Qualifying Rural Nepalese
Donation protected
Im raising money for Nepalese people in rural Nepal to become formally qualified in Carpentry Certificate 3 so that their earning potential grows and they are exposed to more opportunities that develop both themselves and their country. To understand why I am doing this you must understand the story, all of which can be found below!
In 2015 I was set on a journey that would change both my life and what I believe the direction of charity will head into in the future. I was dropped off in a village in remote Nepal where I had decided to go and volunteer my skills and expertise in helping to assist rebuilding Nepal. You can follow the story via instagram https://www.instagram.com/nickabes/
When I arrived I was greeted with the fact that the organisation I was meant to be working for didn't actually exist and there was only one member who was in it still who was still trying to organise work for me in Nepal! Being 21 and a carpenter with no prior formal experience in developing world's I was thrown straight into the deep end. I didn't believe in traditional charity and didn't want to pay to volunteer with other organisations considering the effort Id put into getting here so I decided to stay and tackle everything on my own. After the initial debacle, I met with a local man who was looking to have his school building rebuilt. I went up and checked out the school and sure enough it was in need of a knock down and rebuild. My initial 3 months that I had committed to Nepal immediately turned into 6.
So I was dropped off in a tiny remote village (Although it was only 25kms outside of Kathmandu) where there was minimal running water, 2 hours of electricity each day, nearest food shops were around 3 kilometers away and I couldn't communicate properly with the people. I was very naive and went in with the best intentions but it wasn't efficient. I had made a promise to a dying grandfather at the time who wanted to be over with me helping but couldn't due to his condition so I stuck it out and I was determined to fulfill my promise of 'doing good work'. I thought at the time it just meant building schools and health centres but Im glad that my understanding of what is needed developed! I had no idea at the time what that would entail or where my life would head but I am glad I have to this day remained true to my word.
As time progressed and I began to learn the language, the culture and the people I was overcome with a sense of commitment to my work over here, something I had previously struggled with. I would wake up every morning with a sense of purpose and it was this drive that still keeps me going all day, everyday.
It was here that in this tiny village of Nepal, Ghumarchowk that the concepts of From the Ground Up (Charity that started everything- full story here https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/real-life/good-news/how-an-accidental-failure-led-to-a-lifechanging-idea/news-story/315519995353b2451c5d435232e2de1f ) and Interlock Construction (Social Enterprise) were born. I believed whole heartedly that the best way to help people was to not give them this and that, not just try and build the schools and health centres in the community and then be done with it but try to set up something that would last long after we were gone. Try to give them the skills and security that would allow their family to not only survive, but to prosper.
So we came up with the Idea of Interlock Construction. A socially acceptable business that would focus its efforts on finding construction contracts (Using my skillset) to then employ people in remote and isolated parts of Nepal and they could then develop themselves on their own accords. I remember clearly the day for me when the Social Business became the most viable thing. I had almost run out of money and I was talking to my main guy Damphu on the back of my bike explaining that I had tried my best but it was hard to get donations and keep everything running. I asked him specifically what did he need? He answered with, "enough money to be able to send my 3 daughters to college". And then it dawned on me why didn't we just start a company and contract their skills out and use the profits to keep employing more and more people? A few days and a facebook post later in a local expats group and the rest was history.
To this day we employ 34 people for both women and men, all except 1 of which were classed as living in poverty previously. Out of this 34 people 7 have rebuilt their homes on their own accords with no donated money, 8 have access to private transport and everyone is living life in the way that they see fit. I dont claim to be a hero or even claim to reach thousands of people with what we are doing because we're not. But we're also not a symptoms organisation. We're a root cause and to target poverty we are creating jobs.
Now that everything is running well I want to be able to raise the standards again. Its time to work towards increasing what my team earning potential is and to do this I need to be able to provide them with a qualification. I'm raising money for Certificate 3 in Carpentry for the team in Nepal. By having this they will have access to larger construction contracts which means more income for them and the opportunity to be able to live as we all strive to do. Happy and free!
If you dont and cant donate that is okay. I'll gradually get their on my own in making this money to afford the training but there is an age old saying, "If you want to go fast, go alone but if you want to go far go together". Your investment in this is a statement that the best way to help someone is to not give them a hand out, but a hand up. Regardless of whether you can donate or not, if you made it this far in the article then you've done more than most.
I want to thank everyone for believing in me and helping me to get to this point where we are now. It has been a true honour to do what I now know is my life's work in Nepal. Next year we envisage with different contracts coming through to be able to employ around 120 people. A feat which if I can align all the dots will be advertised on www.interlockconstruction.co
Thanks everyone and stay tuned!
In 2015 I was set on a journey that would change both my life and what I believe the direction of charity will head into in the future. I was dropped off in a village in remote Nepal where I had decided to go and volunteer my skills and expertise in helping to assist rebuilding Nepal. You can follow the story via instagram https://www.instagram.com/nickabes/
When I arrived I was greeted with the fact that the organisation I was meant to be working for didn't actually exist and there was only one member who was in it still who was still trying to organise work for me in Nepal! Being 21 and a carpenter with no prior formal experience in developing world's I was thrown straight into the deep end. I didn't believe in traditional charity and didn't want to pay to volunteer with other organisations considering the effort Id put into getting here so I decided to stay and tackle everything on my own. After the initial debacle, I met with a local man who was looking to have his school building rebuilt. I went up and checked out the school and sure enough it was in need of a knock down and rebuild. My initial 3 months that I had committed to Nepal immediately turned into 6.
So I was dropped off in a tiny remote village (Although it was only 25kms outside of Kathmandu) where there was minimal running water, 2 hours of electricity each day, nearest food shops were around 3 kilometers away and I couldn't communicate properly with the people. I was very naive and went in with the best intentions but it wasn't efficient. I had made a promise to a dying grandfather at the time who wanted to be over with me helping but couldn't due to his condition so I stuck it out and I was determined to fulfill my promise of 'doing good work'. I thought at the time it just meant building schools and health centres but Im glad that my understanding of what is needed developed! I had no idea at the time what that would entail or where my life would head but I am glad I have to this day remained true to my word.
As time progressed and I began to learn the language, the culture and the people I was overcome with a sense of commitment to my work over here, something I had previously struggled with. I would wake up every morning with a sense of purpose and it was this drive that still keeps me going all day, everyday.
It was here that in this tiny village of Nepal, Ghumarchowk that the concepts of From the Ground Up (Charity that started everything- full story here https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/real-life/good-news/how-an-accidental-failure-led-to-a-lifechanging-idea/news-story/315519995353b2451c5d435232e2de1f ) and Interlock Construction (Social Enterprise) were born. I believed whole heartedly that the best way to help people was to not give them this and that, not just try and build the schools and health centres in the community and then be done with it but try to set up something that would last long after we were gone. Try to give them the skills and security that would allow their family to not only survive, but to prosper.
So we came up with the Idea of Interlock Construction. A socially acceptable business that would focus its efforts on finding construction contracts (Using my skillset) to then employ people in remote and isolated parts of Nepal and they could then develop themselves on their own accords. I remember clearly the day for me when the Social Business became the most viable thing. I had almost run out of money and I was talking to my main guy Damphu on the back of my bike explaining that I had tried my best but it was hard to get donations and keep everything running. I asked him specifically what did he need? He answered with, "enough money to be able to send my 3 daughters to college". And then it dawned on me why didn't we just start a company and contract their skills out and use the profits to keep employing more and more people? A few days and a facebook post later in a local expats group and the rest was history.
To this day we employ 34 people for both women and men, all except 1 of which were classed as living in poverty previously. Out of this 34 people 7 have rebuilt their homes on their own accords with no donated money, 8 have access to private transport and everyone is living life in the way that they see fit. I dont claim to be a hero or even claim to reach thousands of people with what we are doing because we're not. But we're also not a symptoms organisation. We're a root cause and to target poverty we are creating jobs.
Now that everything is running well I want to be able to raise the standards again. Its time to work towards increasing what my team earning potential is and to do this I need to be able to provide them with a qualification. I'm raising money for Certificate 3 in Carpentry for the team in Nepal. By having this they will have access to larger construction contracts which means more income for them and the opportunity to be able to live as we all strive to do. Happy and free!
If you dont and cant donate that is okay. I'll gradually get their on my own in making this money to afford the training but there is an age old saying, "If you want to go fast, go alone but if you want to go far go together". Your investment in this is a statement that the best way to help someone is to not give them a hand out, but a hand up. Regardless of whether you can donate or not, if you made it this far in the article then you've done more than most.
I want to thank everyone for believing in me and helping me to get to this point where we are now. It has been a true honour to do what I now know is my life's work in Nepal. Next year we envisage with different contracts coming through to be able to employ around 120 people. A feat which if I can align all the dots will be advertised on www.interlockconstruction.co
Thanks everyone and stay tuned!
Organizer
Nick Abraham
Organizer
Nepal
