Choice Humanitarian

Nueva Concepcion Hospital

Megan Ah Mu — Fri, 31 May 2013 18:27:14 +0000

You’ve heard a little about the hospital in Nueva Conception. This first of its kind facility will radically bolster the health of hundreds of communities AND protect future generations from easily preventable disease and fatality.

Bringing health care to a community that has never had it before is no small task. For our work to be sustainable, we need as many partners as we can get. So CHOICE is proud to announce that the local government in Guatemala has recognized the significance of Spectrum Heath Care and CHOICE’s work together and has decided to join us.

Keeping Dreams Alive

Megan Ah Mu — Wed, 29 May 2013 22:23:23 +0000

For many women working hard in the villages of Nepal, the dream of acquiring an education after high school is often cut short once they become married. Amrita Dura, a young mother says, “After high school graduation, I had lost hope, thinking that I would never get the opportunity to continue my education. Because of our financial status, and my role in the family, I would never dream of going out to the cities and studying for a degree in Education. We just don’t have access to that here in the village.”

850 people participated in putting the finishing touches into Sarvodaya College! As Thakur Prasad Tiwari, VDC Chairman of Chandreshwar says, “I had never seen such a mass voluntarily mobilized for ANY community project. The women’s participation was especially phenomenal.” The first of its kind, this village-driven institution provides opportunity to earn degrees after high school. Now women throughout the Lumjung region have access to a better alternative.

Amrita Dura, now studying at the college adds, “Now I have a dream to be a teacher in my village and bring change in the communities.” Many thanks to all those who participated in Keeping Dreams Alive for Amrita and many other women in the Lamjung region.

Instituto Basico La Laguna

Megan Ah Mu — Tue, 14 May 2013 17:56:56 +0000

Construction update for the Instituto Basico La Laguna in Guatemala. As you can see, the project is moved along quite nicely. This will be an awesome addition to the school. We appreciate everyone who worked so hard and are grateful to all of you for giving your time, your efforts, and other resources on this project.

This new addition will be a technical training center and workshop for young adults to explore their interests in technical and practical in-country vocations with strong economic potential in the region. This additional classroom will compliment nicely with the overall vision of building a future Agricultural Training Center on CHOICE property in the region. The Ag Center will focus on the continuing education of post-secondary students who are interested in pursuing their vocational interests to the next level.

The soon to be completed classroom at the Instituto, plans were modified to include a stage so the large room has the potential to double as a cultural events center where the students could demonstrate and perform various cultural dramatizations and become a gathering place for community activities.

Wheeler Mexico Expedition

Megan Ah Mu — Fri, 10 May 2013 18:14:15 +0000

Volunteers and expeditioners traveled to Tixmadeje, Mexico to work on water cisterns. They stayed in the village working with and learning from the local villagers about their culture, lives and families.

Some of the expeditioners participated in making and cooking tortillas.

The CHOICE group was treated to dancing, games and other meaningful interactions with the local villagers.

Duradanda High School

Megan Ah Mu — Mon, 06 May 2013 17:23:39 +0000

The Ministry of Education explained to the villagers that a new high school would cost at least $300,000, and such resources were very scarce. Since their location was so isolated, the Ministry had no plans to build a high school in their area. Undeterred by this, these village leaders insisted they would raise their own funds.

The village leaders determined that their own labor and materials donated would be worth $33,000. They then went to CHOICE for a leverage grant of $7,000, which gave them $40,000. Impressed with the villagers’ energy and perseverance, the Ministry agreed to provide $60,000, now a total of $100,000, but insisted that until the additional $200,000 was raised, no school would be built.

At this point most villagers would have given up, but not the villagers in the Duradanda area. Some of the villagers suggested they seek support from various NGOs who were funding schools in Nepal; others suggested they go to all the former graduates of this school. As if a miracle, these villagers raised the money needed for their new school.

USAID Grant update

Megan Ah Mu — Thu, 02 May 2013 20:21:22 +0000

After 24 hours of driving, Keith arrives in glory to CHOICE headquarters in Mexico! Juan, CHOICE-Mexico in country director, now has the tools he needs to end poverty a little faster. THANK YOU USAID!

USAID Grant

Megan Ah Mu — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 16:57:03 +0000

Attention! Attention! CHOICE is happy to announce we’ve won a grant from USAID for $2 million in equipment! Watch this week as CHOICE makes it’s first delivery: a much-needed truck for our Mexico Team! Stay tuned for updates and pictures as CHOICE’s own Keith Ellis drives the truck from Oklahoma to our programs in Irapuato, Mexico.

Why Nepal?

Megan Ah Mu — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 21:06:07 +0000

Fourth reason:

We have expert staff, willing volunteers and interns and Dr. James Mayfield who has spent the past forty years in village development, designing and managing poverty alleviation programs in Egypt, the Philippines, Iraq, Kenya, Bolivia, Mexico, Guatemala and of course, Nepal.

This new program will reach an area of 100,000 people in Nepal over the next three years. It will also provide the foundation for this program to be replicated and expanded to other parts of the country, as well as throughout the world.

Why Nepal?

Megan Ah Mu — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 20:22:27 +0000

Third reason: no country in the world is better prepared to move out of poverty than Nepal. His Excellency Dr. Ram Baran Yadaf, President of Nepal, has a vision of seeing his country become the first poor country in the world to eliminate extreme poverty.

Bishnu Akhikari (left) and Dr. James Mayfield (center) were privileged to visit with President Yadaf, where they were honored for the work of CHOICE in Nepal.

Why Nepal?

Megan Ah Mu — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 18:03:51 +0000

Second reason:

CHOICE Humanitarian has spent the past ten years training and supporting village leaders in this Self Developing District program in five of the 75 rural districts of Nepal. From these years of experience in Nepal, CHOICE has now developed a poverty-reduction strategy that is ready to be implemented in all the 75 rural districts of Nepal.

Our in-country director in Nepal, Bishnu Akhikari, has spent the past ten years training village leaders in five of Nepal’s rural districts, demonstrating the numbers and types of staff to be trained, what specific action steps must be implemented, what types of resources must be mobilized, and how best to measure the progress being achieved.

Nepal villages where CHOICE has worked: 1000
Nepalese directly impacted by CHOICE: 275,000
Nepalese indirectly impacted by CHOICE: 281,000

“The need is still desperately critical, but my goal is to work myself out of a job. I want to see an end to poverty in Nepal in my lifetime!” -Bishnu Adhikari