Progress Report from September 1999 to April, 2000 We write to thank you for your continued support and to update you on the progress in HELP's activities. From our launch in September 1999 and through initial participation in around four months, we now have over 140 contributors. Lump sum donations of £1,460 were received and over 100 standing-order contributions to the value of just under £200pcm are in place. This encouraging start allows us to undertake at least two small projects each year. You are of course aware of our first project - the building of a library at Sarswati High School in Dolpa District. We have handed over £700 towards this through our co-ordinators in Nepal. This occurred on 8 April and local businesses added another NRs5,000. The latter amount reflects our efforts in seeking local participation and in fact, villagers from Dolpa will volunteer labour during construction. We are also in the process of contacting international agencies in Kathmandu to explore the possibility of support in stocking the library and in training local people to run the library effectively. Our co-ordinators should report back with photographs once the construction begins and we intend to keep you updated through our progress notes. Incidentally, the administrative costs of our co-ordinators, notably telephone call charges, are borne by HELP's committee members. In line with our target areas, the second project focuses on health issues among one of the poorest communities in Nepal, the Chepang in Chitwan district. A sum of £500 has been donated to the Public Health Concern Trust in Kathmandu towards the cost of sending a team on a health visit. Children will be screened for stomach worms and necessary medication provided. A video presentation at the same time will educate on the importance of clean drinking water. We are confident of increasing our membership in the coming months and intend to increase our efforts in fund-raising. Enclosed is an additional brochure which you may distribute to interested parties and a short description of our committee members. For those keen for updates on HELP's progress, regular bulletins will appear in the Sagarmatha Times, a monthly UK publication. We thank you again for your generosity and support.