Supporting Blind and Visually Impaired or Disabled Students in Nepal
Last week I had the joy of attending The Rose International Fund for Children’s annual fundraising dinner. TRIFC is a Seattle based nonprofit who works with disabled children in Nepal. Back in 2009, I’d done a story for The Seattle Channel about TRIFC and the amazing work they’re doing, that was nominated for an Emmy award (video below). In Nepal, people with disabilities are often hidden and shamed, their disability viewed as the product of a past life sin. TRIFC’s work is both to provide these children with necessary surgeries and medical care, as well as education and support in developmental and social skills. In addition to the direct work with this population, they are actively working on breaking down the stigma associated with disability in Nepal through PSA’s and other public outreach campaigns.
TRIFC is directly connected to Rotary International and each year takes groups of Rotarians on trips there. For the fundraising dinner, I had volunteered to film the event in support of TRIFC’s great work. While shmoozing, I decided to do a short spontaneous video with Nirmala Gyawali, the executive director of TRIFC’s ADSoN project, The Ability Development Society of Nepal. Nirmala is blind and the video is about the TRIFC backpack for blind students in Nepal. It comes full of tools designed specifically for blind students, including an abacus, ruler, tablet, and other materials with braille writing. My goal was to make a short, easily accessible video promoting the $75 backpacks as a way for people to financially support TRIFC and blind Nepali students at a financial level accessible to many people.
Backpacks for blind students video:
Original Emmy nominated story about TRIFC’s work in Nepal:
Challenging The Stigma of Disability in Nepal with The Rose International Fund for Children TRIFC from Pangeality Productions on Vimeo.