BRANNGO newsletter April 2020

1 Chairman ’ s Foreword For Nepal the year that started with such promise for ‘Visit Nepal 2020’ sadly had that imaginative project cancelled within three months. The Nepal government had little alternative with the global spread of Covid-19. Even with only 16 reported cases in Nepal so far (as at 14 th April) it was right to take such protective measures. With poor availability of healthcare facilities and lack of medical infrastructure Nepal is likely to suffer greatly from the easily-spread virus. It also means that British NGOs working to help Nepal are going to find tasks that were never easy in the first place become even more difficult. Economic weakness and high unemployment in the UK will make it harder to raise the funds needed so urgently. Nepal is now a net importer of food, so life will quickly get progressively harder both in the towns that rely on tourist income (of which there is now none) and in the hill villages where the young who have gone abroad to seek their fortunes become less able to find work and send money home. Even jobs in the more developed countries of the Middle East are likely to be harder to come by due to the present low price of oil. BRANNGO’s aims are now more relevant than ever. Every NGO will recognise the need to cut costs, avoid duplication and at the very least to learn from each other and compare experiences. We must also work together to exploit any help that the British government can provide. To do this we need strength and that means strength of numbers. We have made a reasonable start so far with our 50 members but to become a really representative force we must have more and we know there are over 800 active UK charities that say they have interest in Nepal. Splendid! Come and join us and let us go forward in our separate but coordinated ways to help the government and steadfast people of Nepal that have now been friends of Britain for over 200 years. My best wishes to you and your families. I hope you stay safe and well. David Thomas