Dear Amazing Supporters...

During these difficult times, Mitrata and BSF are working together to support our children in any way we can. Two of Nepal’s main sources of income are agriculture and tourism, the latter of which is completely shut down as Nepal and the rest of the world enter into lockdown. Many of our children’s families live strictly on their daily wages, and during this time as Nepal’s economy sinks, many of them have lost their jobs. Further, the strict lockdown put in place means it’s harder for BSF to get supplies and food to our children and their families who are in such need right now.

With all of this going on, Mitrata and BSF are beyond grateful for the continued and increased support we have seen. We are acutely aware, too, of the suffering going on here at home with unemployment and illness from COVID-19. Our supporters are coming through to support our children in a big way right now, and for that, we can only say, “Thank you!” We have already had to postpone our St. Louis Trivia Night event that was supposed to have occurred in April and are thinking of alternatives for many of our other annual events. We are also so encouraged by the amount of support for our mission that has come in over the past few months. We have raised over $6,600 for emergency kits to send to our most at-risk families. We are also grateful to those who continued to purchase Trivia Night tables as we transitioned to an online event at the end of the summer.

The creativity as well as commitment of our donors never ceases to amaze us. We have received stock donations, donations made with funds from the stimulus check, and donations made through submitting for corporate matching. All of these funds raised will have a tangible effect for our children as we prepare for higher costs of healthcare and providing supplies.

We are also so thankful to our over 100 sponsors who have kept up their pledge payments and who have shared stories of hope and healing with us. We look forward to seeing all of our sponsors in our online social events over the next few weeks!

We are hopeful that the lockdown in Nepal can begin to lift over the next few months. In the meantime, we are committed to continuing to send out updates to our supporters about the situation in Nepal and event updates as they occur. Please stay safe, and reach out to us if you can. We would love to hear from you!

— The Mitrata team