Newsletters Archives - Page 2 of 2 - Himalayan Education Lifeline Programme

December 22, 2014

Newsletter 2014 (No. 12)

December 2013 – November 2014

This year marks a transition for HELP. After 12 years at the helm, Jim is handing over some key responsibilities to Barbara Porter (our new Director, Volunteer Programme) and Ben Coleman (Director, Sponsorship Programme). Jim will retain an advisory role, and handle Projects and Accounts for the time being. Jim’s wife, Yami, remains as HELP secretary. Everyone on the HELP team is a volunteer, which means none of your money goes on salaries!

INSPECTION VISIT (October – November 2014)

Homework on the verandah

Barbara undertook last year’s inspection visit, so it was my turn this year.

December 13, 2013

Newsletter 2013 (No. 11)

December 2012-November 2013

Another year has passed. The completion of our 10 year anniversary last year marked an appropriate time to review our programme and re-orientate it where necessary. Barbara Porter, one of my fellow directors, has just returned from her first inspection visit:

INSPECTION VISIT (October – November 2013)

Barbara with local teachers

Barbara Porter started out as a HELP volunteer in Sikkim and since then has run teacher training seminars in Kalimpong, Leh and Pokhara for local teachers.

She spent three weeks this autumn in Ladakh and Nepal visiting old contacts and the schools we have been supporting, meeting as many sponsored children as possible, ferreting out new schools that would benefit from our programme, and making new contacts.…

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December 12, 2012

Newsletter 2012 (No. 10)

December 2011-November 2012

10^th anniversary edition

It’s true! We’ve been around for 10 years helping children from poor families or none get an education in the Himalayas. It’s been a demanding but rewarding ten years. Our achievements are briefly recorded below. The fact that so much can be achieved by just one executive director in the U.K. (with advice from his fellow non-executive directors) and a handful of helpers in India and Nepal is testimony to the immense power of modern computing and the internet.…

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December 11, 2011

Newsletter 2011 (No. 9)

December 2010-November 2011

Welcome to our new logo! I think it does a better job at encapsulating what we are about than our old text-only version. I hope you agree.

IN MEMORIAM

This newsletter is dedicated to Tony Abrahams, who died this April. My first overseas teaching job took place in Morocco from 1976 to1978, under the auspices of the Centre for British Teachers (now shortened to CfBT). I lost touch with “The Centre” for many years after that, so was very surprised when an email plopped into my in-tray three years ago from Tony Abrahams, The Centre’s larger-than-life founder with a soft spot for the Gurkhas.…

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December 12, 2009

Newsletter 2009 (No. 7)

A very hazy Lake Phewa, Pokhara

NEWSLETTER No. 7

Welcome to our 7th annual newsletter. It seems like only yesterday that I sent out the very first of these newsletters. I’m glad to report that HELP continues to thrive!

The year in a nutshell

This has been a year of consolidation, with just two new projects added to our portfolio. HELP has, in my opinion, reached its optimum size, and I have no plans to expand its scope any further. Further growth would mean taking on staff and finding office premises, turning HELP into a different kind of beast.

December 16, 2008

Newsletter 2008 (No. 6)

Himalayan dawn

I’ll begin with the event that is freshest in my memory!

Charity trek in Sikkim (October-November 2008)

Good morning?

Knackered

As most of you know, no-one signed up to join me on this trek which I had thought would be a great way of raising funds for HELP. Well, as it turned out I wasn’t so wrong. Firstly, my eldest son Alan decided to join me, which was a boost to my rather deflated morale. Even better, we managed, between us, to raise £1280 thanks to the generosity of friends, relations and work colleagues.

December 2, 2007

Newsletter 2007 (No. 5)

Charitable status

Irene Beck and pupils

Gaining charitable status was probably the most significant event to take place this year. Until January 2007, when we became registered as a charity, HELP had been run as a not-for-profit company. Gratifyingly, the Charity Commission approved our application without requesting any change in the way we operate. We remain a limited company, but now with charitable status. I am pleased to report that I have recently received a cheque for £1,672 from Inland Revenue under the GiftAid scheme, which represents a tax refund on payments made since 2003 by our taxpaying UK benefactors.…

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