Project:

Purchase of school supplies for students in Mamerku and Sindhupalchow

Impact:

Students in the remote villages of Mamerku and Sindhupalchow have had difficulty accessing basic school supplies such as pens/pencils, notebooks, and text books. Karma Project purchases supplies for the 95 students in these schools so they can continue to progress in their studies and gain more opportunities for work in the future.

Project:

Nupri Chum Valley Jacket Distribution

Impact:

During the winter of 2020/2021 the financial impact of COVID-19/novel coronavirus made it difficult for villagers in the Nupri Chum Valley to afford warm clothing for their growing children. Karma Project purchased winter jackets for 116 kids in Nupri Village, and Karma Sherpa transported them to the village and distributed them during his trip. This made the winter months much more manageable for families who were struggling even before the COVID-19 epidemic.

Project:

Improving Monastery Facilities

Impact:

The Buddhist monastery in Sibuje Village is an important place for community gatherings and ceremonies.  Unfortunately the monastery does not have overnight facilities where a Lama can stay, nor a kitchen or dining room.  This has resulted in difficulty when hosting important Puja Ceremonies that are overseen by a Lama.  Karma Project is currently raising funds for this project, which has an estimated cost of $18,650 USD.  This project will reduce the expense of important life events, such as weddings and funerals, and will improve villagers’ access to resources of religious importance.

Project:

Novel Coronavirus/COVID-19 Relief

Impact: 

In the spring of 2020 the Novel Coronavirus/COVID-19 had a large impact on the tourism sector of Nepal.  International tourism ceased, resulting in the loss of work for guides, porters, and other tourism workers.  This led to food insecurity amongst the poor, who could no longer rely on wages from tourism to pay for spoil-resistant food stuffs such as oil, rice, noodles and lentils.  It also led to an inability of villagers to pay for lodging and food for students who attend school in distant villages.  With the help of many supporters, Seema Chaudry raised $4,260 on behalf of Karma Project.  This money provided food for 26 families in three villages who had been facing food insecurity.

Project:

Blanket Distribution in Ghap Nupri Chhum Valley, Manaslu Ganesh Himal Region

Description:

Following the 2015 earthquake the Manaslu region of Nepal was devastated.  Many structures were destroyed, community members killed, and families displaced.  This resulted in widespread homelessness and suboptimal living conditions for those that remained.  In the winter of 2020 Karma Sherpa, co-founder of Karma Project, distributed 100 blankets to 100 children in the community to help families cope with the winter cold.  This project was made possible through the generous support of Tsin Wen Yeo of Singapore who has been a remarkable partner and ally in supporting communities in Nepal.

Project:

Outfitting local guides and porters with needed clothing and equipment

Description:

Karma Project has partnered with Outdoor Research, Black Diamond, Rab, Patagonia, and Moosejaw to provide clothing and equipment for guides and porters in Nepal who cannot afford to purchase their own clothing and equipment for work in the mountains.  Much of this clothing is returned to a clothing bank at the end of a trek or climb so that the goods are available for others to use for work in the future.

Impact: 

As of December, 2016 more than three-hundred pounds of clothing and equipment has been used by thirty-seven mountain tourism workers across four districts.  In 2014  Cyclone Hud Hud caused massive avalanches throughout the Himalayan region, resulting in the deaths of more than forty people.  The donations of warm clothing from Karma Project prevented dozens of porters from experiencing frostbite, and may have saved their lives.

Project:

Sibuje Village Micro-hydro electric Project

Details:

In 2019 Karma Project completed an electric project in Sibuje Village, Nepal.  The project brought excess electricity from an existing micro-hydro plant to the village via many kilometers of power line.  The project was completed by local villagers with the help of Nepalese engineers who oversaw the project to its completion.  Prior to this project the residents had no electricity.  The residents of Sibuje Village had been searching for a way to provide power to the village since 2006.  Power is being used for a medical clinic, school, and for lighting and heat in the houses of villagers.  Thanks so much to the many donors who made this project possible, including the generous support of Kirchoff Fitness of Seattle, Crooked Trails, High Tide Adventure, and Tsin Wen of Singapore.

Impact:

Power generated from micro-hydro has reduced deforestation in the area, since cooking may be done with electric stoves rather than using wood cut from local trees.  It has improved access to medical treatment, since electricity is now available at a nearby medical clinic.  Lastly, it has improved student outcomes, since light is now available in homes during the winter months when students return home to study.  This has resulted in more work opportunities for young people living in the village.

Project: 

Purchase of school uniforms.

Description:

School uniforms are a requirement in Nepal.  Unfortunately many villages are far from places where uniforms or material for making them can be purchased, and families cannot afford the expense.  Karma Project purchases and distributes uniforms to families living in remote villages.

Impact:

With the help of Mr. Atsushi Kaku of Japan Karma Project provides free uniforms to all students attending school in Sibuje Village, Nepal.

Project: 

Provide medical scholarships.

Description:

Karma Project has been providing funding to residents of remote villages to attend medical training since 2011.  Once trained, students return to their home villages to provide medical care.  This has been a particularly effective means of providing medical service in villages where infrastructure is minimal and visiting doctors find it difficult to stay long-term due to cultural differences, language barriers, and remoteness.

Impact:

Scholarships have been made available to residents of Sibuje Village and Hille Village in the Eastern Everest Region of Nepal.  Young women from the villages have attended medical training in Kathmandu and provided medical care to family and friends in remote areas.  This training has also allowed trainees to work in hospitals in Kathmandu, which was a profession that was unavailable to them without the funding for training provided by Karma Project.

Project:

2015 Earthquake Relief

Details:

In April of 2015 a 7.8 magnitude earthquake in Nepal killed nearly 9,000 people and left thousands more without shelter.  Karma Project immediately began distributing food and funds to repair damages and house the homeless.

Impact:

Karma Project raised and distributed more than $13,000 USD in less than two weeks.  The first distribution of funds was for temporary shelter for those who were exposed to driving rain and insects after the loss of their homes.  The second distribution was used to repair homes, schools, and medical clinics.  With the help of Crooked Trails of Seattle, Karma Project was able to raise an additional $30,000 USD to reconstruct a school in the village of Hille that was leveled by the quake.

Project: 

Fund medical procedures and transportation

Details:

Many villages in Nepal are several days walk from the nearest medical facility.  Families must decide if an illness or injury is severe enough to warrant the trip to a clinic, and if they have enough money to pay for services once the trip is made.  Karma Project provides funding for the transport of patients and for medical procedures.  The picture above is of Ang Dawa who needed to have back surgery for an ongoing condition that resulted in loss of his employment as a porter and made it difficult for him to work as a subsistence farmer.

Impact:

The medical procedures paid for by Karma Project have saved the lives of local people and allowed them to continue to work on the farms where they were born and raised.  Without these procedures entire families often succumb to poverty due to a loss of agricultural productivity.

Project: 

Water hosing for villages that have lost their water supplies.

Details:

Following the 2015 earthquake the village of Ramailo Danda lost its water supply, possibly due to a shift in the water table.  Karma Project purchased more than three kilometers of hosing for a gravity feed system to direct water from an existing stream to the village.

Impact:

Prior to the installation of water line by Karma Project villagers of Ramailo Danda had no access to water.  As a result, all villagers were displaced.  The installation of water line has allowed villagers to return to their homes.

Project:

Trail repair and construction.

Details: 

Foot trails are used for trade and transportation throughout Nepal.  Without them it is not possible to go to school, go to work, get necessary commodities, or reach medical services.  Each year monsoon floods damage or destroy trails, and in some cases this necessitates engineering projects that cost large sums of money.  Karma Project pays for trail reconstruction projects that cannot be afforded by local communities.

Impact:

The trail from Lukla to Mera Peak is a major trade route for thousands of people.  In the late summer of 2016 the trail was washed-out, and was unable to be repaired by local people.  While the trail was in bad condition several porters slipped on logs spanning a gap and were seriously injured.  Karma Project is funding the reconstruction of the trail to allow villagers access to local markets, medical facilities, and transportation services.

Project:

Provide industry standard training to Nepali mountain tourism workers.

Details:

Many mountain tourism workers in Nepal have little or no training in what they do.  This is not only true for porters, but also for high elevation trekking and mountaineering guides who work in some of the most dangerous places on earth.  There are many barriers to receiving training, including the cost of training, distance to where the training is offered, and knowledge of when and where training is taking place. Karma Project provides tuition free training to mountain tourism workers near where workers live.

Impact:

In 2015 Da Tenji Sherpa, pictured above, died on Makalu with his tent partner.  Evidence suggests that the cause of death was carbon monoxide poisoning due to running a stove in an unventilated tent.  Da Tenji had guided on many 8,000 meter peaks including Everest, but had never received formal training.  Karma Sherpa, the Director of Nepal Operations for Karma Project, has lost nearly a dozen friends to preventable accidents in the mountains.  Da Tenji Sherpa was his brother-in-law.  In Da Tenji’s honor, Karma Project runs free trainings for mountain tourism workers during the winter season.  Trainings are overseen by professional mountain guides with training through the American Mountain Guides Association and other IFMGA affiliates.

Project: 

Provide musical instruments and instruction to school students.

Details:

At the request of school teachers in the Eastern Everest Region of Nepal, Karma Project with the help of private donors such as Luke Millinski have purchased modern and traditional instruments for schools to use in grade school classrooms.  Music is a very important part of Nepali culture and education, but many schools cannot afford instruments, tape recorders, music, or instructors.

Impact:

As a result of Karma Project donations, schools in Sibuje Village have received instruments to use for instruction in the classroom, and to use while teaching traditional dance.