Tamang Children’s Fund

Tamang Children’s Fund

Heart of the Quake from San Francisco Chronicle on Vimeo.

My name is Sumita Tamang Davis and I started Tamang Children’s Fund in order to help 10 orphaned Tamang children, who were at risk of disease, despair, and malnourishment, get an education, become self-reliant, and contribute to the re-building of their village and community. That number has increased today to 16 children. I am particularly concerned because this age group is at high risk of human trafficking. Traffickers lure children away from their villages to Kathmandu where they are sold into slavery. I grew up in the village of Bratho in Nepal and moved to the United States 34 years ago. The tragedy of the devastating 2015 Sindhupalchock District earthquakes had an inexpressible effect on me, as I lost 26 of my family members! I hope, by establishing this foundation, to help Bratho’s surviving children who were left in the village with little or no family support.

Background

The Tamang people are one of the poorest ethnic groups in Nepal, and were amongst the hardest hit by the April 2015 earthquake. Even though the Tamang are the largest group of people who live on the isolated hillsides near the capital city of Kathmandu, they are a disadvantaged indigenous Buddhist minority among the politically dominant Hindu groups. Because they live and work on steep hillside locations, they are particularly vulnerable to natural disasters such as earthquakes, floods, and landslides. Their remote hillside agrarian villages are difficult to reach and often neglected by government agencies.

It is hard to convey the level of isolation of these villages. To reach my village, I must travel by truck for five hours from Katmandu and then proceed on foot for 6 more hours – carrying food and other goods on my back! During the earthquake, the footpaths and footbridges were destroyed, resulting in total isolation and total absence of rescue aid. Nearly one third of all Nepal earthquake deaths were Tamang, and the vast majority of their homes, including entire villages, were destroyed. Of the surviving children, many are orphaned, having lost one or both parents to injury and lack of medical care.

Purpose

The purpose of the foundation is to support the education of Bratho village orphans.  Funds pay for schooling through high school (SLC certificate), where they will also be housed and fed and given psychological help and support in the absence of family or governmental support. The children are already attending the well-respected Shree Nurbuling Manichaur Secondary School, but their education and well-being is at risk without ongoing financial support. We want the children to be safe, happy and healthy so they can return home as productive members of their community.

How You Can Help

You can help by sponsoring a child. Providing just $35 per month goes a long way. It covers all of the child’s room and board at the school, as well as their school lessons. We are looking for people who can sponsor a child or children until they complete their School Leaving Certificate (SLC). The SLC is the Nepalese exit exam before graduation. The financial commitment ranges from 5 years to 15 years.

Please take a look the children’s profiles and see if you can help one of them.  If so, simply click on the SPONSOR link and you will be guided through the online process.

If you prefer to pay by check, please send your monthly support to:

Tamang Children’s Fund
PO Box 384
Nevada City, CA 95959
Tax ID: 81-3051744
Email: sumita@tamangchildrensfund.org
Phone: 530-277-5511

Your ongoing support will help my village and my community recover from this devastating event.

Thank you,

Sumita Tamang Davis