. I ve just got back from Kathmandu after a wonderful stay and many happy moments with my (very grown-up) brothers and sisters. We are in a better and happier situation than ever before. Shyam is completely recovered from a serious tuberculosis infection and all our students and children are healthy and happy. The Namaste Students House (NSH) is still a massive success and the most crucial development is that we have managed to completely cut loose from the dysfunctional Children s Shade (CS) organisation which has dragged us down for so many years and now exists in name only. Nine former CS children are now adults and part of what we call The NSH Family, and the remaining CS children are finally in more suitable and comfortable conditions at a boarding house at High Land English School. What a great change from the early days of our charity! I d like to say a heartfelt thanks to everyone who has supported us on our long and difficult journey so far, we have brought hope, health and opportunity to many young people and it wouldn t have been possible without you. Many kind regards and much love, Sarah. Sarah Lawton Chair and Treasurer Namaste Support for Nepal (Previously Namaste Children s Homes Nepal) Charity HMRC Reference number: EW40394

3 Achievements & Charitable Work Goals Met 1. Improving the conditions for the CS children we ve supported for the past 6 years. 2. Completely furnishing the Namaste Student s House (NSH). 3. Providing Higher Secondary Education Scholarships and Grants. 4. Providing help to local victims of the 2015 earthquakes. 5. Providing Grants for School to poor families. 6. Providing support into adulthood to all the children our charity has supported over the years. Separation from Children s Shade (CS) We initiated total separation from CS at the end of last year. For many years the absent CS management left all logistical and financial management of the children s home to Shyam and us with almost no contribution at all. It was complete neglect and abandonment of their legal responsibility for the children but with no other good options we persevered and provided the children with food, medicine, schooling, and even managed bills left otherwise unpaid by CS. Fortunately we had Noi e il Nepal funding school fees and WorldLink paying rent since Gradually conditions got better and better for the children. Over the years however, as you may already know, it was discovered that the CS management had been taking credit for our hard work and actively engaging in fundraising in Nepal and abroad but not using the money, and sadly the Nepali authorities took no notice of us. When Shyam was diagnosed with pneumonia and tuberculosis last year the older students (those who had already left CS and moved into our independent NSH building) helped us to continue operations by delivering food and medicines etc. to the CS children. However, during Shyam s absence new CS staff moved into the CS building and in 2016 Sarah visited and found that conditions at CS had fallen (a ploy used by children s homes in poor countries to inspire donations), items had been removed and the children were coerced into begging from foreign volunteers who visited (something which Shyam had always prevented). With our most vulnerable children already grown-up and at NSH, we made the longawaited decision to cut ties with CS; notice was given to CS, existing relatives of the children and also to the government s Child Welfare agency (CCWB) that we would be withdrawing all our support due to the problems we were facing. From December 2016, NSFN stopped all deliveries to CS, we stopped management of bills and all other things. Within a few (difficult) months we achieved the desired result: The children were all relocated to much better accommodations at High Land English School boarding house, and the CS organisation now exists in name only. This is a monumental achievement for us. The fight to close down the CS organisation completely and stop their fraudulent fundraising remains a battle for another day... For the moment we are delighted that our beloved children are safe, happy and free from exploitation.

4 The Namaste Students House (NSH) Our facilities at NSH are better and more comfortable these days now that we have provided new items such as a fridge, a gas heater, a vacuum cleaner and many other items. The NSH Family Nine former CS children are now adults and we are so proud of them: Three school leavers now joining college, three current college students and three alumni who are working and studying independently make up what we call The NSH Family. Here are some photos from my visit to see them this July.

5 Independent Support Requests In addition to running NSH, supporting the CS children and providing help to local families, we also responded to two independent support requests from families in the last year. Support Request 1 For one year we helped a small family get back on their feet by providing shelter and groceries following the devastating loss of wife and mother after sudden illness. Support Request 2 We were able to respond to a family crisis of a cousin of one of our CS students. We provided provisions for a baby whose mother was put in intensive care following life threatening burns from a serious gas fire accident. Another aid organisation fortunately responded to and paid for the mother s surgery and she is slowly recovering albeit a long and hard process that has meant she was unable to care for her baby. NEWS: Ending Operations in the UK Our Decision to Close Down Official UK Charity Status For us this is the next logical step of our journey. Running NSFN has largely been a twoman-show with Shyam managing affairs in Nepal and Sarah working long hours voluntarily to keep things moving forward and to provide all necessary things for our children. It s taken us many years, but finally we have all the children safely out of the dysfunctional Children s Shade (CS) organisation and all are now living in good conditions. We are especially proud of our grown up students now pursuing their own futures. Our charity work has taken years of devotion and a lot of sacrifices and the time has finally come to reduce the workload and, for Sarah and Shyam in particular, to regain the time for personal life and ambition. Thus, the official side of Namaste Support for Nepal will end, meaning we will close our bank account, end our UK charitable status and extend our sincere thanks to our sponsors for the many years of donations. Changes will be implemented at the end of November 2017, but we invite our regular sponsors to withdraw donations before then if desired. The purpose of our closure is to completely cut out the administrative work that still takes up a lot of time and effort, however Sarah and Dave are now in a good position to personally cover the costs of running NSH (the Namaste Students House) independently. Every year (hopefully with the support of friends) we will provide as many scholarships and grants for education as possible. Sarah has reassured our students that NSH will continue for as long as needed to help them become independent, and Sarah and Shyam will still offer support managing certain affairs in Nepal such as helping to manage school or college bills and we will still be there to support our children living at High Land English School with simple matters such as providing new shoes or other much needed items. It will of course be sad to end our small charity as we have built some solid foundations and systems over the years, but we believe now is the natural time for NSFN to come to a close as we have finally achieved what we originally set out to achieve; that is, stability and security for those children who were part of Children s Shade. We will keep on hosting our website and Facebook page under the same name as a means to share information regarding NSH and our charitable work. Feel free to contact us if you have any questions or want to help in the future. sarah@supportfornepal.org

6 Plans for the Future The Namaste Students House (NSH) The Namaste Students House (NSH) provides shelter and continued support to older students. We have been renting the ground floor of a nice house in a quiet area in Patan since November 2014 and the place has been transformed into a safe, welcoming, family environment. It has three bedrooms, one bathroom, a kitchen/communal area and a small outside area. NSH will continue under the management of Shyam and Sarah and will be funded by Dave and Sarah personally. So far we have provided scholarships for +1/+2 courses to six young adults who were previously from CS. This year we will help three more students join college, although they will all be living externally. It s the current plan for only three students to live at NSH this year; two are part-way through studying and the third has recently graduated and begun a 6- month training program that will hopefully lead to a salaried position. We have decided this year that the NSH facility will extend help to students even after college for as long as they need to become self-sufficient, so long as the student demonstrates high motivation, a good attitude and has no other means of support. The children, students and their friends are always welcome at NSH at any time. The house is always busy and visitors always warmly welcomed. Grants and Support for High Land English School The Italian organisation Noi e il Nepal have provided full scholarships to all children from Children s Shade for several years in a row. Meanwhile, we have done our best to continue providing extras such as uniform, shoes, stationary and medicine. Now that all the children from CS are living comfortably at the school, and due to the closure of NSFN, Sarah and Dave will be supplementing the children s diet on an ad hoc basis. Information about Costs Dave and Sarah are planning to cover the costs of NSH personally after the closure of NSFN, although we welcome any financial support from our friends. The cost and need for scholarships is still significant, so please contact us if you wish to offer direct support by paying for scholarships or grants directly, or if you want to cover one of the other costs as set out below. Costs for : 235 / month 100-1,000 / year / year Namaste Student s House (NSH) Running Cost per Month - 85 : Rent - 30 : Utilities - 60 : Dry Groceries / Household Items - 45 : Fresh Groceries - 15 : Stationary Per College Grant / Scholarship (Cost varies depending on course type and level of support) - 2 Year Management Course Fees Approx. 340 / Year - 2 Year Science Course Fees Approx. 475 / Year - 3 Year Nursing Qualification Fees Approx. 1,350 / Year Per Grant / Scholarship for School (Cost varies depending on class and level of support) / month Food Supplement for HLES children Please contact sarah@supportfornepal.org, dave@supportfornepal.org or shyam@supportfornepal.org for more information. We will be keeping our charity contact details even after NSFN officially closes 30 th November We strive to continue providing grants for school to children from poor families by paying a fixed amount directly to the school at the beginning of the school year to reduce the cost payable by parents or relatives. This will become a personal project to fundraise for. Higher Secondary Education This is our biggest expected expense and most challenging goal upon closure of NSFN. We hope to continue to provide grants or scholarships to all the children our organisation has supported over the years so we would be grateful to anyone who steps forward wanting to become a direct sponsor. Shyam and Sarah offer advice and support to our students upon completion of the School Leaving Certificate (SLC) and together we negotiate with various colleges to get the best rates and join suitable courses. Hopefully after SLC, the students who want to, will get the opportunity to do +1 and +2 level courses (the UK equivalent of AS/A Levels).

7 NSFN Profile Namaste Support for Nepal is a small, UK charity in existence from December 2011 November 2017 to help impoverished young people and families in Nepal. Our mission is to help the disadvantaged in Nepal by promoting and providing support for people and communities. Our primary goal is to create more opportunities for young people by paying for education for children from very poor backgrounds, although we have spent a lot of time engaged in direct welfare support by delivering groceries and paying for medical treatment for poor families and institutionalised children. Main NSFN Charitable Activities: 2010 NSFN Through the Years Sarah met Shyam and the children at Children s Shade orphanage for the first time Sarah returned to Kathmandu, this time with Dave, and found the CS children in dire conditions with Shyam struggling to look after everyone. This led to the foundation of Namaste Children s Homes Nepal, with the initial goal to supplement the diet and medical needs of children living in poor quality institutions in Nepal. Providing direct support to institutionalised children from poor backgrounds. Running the Namaste Students House for older children/students. Providing scholarships for School and Higher Secondary Education Providing basic food and/or essential items to poor families. The charity was set up in January 2011 by Sarah Lawton and Dave Kerr, with the help of John Lawton and Phil Ball. Long-time trustees are Sarah Lawton, Dave Kerr, Robin Bisson and Shyam Bishunke. We have always worked voluntarily, and personally cover all admin costs such as bank transfer fees. Our initial goal was to raise money to buy groceries and medicine for a group of children living in very poor conditions at a children s home in Kathmandu called Children s Shade. We ve been supporting these children continuously since 2011 and ensuring that every penny the charity received was spent responsibly and to maximum benefit. Our work has been made possible thanks to the dedication of our Nepali trustee, Shyam. Shyam lived at Children s Shade for many years as an unpaid volunteer. Shyam now oversees the Namaste Students House as well as communicating with us the needs of the children and families we support. NSFN is funded by regular donors who donate monthly to our bank account and also oneoff, paypal or in-country donors. Our donors are generally sponsors of our charity rather than sponsors of individual children.

8 2012 NCHN started large, regular, monthly grocery deliveries to Children s Shade (CS) home. Also started paying for medical treatment for the children of CS. Started liaising with High Land English School (HLES). Purchased school uniforms and stationary for the children of CS. Purchased many household items for CS. Ran successful campaigns to buy new coats and school bags.

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10 2013 Connection established with Noi e il Nepal and collaboration to pay HLES school fees. Continued to provide all groceries to CS children with monthly and weekly deliveries. Provided many other items to support Shyam and the CS children. WorldLink relocated CS children to better housing Continued to provide all groceries to CS children. Formed an official agreement with HLES & Noi e il Nepal regarding payment of school fees. Provided new uniforms and stationary to the CS children. Provided all medical treatment to CS children. Established the Namaste Students House (NSH) and college scholarship program. Provided various other support to Shyam and the children of CS.

11 2015 Continued to provide all groceries to CS children. Provided all medical treatment to CS children. Expanded our community network and provided scholarships to 8 new children. Provided new uniforms and stationary to all our sponsored children. Provided some direct welfare to local victims of the catastrophic earthquakes. Managed the regular payment of electricity bills for CS which were otherwise unpaid. Continued running and improving facilities at NSH. Provided scholarships for college to 2 new students. Changed name to Namaste Support for Nepal Continued to provide all necessary things to the children of CS until November Provided more school scholarships to children of poor families. Enrolled two new students at college and continued running NSH. Responded to support requests from poor families. Stopped deliveries and support for CS in December an effort to close down the home.

12 2017 All children successfully relocated to better accommodation. Sarah visited Kathmandu in July 2017 to find everyone well and in good conditions.

13 Information Media We will maintain our website and Facebook page as a means to share updates relating to NSH and the students we support even after NSFN closes officially 30 th November Website: Facebook: Contact Information We will keep our addresses: Sarah Lawton Dave Kerr Shyam Bishunke Sponsorship sarah@supportfornepal.org dave@supportfornepal.org shyam@supportfornepal.org Thank you for supporting Namaste Support for Nepal December 2011 November 2017 We will be closing our bank account and paypal facility. If you wish to help us pay for education for deserving young people in Nepal please contact us., From Sarah, Dave, Shyam, Robin and Friends.