Archive for June, 2008

The indefinite strike (bandh) in the Darjeeling hills, called by Gorkha Janamukti Morcha who are pressing for more autonomy, has been suspended pending the outcome of negotiations with the Government. The GNM have given a new deadline of 5th July.

‘I think HELP is the volunteer organization that I looked for for a long time. It is the most easily accessible and responsive organization I found on the web. I really like the self donation to the school and how independent it requires its volunteers to be, unlike many other organizations.’ (Michael Winterstein, St. Paul Primary School, 2008)

“HELP is a tremendous organization that allows volunteers to be placed in schools that can really use their help. The reason we were attracted to HELP, in part, was that the funds expected from the volunteer were not overly cumbersome, and were directed primarily at the school, not toward a large, somewhat unaccountable Not For Profit organization expecting unreasonable fees.
Jim can be very proud of what he has accomplished. The schools are so lucky that he has devoted so much to HELP.” (Marc and Molly Young, GPS Bhagsu Nag, 2008)

At the request of the Maoist dominated Constituent Assembly, King Gyanendra and his family have left the royal palace and given up the trappings of kingship. He will live in Kathmandu as an ordinary tax-paying citizen. Nepal is now, for the first time in its history, a republic, and the palace will be turned into a museum. The ending of the monarchy, the only Hindu monarchy in the world, is largely unmourned.

The Nepali speaking districts of Darjeeling and Kalimpong, which belong to the Indian state of West Bengal, are currently being threatened with an indefinite strike (bandh) by the recently formed Gorkha Mukti Morcha party which has revived a long standing demand for a separate state of Gorkhaland. The GMM has asked tourists to leave the district, and our volunteers have felt obliged to leave too. A previous campaign in the ’80s led to the setting up of the Gorkha Hill Council, with limited autonomy for the region. Although it is unlikely that they will achieve an independent state, a greater degree of autonomy is a possibility.

We have recruited 18 volunteers so far this year, seven of whom have finished their assignment, four are still in place, and seven have yet to begin their assignments. This means that we have recruited more volunteers in the first half of this year than in any of the past five years that we have been operating.