Reaping Hope (RH) started the Sponsor a Grandparent Project with a sole purpose of helping out destitute elderly, living either alone and/or without sources of income. RH had chosen 8 such elders as a pilot for the project. These elderly grandmas were unable to help themselves and 7 out of 8 were widows (1 of them lives with her paralyzed husband). The first distribution was done on the 28th of March-2016 (15th Chaitra-2072) to 6 such elderly and without any sponsors. The first ever couple to pledge and sponsor an elderly (Kanchhi Tamang) were Januka Shrestha and Padam Thapa Magar (16th June 2016). Since then, we were fortunate enough to add 2 more elders for the cause and a total of 8 elders were being supported.
It has already been more than a year since RH started the project and by now, we are able to link all 8 grandmas with 8 generous sponsors who have pledged to sponsor them throughout their life. When we started the project, we were not sure about the sustainability of the support and merely hoped for the best. The kind sponsors have definitely proved that a good cause, once started, will surely gather help. We are more than happy for the grandmas and have deep appreciation for the sponsors who have given us motivation to work better.
RH would like to thank all the 8 Sponsors who have sponsored the elderly women. It certainly feels good to know that they will be getting support throughout their lifetime, all thanks to the generous supporters. The grandmas couldn’t be happier. Here are the list of sponsors and sponsored grandmas (in order of sponsored date):
- Januka Shrestha/Padam Thapa Magar – Kanchhi Tamang
- Sunil Bhujel – Ram Maya Tamang
- Sunny Manandhar – Saili Tamang/Purna Bdr. Tamang
- Supriya Shrestha – Maili Tamang (B)
- Sarita Bhandari – Batuli Tamang
- Sofie Natalie Vangsted – Krishna Maya Pariyar
- Kranti Subba Coonrod – Maili Tamang (A)
- Manju Limbu Subba – Kafal Chari Tamang
On that note, RH is looking to expand the reach of Sponsor A Grandparent to more rural parts of Nepal (mostly earthquake hit areas). A lot of organizations have helped the earthquake hit areas with construction work but a majority of elders who, unfortunately, are living alone have no source of income and the strength to work to feed themselves. Most of them (as seen in Bhimdhunga) had to rely on their neighbors and supporters to gather food for two meals a day. It is sad to see that their children have abandoned them and fled to a more ‘convenient’ place while forgetting what it was like when they were young and unable to fend for themselves. RH aims to support 100 such destitute elderly through this program.
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