Starting it NOW!

by SANDESH ADHIKARI

FROM ISSUE # 165 (September 2009) | IN THIS ISSUE
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NOW – a word, a slogan, a motto to live by. For any fruitful end, there needs to be a beginning; humble or exalt, but a beginning all the same. To make a change in the world, there is never a better time to start than NOW! A thought that also inspires the FIVE group, that aims to start the process of supporting and encouraging future leaders of the country and starting the process NOW. 

'FIVE children, FIVE years, FIVE lives' is a plan, a promise; a mission statement which drives the FIVE Group. The group currently supports 7 children, enabling them to educate themselves and have an opportunity to build bright futures.

"When the project started, we were ecstatic at the idea of the fundraiser but had no clue what to do," says Devashish Sharma, co-director of the play, adding, "But the FIVE group pushed us really hard to come up with a script and direct and act."

With the help of Ganga Prasad Tiwari and JB Ruwali of Shilpi Theatre group, the Rato Bangala Theatre Club put together the play Abyakta Awaz Haru, depicting the woes of children affected by the conflict.

The play followed the lives of five children, all affected by the insurgency.  As they empathised for one another and hoped for building a new life, they formed a family much stronger than any blood-tie could ever form. And a young student from Kathmandu, who had grown to accept war as a backdrop event that he simply heard or saw in the media, entered the scene as a volunteer to an orphanage.

While for many, the 10-year-long conflict has merely become a page in the books of history, for others the effects still echoes. The major victims were the children, bearing burdens far more than their fragile bodies and minds could ever handle: from learning to live a physically challenged life to forcefully becoming trained killers.

CHANGE II, a follow up to CHANGE I, consisted of the play and a performance by Kutumba. And through this second rendition of the CHANGE project, the FIVE Group raised a sum of Rs 79,700. The money will be used to support children and 25 per cent of the proceeds will be donated to the Rato Bangala Scholarship fund.

FIVE consists of – Rashmi Thapa,  Aradhana Gurung-Shrestha, Shitu Rajbhandari and Pavit Maharjan. Who have come together for common goals – empowering the youth, promoting Nepali folk media and encouraging artists. To know more log on to www.fiveforchange.org