Dechristo Posted September 8, 2005 Posted September 8, 2005 August 2005 The Mountain Fund Newsletter Working everyday to bring healthcare, education, human rights and responsible tourism to those who need it most in the world's mountainous regions. Greetings! Wow, do we have a packed newsletter for you! There has been so much happening here at the Mountain Fund that we can barely keep up with it all. Inside this issue is news from and for our Member Agencies and Our Member Supporters. Thanks to both. So much is being done and it is all because of you. Scott Welcome New Member Agencies by Scott MacLennan Mountain Fund Continues to Grow This month we are proud to add four new Member Agencies to our rapidly growing organization. Hike For Youth The Hike for Youth is a collaborative “Hike-a-Thon” benefiting seven environmentally focused youth organizations serving diverse populations throughout the Boulder/Denver metro areas. While each program is unique in its mission and goals, they share a common focus of building personal development of young people through service, stewardship, restoration, and experiential environmental education. The non-profits participating in the Hike-for-Youth are small community-based organizations that would not be able to host such a large event on their own. However, by working collaboratively, they hope to share resources as well as leverage funds and support that might not be available otherwise. It is also a great opportunity to inform the community about the work going on in the outdoor arena and environmental issues and to share the love of the outdoors with other Coloradoans. www.hikeforyouth.org To Love Children Educational Foundation To Love Children partners with non-governmental organizations, schools, children, parents, developmental education experts, political leaders, businesses, individuals and local communities in the developing world in order to pool resources, knowledge and actions to create a global network committed to sustainable educational development for girls. www.tolovechildren.org Shantidhara Social Service Society Shantidhara is a registered non-profit organization working for the rural poor of Visakhapatnam district in the state of Andhra Pradesh, South India. Their mission is to engage in social service activities aimed at improving the economic, educational and social conditions of the poor. This includes farmers, working class people or persons of any occupation irrespective of race, caste or creed. Shantidhara is working for the socio-economic development of the poor and downtrodden people in the District of Visakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh in India). Learn more here Shantid hara Himalayan Outreach Project - The Himalayan Outreach Project was founded in 2003 with the purpose of creating a safe haven for disadvantaged and abandoned girls in Nepal. Girls who have spent their lifetimes in distress are now given hope for the first time, along with a second chance. At the gateway to the Annapurna Mountain Range, in the western town of Pokhara, Nepal the Himalayan Outreach Project runs Aasha Ghar, the "Hope House." Aasha Ghar can house up to 15 girls, a Nepali housemother and visiting foreign volunteers. Learn more about Himalayan Outreach Project here Superhuman Porters ? by Ben Ayers "Science Claims Porters Adapted to Heavy Loads" A controversial study was recently released in which it is implied that porters in Nepal have a physical predisposition to carrying extremely heavy loads. Many in the porter community are concerned that such a study could be misinterpreted to mean that carrying extreme loads is physically unharmful. Ben Ayers, Director of Porter's Progress works in the field daily with porters and wrote this insightfil article in response to the Journal of Science article - The Mountain Fund It has always been believed that the porters of Nepal are the strongest load-carriers on Earth. With a strap that goes across their foreheads to carry the weight, they lean forward to balance their wickerwork baskets piled high with goods. They grunt and heave their way up and down the Himalayan trails for days on end. It seems superhuman, it apparently is. The load-bearing capacity of the Nepali highlander has been recorded by scientific teams on the Everest trail to Sherpa market town of Namche Bazaar. The teams have studied the rugged men and women of Nepal’s midhills who routinely carry loads that greatly exceed their own body weight to altitudes that would give any seasoned trekker pause. In a new study published in the academic journal Science, physiologist Norman Heglund and his colleagues from the Université Catholique de Louvain in Belgium set out to determine exactly how the porters are able to carry so much. Setting up a field research station near Namche Bajaar (height 3500 metres), the team examined over 100 male and female porters, chosen at random. The scientists determined the body weight and the weight of the loads carried by the selected porters, whose ages ranged from 11 to 68. Special masks were also used to monitor the oxygen intake of working porters as they climbed to reach the weekly Saturday bazaar at Namche. On a single day before the Saturday market, the study counted more than 642 porters hauling an estimated 30 tons of freight up the steep climb from the Dudh Kosi valley. Most of these porters had traveled ten or more days by foot from the roadhead town of Jiri – logging more than 8000 metres of climbing and 6300 metres of descent. The average male porter on this route carried a load that amounted to 96 percent of his body weight, and female porters carried roughly 66 percent. The largest load observed was a whopping 183 percent of the carrier’s body weight. An earlier study by scholar Nancy J. Malville published in The American Journal of Human Biology in 2001 studied male porters on the same trade route, but closer to Jiri. This study found the average load to be approximately 150 percent of the carrier’s body weight. One explanation for the discrepancy with the Science report may be that the porters sell goods to households and stores en route to Namche, thus shedding weight as they proceed. Portering populations across the world use their heads to support their burdens, but none carry loads as heavy as those carried by the Nepalis. The source of the incredible strength of these porters is still unclear, but the Science article speculates that it may be tied to their short stature combined with their painstakingly slow walking pace and frequent rests. The researchers noted that the porters were extremely efficient workers – the average tourist or trekker expends the same amount of energy to carry 15 percent of her body weight as a porter carrying 100 percent or their body weight. The sheer strength of these men and women and the astounding weight of their burdens is also a testament to the harsh realities faced by Nepal’s poorest citizens. As the economy of the country continues to plummet, fueled by the growing political instability and the near-collapse of the tourism industry, one wonders where the porters will turn next. Once the demand for their goods decreases, they will find themselves with even fewer options for survival. These men and women have already pushed the limits of human strength and endurance, and now they are being burdened even more. - Ben Ayers Follow up comment: Ben has been invited to speak at the 3rd Global Summit on Peace through Tourism in Thailand from October 2-5, 2005. If you can help Ben with some of the travel costs, please contact him at www.portersprogress.org. Thanks, The Mountain Fund Learn more from Porter's Progress here News From Global Humanitarian Expeditions by Kim Balaz Volunteer in Shagri La Volunteer Opportunities: Fall 2005 / Spring 2006 Schedule A True Shangri la -- Ladakh Ladakh is our newest, and arguably, most exotic location of our volunteer mobile dental clinics. Situated deep in the Indian Himalayas, it offers spectacular mountain views and trekking. Although part of India, the Ladakh Valley has its own language, dress, cultural norms and religion. Our clinic is set up in the capital, Leh - a one-time departure point for yak trains traveling into Central Asia. If you are ready to lend a hand and journey to one of the most exotic places on earth, this is the program for you! We'll be there in late September/ October for two clinics and again in May/June 2006. See the trip schedule here. Why We Do This by Scott MacLennan What Inspires us at the Mountain Fund As I read Warren McDonald's comments in this newsletter I began to ask myself "What Inspires The Mountain Fund?" I thought it a fair question to be asking myself. What do we believe in, value and work for here at The Mountain Fund? I came away from that internal conversation with a much clearer understanding of why we exist and why we believe so strongly in the work our Member Agencies are doing. A global challenge. For all of us, not just the staff at The Mountain Fund. Consider these facts for a moment from United Nations Development Programme; Sustainable Human Development and UN Millennium Project. * 1.2 billion people live on less than U.S.$1 dollar a day. * Over half of the world's population - 3 billion people -lives on less than U.S.$2 per day. * Every year, 6 million children die from malnutrition before their 5th birthday * Over 11 million children die each year from preventable causes like malaria, diarrhea and pneumonia. These are shocking figures that represent the staggering poverty that much of the world wakes up to on a daily basis. The Mountainous Regions - Much of the poverty, lack of education, human rights violations and lack of healthcare is in the mountainous countries of the world. * Nepal - 47% Unemployment - 42% of population below poverty - infant mortality rate 66/1000 - per capita income $210us * Peru - 9.6% Unemployment - 54% of population below poverty - infant mortality rate 31/1000 - 37% of population lives on under $2.00us per day * Tanzania - 59% of population lives on under $2.00us per day - infant mortality rate 98/1000 * India - 9.2% unemployment - 25% below poverty - 56/1000 infant mortality rate * Krygastan - 18% unemployment - 40% live below poverty - 35/1000 infant mortality rate Infant mortality is used to compare the health and well-being of populations across and within countries. The infant mortality rate is the rate at which babies less than one year of age die. So that we are clear on the meaning of the rates above, the infant mortality rate for the US is 6/1000. The countries in the list above are the places where The Mountain Fund has Member Agencies working right now to improve individual human rights, healthcare, education, clean up the environment and give a hand to those who need it most. What inspires us is the work these organizations are doing everyday. As you read our newsletters please take a moment to consider what your support means, the number of lives that you have the power to impact and the positive change that you can make in the world. Designing Your Sustainability Policy by Brian T. Mullis, President Six Steps - Excerpt from the STI Newsleter Your first step toward embracing sustainable business practices entails creating a sustainability policy. Your sustainability policy will define and help you to clearly communicate your organizational goals and objectives as they relate to your environmental, socio-cultural, and economic performance and related impacts. Keep in mind that the purpose of your sustainability policy is to help guide decision-making, management and the daily operations of your business in a sustainable manner. To help you prepare an effective sustainability policy, consider the following six steps: * Begin by clearly stating your business' commitment to achieve environmental, socio-cultural, and economic performance goals and objectives. This approach will provide a solid framework for developing an effective management plan for implementing your policy. * Write your sustainability policy in such a way that its clear, concise, and the language and orientation match your existing literature so that it fits into your mainstream business operations * Determine your company's positive and negative impacts, such as the amount of energy and water consumed by your business, the amount of greenhouse gasses emitted by your business, and the economic benefits you provide to local and indigenous communities. * Address your connection to stakeholders. Determine how you're going to cooperate with your employees, clients, other service providers, and local communities: * Your sustainability policy should also focus on continuous improvement. Set fixed objectives, which can be quantified by measuring your impacts, and then create systems to measure your progress. So you know what's working and what isn't. * Last but not least, review and update your sustainability policy annually to ensure that it's up-to- date. Eliminate practices that aren't working and develop new ones to address issues that may have come up during the past year. Your sustainability policy should be a living document - something which will evolve along with your business. Read on... Get Inspired by Warren McDonald Inspiration....It's is everywhere I so look forward to getting e-mails from Warren. They never fail to remind me of what is possible in the world. Warren’s expeditions have taken him around the globe. In February 2003, he became the first double above-knee amputee to reach the summit of Africa’s tallest peak, Mt Kilimanjaro. More recently, in a spectacular effort requiring more than 2800 pull-ups, created history once again with an ascent of America's tallest cliff face, El Capitan. In an age where exploration is no longer defined in geographical terms, a new breed of disabled athletes are exploring and redefining the outer limits of human potential. Warren Macdonald is one of those athletes. Warren McDonald Don't you love it when you have one of those epiphanies, that seem so obvious once they've arrived, but had never crossed your mind until that point... This morning I spent an hour up on Grouse Mountain above Vancouver doing a TV interview with MTV Canada. At one point, Rich, the interviewer, asked me where I found my inspiration. I tend to get asked the same question a fair bit, so I rattled off my standard response of people like Nelson Mandela, Paul Watson, the Australian Greens Bob Brown etc... Driving home I got to thinking about the movie I'd watched a few nights before; The Incredible's. Have you seen it? Do yourself a favour; it's a great movie. It's basically a story of how we're not encouraged to be our best at all. Quite the opposite really. We're encouraged to be just average. Yeah, it's just a movie, but it packs a powerful message, as does The Matrix, along with a host of others. That's when it hit me. Inspiration is all around us, if we look for it. It can be in a movie, it can be in a song, it is most definitely there to be discovered when we step outside of the 'plastic bubble' we've created around ourselves, and subject ourselves to mother nature, which is where I've always found the greatest inspiration. . It's our wild places I turn to when I need a reconfirmation on what I'm doing on the planet. So, I now have a new answer next time I get asked that some old question. 'Where do you find inspiration?' Absolutely everywhere I look for it. Note From Scott at The Mountain Fund. Look for Warren to appear in Mountain Fund's I AM THE MOUNTAIN ad series soon in magazines like Rock and Ice, Climbing or Alpinist. KFK Dental Team Headed for Clinic in Rasuwa by Gyanendra Ghale Great news and it's all because of your support! A four member dental team from KFK left for the KFK- clinic to organize a week-long Dental Check-Up Camp The group includes one Dentist, two Dental Assistants/Hygienists, and KFK staff member Kumar. The camp was organized jointly with Samaj Dental Hospital in Kathmandu. The team is hoping to serve about 450-500 villagers and will provide them with a dental check up, extraction, scaling, and education to keep their teeth healthy and safe by promoting the use of moderntoothpaste and toothbrush. The camp's patient treatment report along with images will be forwarded to you soon. Cheers and success, Gyanendra Look for a follow up on this soon and visit KFK's website Molly at OR Show for The Mountain Fund by Molly Loomis Lots of help out there for our Member Agencies. Overall reception was excellent. Lots of interested folks and companies as well. I 've got lots of follow- up to do now on potential corporate memberships and donations. Folks had heard of the Fund- so yes the word is getting out- and had seen the ad in Climbing Magazine. (For those of you who haven't seen it- it looks terrific- the inside backcover of the Epics issue). Several companies expressed much interest in gear/product donation both as a membership incentive and also donations for Mountain Fund Member Agencies. I learned of a few other sources of money out there for Member agency projects that we can take advantage of. In particular a program that gives small amounts of money (500-1000$) for groups doing projects in the Himalaya region. I have a long list of folks who are willing to send emails out to company employees/put out flyers in the company office, etc. to continue getting the word out about Mountain Fund. Take care, Molly Inka Porter Project Calls It Quits by Scott MacLennan Porter Group Has Left Peru http://ih.constantcontact.com/fs045/1100947829791/img/23.jpg?a=1101042530690' alt='23.jpg?a=1101042530690'> The well known porter protection group, Inka Porter Project, that for many years has been synonomous with the Inca Trail is no more. I was in Peru about one month ago when I got the news via a mass e- mail the group sent out. I was shocked and high- tailed it on over to their offices in Cusco to find out what had happend. I met there with one of the volunteer leaders of this all volunteer organization and we spent an hour or so over coffee discussing why they were packing to leave Peru. As the story unfolded I was distressed to learn that parties seeking to organize a porter's labor union may have contributed to the decision to leave. The story is still being researched and because volunteers from the Inka Porter Project are still living in Peru we can't comment further at this time. The Inka Porter Project will be sorely missed. As a member of the board of directors of International Mountain Explorers Connection (IMEC), the Boulder-based nonprofit that has been a driving force behind porter projects in Nepal and Tanzania, as well as the US sponsor of IPP, I know that this leaves a considerable void in the support needed for porters in Peru. While still in Cusco I hurriedly made inquiries about office space and staffing for IMEC to re-open a porter assistance project in Peru. Upon my return to the states I discussed the situation at length with IMEC founder Scott Dimetrosky. IMEC has determined that if financial support can be garnered to re-open a porter project in Peru, we intend to step in and carry on the work begun there by IPP. Please visit IMEC's site today and pledge your support to bringing a porter assistance project back to Peru. Thanks, Scott MacLennan Learn More about IMEC here. ProWorld In Peru by Scott MacLennan Based on Articles Submitted by Anne Connolly of ProPeru ProWorld Service Corp, a Mountain Fund Member Agency is hard at work in Peru, Mexico and Belize. This is a synopsis of projects currently under way in Peru. Projects there cover a host of issues including healthcare, education, environments, women's issues and microbusiness. The Mountain Fund is very proud to have ProWorld Service Corps as a member. AGROTOURISM-Today many residents of the Sacred Valley communities are still economically dependent on agriculture. Several community members sell their agricultural products to the regional markets of Urubamba and Calca for an unfair price for lack of another market. The agrotourism project in Chichubamba endeavors to combine two of Peru’s largest industries: agriculture and tourism. The goals of the agrotourism project in Chichubamba are to help families diversify their products and services, expand the existing markets for indigent farmers, create an additional source of income for the families, and create new festivals and fairs celebrating the agricultural products of the region. Farm stands, U-pick operations, and farm bed and breakfasts are some of the growing trends in Agrotourism in developed countries. Once fully established, the agrotourism tour in Chichubamba will intend to model some of these first world trends in addition to introducing such novelties as beekeeping, chicha stands, and the breeding of guinea pigs. HEALTH- MINSA (Ministerio de Salud) serves approximately 18,000 uninsured people in Calca and its main goals are disseminating preventive medicine, educating the public on local health issues, and offering free and low cost services to the poor. Volunteers’ responsibilities vary greatly at MINSA. ProPerú volunteers sit in on consultations and in the emergency room, and lend a hand when needed or participate depending on the medical background of the volunteer. Volunteers also accompany nurses on community visits to more remote areas tracking the growth and nutrition of children, and disseminating important health information to families. ENVIRONMENT- In many of the high-altitude communities in the Sacred Valley, food is prepared over an open fire in the home. Ventilation usually consists of a hole in the roof for the smoke to escape. The result is a very unhealthy atmosphere for people to be cooking and living in because improper ventilation leads to a host of respiratory illnesses as well as eye maladies. In addition, much of the wood used to fuel the fire is from native trees which are rapidly decreasing in number. The cleaner burning stove project is the implementation of a stove that provides proper ventilation and burns wood more efficiently. With the use of these well designed stoves, living conditions are significantly cleaner due to less smoke in the home. Less wood is utilized to prepare the same amount of food with the improved stoves. The stoves have proved to be effective in achieving environmental and health oriented goals. WOMEN- K’anchay Wasi is a women’s center that is dedicated to the protection of the rights of women, particularly those who are victims of domestic violence. The center offers psychological, legal, and vocational services to women to enhance their self-esteem, craft, knitting and ceramics skills for economic gain, as well as provide education about human rights and laws against domestic violence. The crafts produced can be sold in local tourist markets, generating a small income for these women; a first step towards independence Volunteers have worked in a number of capacities with K’anchay Wasi. Volunteers can develop and facilitate workshops for the women or children, instruct English classes, promote the organization to both locals and tourists, or give workshops in schools on domestic violence. Learn more about this Mountain Fund Member Agency The Mountain Forum by Scott MacLennan Connecting you with the Forum The Mountain Fund has added a new feature to our website, The Mountain Forum. The Mountain Forum was established in 1995 through international collaboration from non-government organizations, universities, governments, multilateral agencies, and the private sector. The Mountain Forum offers a unique opportunity to share lessons from the field, and bring these lessons into policy discussions at national and international levels. The Mountain Forum promotes global action toward equitable and ecologically sustainable mountain development. This is achieved through information sharing, mutual support and advocacy. The Mountain Forum manages and moderates a series of email discussion lists. All the lists moderated by the Mountain Forum are free and open for anyone to join. See the Mountain Forum on our site today You're Welcome by The Mountain Fund It is nice to get notes like the one below that came today from Kelly Walters. Kelly, like so many of the founders of Mountain Fund Member Agencies, went to Nepal some time ago and was struck by the need to house abandoned and orhpaned girls. She has now formed her own organization to provide a safe and loving home for 15 girls in Pohkara, Nepal. Hi Scott, I just wanted to let you know how thankful I am for all the Mountain Fund has done for the Himalayan Outreach Project. With your advice and experience, you selflessly jumped in and guided HOP though several road blocks along the way. Your support with the basic how-to’s, organizational structure and fundraising has been invaluable. Because of your direction we have made it to where we are today. Thank you for having the answers and for being someone I know I can always call on. Kelly When Kelly contacted us she needed to partner with a US nonprofit until she could form her own, was looking for suitable space in Nepal, needed volunteers and needed a donation system for her website. Mountain Fund Member Agency, International Mountain Explorers Connection offered to fill the need for a US nonprofit to parnter with, while the Nepalese NGO, Karing for Kids, offered to partner with Kelly and provide a local NGO for her to work with. Thanks to a recent newspaper article about The Mountain Fund, we had several people seeking a volunteer position in Nepal and forwarded those to Kelly to fill her need for volunteers. Kelly is also using The Mountain Fund's new volunteer board on our website. We put her in touch with the company that we use for donations via the web and that is now her donation processing system as well. Finally, we sent our staff in Nepal looking for a suitable house in Pohkara and they found a great place for Aasha Ghar, the Hope House. We were very pleased to be of assistance to the Himalayan Outreach Project. This experience serves as a good answer to a question I was asked a few days ago during a meeting with Phil Powers, the Executive Director of The American Alpine Club. The question was, In what ways does The Mountain Fund help it's Member Agencies? The answer is, In any way that is needed. In addition to looking for new sources of funding for our Member Agencies we look for ways to create synergistic relationships between our Member Agencies as we did in this case by involving both IMEC and KFK as part of the solution. The Mountain Fund also acts as temporary staff to our Member Agencies when there aren't enough hours in the day for a Member Agency's own staff to address all their needs. As I write this, I have just heard that IMEC founder Scott Dimetrosky is the proud father of a new baby girl. Scott will be absent from his post at IMEC for awhile and The Mountain Fund staff will be working as support staff to IMEC until he can return. Earlier this year, I received an e-mail from a Member Agency that was struggling with some IRS paperwork that was critical to the organizations future. The Mountain Fund does not give tax advice, but we know how to find people that do and in a short time the IRS had what they needed and our Member Agencies problem was solved. This is all in a normal day's work here at The Mountain and frankly, we love it this way! How can we help you? The Mountain Fund Donate to The Mountain Fund Today The Mountain Fund is working everyday to make success stories possible in Nepal, Peru, India, Africa, Central Asia and anywhere that the poor in our mountainous regions need a hand. Your help, your support makes dreams come true. As Warren said above, get inspired, give a little today. Donate Here Please Mountain Fund Matching Volunteers The Mountain Fund has added a brand new service on our website. This service is free to all Member Agencies of The Mountain Fund. If you need volunteer help at home or abroad you may now post your needs on our website. Find the people who have a passion for giving time to help others right here at The Mountain Fund. Do you dream of travel to distant and exotic lands? Do you have a passion for giving your time to help others both here at home and in other parts of the world? Many of The Mountain Fund member agencies need volunteers. The Mountain Fund itself is always looking for volunteers in the US to help do work that supports our member agencies. Sign up on our website and let our Mountain Fund organizations know who you are and how you would like to help. This is The Mountain Fund in action. We're working everyday to bring health care, human rights, responsible tourism and environmental progress to those who need it most in mountain communities around the world by developing the capacity of grass- roots efforts in those mountainous regions. Post your volunteer information today ! Contact Information email: mtnfund@mountainfund.org phone: 800-743-1929 web: http://www.mountainfund.org Join our mailing list! - - Sponsor This Newsletter If you or your company would like to help The Mountain Fund bring our Member Agencies and Donors news from around the world, contact us about sponsorship of this newsletter. We have hundreds of readers from around the world. - - Quote
Dechristo Posted November 25, 2005 Author Posted November 25, 2005 Giving thanks for you Dear Supporter Here at The Mountain Fund, we're giving thanks for your loyalty and support as well as the kind words we received from so many of you this year. Please have a safe and wonderful Thanksgiving and take a moment this weekend to reflect on all we have to be thankful for. Consider too, the lives of the people around the world that your support has made such a difference for this year. I have just returned two days ago from Nepal where I was able to witness first hand what your support is making possible. First I attended part of a refresher course given to traditional birth attendants (volunteer village midwives), hosted by Karing for Kids. Seventeen women from three villages took part in this training, some having to walk nearly three hours to get there. They were happy to be there and very thankful for the opportunity to receive the training that they know will help them to save the lives of mothers and children. Next I visited the group home for children started by our member Himalayan Outreach Project. The children I met there are also very thankful for your help and support. Four members of the Boulder Colorado Chapter of Engineers Without Borders were with me in Nepal and together we visited three remote villages to conduct an assessment of needs in the villages. The water is contaminated in all three villages and only a handful of people in each have access to a toilet. With the help of EWB that will change. At the meetings we had with villagers, they expressed their sincere thanks for our help. None of this would be possible without you, our members and supporters. Our deepest and most heartfelt thanks to you on this Thanksgiving Holiday. The Board and Staff of The Mountain Fund Scott MacLennan The Mountain Fund email: mtnfund@mountainfund.org voice: 800-743-1929 web: http://www.mountainfund.org Quote
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