About Nepal
Nepal is the poorest country in Asia; it is a daily struggle for many of its 29.5 million people to put food on the table. The average wage for a Nepali is about $200 a year. Access to clean water is a real issue for many, with typhoid and cholera regularly claiming lives. The majority of Nepali’s live a subsistence life i.e. they live from what they grow.
What is INF?
The International Nepal Fellowship (INF) is a Christian organisation that for the last 57 years has been serving Nepali people through health and community development projects and encouraging the church.
To learn more about INF please visit their website:
What we will be doing:
We have committed to being in Nepal for two years. We arrived on the 15th of January 2010 and will spend four months in language training before spending the remainder of our time working in Pokhara. Mark will be working at INF’s Green Pastures hospital project managing the construction of a new outpatients department and the purchasing and upgrading of much needed equipment in the existing departments of the hospital. The project is being carried out with the help of funding from the Finnish government.
Jo will be working in the Western Regional Hospital in Ghorahi. She will be working closely with the two Nepali male physiotherapists passing on skills where ever possible. Both physio’s are from the highest caste and they don’t have much respect for people especially those of a lower caste and women. She is aiming to demonstrate the love of Christ through her treatment and care of the patients especially those who can’t afford a full course of prescribed treatment.
How to stay in touch:
We have set up a blog which we are keeping as up to date as possible. Internet is available in Pokhara although it is not reliable.
www.markandjoinnepal.blogspot.com
We will also send out regular email updates to our supporters. If you would like us to add you to our email list please send us an email so we can keep you up to date:
Prayer Support:
More importantly we need your prayer support. We are living and working in a country where Christians make up less than 3% of the population, eighty percent of the population are Hindus. Christians face opposition from society and family in Nepal and many suffer physical abuse as a result of their faith. Despite this the church is growing rapidly and there is a real openness to hear about Jesus. To be kept up to date about our specific prayer needs please email us on the above address and we will add you to our supporters list.
Financial Support:
As with any volunteer organisation we rely on people like you to make it financially possible. By sponsoring us you will be providing us with the means to offer our services to a country that desperately needs assistance. We need roughly $3000 per month for living and training expenses. With INF less than 5% of the support is used in New Zealand administration costs.
If you feel that you are able to make a donation please either contact us or refer to the details below.
Cheques can be made out to International Nepal Fellowship and posted with a note explaining that the cheque is for ‘Mark and Jo’ to:
- Gill Butt, Treasurer, INF, 58 Victoria Rd, Vogeltown, New Plymouth 4310.
Automatic payments* can also be made directly to INF:
- Bank: BNZ Bank, 222 Lambton Quay, Wellington, NZ
- Account Name: International Nepal Fellowship
- Account Number: 02-0506-0088206-000
*Please ensure that money is clearly designated to ‘Mark and Jo’ if making an Automatic payment.
