A message from Nepal...

Namaste! Greetings from a small hotel room in sweltering Kathmandu. How can a land that is dwarfed by the world's highest snow capped mountains be so hot and humid? It's the tail end of the Monsoon season and I'm writing to you as I wrap up a busy fortnight in this country of extreme contrasts. Peaceful, lush forests and mountain villages meld into noisy, gritty towns and cities. All connected by bone-shaking pot-holed roads, where the largest vehicle with the loudest horn always has right of way. There is no place like it in the world and I love it!

OK, let's get down to business. I've been busy... Click here to read some of the outcomes achieved whilst in Nepal.

 World Youth International's first National Volunteer Program has been overwhelmed with a huge level of support. Since its launch in July 2009, we now have teams of passionate and dedicated people in Victoria, New South Wales, South Australia, ACT and Queensland, all planning community events and campaigning activities to raise awareness and funds for much needed communities and children in Kenya and Nepal. We already have over 50 people involved across the 5 states and territories, managed by an amazing leadership team. Our groups hold regular meetings to plan community events, discuss world issues concerning them, develop campaigns, network with liked minded people and of course have FUN! Past meeting have included activities such as laser tag, 10 pin bowling, and even circus tricks!

We have a number of upcoming Step Out events that we would like to let you know about....Please CLICK HERE!

The second World Youth International Gift Catalogue, released in September 2008, has proven to be a great success in further providing vital supplies and resources for people living in rural Kenya and children attending the WYI School in Nepal. Since the catalogue's release, over 780 gift items totalling more than $48,000 have been purchased. This reflects an increase over our 07/08 catalogue of 96% in gift items and 44% in $ value...fantastic!

Gifts were purchased in every category providing more than 140 mosquito nets, over 90 birth kits and 70 school uniforms in Kenya plus over 120 school supplies and 50 teaching aid gifts for the WYI School in Nepal, just to name a few. Ralph Hoey is currently in Nepal overseeing the final purchase of gift items from the 08/09 catalogue and we are also awaiting completion of the last of 13 village ambulances in Kenya! One of our OA Volunteer Teams has also recently returned from Kenya having assisted with the construction of 13 houses, as outlined in the above article.

Our next newsletter will include a complete review of our 08/09 catalogue together with a photo gallery showing a selection of the gifts purchased/constructed and gift recipients. We thank everyone who has supported the Gift Catalogue over the past 2 years...your purchases are making a significant difference!

We are very excited about the upcoming release of the 2009/10 WYI Gift Catalogue... due out within days!

Our new catalogue retains a number of Kenyan gift items where a high need remains and also includes new items which continue to address critical needs, offering the purchaser variety in their gift selection. This year, whilst some of the Nepal gift items will continue to benefit the WYI School and Sapana Children's Home, there is a greater focus on gifts that will assist the broader Nepali village communities.

We hope you like the new catalogue and look forward to your continued support.

The SA Trailblazer Challenge is fast approaching and the World Youth Wanderers have been in training... well, at least for a few weeks. Trailblazer is a team endurance charity event that offers distances of 18, 34, 50 and 100kms, staged along the stunning trails of the Adelaide Hills and Plains. This year's event is of particular significance as WYI are one of the recipient charities! On the 10th of October our team of Scott Pettman, Karen Buckley, Craig Macauley and Lou Warnes will embark on a 50km walk finishing at Mt. Lofty! This is expected to take 12-13 hours and is certainly a test of endurance, with areas of the Adelaide Hills providing some significant challenges. Our team are no "strangers" to WYI with Scott having previously raised over $27,000 for us by climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro and also walking the Kokoda Track (along with Karen and Lou), whilst Karen, Craig and Lou are regulars at our SA fundraising events! You can show your support to our team by making a tax deductible donation to assist them in reaching their fundraising goal of $5000. To donate please click here. Thanks for your support!

Radio Rentals and Baggage Masters have generously contributed to provide computers for our students at WYI School, Gokarna, Nepal. Radio rentals donated 15 ex-rental computers that are only 3 years old (valued at approx $6,000). The computers have been checked by Radio Rentals technicians to be in perfect working order. Baggage Masters donated air-freight to the value of $1,000 (80% of total freight cost) to get the computers to Nepal quickly and safely. The remaining cost of airfreight, packaging, airport clearance and Customs charges have been funded by public donations made to WYI's Gift Catalogue.

Students and staff alike will be delighted to receive so many late model computers! These 15 computers will more than double the current access students have to computers, providing a vital tool for learning and work-skills training. Please acknowledge the support of our generous corporate donors by visiting them to view their products and services.

WYI Kenyan themed Christmas Cards will be available from late this week. The Christmas cards merge recently taken photographs from Kenyan villages with a Christmas cartoon theme, and will certainly bring a smile to your face!

Packs contain 10 cards (5 designs x 2) and are only $10 per pack (+$2 postage and handling). You can order your Kenyan Christmas Card packs later this week on our website www.worldyouth.org.au.

Proceeds from the sale of the Christmas Cards will give orphaned and vulnerable children access to health, education and opportunity.

We have two fantastic upcoming movie night fundraisers that we would love you to support.

Dianne Cocks and Julie Button are heading to Nepal in 2010 and are raising funds for an education project that they will undertake. They are screening the movie 'A Bunch of Amateurs' - if you enjoyed the movie 'Death at a Funeral' then you will love this movie, a good laugh and fun for all!

Ben Moffatt and Nicole Murray are two OSP volunteers going to work in Mutumbu, a rural village in Kenya, in December and need your help to raise funds for their fantastic construction projects. They are screening the movie "Mao's Last Dancer" and we would love to see you there.

Please click here to view the details for both events!

by Ben Gough

Following through what started as a dream over three years ago, one of my key tasks in Nepal was the co-ordination of an art-based intervention project called "My Life, My Vision". The project, which first started to develop during my previous visits to Nepal in 2006 and 2007, was aimed at providing disadvantaged children and youth, especially street and working children, with an opportunity to learn how to use cameras and take photographs of their lives. The project was open to any kids from SathSath who were interested in participating.

As testimony to the kindness and generosity of SathSath's many supporters in Australia, including our intermediary World Youth International, last July I was able to return to Nepal and provide 29 kids with the chance to use cameras and capture life through the lens. A big part of the project was to empower the children and offer them an opportunity to express life as they saw it. Between July 2008 and July 2009, the children did just this, capturing nearly 15,000 images of life from all different angles and perspectives. Click here to keep reading...

Did you know you can make a bequest to World Youth International?  Click here to learn more about bequests from our new Chairman, Gerald Groom.