Covid in Nepal

[fusion_builder_container type=”flex” hundred_percent=”no” hundred_percent_height=”no” min_height=”” hundred_percent_height_scroll=”no” align_content=”stretch” flex_align_items=”flex-start” flex_justify_content=”flex-start” flex_column_spacing=”” hundred_percent_height_center_content=”yes” equal_height_columns=”no” container_tag=”div” menu_anchor=”” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” status=”published” publish_date=”” class=”” id=”” link_color=”” link_hover_color=”” border_sizes=”” border_sizes_top=”” border_sizes_right=”” border_sizes_bottom=”” border_sizes_left=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing_medium=”” margin_top_medium=”” margin_bottom_medium=”” spacing_small=”” margin_top_small=”” margin_bottom_small=”” margin_top=”” margin_bottom=”” padding_dimensions_medium=”” padding_top_medium=”” padding_right_medium=”” padding_bottom_medium=”” padding_left_medium=”” padding_dimensions_small=”” padding_top_small=”” padding_right_small=”” padding_bottom_small=”” padding_left_small=”” padding_top=”” padding_right=”” padding_bottom=”” padding_left=”” box_shadow=”no” box_shadow_vertical=”” box_shadow_horizontal=”” box_shadow_blur=”0″ box_shadow_spread=”0″ box_shadow_color=”” box_shadow_style=”” z_index=”” overflow=”” gradient_start_color=”” gradient_end_color=”” gradient_start_position=”0″ gradient_end_position=”100″ gradient_type=”linear” radial_direction=”center center” linear_angle=”180″ background_color=”” background_image=”” background_position=”center center” background_repeat=”no-repeat” fade=”no” background_parallax=”none” enable_mobile=”no” parallax_speed=”0.3″ background_blend_mode=”none” video_mp4=”” video_webm=”” video_ogv=”” video_url=”” video_aspect_ratio=”16:9″ video_loop=”yes” video_mute=”yes” video_preview_image=”” absolute=”off” absolute_devices=”small,medium,large” sticky=”off” sticky_devices=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” sticky_background_color=”” sticky_height=”” sticky_offset=”” sticky_transition_offset=”0″ scroll_offset=”0″ animation_type=”” animation_direction=”left” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_offset=”” filter_hue=”0″ filter_saturation=”100″ filter_brightness=”100″ filter_contrast=”100″ filter_invert=”0″ filter_sepia=”0″ filter_opacity=”100″ filter_blur=”0″ filter_hue_hover=”0″ filter_saturation_hover=”100″ filter_brightness_hover=”100″ filter_contrast_hover=”100″ filter_invert_hover=”0″ filter_sepia_hover=”0″ filter_opacity_hover=”100″ filter_blur_hover=”0″][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_6″ layout=”1_6″ align_self=”auto” content_layout=”column” align_content=”flex-start” content_wrap=”wrap” spacing=”” center_content=”no” link=”” target=”_self” min_height=”” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” sticky_display=”normal,sticky” class=”” id=”” type_medium=”” type_small=”” order_medium=”0″ order_small=”0″ dimension_spacing_medium=”” dimension_spacing_small=”” dimension_spacing=”” dimension_margin_medium=”” dimension_margin_small=”” margin_top=”” margin_bottom=”” padding_medium=”” padding_small=”” padding_top=”” padding_right=”” padding_bottom=”” padding_left=”” hover_type=”none” border_sizes=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” border_radius=”” box_shadow=”no” dimension_box_shadow=”” box_shadow_blur=”0″ box_shadow_spread=”0″ box_shadow_color=”” box_shadow_style=”” background_type=”single” gradient_start_color=”” gradient_end_color=”” gradient_start_position=”0″ gradient_end_position=”100″ gradient_type=”linear” radial_direction=”center center” linear_angle=”180″ background_color=”” background_image=”” background_image_id=”” background_position=”left top” background_repeat=”no-repeat” background_blend_mode=”none” animation_type=”” animation_direction=”left” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_offset=”” filter_type=”regular” filter_hue=”0″ filter_saturation=”100″ filter_brightness=”100″ filter_contrast=”100″ filter_invert=”0″ filter_sepia=”0″ filter_opacity=”100″ filter_blur=”0″ filter_hue_hover=”0″ filter_saturation_hover=”100″ filter_brightness_hover=”100″ filter_contrast_hover=”100″ filter_invert_hover=”0″ filter_sepia_hover=”0″ filter_opacity_hover=”100″ filter_blur_hover=”0″ last=”false” border_position=”all” first=”true” spacing_right=”” type=”1_6″][/fusion_builder_column][fusion_builder_column type=”2_3″ layout=”2_3″ align_self=”auto” content_layout=”column” align_content=”flex-start” content_wrap=”wrap” spacing=”” center_content=”no” link=”” target=”_self” min_height=”” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” sticky_display=”normal,sticky” class=”” id=”” type_medium=”” type_small=”” order_medium=”0″ order_small=”0″ dimension_spacing_medium=”” dimension_spacing_small=”” dimension_spacing=”” dimension_margin_medium=”” dimension_margin_small=”” margin_top=”” margin_bottom=”” padding_medium=”” padding_small=”” padding_top=”” padding_right=”” padding_bottom=”” padding_left=”” hover_type=”none” border_sizes=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” border_radius=”” box_shadow=”no” dimension_box_shadow=”” box_shadow_blur=”0″ box_shadow_spread=”0″ box_shadow_color=”” box_shadow_style=”” background_type=”single” gradient_start_color=”” gradient_end_color=”” gradient_start_position=”0″ gradient_end_position=”100″ gradient_type=”linear” radial_direction=”center center” linear_angle=”180″ background_color=”” background_image=”” background_image_id=”” background_position=”left top” background_repeat=”no-repeat” background_blend_mode=”none” animation_type=”” animation_direction=”left” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_offset=”” filter_type=”regular” filter_hue=”0″ filter_saturation=”100″ filter_brightness=”100″ filter_contrast=”100″ filter_invert=”0″ filter_sepia=”0″ filter_opacity=”100″ filter_blur=”0″ filter_hue_hover=”0″ filter_saturation_hover=”100″ filter_brightness_hover=”100″ filter_contrast_hover=”100″ filter_invert_hover=”0″ filter_sepia_hover=”0″ filter_opacity_hover=”100″ filter_blur_hover=”0″ last=”false” border_position=”all” first=”false” spacing_right=”” type=”2_3″][fusion_text columns=”” column_min_width=”” column_spacing=”” rule_style=”default” rule_size=”” rule_color=”” content_alignment_medium=”” content_alignment_small=”” content_alignment=”” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” sticky_display=”normal,sticky” class=”” id=”” font_size=”” fusion_font_family_text_font=”” fusion_font_variant_text_font=”” line_height=”” letter_spacing=”” text_color=”” animation_type=”” animation_direction=”left” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_offset=””]

What a difference two months can make. In early April we were celebrating that CCF’s Nepal team had reached over 3500 women and girls in Nepal giving them access to Menstrual Hygiene information, education and supplies that will forever change their lives and the lives of their children and communities. When CCF’s Nepal team led this training in Eastern Nepal in early April, Covid was almost a non-event. Today I am writing about how Nepal is suffering from the highest transmission rate of Covid in the world. It happened overnight and with a vengeance not really conceived of before.

In early June the New York Times, BBC and sources in Nepal reported:

• Over half a million Covid cases and a 44% infection rate,
• A 668% increase in Covid infections over a 2-week period, the highest in the world
• 7454+ deaths, numbers that experts believe deeply undercount the total
• for weeks now, 40 percent of the tests conducted have been positive (up to 90% in the remote area of Dolpo)
• less than 2% of the population has been fully vaccinated and India has halted all exports of vaccine to Nepal leaving them a million doses short
• a population of over 30 million with approximately 1 doctor per 100,000 people
• hospitals beyond capacity (and beyond most people’s financial reach), limited testing, oxygen or hospital beds,
• little National leadership so community leaders are having to step forward

Nepal is currently in a months-long lockdown due to the rapid resurgence of the COVID 19 virus and its highly contagious new variants. As a result, the economy has plummeted and those who rely on daily wages and the informal economy are the hardest hit. All businesses, except those providing food, have been closed. Government assistance is minimal.

In the face of this Ganesh Himal Trading and our partners in Nepal once again were lucky to get a shipment hastily (but safely) out of Nepal before the lockdown on May 6^th. This means our producers received money, and for some advances, so that they can weather the lockdown. But, groups like the Association for Craft Producers who have large operational costs have, once again suffered terribly.

In late May I received a letter from my dear friend Meera Bhatterai, Founder and Executive Director of ACP in which she stated (among many other things):

“In order to curb further infections and deaths from COVID, the government has again imposed a lockdown in most places of the country. Kathmandu, the capital city where we and most of our producers are based, continues to top the chart with the highest number of infections in the country. At ACP, a total of 14 staff and artisans tested COVID positive within a short span of initial two weeks.  More of our employees/ artisans and their family members have been infected since then. Sadly, some of them have lost their spouses and family members. Unfortunately the government has also barred the insurance companies from the renewal of covid insurance which we had done for 320 of our employees and artisans last year.

The current situation of the country has made us very vulnerable- emotionally, mentally and financially… Our producers are engulfed with extreme fear and do not want to risk their or family’s health and safety. Due to the extreme mental pressure many of them are not working at home as well.  Ironically, they miss out on work when they need it most.

We are not certain how long the current lockdown will be extended or how things will go after it is lifted. From mere sustenance last year with the help and support of our partners, we are once again forced to think whether we can survive further. We are in a precarious situation.”

Ganesh Himal Trading was able to give ACP a $7500 advance on their order for July and our partner non-profit Conscious Connections Foundation has another $6600 grant that will be provided to them this week for operational costs and producer support. All in the hopes that they will be able, along with other buyers and development partners’ support, to hang on through this severe crisis.

Other producer partners have not been spared Covid and several knitting communities in Nepalgunj (along the Indian border) and from Barpak have needed assistance due to the Covid outbreak. CCF has been able to provide 70 of those families with healthy food for 10-15 days (at a cost of less than $20/family) and will be watching their situation closely. The rest of our producer groups report that they are doing fine and working safely from home. Some have even received the vaccine, so that is good. Our plan is to have a shipment leave Nepal at our regularly scheduled time in July but with very limited international flights and many potential safety issues we will need to be very flexible.

Our other emergency response to Covid in Nepal, through CCF, has been focused on day laborers and those who have no income or savings and risk starvation. We feel that helping these people stay home and fed and off the streets is one way we can help to stem the transmission of the virus.  Once again we have an incredible resource in Nepal through our longtime partner Kesang Yudron. Since May 24 with Kesang’s help, CCF has been able to fund (at a cost of approximately $20/family for 10-15 days of food) the distribution of food, cooking fuel, money and masks into the hands of:

• 70 knitting families
• 65 families and 18 new moms in the slum areas of Kathmandu
• 100+ families in Kathmandu desperately in need of food through the Hiteri foundation
• 50 transgendered women who have no family, government or community support
• 20 families in Bhaktapur who were in dire need of food

CCF has will also be funding Covid relief prevention and care in the area of Sindupolchowk through our long time partner TEAM Nepal.

The takeaway from all of this is that Covid is still very much a threat in the world and one that can rise quickly and unexpectedly through variants and a feeling of complacency. Nepal needs our continued financial help to move through this second wave, but what they really need is vaccines. Poor people there, similar to those here in the US and Canada, simply do not have the luxury of social distancing or staying home. We must pressure our governments to supply vaccines and get large populations immunized. Experts say the only way to control the spread of the virus is vaccinating as many people as quickly as possible. But the government has been struggling to secure vaccines. On June 3 the US promised 7 million doses to countries in Asia but it is unclear how many Nepal will receive.

As always, Ganesh Himal Trading, Conscious Connections Foundation and our partners in Nepal are so grateful for all the ways that you provide us with support. It is because of you that we can work together to make it through these unbelievable difficulties that they have faced over the years. I want you to know that each and every one of our producers is so grateful to you all. It is difficult for them to see the light at the end of the tunnel right now but your support means everything as they wander through this darkness.

Hopefully the next letter I write will be full again of hope and promise but for now we have to deal with the situation at hand and that means clasping hands and moving forward. Thank you for being a part of our community and thanks for your continued support and understanding.

Namaste,

Denise

[fusion_button link=”https://www.consciousconnectionsfoundation.org/donate” text_transform=”” title=”” target=”_self” link_attributes=”” alignment_medium=”” alignment_small=”” alignment=”center” modal=”” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” sticky_display=”normal,sticky” class=”” id=”” color=”default” button_gradient_top_color=”” button_gradient_bottom_color=”” button_gradient_top_color_hover=”” button_gradient_bottom_color_hover=”” accent_color=”” accent_hover_color=”” type=”” bevel_color=”” border_width=”” border_radius=”” border_color=”” border_hover_color=”” size=”” stretch=”default” margin_top=”” margin_right=”” margin_bottom=”” margin_left=”” icon=”” icon_position=”left” icon_divider=”no” animation_type=”” animation_direction=”left” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_offset=””]DONATE[/fusion_button]

[/fusion_text][/fusion_builder_column][fusion_builder_column type=”1_6″ layout=”1_6″ align_self=”auto” content_layout=”column” align_content=”flex-start” content_wrap=”wrap” spacing=”” center_content=”no” link=”” target=”_self” min_height=”” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” sticky_display=”normal,sticky” class=”” id=”” type_medium=”” type_small=”” order_medium=”0″ order_small=”0″ dimension_spacing_medium=”” dimension_spacing_small=”” dimension_spacing=”” dimension_margin_medium=”” dimension_margin_small=”” margin_top=”” margin_bottom=”” padding_medium=”” padding_small=”” padding_top=”” padding_right=”” padding_bottom=”” padding_left=”” hover_type=”none” border_sizes=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” border_radius=”” box_shadow=”no” dimension_box_shadow=”” box_shadow_blur=”0″ box_shadow_spread=”0″ box_shadow_color=”” box_shadow_style=”” background_type=”single” gradient_start_color=”” gradient_end_color=”” gradient_start_position=”0″ gradient_end_position=”100″ gradient_type=”linear” radial_direction=”center center” linear_angle=”180″ background_color=”” background_image=”” background_image_id=”” background_position=”left top” background_repeat=”no-repeat” background_blend_mode=”none” animation_type=”” animation_direction=”left” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_offset=”” filter_type=”regular” filter_hue=”0″ filter_saturation=”100″ filter_brightness=”100″ filter_contrast=”100″ filter_invert=”0″ filter_sepia=”0″ filter_opacity=”100″ filter_blur=”0″ filter_hue_hover=”0″ filter_saturation_hover=”100″ filter_brightness_hover=”100″ filter_contrast_hover=”100″ filter_invert_hover=”0″ filter_sepia_hover=”0″ filter_opacity_hover=”100″ filter_blur_hover=”0″ last=”true” border_position=”all” first=”false” type=”1_6″][/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]