Changemakers from Zürich (www.changemaker.ch) have invited Renu and Kamala, founders of Women’s Foundation of Nepal (WFN), to come to Switzerland to present WFN’s activities to their customers. For several years now Changemakers shops have been selling products from Maheela, WFN weaving cooperative, with a growing success. Maheela was launched 10 years ago with two objectives : first to give employment to women who had been victims of  violence and second to generate funding for WFN activities.

On my early morning arrival, after a night spent in a bus on bumpy roads, I am immersed in real India. It is still night but streets are already getting busy and people pass by, observing me in the half light.

It is through Dil Se that I heard of MEA. I spent the first two weeks of September in Masanga, Sierra Leone, with the objective to make a photoreport on the 250 children whose education costs are covered by the NGO.

In Katmandu, cow milk is an expensive commodity, the quality of which is not always guaranteed. Moreover, due to frequent strikes milk may be inaccessible for long periods. This is why Women's Foundation had the idea of ​​producing soy milk in the traditional way. Made with soybeans, this milk contains much of the same nutrients found in cow milk and can be used instead - with much lower cost. Soy milk has therefore proved to be an ideal option.

Following our transitional year, our Kochi house can again call itself a children’s home.
We are in the process of becoming legally recognized as such, which among other things involves building an extension and a few home improvements. Following the rules of the Kerala Child Welfare Board, we will then be able to welcome up to 20 children in to the home.