Cooking up curry for the people of Nepal

14th May 2021 | Eativity editors

Love curry? Whether you’re mad for madras, venerate a vindaloo or would rather a rogan josh, indulge your passion this May and raise funds to help take the heat off the Himalaya. Australians are being encouraged to help provide urgently needed health and education assistance for the people of Nepal on Thursday, May 27, by taking part in Australia’s Biggest Curry Night. May 27 is Himalaya Day, which commemorates the day in 1953 on which Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay achieved the first ascent of Mount Everest.

Cooking up curry for the people of Nepal

Australian Himalayan Foundation (AHF) Chairman Simon Balderstone says the foundation’s work in Nepal is needed more than ever against the tragic background of COVID-19.

Funds raised through Australia’s Biggest Curry Night dinners in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Canberra and Hobart – as well as virtually across the nation – will help deliver the foundation’s vital and ongoing assistance in health, education and livelihood programs.

AHF and partner REED Nepal provide books and radio lessons to keep students learning while schools are closed
AHF and partner REED Nepal provide books and radio lessons to keep students learning while schools are closed. ⁠⠀

Case numbers surge

“Nepal is facing unimaginable adversity,” Balderstone says. “Not just in cities, but in remote areas where health and education are always a huge challenge, let alone in a pandemic.”

The COVID-19 outbreak has hit Nepal hard. There have been more than 400,000 people infected and more than 3700 deaths already recorded in the small Himalayan nation.

“More than 9000 people are being infected every day, in a population not much bigger than ours,” Balderstone says. “The people of Nepal, especially the children, need help like never before. Lockdowns have stopped education, health services and work opportunities. This is hurting families that were already severely disadvantaged and living in extreme poverty.”

AHF is helping to improve living standards in Nepal
AHF is helping to improve living standards in remote areas through better education and health services.

How to help the Himalaya

For 20 years, AHF has tackled the toughest challenges to ensure children in the most remote, poorest Himalayan communities can access vital education and health services.

AHF trains teachers, provides resources for schools and funds scholarships to ensure Nepal’s most disadvantaged children can attend school. The foundation also trains nurses and healthcare workers on the frontline, builds and improves health facilities and resources, and helps to raise awareness of health issues and health care.

“The fact is, we need more funds to provide more ongoing assistance, now when it’s most needed,” Balderstone says. “And we need the help of Australians to raise those funds.”

Australians can help “take the heat off the Himalaya” by joining Australia’s Biggest Curry Night on Thursday, May 27. There are several ways to take part:

1. Attend an AHF Himalaya Day event in Sydney, Canberra, Brisbane, Hobart or Melbourne
2. Host a curry night at your home, work or community centre
3. Make a donation online

Individuals and businesses can register to take part or make a donation online at australias-biggest-curry-night.raisely.com