Sansar Nepal - an overview of our NGO

2. …is a common greeting in Nepal
coming from Sanskrit meaning:
“The divine in me
bows to the divine in you.”

3. CONTENTS
• INTRODUCTIONS
• WHAT IS SANSAR NEPAL?
• WHAT IS “THE GARDEN”, WHAT DO WE DO THERE, AND WHY?
• STAYING WITH US & GETTING INVOLVED
• OUR PROJECTS
• TREKKING & TOURS
• HOW YOU CAN HELP US
• HOW YOU CAN CONTACT US

4. INTRODUCTION
Michelle Bliss is a former international school teacher who
came to Nepal for the first time in 2003. Touched by the lack of
educational opportunities for promising and talented young
Nepalis, she began a small sponsorship program which grew
over the years into a non profit organisation, SANSAR NEPAL.
This is led today by one of her first sponsored children Roshan
Gautam. In 2011 Michelle left teaching to spend more time in
Nepal and assist Roshan in the work of the non profit organisation
SANSAR NEPAL. (for the full story, see
https://sansarnepal.org/2015/03/05/michelle-tells-the-sansar-
nepal-story/)

6. WHAT IS SANSAR NEPAL?
SANSAR comes from Sanskrit and means: one world, earth or
planet.
SANSAR NEPAL (SSN) was registered as a Nepalese non profit
organisation in September 2003 to promote education for
change in Nepal. It aims to provide opportunities for
learning and personal growth, and to support Nepalese
change makers. It is run by Roshan Gautam at the head of a
board of 7 members and a core group of 5 international
organisers/advisors in the UK and Malaysia. It depends on
individual sponsorship and donations for its funding whilst
working towards eventual self sufficiency.

7. WHAT IS ‘THE GARDEN’?
The Garden is none of these, but has elements of each!
• family home
•hostel
•school
•guest house
•training, learning & activity centre
WHAT DO WE DO HERE AND WHY?
Perhaps the closest description is a “learning centre”.We provide a nurturing
family environment where children, resident and non-resident, are supported
materially, emotionally and spiritually in their growth and development. We
provide opportunities for learning and experiencing in a wide variety of fields as
well as creative expression and personal exploration. The children in our care
also receive a regular education in a local school where the language of
instruction is English.

8. This is “The Garden” (rear view): a
large rented house in Pokhara,
Nepal, which is home to 8 Nepalese
children/young people. It is called
“The Garden” because we plant
seeds of hope for a brighter future in
the children in our care. We water
them with love, nourish them and
help them to grow into future leaders
and change makers.The house was
set up in November of 2012.
This is our garden and field with
greenhouses built by the children. We
aim to grow our own food as far as
possible, and also keep chickens.

9. This is the view of the
Himalayas from the
top of the house. It’s
the Annapurna range,
and Pokhara is the
base for trekking in
this area.
It is our aim that the children in our car grow
into confident, socially adept and
compassionate young adults committed to
being change makers and leaders in their
society. These are the values that are
taught and modelled at The Garden to
assist them in their personal growth and
development.

10. Here they are (above) with the youngest
ones ready for school. They attend 2 local
schools, where they study all subjects in
English, except Nepali. Their English
language skills will be very important to
them when they are looking for jobs in the
future. Only 15% of the Nepalese population
reach class 10 (the equivalent of
GCSE/High School Diploma age) and even
less pass the School Leaver’s Certificate at
the end of this year. All the children we have
sponsored thus far have achieved this with
good grades and continued for 2 or 3 further
years of higher education.
Not to forget Sparky,
our house dog. :o)
This is the resident Garden Family
(below). Roshan, who ,manages the
house, is on the right, next to Dilmaya
our house mother, in pink. She cooks
for the kids and also keeps the house
clean. The 3 youngest, seated, are her
children. The other kids have families
in remote villages and are from very
poor backgrounds. They would not be
able to go to school if they stayed with
them. We do encourage them to have
regular contact with their parents.

11. You will now be taken on a guided tour of The Garden and meet the children. Enjoy!

12. This is Sanjay. He is one of The Garden’s non resident
sponsored children. We help a number of children from
very poor backgrounds to study and obtain a school
leaver’s certificate. Our hope is that Sanjay will be able
to find a good job and support his family in the future.
We are currently sponsoring 4 such young people and
are looking for sponsors for several others.
This is where Sanjay lives with his mother and sister, all
in one room. The mother is disabled and his 22 year old
sister currently supports the 3 of them. There are many
such sad cases here in Nepal.

13. STAYING WITH US AND GETTING INVOLVED
As you saw in the video, there are 3 guest rooms and we
welcome guests throughout the year to share their time and
skills with our young people and get involved in our projects.
Guests are encouraged to stay for 1 month or longer
although shorter stays are also possible.
The cost is 12 -15 USD per person/per day depending on the
time of year.
The revenue from our guest visits helps us to run The
Garden.

14. Here are some the guests we have
received in the 3 years since The
Garden opened: they have been of all
ages and many different nationalities:
this is Mike, a retired electrician from the
UK who has visited us 4 times. He has
enjoyed helping around The Garden and
taking the kids rock climbing, which is
one of his passions. He is now
sponsoring the education of one of our
boys.
STAYING WITH US

15. This is Katia an art teacher from Brazil teaching the
kids to make cartoons (with Michelle’s grandson.).
This is Clive from the UK who came for a
month following a redundancy, teaching chess.
He’s just realised that his student, Prakash,
has got him in check mate! :o)

16. This is Fern, a 20 year old girl from England, on her
gap year teaching yoga to our kids.
This is Bea from Australia, a retired international school
teacher, teaching a business class at our children’s
school. Bea wrote about her stay at The Garden: ‘You
taught me about joy in life, mountains, and family which
is not blood. Thank you for allowing me to help you. It
means a great deal to me.’

17. We have had guests who taught cheese making, gardening, interior decorating, baking, sewing,
English, music, singing, dancing, capoeira, and much more… So what is capoeira?, you may
ask. THIS is capoeira! :o
In case you think you don’t really have a special skill to share with the children…Just reading
with them, helping them with their homework or talking to them are all great contributions, and
its a win-win-deal: the kids benefit and the guests experience Nepal in a deeper way. A stay at
The Garden can sometimes be a profound and even life changing experience.

18. GARY’S PUPPET SHOW
Gary Pesciallo, a guest at The Garden, presenting his puppet
show using puppets made of recycled materials to local children
at The Garden.

19. Nepal is a great place to bring children. This is
Michelle’s 7 year old grandson with his Nepali
friends waiting for the bus to go and spend the day
at their school.
These are 2 American boys who visited the Garden
with their parents. Here they are learning to eat dal
bhat, the Nepali staple, with their hands. The parents
said it was the best trip they had ever had and it
completely changed one of the boys’ outlook on life.

20. OUR PROJECTS
• Supporting young change agents of Nepal:
Psychbigyaan
• New Star Academy School
• Full Circle Project
• Shree Bijaya Primary School
• Earthquake response

21. SUPPORTING YOUNG CHANGE AGENTS OF NEPAL
It is also part of the SSN mission to support young people who
are trying to make changes in Nepal. Sujan, Kripa and Ashish
are psychology graduates who have set up their own non-profit
organisation called Psychbigyaan to promote and destygmatise
mental health issues, especially in young people (There is a high
suicide rate in Nepal.). They have chosen to stay in Nepal rather
than find better paying jobs with more opportunities overseas.
We are helping them to conduct workshops
in local schools to give students an
opportunity to share their problems and
concerns, which can avoid serious mental
issues later on. They are also helping
teachers and administrators to understand
the importance of pastoral care in schools.
They act as inspirational role models for our
children at The Garden who look forward to
their visits.

22. NEW STAR ACADEMY
is a school in Sindhuli
with which SSN has
recently formed a
connection. Sindhuli is a
remote valley 6 hours
drive east of Kathmandu.
The school has been set
up by the village
community to provide an
education in English for
the poorest children in
the village. They are
looking for volunteer
teachers to come and
work with their teachers
for a few weeks, to
improve their English and
train them in modern
teaching methods. Let
Michelle know if you are
interested!

23. FULL CIRCLE PROJECT
Roshan and his 4 siblings were born in
this house in the village of Dawa, a day
hike from Pokhara. It has been empty for
the past 4 years and the terraces
uncultivated, as his mother and father
have moved closer to Pokhara so his
mother can work in a local hotel. His
father is unfit to work. We are hoping to
renovate the house, possibly for overnight
visits to the village or as a kind of visitor
centre, and to cultivate the land again.
The views from the house are
spectacular!

24. SRI BIJAYA PRIMARY SCHOOL
The village school was built by Roshan’s
grandfather 43 years ago. Over the
years the numbers have dropped from
170 to 30 students as families have left
the village. Here is Sangita, Roshan’s
younger sister visiting the school which
she attended for 4 years. We are hoping
to support the school and the
community and to bring new life and
hope to encourage young people to
return and stay.
One of the two school building was
damaged during the earthquake. We
are looking into ways in which we can
help the school and the community it
serves.

25. EARTHQUAKE RESPONSE
SSN, along with numerous other small NGOs, was very active in the earthquake relief
efforts in April 2015. We raised funds, and joining forces with local groups and individuals,
we were able to provide emergency food and supplies to 7,000 people in 26 villages. This
is what a typical relief drive looked like. (Roshan on the left in white t-shirt.)

26. EARTHQUAKE RESPONSE
This was a typical scene in the villages we visited: houses in rubble, livestock
and food completely destroyed, loss of human life, injury and trauma.

27. EARTHQUAKE RESPONSE
The roads were often almost impassable,
and got worse when the monsoon started
a few weeks after the earthquakes. SSN
delivered zinc roofing sheets for temporary
shelters. You can see Binod on the front of
the truck. All our children helped with the
relief effort, the older ones participating in
the relief drives and the younger ones with
packing the supplies.
After the monsoon, as winter approached,
many children were living and trying to study
in temporary or badly damaged structures. We
launched a “Warm For Winter” campaign and
delivered school sweaters, tights, socks and
shoes, as well as warm blankets for the old
and infirm to more than 500 people in 10 badly
hit communities.

28. TREKKING & TOURS
Roshan and Michelle offer group treks and/or tours in
spring (February to April) and autumn (October and
November) each year. These are generally 8-10 days
and are a great way to experience Nepal! They
include visits to The Garden, and introduce guests to
our ongoing projects as well as some of the special
highlights of Nepal. They are definitely not your
regular package tour!
As neither Roshan or Michelle receive a salary for
what they do, these tours provide a small source of
income for them. They also give the children and
young people a chance to guide guests in their home
country.

29. Roshan is an experienced tour
guide and has certification in
mountain rescue and first aid. He
has led many tours in the
Annapurna range. The young
people from “The Garden” often
assist him as porters. This is this
year’s group (2016) setting off for
the 4 day Poon Hill trek.

30. On the way up…..
Made it….!
The reward: dawn over the Annapurnas!

31. Michelle offers a “Taste of Nepal” tour, for those who
are not up for a full blown trek. Here is this year’s group
(2016) in Bhaktapur, a UNESCO heritage city, sampling
the speciality yoghurt made in terracotta pots and
known as the “king of curds”!
They visited some amazing
places…this is Patan, Durbar Square.

32. … had some interesting experiences. This was a spontaneous
dance session at Amrita Foundation, residential psychiatric
facility, where we delivered craft supplies, books and magazines
for the residents and gave some of the ladies a much
appreciated beauty treatment.
… met some interesting people! Heidi and
a saddhu (Hindu holy man.).

33. … some went paragliding. Pokhara is an
international paragliding centre so this is an
excellent opportunity to give it a try!
(Roshan is also training as a paragliding
instructor…)

34. Sanskrit:
“The divine in me
bows to the divine in you.”
Back to ‘Namaste’, which actually means both ‘hello’ and ‘goodbye’. It
is the heart of who we are and what we do at SANSAR NEPAL. It’s a
gesture which is a recognition of the basic goodness and dignity of each
human being. By bringing people of different backgrounds together to
work, play and learn from each other, we believe we are doing our part
in making the world a better place.
Thank you for taking time to read this.

35. 1.Make a monthly donation to help us cover our running costs (rent, utilities,
food etc.)
It is our priority right now to make ends meet!
Our income to run our home comes primarily from the following:
• sponsorship of our individual resident children
• room rentals during the tourist season
• small monthly donations from friends, friends of friends and former visitors to The Garden.
Sponsors sometimes have to discontinue due to their circumstances, and when the happens
we run into a deficit, which is the case currently.
So we need your help!!!
We are right now looking for an extra 500 USD per month to continue to run our home
and our organisation.
Any kind of monthly contribution, even as little as 10 USD per month would be, under
the circumstances, of enormous help to us.
Unless we are able to cover our own costs, we are not in a position to reach out to those who
need us.
How you can help us

36. 2. Sponsor the living costs and care of one of our resident children
We are asking for 960 USD per year (80 USD per month) to enable us the feed, clothe and
generally take care of one of our resident children. (We can also split care packages into two
equal contributions of 480 USD per year – or 40 USD per month.)
There are currently 3 of our 8 children still in need of sponsorship. This contributes to our
running costs and also offers the sponsor a personal connection with a child.
We give regular feedback, send photos etc., encourage communication via email and skype, and
welcome all sponsors to visit their sponsored child at The Garden.
Please contact Michelle directly for more details.
How you can help us

37. HOW YOU CAN HELP US
3. Sponsor the education of a poor child (like Sanjay)
There are numerous children living locally in very poor family circumstances (single/disabled
mother, no mother, unemployed father etc. etc.) Some particularly needy children are
brought to our attention from time to time and our help is requested.
If we decide to accept the child, we place them in an English medium school, as English
language skills is very important for their future employment.
The children are also required to use our facilities at The Garden on a regular basis so that
we can monitor their progress and wellbeing, whilst providing guidance and counselling.
Currently we are looking for sponsorship for 2 poor children. The yearly cost depends on
the school fees and the class, but is likely to be in the region of 800 - 900 USD per year (65 -
75 USD per month). Please contact us for more information.
4. One off donations / fundraisers
One time donations are of course gratefully received and are used for whatever is most
needed. For example, a recent donation by a guest at The Garden enabled us to replace all
our broken/leaking water tanks at the house, an essential job for which we had no funds.
Organising a small fund raising event would also be a great way to help us. (We can provide a
different version of this presentation with separate text.)

38. HOW YOU CAN HELP US
OUR PROJECTS
5. Sri Bijaya Primary School
We are committed to helping this school and its community. There is currently no
budget at the school to provide a midday snack (tiffin) for the children, so the
children go hungry from morning till late afternoon unless a teacher buys it.
The plan is to provide seeds and plants, as well as chickens for eggs, in the vicinity
of the school, so that the children are able to produce their own food for their
midday meal.
If you are interested in getting involved in this, please contact Michelle for more
details.
6. Psychbigyaan Support
We would like to be able to cover the transportation, accommodation, stationery
and photocopying costs of the Psychbigyaan volunteer team to enable them to stay
at The Garden and lead workshops in local schools. For a 4 day visit for a team of
3, we are looking for 100 US $. We would like to be able to invite them twice a
year.

39. HOW YOU CAN CONTACT US
For more information on our projects, sponsoring a child, visiting and
volunteering at ‘The Garden’, or joining one of our tours or treks please:
… visit our website:
www.sansarnepal.org
… visit our Facebook page:
Sansar Nepal at The Garden
… visit our Facebook page:
Trek ’n’ Tour Nepal with Michelle and Roshan
… or email Michelle directly:
michbliss@gmail.com

40. Bank details:
1.“Donate Now” button on our website www.sansarnepal.org
2. Bank transfer to CIMB Bank, Malaysia: CIMB Bank, Account number: 8001741100,
SWIFT code: CIBBMYKL
3.Bank transfer to Taunussparkasse, Deutschland: DE 94 51250000 0010435064,
SWIFT code: HELADEF1TSK
4.PayPal to sansarnepal@outlook.com
Please note:
Our registered Sansar Nepal non-profit account is in Nepal. Whilst it is possible, if
necessary, to transfer money directly to this account, we use the CIMB Malaysia
account as our main SSN account and transfer monies into it and then, as and when
needed, to Nepal. The UK account linked to our website via Paypal is in the name of
Amanda Peacock, one of our team based in the UK, whilst the other accounts are in
Michelle’s name (Michelle Elizabeth Bliss). Please add the necessary transfer fees.
We are happy to give you a numbered online receipt on request. Please advise us of
your transfer by email to sansarnepal@outlook.com For more explanation if
required, please contact Michelle.

41. Thank you for your help