It was a combination of a long standing desire to do something for Nepal and a sense of guilt about not doing anything that started me thinking. I was in the UK at the time and in every get-together I talked about Nepal: the corruption in politics and bureaucracy, the pollution in Kathmandu and everything else that was going wrong in the country. I went on holidays to Nepal and upon return I described my first-hand experiences to friends, complaining how the situation was getting worse by the day. Over pints of beer or glasses of whisky, I discussed what was good and what was not for the country. But if someone were to ask me what I had contributed to right the wrongs that I so passionately criticised, my answer would be “nothing”. It was a terrible paradox. I was showing too much concern for my homeland without becoming a contributing citizen!

While I found myself talking too much about the country of my birth and doing virtually nothing, many non-Nepalis were actually making things happen in Nepal. They were donating to agencies which financed almost all the international and national Non-Governmental Organizations in the country. In such a situation, I wondered if some sort of campaign could be started to encourage Nepalis, especially those living abroad, to contribute as much as they could for Nepal.

The result was the idea of starting a campaign to promote ‘Practical Philanthropy’, in which every relatively able individual would contribute a small portion of their earnings on a regular basis for the benefit of those who genuinely needed support. Hence, the slogan ‘One Pound a Month Fund for Nepal’ was coined. That was changed into ‘One Dollar a Month Fund for Nepal’ after the expansion of the campaign in different parts of the world. I thought it would be wonderful if Nepalis and those who loved Nepal could be encouraged to ‘sacrifice a can of beer or a carton of juice in a month and donate the savings to the Fund’. Such a practical approach to philanthropy would not hamper an individual’s normal life but would nevertheless benefit lots of people.

It was important to develop a mechanism that would translate the idea into action and ensure proper use of the funds raised. Hence, a formal charity was considered necessary, which would be named “HELP NEPAL Network” with a catch line, ‘One Pound a Month Fund for Nepal’. However, the experience of many in the Nepali Diaspora, who had raised funds in the past, was not very encouraging because of the ‘mismanagement of funds’ in Nepal. Therefore, I thought it would be good to establish a trustworthy team in Nepal right at the beginning so that it could coordinate and manage the works undertaken. At the same time, the team in Nepal could also work towards the larger goal of promoting the idea of ‘Practical Philanthropy’. Whilst the group in the UK would encourage people to ‘sacrifice a can of beer or a carton of juice in a month’, the group in Kathmandu would encourage people to ‘sacrifice a plate of Momo or a few cups of tea in a month and donate the saving to the Fund.’ It was my firm belief that society in particular and the world in general would be a much better place if every individual were to have a cultivated sense of charity.

After a rough sketch was ready, I consulted with various individuals from a wide variety of backgrounds. We sat together for many hours and worked through all the relevant issues. From early to mid-1999, several brainstorming meetings took place among the founding team members to plan a viable future course of action. The charity was formally launched on the 19th September 1999. However, delayed by technical issues, the actual work started some three months later at the beginning of 2000. The achievements made since then are the results of the hard work, dedication, patience and perseverance of dozens of extra-ordinarily committed team members in various countries and the support that we have received from hundreds of Nepalis and well wishers of Nepal. HELP NEPAL Network is extremely grateful to them all.

It was a combination of a long standing desire to do something for Nepal and a sense of guilt about not doing anything that started me thinking. I was in the UK at the time and in every get-together I talked about Nepal: the corruption in politics and bureaucracy, the pollution in Kathmandu and everything else that was going wrong in the country. I went on holidays to Nepal and upon return I described my first-hand experiences to friends, complaining how the situation was getting worse by the day. Over pints of beer or glasses of whisky, I discussed what was good and what was not for the country. But if someone were to ask me what I had contributed to right the wrongs that I so passionately criticised, my answer would be “nothing”. It was a terrible paradox. I was showing too much concern for my homeland without becoming a contributing citizen!

While I found myself talking too much about the country of my birth and doing virtually nothing, many non-Nepalis were actually making things happen in Nepal. They were donating to agencies which financed almost all the international and national Non-Governmental Organizations in the country. In such a situation, I wondered if some sort of campaign could be started to encourage Nepalis, especially those living abroad, to contribute as much as they could for Nepal.

The result was the idea of starting a campaign to promote ‘Practical Philanthropy’, in which every relatively able individual would contribute a small portion of their earnings on a regular basis for the benefit of those who genuinely needed support. Hence, the slogan ‘One Pound a Month Fund for Nepal’ was coined. That was changed into ‘One Dollar a Month Fund for Nepal’ after the expansion of the campaign in different parts of the world. I thought it would be wonderful if Nepalis and those who loved Nepal could be encouraged to ‘sacrifice a can of beer or a carton of juice in a month and donate the savings to the Fund’. Such a practical approach to philanthropy would not hamper an individual’s normal life but would nevertheless benefit lots of people.

It was important to develop a mechanism that would translate the idea into action and ensure proper use of the funds raised. Hence, a formal charity was considered necessary, which would be named “HELP NEPAL Network” with a catch line, ‘One Pound a Month Fund for Nepal’. However, the experience of many in the Nepali Diaspora, who had raised funds in the past, was not very encouraging because of the ‘mismanagement of funds’ in Nepal. Therefore, I thought it would be good to establish a trustworthy team in Nepal right at the beginning so that it could coordinate and manage the works undertaken. At the same time, the team in Nepal could also work towards the larger goal of promoting the idea of ‘Practical Philanthropy’. Whilst the group in the UK would encourage people to ‘sacrifice a can of beer or a carton of juice in a month’, the group in Kathmandu would encourage people to ‘sacrifice a plate of Momo or a few cups of tea in a month and donate the saving to the Fund.’ It was my firm belief that society in particular and the world in general would be a much better place if every individual were to have a cultivated sense of charity.

After a rough sketch was ready, I consulted with various individuals from a wide variety of backgrounds. We sat together for many hours and worked through all the relevant issues. From early to mid-1999, several brainstorming meetings took place among the founding team members to plan a viable future course of action. The charity was formally launched on the 19th September 1999. However, delayed by technical issues, the actual work started some three months later at the beginning of 2000. The achievements made since then are the results of the hard work, dedication, patience and perseverance of dozens of extra-ordinarily committed team members in various countries and the support that we have received from hundreds of Nepalis and well wishers of Nepal. HELP NEPAL Network is extremely grateful to them all.

Rabindra Mishra
Founder President