Manju’s business is thriving

This is Manju, she’s flourishing at her shop stall because of a loan WWR gave her.

A chance to help an earthquake widow

We thought you would be interested to read this story of a woman WWR has just started to help, thanks to your generous donations following the earthquake we have been able to help her already.  This is her story, more than anything we ask you to please pray for her.

Sumitra used to live in Kuleshor, Kathmandu with her husband Satrughan and daughter Surupa. Her husband used to work in Civil Mall for family daily bread. She also used to work as care giver in a school but in temporary basis but she had left that job because of daughter’s school. She was searching another job after daughter’s school starts. But entire situation has been changed suddenly after 25^thApril 2015.
On that day, earthquake struck without any warning. She was at church service with her daughter that time. Husband had night duty and that time he was at home sleeping. After earthquake, she gave a telephone call in his mobile phone but he did not receive that. He had night duty that night too and she and her daughter were terrifying so much so Sumitra went to her relative’s house with her daughter. From there she gave several telephone calls but he did not received phone. Then they went to her rented room to check the situation. She found that the house where they were was completely collapsed due to earthquake. The people from neighborhood told her that there was couple of people inside trapped or dead. The debris from that house completely buried her household stuffs and possessions. The only thing she had were the clothes she was wearing. She tried to search for her husband at relative’s houses and every hospital in Kathmandu but she did not find him. Then she had a doubt that he was buried under the debris of destroyed house.
Nepal Army, police and other relief workers tried to search for her husband on the debris from the second day of major earthquake. After four days of hard works of Armies, Polices, her relatives and other rescue workers, they found the dead body of her husband trapped under that destroyed house. This had been taken out after 4 days. Nepal Police gave her the death certificate and the dead body of her husband. Beside that she did not get any relief from government.
She lost not only her husband but lost all possessions. She was not in condition to search of her stuffs from the debris as she was in grief. After a week she tried to search of her stuffs from the debris but she found that all of her stuffs were stolen at night or taken by my neighbors pretending as their possessions. Now she is on the refuge of her relatives. She became widow and has nothing left. She had lost not only her husband but all the household utensils and possessions as well.
She had just admitted herself on class ONE at Prerana School as she had great desire to learn read and write. But it seems very hard for her to continue it. She is helpless by every mean and not able to survive without support from others.
Sumitra is a committed member of Bethsaida Church – Nepal. Originally she is from Makwanpur district. She is from a back ward ethnic group and she has never been to school. She is 27 years old and has one daughter of 6 years.

WWR is desperately trying to find her somewhere to live and will replace all her household goods.  Please pray that a suitable place will be found as available rooms are hard to find since so many were destroyed.  She is in need of a sponsor, which costs £15 per month, but most importantly will commit to pray for her regularly.  Please contact us if you can help, thank you.

New referral

If you are interested in sponsoring a woman for either £15 or $30 per month then we have several women who need sponsors.  Swasthani is the latest woman to be referred to us.  She is a widow and has three daughters to support, one of whom is often sick.  She says “Seeing my daughter sick I always cry from inside….Day and night I am now worried…There is no one to listen my problem”.

If you are able to help please contact us anna@wwr-Nepal.org

Thank you.

The Big Give Challenge – Double your donation to Women Without Roofs

Dear All,

We know that at this time there are lots of demands on your time and money but we hope you won’t mind us asking you to consider Women Without Roofs as well. We are delighted to let you know that we have been accepted for the Big Give Challenge this year.  This means that if you donate to us at 10am (GMT) on either Thursday, Friday or Saturday this week (4th, 5th or 6th December) you donations to us will be doubled!

All you need to do is visit this website

http://new.thebiggive.org.uk/project/wwr

as soon after 10am to be in with the best chance of having your donation doubled.  The matching funds will run out each day so please be quick!

Funds donated will go towards Grace Women’s Home that continues to run smoothly and helps women in the most vulnerable of circumstances.  Our prayer has always been that the home will be a place where women who have faced ostracism and violence will instead experience love, joy, peace, patience and kindness.

With funding for the home secured this will allow WWR to focus efforts and resources on new projects.  There is a desperate lack of mental health provision in Nepal and we have been partnering with an organisation called Koshish since the start of the year to help fill this gap.  Our hope is that in 2015 we can increase our involvement with them and recruit a new staff member to focus on this issue.

There is another new project in the pipeline that we will use to give work experience and training to those of our ladies that wish to work in the tourism industry – a vital and growing component of Nepal’s economy.  So, if you were thinking of visiting Nepal, watch this space, and maybe this will be your chance to go!

Thank you for reading this far – we hope you can donate to us online this Thursday, Friday or Saturday, please put a reminder in your diary now for 10am!  Even the smallest amount helps.

We wish you a very joyful advent.

With our thanks,

Anna, Renee, Marilyn, Jan & Nic

The Trustees of WWR

Our latest newsletter

Dear All,
It is always a pleasure to write to all of our supporters, some of you have been helping WWR for many years now and some of you are new to us. Thank you to you all. This newsletter comes to you for the fi…rst time from America as I (Anna) moved here in May, we are probably here for a couple of years, but who knows!
I thought I would write about sponsorship this time. Most of you sponsor a particular woman or a particular project that we run (if you are in doubt please get in touch!) Regular sponsorship is the foundation on which all WWR’s activities are built and we are so thankful for it. We know that sponsors enjoy the updates on the women that Renee sends each year when she visits them – thanks Renee!
Some donors have said they would like to do more to help the women they sponsor, so it seems like a good idea to let you know what you could do, though these are all optional so don’t feel under any obligation to do them.
If you would like to write to the lady you support that would be wonderful as they find it so encouraging. If you are able to enclose a photo that’s even better as most of our ladies are illiterate. Please keep letters short so our staff can translate them easily. If you would like to write to the lady you sponsor please e-mail anna@wwr-nepal.org who will provide you with the address.
As for gifts, it is impossible to send anything from the UK to Nepal as parcels go missing so often, but if you would like to donate an extra amount for something specific, such as clothes, cooking items or children’s school supplies then you can do this. You may donate up to £20 no more than every six months to the lady you sponsor, any more than this may create tensions between women who do receive gifts and those that don’t.
Finally, there is the option to visit the woman you sponsor or the project you support! Tourism is such a valuable revenue stream for Nepal and a key part of their economy, so if you are thinking about going, why not?
if you have been reading this but don’t yet sponsor a woman then the good news is that we currently have five ladies who are in need of your help. Sponsorship is £15 per month and gives the woman security to know that she has somewhere safe to live and if she needs help she has someone to turn to.
Each of these ladies has difficult challenges that they face and their stories can’t easily be summarised. However, in brief, Jamuna and Chanda are widows, Beena and her three children were abandoned, Maya has never married and Sita believes her husband was murdered. Beyond these basic facts are stories of intense suffering and if you are interested in knowing more or sponsoring one of them please let us know.
Liking our Facebook page is the best way to keep up with what WWR is doing in Nepal, please join us there if you haven’t already.
Thank you again for all your support and prayers.
In Christ,
Anna, Renee, Nic, Jan & Marilyn, the trustees of WWR

Moving words

These moving words (that I hope can be read) record the way a new lady called Chanda feels about her life. She is in her 30s and was married for just one year before her husband died. She has no children and faces a life alone as a widow. Already a member of a low caste she will face further ostracism for being a widow as she now perceived as being ‘unlucky’. Chanda is in need of a sponsor for £15 per month. Please e-mail anna@wwr-Nepal.org if you can help. Thanks.

Newly bereaved woman

This woman and her family have just been referred to us in Nepal, we don’t have all the details yet but know that the father died of HIV/Aids only a few weeks ago. We’ll let you know when we find out more and how we plan to help them. The mother’s name is Sarita, please pray for her.