The Rose International Fund for Children Programs
- TRIFC is participating in a large-scale social marketing program to change the negative perception that is attached to having a disability. Changing this perception is crucial to opening up opportunities and education for People With Disability. We have partnered with Rotary International and J Walter Thompson Advertising Agency (and other organizations) to enact this groundbreaking program.
- In 2009 TRIFC launched the National Braille Library in Kathmandu, Nepal. Our partner for this project is the Nepal Assoc. for the Welfare of the Blind (NAWB), who house and manage the library. We have shipped over 1,800 boxes of Braille books to our library. Our goal is to develop a mobile-lending library to get books out to the blind/visually-impaired students at the various schools where they study.
- This past spring TRIFC started a Deaf Women's Empowerment Group to provide skills-training, a social outlet for the women and income-producing opportunities. 15 women are embroidering greeting cards which are being sold locally and internationally to provide income for the women in the group.
Recent Successes and Current Challenges
We recently partnered with a Nepali Rotaract Club (young person's Rotary club) in Dhulikhel, Nepal to provide nutritional support for the 15 blind/visually-impaired (BVI) students who live in a hostel at the school. We provided funding to the Nepali Rotaractors who bring fresh vegetables, fruits and eggs/chicken to the children on a weekly basis. This emotionally involves Nepali young people with these wonderful children with disability. Changing the 'hearts and minds' of the local population will help create the long-term perceptual change that is needed.
We are finding that there are many basic needs not being met for these neglected BVI students. Proper nutrition, school supplies, Braille paper and extracurricular activities are consistently lacking. In addition to the nutritional support at this particular school we are providing 'backpacks for the blind/visually-impaired' to many BVI students throughout the Kathmandu valley. To date we have provided 95 of these backpacks which include a Braille slate/stylus, a Braille watch, a folding white cane, an abacus, math kit and Braille ruler.
TRIFC would like to enhance and expand these programs to other schools for the BVI. Additional funding would help us with this goal.