Newsletter 22 – December 2015
Best wishes to all our supporters in Britain and Nepal. Previous editions on www.fishtailfund.com/newsletters.

Picnic and Scholarship Presentation Day

A group of Fund sponsors and Trustees travelled in November, at their own expense, to attend this happy day where many students met their sponsors, or received letters from them. In spite of huge travelling problems (see over), more than forty of our fifty-one students made it to the garden of a central hotel. They enjoyed a full meal, heard about the progress of the fund, then received an individual envelope with messages and gifts. Later there were games before they made their way home.
In the goodies bag was …. A letter from sponsors, a gift from sponsors, a pack of union-jack pens, a wind-up torch and a solar lamp to do homework. Many thanks to the Rotary Club of Wirksworth for funding these latter two gifts from their Aquabox stores.

Every student had their photograph taken as they received their gifts and letters. We were aware that many would not own an image of themselves, so we arranged for them to take away a personal copy of the photographs.
If you sponsor a student, and the student made it to the picnic, thank you! Your gift and letter arrived in ‘your’ student’s own hands. We’ll send you a copy of the photograph before Christmas.
More picnic – pictures on https://www.facebook.com/The-Fishtail-Fund-469080649777325/?ref=hl

A chance to meet

Fisstail or Fishtail?

Nepalis do not easily pronounce sh as in Fishtail. They say ss. Shiva, the god, is pronounced Ssiva. So when our Treasurer had problems working out why a payment to Pokhara wasn’t going through, it took a while to work it out. The account over there had been named the Fisstail Fund account!

Thank you to all our supporters

We currently have fifty students. Many of them are reaching university or college level. The difference between support at pre-16 (£60), pre-18 (£100) and the next level is very large, as college can cost up to £1000 a year. So we’re looking for co-sponsors. You’ll receive letters and updates as before, and you also have a chance to allow a poor but clever student to flourish beyond school. Interested ? Contact info@fishtailfund.com.

Please continue to support the FISHTAIL FUND.

Our efforts to build the school and help a village are threatened by difficulties with Nepal’s southern neighbour, India. Nepal has agreed a secular constitution at last; however India wants Hinduism to dominate, as it is in India itself. Some blame India, some Nepal. The impasse has resulted in a blockade of the borders, slowly depriving Nepal of supplies. Since Nepal has no sea coastline, and the Himalayas are a massive northern border, the country is slowly choking. The worst possible scenario is that Nepal grows dependent on China, who is all too keen to fill the needs; but as was the case with Tibet, China’s grip on a small neighbour, once tightened, may never be loosened ever again.
Our photographs show endless, long, patient queues of Pokhara citizens, waiting for what supplies there are left. Local buses are limited. One of our students, Sangita, tried to get to the picnic from Kathmandu, four hours away. She stood at the roadside hoping for a lift, but finally phoned us to say ‘sorry, can’t make it’.

Are you old enough to receive the Winter Fuel allowance? Do you really need the £200? If you are seeking a worthwhile cause, please consider our ongoing Fishtail Fund appeal (details below).

Online payments: Send cash by credit transfer to ‘RCD FISHTAIL FUND’     Sort code  405240    Account  00027636  It’s very important that we know who has given. Please therefore include the reference ‘FISHTAIL’ then your name. Within your bank transfer page there will be a choice ‘Make Payment’ or similar where you can give your identity.
Cheques:  Make payable to the charity account ‘Rotary Club of Dronfield Fishtail Fund’ and post to ‘Dronfield Fishtail Education Appeal, 31 West Croft Drive, Inkersall, Chesterfield  S43 3GA’   along with your name.  Please email the Treasurer (below) to give early notification of monies being sent.  If you are an individual donor and qualify for Gift Aid, email our Treasurer at treasurer@fishtailfund.com for a Gift Aid form