This quarantine has brought a lot of change for all of us. We reached out to our supporters to see how they are spending their time and making the most of this time.
We want to hear from you! Whether you’re doing well or not so well, please reach out to us. There is a great need for everyone to stay connected during this time, and Mitrata is committed to doing its part. We are all in this together!

Christine, Mitrata’s Executive Director and Founder

I have been celebrating my health, safety, and freedom by practicing an "Eat Pray Love" … and Hike philosophy!
Eat: The Dal bhat that I make never is as good as what I enjoy in Nepal and I miss them all so much, but it will have to do for now.
Pray: Every day in meditation I give metta (prayers of living kindness) to all beings suffering during this pandemic.
Love: I play and cuddle with my lively new kitten, Ellie, and her sister, Shuri, and do a lot of Zoom calls with friends and family.
And Hikes: I have enjoyed with my friend Pam the beautiful rich green of spring as redbud trees, purple sweet williams, and mayapples emerging from the leafy forest floor — from a 6 foot distance, of course!

Carolyn, Board Member and Sponsor, has been enjoying walks in Forest Park and finding new areas of the park with the help of the book Forest Park: A Walk through History by Carolyn Mueller.

Toni, Advisory Board Member, has applied her creativity and skills to making face masks.

Nancy, Board Member and Sponsor:

Checking email is one of the highlights of my day right now. Mostly I get notices from email lists I am on or work emails, but today was different — there in my inbox was an email from the child I sponsor, Pragya Rai. What a great surprise! She said the hostel where she was staying is closed so she went home to her family. She is helping her mother take care of her siblings, and she is planting vegetables. She misses her friends, and with a frustration now very familiar, she wishes this virus would be over. She is drawing to pass the time, and I did not know she was so talented. If all goes well, she will start a bachelor's program in social work though her dream is still to become a lawyer.
I am glad she is well and seemingly removed from the dangers of exposure in Kathmandu. She sent her best wishes for a good Mother's Day. It is good to feel connected in these sometimes lonely times. It is even better to know that someone half a world away is thinking about you because you have made a difference in their life. It really is true: when you sponsor a child, it is not always clear who is helping who!

Mitrata’s children are amazingly talented!

Pam, Sponsorship Chair and Sponsor, has been gardening and hiking.

Our friends at Karma Thalo have been getting together over video conferences once a week for “COVID-19 Culinary Club.'“ This week they made a traditional Nepali dish of chicken chili!

Stephanie, Sponsor and Advisory Board Member:

Since I am not currently able to go to work, I am learning new skills here at home. I have learned to bake a variety of breads, including pita bread. Other cooking projects and experiments abound. Today I will make simple syrup from wild violets and tomorrow I plan to make dandelion jam!

I am taking an online class called “The Science of Wellbeing” from Yale University, which is helping me keep my focus on what I can control. I meditate almost daily, which also helps with my sanity. I’m taking a lot of exercise classes via Zoom (Zoom-ba?) and plenty of walks. De-cluttering my home and working on my yard are both seemingly endless tasks that I work on, bit by bit, every day.

Part of my joy in every week comes from communicating with a few of our older and former Mitrata “kids” via text and video chats. We make each other laugh and bring each other comfort from across the world!