Seeing is believing
Samunnat has had a wonderful cash injection in the last month, led by some Samunnat friends who have seen the work of Samunnat with their own eyes.
Women from Canberra and the surrounding region ran a hugely successful open garden weekend on the 19th-20th of October. Our dear friend, and friend of Samunnat, Jill Bestic, teamed up with our new friend, Heather Campbell, to open their gardens to hundreds of people. They had a terrific group of women supporting this event. They sold seedlings that they had doggedly potted up, cakes, Samunnat jewellery, Aboriginal art, and all kinds of delights. As a result of the work of this wonderful group, many thousands of dollars will come back to Samunnat Nepal and to Project Didi, a valued partner of Samunnat.
These two organisations are features of the Women Empowering Women (WEW) tours (formerly A Colourful Journey). Many of the women who helped with the garden weekend had travelled on the WEW tour in March this year. They felt empowered by their experiences and inspired by the people and the organisations they spent time with. So, everyone is thrilled that they have been able to pull this together.
The sun shone on the Open Garden days and hundreds of people came along
Jewellery for sale
Ready for the doors to open and people to pour through!
At the same time, Kathleen Dustin organised a successful online sale of Samunnat jewellery for customers in the US. Many of our subscribers jumped onto this sale from the get-go. Kathleen has also been inspired by the time that she has spent with the women of Samunnat, both via Zoom and in person. She is going to visit again in February to work with the group on design and polymer techniques.
The money raised is going into three programs. Firstly, it supports the employment of Samunnat’s Sewing Team Leader, Asha, and her assistant, Sila. They are currently training four women with the aim of giving them the skills to go off and start their own sewing business. The program has already had graduates who have done exactly that. Secondly, the money is supporting an increase in the wages of the women on the polymer team. The Samunnat board wants to increase their salaries to be significantly above Nepal’s basic wage. Lastly, the funds will enable Samunnat to purchase legal assistance to support Kopila in her casework and court appearances. This is a key part of Samunnat’s work.
Rupa, Janice, Asha, Sila and Archana in the sewing room
Providing skills and employment gives women the option of staying and working in Nepal. Currently, many women and men are taking their chances with workforce agencies that place them in the Middle East and South-East Asia. This is a hard road and some of the women in Samunnat’s community have had a terrible outcome. Samunnat is currently holding discussion groups for young people, giving them a chance to meet with returned workers and ask about the realities of work outside Nepal.
Samunnat has always prided itself on being self-sustaining from the sale of its jewellery. The significant extra funds we have received in the last year have helped sustain its work through the economic downturn, when jewellery sales have declined. Having some reserves allows Samunnat to grow its work and plan with more confidence. The organisation is hugely appreciative of the work that people have done to help in this way.