Chairman’s Review Working in partnership with the people of the Himalaya Annual Report 2015/16 Sustainable education, health and environmental projects Contents 3 Who We Are 4 Chairman’s Review 5 From the General Manager 7 Program Review 8 Building Nepal Back Better 9 Teacher Training and Quality Education – Our Flagship Program 10 Our Programs 12 Board of Directors and Staff 15 Thank you to… 16 Accountability The Australian Himalayan Foundation aims to improve the quality of life of the people most in need in remote areas of the Himalaya. Front cover image: AHF Maternal Health Care Program, Zanskar Valley, Ladakh, Indian Himalaya Who we are Over the years, thousands of Australians have visited the Himalaya. For many it is an opportunity to trek beneath the world’s highest peaks and to appreciate some of the world’s most hospitable cultures. Yet the Himalaya is not just a vast These cost-effective projects are adventure playground. For the local combined with practical on-the-ground communities life is anything but outcomes in the poorest, most under- easy – with access to basic health resourced areas of the Himalaya across and education services often out of Nepal, Bhutan and Northern India. reach. In response to these needs, These programs help to reduce poverty the Australian Himalayan Foundation and address human rights like gender was formed in 2003 and strives to equality, child rights and the rights of ensure the long-term viability of marginalised groups in rural regions sustainable health, education and throughout the Himalaya. They are in environmental programs across line with the United Nations Sustainable the Himalaya. Development Goals. We work in partnership with the The AHF is a registered Australian NGO people of the Himalaya to help the with no political or religious affi liations. most disadvantaged meet their We are members of the Australian priority needs through integrated Council for International Development improvements in education, health and have accreditation status with the and the environment. Australian Government Overseas Aid Program (DFAT). ANNUAL REPORT 2015/16 3 Chairman’s Review Moral village, Lower Solukhumbu, October 2016: Early morning (still in sleeping bag) – looking well to the north to a clear line of high Himalayan peaks, including Mera Pk, and out the other window to the nearby playground of the Moral Primary School… … which we (Greg Mortimer and I, Bhim - The appreciation, value and great And I want to thank so much everyone Bogati CEO of REED, our in-country cost-effectiveness of our help in in the growing AHF family – Members; Nepal NGO partner, and our AHF an area where there is severe project partners; all corporate and supporter trekkers) had visited the day disadvantage and lack of opportunity private donors; volunteers, pro bono before, meeting our scholarship holders and facilities for the basic human helpers and event contributors; support and teachers trained under our Teacher rights of education and good health. trekkers (including Kathmandu Summit Training and Quality Education program. As the Nepal Government District Club trekkers and the Chairman’s Education Offi cer at Salleri said at Trekkers); Carolyn and all the staff Lower in the valley yesterday, we had another classroom inauguration: (still only three full time staff); and the also trekked to Kanku School, “Only you (the Australian Himalayan three AHF Board Advisory Committee inaugurating two classrooms rebuilt Foundation) are in this whole district Chairs and the rest of the Board – it is jointly by AHF and the Himalayan Trusts and only you give our schools the individual and collective efforts of of NZ and UK, and talking to more such assistance”. you all which enable us to do what we scholarship holders and teachers – do for the people of the Himalaya. all 17 teachers having received - How right we are to rigorously TTQE training. maintain – despite the requests and pressures for all sorts of funding Greg and I are accompanying an AHF – our grass-roots focus on “giving support/fundraising trek and checking what is needed most to those who on the progress of our school repair and need it most”. Simon Balderstone rebuild projects, following on from our Chairman The many ways (including donations, emergency relief and “Temporary - trekking and organising events or Learning Centres” assistance after other fundraising/sponsored trips) the tragic 2015 earthquakes. AHF supporters can help us help the This trek has brought home to me people of the Himalaya. more vividly than ever the fundamentals 2015–16 was yet another busy and of AHF’s work helping the people of successful year for AHF, featuring the the Himalaya: raising of $1.2 million to fund projects; - The demand and need for our an enormous amount of work on the assistance, particularly in giving the application to the Australian Federal children – and especially the girls – Government for full accreditation; the of the Lower Solukhumbu region, implementation of a successful Social the gift of a better education. Media Strategy (thank you Ben Kassel and the Haimat team); the development and initial stages of implementation of the schools’ repair and rebuilding program; and the successful delivery of our on-going programs in the Himalaya. 4 THE AUSTRALIAN HIMALAYAN FOUNDATION From the General Manager “I suspect nothing has ever been built in Solukhumbu with this amount of planning and design. My father’s construction method was somewhat organic. These are remarkable plans and will change the future of these communities.” These were Peter Hillary’s words when With all this work going on, we are Enormous development challenges late last year he fi rst saw our plans for pleased to report that our existing still exist across the region in terms of the rebuilding of schools in the Everest programs continue to provide accessing quality primary education, region that had been damaged and communities across the Himalaya with improving basic health outcomes, destroyed by the 2015 earthquakes. access to vital health and education reducing poverty and, as the events of services. In June, I travelled to Ladakh 2015 have shown, in adapting to climate These earthquake-resilient classrooms, in the Indian Himalaya to see fi rsthand change and the increased frequency of aimed at building Nepal back better, how maternal health services are being natural disasters. It is our aim to continue were the result of a dynamic partnership made available to mothers living in the providing sustainable community-based between AHF and Australian architects remote valley of Zanskar and to see the education, health and environment-led Davenport Campbell and HASSELL and importance of training the local medical projects across the region in response to Sydney-based engineers Taylor, practitioners (known as amchi) in the these challenges and to strengthen and Thomson, Whitting (TTW). Together we delivery of these services. It was also expand the long-term relationships have created architectural designs for very encouraging to meet with our between Australia and the Himalaya. low-cost, environmentally sustainable, partners, the Snow Leopard Conservancy earthquake resilient classrooms and to see how a simple intervention We are very fortunate to do this work in incorporating traditional elements of involving the construction of enclosed partnership with an amazing network Nepalese architecture with a functionality corrals for livestock were saving the of supporters, volunteers, partners and durability rarely seen. lives of hundreds of snow leopards by and donors who all share our vision of preventing farmers from killing these improving the lives of those living in the As one of the few NGOs working in endangered animals. Himalaya and that’s what makes this the remote Solukhumbu region, we work so rewarding. We thank you recognised early on the need to respond In the background, our work has been sincerely for being on this journey with us to this disaster with the rebuilding of signifi cantly strengthened by an and we look forward to working alongside schools to ensure the ongoing benefi ts expanding team (we were thrilled to you well into the next fi ve years. to children and communities of our welcome our new part-time Book- education programs. Over the past Keeper Linda Jocelyn to the team this 12 months we have been grateful year) and the development of a fi ve-year for our established track record in the Strategic Plan by management and region and our strong relationships with Board. This plan is shared on our local communities and the government website and will shape our choices in Carolyn Hamer-Smith of Nepal, which stood us in good stead responding to changes in the General Manager for the approval of these innovative plans environment in which we operate and by the Ministry for Education. This rebuild how we best support the people of the work is now well underway with more Himalaya now and into the future. than 20 new school buildings complete. ANNUAL REPORT 2015/16 5 Program Review The past year has involved a concerted effort from our AHF team to upgrade our systems and processes as we step up towards developing our sectoral programs. This has included mainstreaming gender and disability in effective ways into our work across education, health and the environment. This is a process that has included Education (TTQE), made notable strides strong planning with our partners and in program delivery to improve the stakeholders in the region and bringing in standards of rights-based, inclusive necessary expertise when required. It is child-friendly education in primary equally a process of assessing what real schools in the remote, mountainous changes we have made, where our gaps Solukhumbu district. REED reports that are and what capacity we and our there has been an increase in the pass partners have to strengthen the work we rate and learning achievements of do for the people in the Himalaya region.