How We Move Forward From 2021
For Mitrata’s board and staff, our annual strategic planning meeting is one of the most important days of the year where we discuss the progress we have made in our Nepal programs, fundraising, finances, and future sustainability. Instead of our traditional St. Louis weekend meeting, this September we held our strategic planning meeting over Zoom and were thrilled to have Leena Satyal, Executive Director of BSF, and Yogesh Satyal, Board President of BSF, join us online from Nepal.
Reviewing our progress this year, we found that we accomplished a lot, despite the numerous obstacles cause by the pandemic. The Contact Center continued to operate with safety precautions in place, and 5 Contact Center children graduated to join boarding schools. BSF was successful in keeping children in school, providing emergency food, mitigating emergency situations requiring counseling and support, setting up 2 group facilities for children without homes to return to, and coordinating with families and schools so that students could continue their education and take their exams online. All of our children enrolled in 10th grade passed their SEE exams and went on to 11th grade. Several children graduated from nursing, travel & tourism, and social service programs, and older children and staff have begun to get vaccinated now as well.
Health check ups
Because 40% of Nepal’s population is under 18, the pandemic disproportionately affected children in the county and has only added to the number of children in need of our services. Moreover, children in the poverty-stricken regions we serve often suffer poor nutrition including stunting, wasting, underweight and anemia which create obstacles to learning, health issues which were only made worse by the pandemic. Rising mental health issues, learning loss, income and job loss for young people, increasing school dropout rates, and growing food insecurity are all pressing issues now more than ever.
We are committed to our strategic plan and outlined several SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Timely) goals for our future, including:
Expand our reach to educate, empower, and sponsor 150 children (excluding Contact Center) by the end of 2024 through providing quality education, healthcare, counseling, and nutrition.
By 2022, all Mitrata sponsored children will have had the opportunity to complete skills training, vocational training, or a university education that will launch them into successful careers.
Enable BSF to open a 2nd Contact Center in the Kathmandu Valley by the end of 2024 to provide nutrition and education to as many as 40 new children.
Add an administrative assistant by the end of 2022 and a part-time communications coordinator by the end of 2023 to increase our reach and support additional fundraising activities.
Assess current protocols in 2022 and, beginning in 2023, improve the assessment of the content of the educational program by developing compiled data to help us track the development of each child’s academic, mental, and physical health.
By the end of 2023, implement a tracking system for graduate volunteer and support activities to increase the capacity of BSF, mentor children in the program, give graduates work experience, and provide data for MNFC to set future goals.
As soon as we can, we will begin implementing the 5-year plan, knowing our first priority is always to keep our commitment to provide individualized education and support services and high quality care for the current children we support. We greatly appreciate our sponsors and donors who have stood with us throughout these stressful times. It is only because of you that we are able to further our mission to empower underprivileged children in Nepal to reach their potential and break the cycle of poverty.
— Dr. Christine Schutz, Executive Director and Founder
