In a unique act of philanthropy, art connoisseurs and generous enthusiasts helped raise NRs 226,000 in a single sitting of auction of paintings donated by artist Kapil Mani Dixit.

The money thus raised will go to renovate the rundown building of Adarsha Secondary School in Arghakhanchi district of western Nepal.

In the evening titled “Art for Philanthropy” hosted by HELP NEPAL Network (HeNN) and ECS Media Pvt Ltd on December 20 at Moksh Bar, 17 paintings by Dixit – a marvellous collection of tributes to such great names as Van Gogh, Da Vinci and Botticelli – were put on auction.

Nine of them were bought by different individuals. For an event that was unheard of in Kathmandu social circuit, the response was quite warm.

“My motive is to show that even artist can come out and support society,” said Dixit.

The organizers plan to make this novel format of fund-raising as an annual event.

Before the ‘auctioneer’ former Miss Nepal Malvika Subba opened the bidding, Rabindra Mishra of the HeNN explained the objective of the program.

He presented a slideshow on the ongoing projects of HeNN – an organization that encourages Nepali individuals and institutions to contribute more towards philanthropic activities.

The HeNN has been focusing on carrying out projects to improve health and educational condition in rural Nepal by raising donations from Nepalis all over the world.

The President of HeNN’s Nepal chapter, Arun Singh Basnet, said till date the HeNN has already raised US$ 600,000 for projects and US$ 220,000 for administrative fund. The HeNN separates the administrative fund, which is utilized to cater to the administrative and overhead cost of project operation.

Apart from urging the generous donors to open their purse, the HeNN proposes quite simple acts of what it calls ‘practical philanthropy’.

“By refraining a bottle of a beer or a plate of momo, one can set aside Rs 100 a month for causes that can bring about substantial changes in rural Nepal,” said Mishra.

Such generosity has been demonstrated as being successful in transforming the faces of outlying villages as have been shown by HeNN projects in places like Mugu.

“Besides, by empowering the rural people, we can also help prevent conflict in future. And we must focus on health and education for this purpose,” said Rameshwore Khanal, former finance secretary and HeNN executive member.