More about Future for Nepal

Future for Nepal was set up by a Durham student named Tom Wells, after living in for eight months during his gap year. He was moved not only by the desperate poverty he saw, but also the depth of kindness and generosity of the Nepali people. The charity's aim is to provide children not only with a good education, but also with a safe and supportive learning environment.

The core of our fundraising goes towards paying for students to board at, a private medium school in, where all classes are conducted in English. Boarding students are provided with all their meals, accommodation, books and casual clothes, as well as school uniform. The boarders stay induring term time and return home during the holidays.

I chose Future for Nepal for three core reasons. Firstly, I believe that education has both an inherent and a practical value for these students; supporting an existing school offers a tangible and constructive solution to some of the problems that can have a massive impact on the development and life prospects of clearly disadvantaged people. Secondly, I want to support a fellow student who has built up a worthwhile and credible charity through his own hard work.

Thirdly, I am impressed by the intelligence with which the charity is run, and its additional projects chosen; for example, we will be funding the development of farmland attached to a women’s refuge and school in rural . In addition to contributing to making this refuge self sufficient and therefore independent, the farm land plays a role in the counselling of the abuse victims living at the refuge. Due to their agricultural background, many of these women felt more comfortable talking while working in the field, rather than sitting in an office.

More about the specific projects the trip will support

Our fundraising will support two areas. Firstly we will fund the full time education of students at Alphas, as described above. Secondly, we will be undertaking community work with The Women’s Foundation, a Nepali non- profit organisation set up in 1988 to address a variety of social, economic and political problems faced by women and children in .

During this community phase, we will undertake several projects. We will help renovate a small (two room) school in a rural area, both by building a new classroom and redecorating. We will also teach English, organise games for the students, and talk with people from the local community, hoping to encourage enthusiasm for education.

Attached to this school is a women’s shelter, housing 50 children and 15 women, all victims of abuse and domestic violence. In the mornings will renovate the shelter, transforming them into ‘homes’ rather than buildings; in the afternoons we will help the children with their school work, and get to know the people we are helping. We will also develop the farmland attached to the women’s shelter, to help them become more self sufficient; in particular by irrigating the land and planting fruit trees which we will provide

Why I am asking you to donate

I have decided to spend a considerable amount of time fundraising for Future for Nepal this year, because I think it’s a great charity and I am proud to be involved in their work. As an example, we fundraise on the streets in (standing around in the cold!) because we have realised this is an effective way to raise more money. We will also be running events in , to get more students involved in our work.

I am asking you to sponsor me so as to recognise this effort and commitment, including in undertaking what I expect to be a difficult yet rewarding time, both hiking, and living in basic conditions whilst undertaking the community work. Although some of the money I raise will contribute towards my costs, at least 70% will go directly to the charity – this is a similar figure to the most efficient national charities, for example Oxfam and the National Lottery.

Tom Furlong (tomas.furlong@merton.ox.ac.uk

Offline Donations

A group of us sold 'smoothies' at summer 8s, raising £86 - £14 each

Collection at Victoria station: £48.71

Merton JCR Charities fund: £200

Andy Godfry: £10

Larry Furlong: £100

Alex Long: £20

Tim Mueller: £10

Cleary Gottlieb, an American law firm based in (online at www.cgsh.com/ ) matched the first £1500 that I raised.

Merton College 'fines' money: at least £1000 (total currently unconfirmed)