All Together Now International

There is great joy in seeing the wonderful progress in Nima's recovery and for those of us who have followed his story, he is an inspiration. But, while Nima's life has been saved, we have been asked to help others whose plight is just as desperate.

We are currently working to bring a young Tibetan refugee girl, currently in India, to the USA for a spinal operation. Her photograph and medical records show a life of pain and a future without hope -- unless we help. And there are many others waiting to be helped. Together we can help these children.

Let me know how you would like to be part of this work, and of course, your donations are always welcome and very much needed.

Jennifer Cleary
President

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Our Mission:

We support and create charitable programs designed to not only address material needs, but to foster self-sufficiency, cooperation and community.

We support programs that:

~ enhance the health, education and welfare of children
~provide education, health care and economic support for impoverished women in underdeveloped countries
~provide health care to those who do not have access to such services, including bringing the most desperate cases to the USA for treatment

Our current focus is on Nepal and Tibet.

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Medical Care Given for the First Time for Many in Nepal

What would your life be like if you had absolutely no medical care available to you or your family? We are so used to having every ache and pain remedied by a trip to the drug store or the doctor, it is often hard to imagine that much of the world's population has no access to health practitioners or medicine of any kind. No antibiotics, not even aspirin.

In a country like Nepal this results in some shocking health issues: high infant mortality, high maternal mortality, short life expectancy, and lack of immunizations.

Nepal Health Facts*

~Nearly 1 in 10 children die before their first birthday. In the remote mountain areas nearly 2 in 10 children die in infancy.
~Nearly 1 in 10 births results in the death of the mother, one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the world.
~Over 90% of births take place without professional medical assistance.
~There is one doctor for every 15,000 people, one hospital bed for every 4000 people.
~Life expectancy for a Nepali man is 55 years, for a Nepali woman, 53 years.
*from 1998 UN Nepal Human Development Report

All Together Now International supports two free clinics in Kathmandu, administering primary medical care to those who do not have access to any other resources. This basic medical care is provided through volunteer western doctors and nurses, Nepali medical and support staff and donated medicine, equipment and money.

There are many painful and difficult conditions that can be easily cured with inexpensive medicines and basic medical knowledge.

How You Can Help

~If you are traveling to Nepal, help us transport prepacked medical kits to our clinics.
~If you are a doctor or nurse, volunteer at one of the clinics.
~if you work in any area of medicine, contact us about ways to get involved.
~help sponsor a clinic through financial donations.

Our Other Programs:

Children's Home provides education and home to 68 children in two homes, including 48 in the Far Western Development Region where educational opportunities are rare.

Sponsor a Child:

$2 a day/ $650 per year Women's Sewing Project gives women vocational training in tailoring and sewing machine operation. Without such skills women who have lost husbands or family often have only begging.

Sponsor a Woman's Training:

$250 Leprosy Project not only gives medical treatment to sufferers of this disease, but creates a community of these former outcastes and gives them vocational training for a productive life.

Support this community by donating $ Street Children Program takes abandoned kids off the street and into a caring home and an education.

Sponsor a Child for $55 per month

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Nima Recovers From Spinal Surgery; Starts School While His Healing Continues

In our last newsletter we told the story on Nima Dongzhou, an orphan from Tibet whose life threatening spinal deformity was corrected in a series of complex operations. The operation, which straightened and fused most of his spine, leaves him with metal rods inserted in his back to support his spine.

Over the past months he has undergone extensive physical therapy and is now able to move about without his external brace. This amazing journey from the other side of the world to the USA, and to the possibility of a long and healthy life without pain, was made possible by many generous donations of money, time and medical services.

Today we are happy to say that Nima has joined a wonderful host family in Conifer, Colorado, Jeff and Jackie Jung and their two children. Jeff and Jackie opened their home to Nima in January and have been instrumental in coordinating Nima's medical and dental appointments, his rehabilitation work and getting him enrolled in the local school where he can practice English, learn more about his favorite subjects - and also make new friends. We cannot thank Jeff and Jackie enough for their warmth, love and support of this young boy.

Nima faces the possibility of another operation by Dr. John Odom in the next few months to help relieve some of the pain he still experiences. In about a year Dr. Odom will remove the rods from Nima's spine, after the fusion has completed.

Dr. Stephen Koral and staff have donated many hours of dental work on Nima who had never been to a dentist in his life.

What will he do when he returns to Tibet? He wants to finish his schooling and work to provide medical care to his home village.

Maybe it is because of the dental work, and maybe it is because his pain is getting less and less, but whatever it is, Nima's smile is just getting bigger and brighter.

How You Can Help:

~~ We get calls every week about a child in a poor country who needs help. Please donate funds to bring kids with the most difficult medical conditions to the USA for medical care.
~~Contact us about being a host family for a child.

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Have you seen our website All Together Now International ? www.alltogether.org Thanks to Jim Mauchly of Mountain Graphics (303-938-1540) for his ongoing work on this.

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How You Can Help

~organize a fund raiser.
~write the next newsletter.
~donate office supplies.
~donate your time or services such as bookkeeping, general office help, phone work and there's more...
~in Nepal: teachers, medical personnel and weaving specialist. We need your help!

What we need:

~new computer
~QuickBooks accounting program
~slide projector
~items for fundraising auction

Thank you... for your support of these worthy projects. Please send your tax deductible donations to:

All Together Now International
P. O. Box 7111
Boulder, CO 80306
303-448-0424
Email: AllToNow@aol.com
All Together Now International website: www.alltogether.org
All USA administration is underwritten - every dollar you send goes directly to our projects.

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