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Namaste everyone! I lived with this beautiful family while I served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Nepal for 2 years. My host brother Mahindra and his wife Sunita just had their second child. Mahindra works as a small-scale commercial farmer. He is the only farmer in his community who is dedicated to using only organic farming methods. Every morning around 4am he carries his vegetables (about 40 kilos) on his back to the local bazaar 4 km away. After he has sold them all he returns home to weed, till and plant his fields by hand. He cannot afford to hire help, so he and his wife do this labor on their own.
Mahindra is the youngest sibling and when his parents died 10 years ago, they left him a mountain of debt. In Nepal, predatory lending is rampant and unregulated. Banks prey on farmers and trap them into life-long debt. My brother inherited a debt amounting to just under $10k USD but with an interest rate over 20% and monthly earnings of only $50, he has little chance of ever paying off the bank.
The reason I feel that Mahindra and his family deserve help is because they are truly remarkable people. Throughout my 2 years with them, they demonstrated honesty, hard work, devotion and kindness. They are, without a doubt, the most exemplary people I have ever had the privilege of meeting. Though they live in poverty, and have extremely difficult lives, they still smile and sing constantly. Gratitude beams from their faces and warmth radiates from their hearts.
Every day is a struggle for them and the stress of trying to feed their family is more urgent than the stress that eats away at them when they consider how they are going to educate their two children.
There is no easy answer for them. Nepal affords very few opportunities to rise from poverty. And with the extra burden of a huge loan, they have no options for improving their situation.
By removing this huge obstacle of debt, Mahindra and Sunita can begin to save money for their children's education. They can save money to buy some livestock and begin to slowly improve their food security and future prospects.
Please donate to them. Even the smallest amout has the potential to significantly improve their livelihood.
Mahindra is the youngest sibling and when his parents died 10 years ago, they left him a mountain of debt. In Nepal, predatory lending is rampant and unregulated. Banks prey on farmers and trap them into life-long debt. My brother inherited a debt amounting to just under $10k USD but with an interest rate over 20% and monthly earnings of only $50, he has little chance of ever paying off the bank.
The reason I feel that Mahindra and his family deserve help is because they are truly remarkable people. Throughout my 2 years with them, they demonstrated honesty, hard work, devotion and kindness. They are, without a doubt, the most exemplary people I have ever had the privilege of meeting. Though they live in poverty, and have extremely difficult lives, they still smile and sing constantly. Gratitude beams from their faces and warmth radiates from their hearts.
Every day is a struggle for them and the stress of trying to feed their family is more urgent than the stress that eats away at them when they consider how they are going to educate their two children.
There is no easy answer for them. Nepal affords very few opportunities to rise from poverty. And with the extra burden of a huge loan, they have no options for improving their situation.
By removing this huge obstacle of debt, Mahindra and Sunita can begin to save money for their children's education. They can save money to buy some livestock and begin to slowly improve their food security and future prospects.
Please donate to them. Even the smallest amout has the potential to significantly improve their livelihood.