It seems incredible that another year has passed by with so much activity taking place and after several committee visits to Tang Ting. Much has been achieved in this last year both in terms of development in the village and also in terms of our understanding of the needs of the village and its culture. I take great pleasure in reporting the progress that the TTTA (Tang Ting Twinning Association) has made during the last financial year. Much of this success has been due to the dedication and hard work of the committee and the tremendous support we have received from the local community.

Tang Ting village

We are a small but dedicated group of volunteers who give their time to organise events and to help integrate the villages of Debden and Wimbish with the local personnel at Carver Barracks and to all work towards supporting the small hill village of Tang Ting in Nepal and surrounding villages, where many of the Gurkhas   stationed at Carver Barracks come from. The TTTA is a registered charity and reports annually to the Charity Commission. All of the money raised goes to Tang Ting and to help the local community. The committee self fund their trips to Nepal and we keep administration expenses to an absolute minimum.

The remit of the TTTA has two main elements

1.      To bring the communities of Debden,Wimbish, Carver Barracks and the local ex Gurkha Nepalese families closer together by organising social and fund raising events many of which are free of charge

2.      By raising funds to support the village of Tang Ting , a small Gurkha village in the foothills of the Annapurna range

As part of our local community remit,  we have chosen to help provide local charities  with the support they need.  For example we have joined forces on a number of events to raise money for the “ Injured Soldiers Fund”, a charity which  provides immediate support to soldiers and their families.

In Nepal we are affiliated with Namaste Children’s House, an orphanage in Pokhara where the Chairman and President are on their International Advisory Committee.

We are indebted to so many local supporters who through their support, donations and interest have helped us in so many ways.

Achievements this year- How you are making a difference

The TTTA has made great progress with the projects that we have started , and it is clear that the villagers lives are improving, although  there is still a very long way to go! The very simple agricultural way of life that exists in the village is very unlikely to change significantly over the short or medium term, however educational standards are improving, healthcare and welfare has improved and the TTTA has had an impact on the Nepalese government and on International Aid Charities which has energised them to make further  changes to improve the life of the village.For example the Unica Foundation, a Dutch Charity has improved both sanitation and water supply in the village

Spinning on a hand loom

Major achievements recently have been as follows :

Improved health and well being for the children in the village

In December members of the TTTA who visited Tang Ting were delighted to find that the Day Care Centre built from funds raised by the generous donations from the people of Debden and Wimbish, had provided an unexpected bonus.

The Day Care Centre was established to provide good quality care for young children whose families were unable to pay for child care during the day, while they worked. Children were taken to the fields with their parents and only provided with a meal in the morning and evening.  This resulted in some 25% of the children being under-nourished, and some being considerably under-sized for their age.

The nurse, who regularly attends the centre to weigh, measure, inoculate and monitor the children, says that since the day care centre opened, the children are now in the normal weight and height range for their age group and she is delighted with their progress.  An additional benefit, says the Head Teacher of the school in

Children in the Day Care Centre in Tang Ting

Tang Ting, is finding that the children are able to study better and are improving educationally. The Day Care Centre now provides the children with a meal in the middle of the day, and has been equipped to a high standard, to enable the children to enjoy the pre-school learning that our children benefit from. Our future aim is to extend the day care centre to enable us to take in children from a younger age group (currently they start at 2 ½ ) a eventually we want to provide a crèche to give all the children a better start in life)

The village band

Band members before they received new instruments

The photo above of the Dalits ( Untouchables) who are the members of the village band, shows the musical instruments that they used to have.

Many were broken or in a poor state of repair and two band members were reduced to clapping as they had no instruments at all. There was a real danger that this important part of traditional village culture would be lost. Due to the generosity of one of our supporters we were able to provide the band with a complete set of new instruments and the village were so proud of this fact that they all worked together to provide a uniform for them

The band stands tall and proud in their new uniforms and eagerly show off their new instruments.

This is just one example of how, through the generosity of so many local people, we have been able to support this Gurkha village and help them to improve their quality of life whilst preserving their vibrant culture.

Uniform funds

Currently some children’s families are not able to afford a school uniform, or the basic essentials to give them a good start in life.

The TTTA agreed to underwrite the cost of school uniforms and basic school equipment while we tried to raise funds so that all of these children will go to school well clothed fully equipped to learn. I am delighted to report that most of the children have been sponsored for this year with only a few left to be sponsored.   This is another difference which we are making with your help.

Children wearing the Tang Ting school uniform

School improvements

The money raised by Wimbish School has bought books for the school library and shelves to house the books. This is making a tremendous difference to the children as they are learning English to a far higher standard than previously .English is a vital part of their school curriculum and is essential for any young person wanting to develop their skills or to enter a profession. Debden school’s fund raising activity has provided an additional primary school teacher which was desperately needed.

Tang Ting school’s examination results were better this year than in any previous year and they came top of the local villages’ league table’, beating Sikles, the much larger village on the other side of the valley .

Library in Tang Ting school

Scholarship fund

The TTTA set up this fund to support,Dalit ( Untouchable) youngsters who want to continue their education and whose families cannot afford the college fees.

There are ten students in total who need financial support but currently our funds only enable us to support five students.

Many of these promising young people have suffered discrimination as a result of their caste and are highly motivated to improve their lives. One young man wrote in his application for a Higher Education grant .“ Pardon me Sir,If you selected me scholarship ( sic) for higher education ,I will read hardly and obtain good marks. Then I supported my village. I change villager’s old vision and help for good education; yours help is big and better in my life “

Tang Ting youngsters-the future of Nepal

FUTURE PLANS

Creche

The Day Care Centre has been such a success we would now like to extend the original concept of childcare from the age of two and a half years old to include children from the age of eighteen months.Current facilities and funding do not allow expansion of such care to the youngest children at present, but with future fund-raising we hope to extend this and eventually provide crèche facilities.

Hostel project

The long term aim of the TTTA is to increase sustainability in the village and to support the villagers in generating income for themselves

To encourage tourists to visit Tang Ting the TTTA are raising funds to build a tourist tea house/ hostel. As part of our development plan the TTTA is in the process of buying two disused houses,one of which can be used as a training centre to develop the traditional skills needed to refurbish and improve the other house which will be used as a hostel.

This will provide a superb communal asset for Tang Ting and will enable villagers to start to benefit from an income rather than relying entirely on agriculture for their livelihood

The refurbished building will marry the traditional Nepalese building style

Traditional Tang Ting house

and the traditional skills of woodcarving with the best of western eco-friendly technology. Any materials for the refurbished building will, as far as possible be locally sourced and local trades and craftspeople will be used to work on it. The building will provide a communal block with hot showers and washing facilities which can be used by the village members. Solar and hydro power will be used to provide heat and light and new smokeless stoves in the kitchen will help cook locally grown food. There will be, in addition to these facilities bedrooms and a dormitory for visitors. Tourism will provide an outlet for local goods and employment for the young and the old alike and this will help sustain a bright, vibrant local economy and culture.

Business skills are poorly developed in the village so the TTTA will be working closely with trekking agencies, to put together a package for ‘homestay treks’. Trekkers will stay initially in the homestay properties identified by the Tang Ting homestay group , whilst Tang Ting properties are converted and a new build is commissioned. The TTTA will fund the training of a young unemployed member of the village who will act as a tourist guide who can take visitors around Tang Ting and show them the sights, and who will develop a good knowledge of the history and culture of the Gurungs.

Health

Inside the Health Care centre

The small Health centre in the village has very limited facilities and needs a major injection of funds as it currently provides very limited care for villagers.

A major need is for Diagnostic kits to enable a greater range of medical problems to be identified without recourse to the use of facilities in Pokhara, as villagers who are ill and cannot walk have to be carried in a dokha (bamboo basket) down the steep steps.

There are no visits by doctors or dentists and the TTTA intends to make oral hygiene a major priority, as very few individuals use toothbrushes or toothpaste and tooth cleaning is not a regular habit.

FINALLY......

None of this would be possible without the commitment and support of the committee members and the wonderful generosity of the local people of Debden and Wimbish who have given us so much support and who have dug deeply into their pockets to provide much needed funds for this Himalayan village.

Tang Ting is a wonderfully friendly place and a place of great natural beauty.A place inhabited by hard working, hospitable and kind people.

I would like to pay tribute to all of these people : helpers, supporters, committee members and Tang Ting villagers. You have made a difference, you are making a difference and we sincerely hope that you will continue to make a difference. Thank you all.

CONTACTS

Moray Bayliss  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it 01799 516109

Nikki Callway   This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it 01799 540881

www.tangting.org email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Registered Charity: 1130073