April 25th was the fourth anniversary of the devastating earthquake in Nepal. Since 2015 D2N has rebuilt 11 schools and will be completing the 12th this year. In addition, we have built three health posts and birth centers with a fourth scheduled to be finished in the coming months. All schools and health post/birthing centers have been built with earthquake-safe engineering. Richard describes these efforts on Fox 2 Detroit.
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Fall brings the harvest season so it is a perfect time to introduce the newest member of the Detroit family: Buckets of Rain. Buckets of Rain's urban gardens in Highland Park provide vegetables for homeless shelters, neighbors and their prescription for vegetables program at the S.A.Y. Detroit Family Health Clinic. Doctors at the clinic write “prescriptions” for patients who then visit Bucket of Rain’s one-acre urban garden across from the clinic for the recommended vegetables at no charge. An equally unique program has started at our Nepal Health Posts and Birthing Centers: portable ultrasound. As D2N builds more health posts and birthing centers, we are evaluating how to expand the services rendered. Ultrasound evaluations during preganancy is one example how we can deliver more sophisticated services benefiting pregnant women. The local community in Dipsung is currently formulating a proposal to D2N which will integrate ultrasound with our check ups during pregnancy.
Summer in Nepal means the monsoon season, so all projects are on hold until the fall. The Sapteshwor Health Post and Birthing Center is nearly complete; only inside work remains. Summer in Detroit means camp! D2N is sponsoring both music and hood camps at Avalon Village as well as Building Better Men's summer programming at S.A.Y Detroit Play. Sounds of summer also include a new health segment, Drs Making a House Call, every other Monday at 6 pm on WNUC 96.7.
Click here for May 2018 Newsletter.
photo courtesy dZi foundation
D2N is proud to be acknowledged by Mitch Albom and S.A.Y. Detroit for our work in Detroit! Our Detroit initiative, encourages the neighborhoods to identify a priority, design a solution, execute the project and ultimately own the project.
During my recent trip to Nepal I had the opportunity to view the future site of our fourth health post and birthing center in Baspani, see the latest progress on our health post in Sapteshwor, learn how well the Dindu/Dipsung Health Post and Birthing Center is functioning, meet with our ngo partners, Nava Jyoti and Creative Porter's Society, visit the site of Baikalpik Primary School and attend the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Kalika Secondary School in Bakachol. It was a great trip!
Sunset over Baksila.
In Nepal ground has broken on the Sapteshwor Health Post and Birthing Center and early work has begun on the final four schools slated for reconstruction. Check back in January for updates and pictures. In Detroit, the Piety Hill pocket parks were completed (see above picture), the benches in Cody Rouge were celebrated and two new partners, Building Better Men and Avalon Village, joined the Detroit family.
Spring brought benches to Cody Rouge, WNUC to the airwaves and tremendous progress on schools in Nepal.
Video: D2N School Construction
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EVO DETROIT, D2N’s new initiative in Detroit, stands for Empowerment, Vestment, and Ownership. EVO Detroit’s goal is to establish working relationships with Detroit neighborhoods by allowing them to identify their priorities and advocate for themselves.
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