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Tihar, the vibrant five-day festival, unfolds with Kaag Tihar, Kukur Tihar, Gai Tihar, and Lakshmi Puja, followed by Govardhan Puja and Mha Puja, culminating in Bhai Tika. Embraced by all age groups, the heartwarming tradition of deusi-bhailo takes center stage on the third and fourth days of Tihar. This cherished custom involves groups of individuals visiting homes, weaving a tapestry of song and dance to delight residents, and, in return, receiving not just monetary gifts but also delectable treats.

This enchanting practice is deeply rooted in the belief that these spirited melodies bring forth blessings of prosperity to the household. In Nepal, the air is filled with the joyous sounds of children and adults engaging in these lively activities. Even though miles away from Nepal, the Nepal Seattle Society (NSS) endeavored to reconnect us with our cultural roots through a fundraising program centered around deusi-bhailo.

To kick off the festivities, a Google form was circulated on the NSS website, inviting community members to extend invitations for this jubilant occasion. Dedicated NSS volunteers devoted three days to perfecting their performances. The inaugural day, hosted at Buddhi Jung Kunwar’s residence by Buddhi Jung Kunwar, Mitra Dhital, Ujjwal Khadka, Durga Shrestha, Mukunda Bam Malla and Kiran Shrestha, was enriched by the participation of students from the Nepali South School, adding an extra layer of significance by passing down cultural traditions to the younger generation.

@Buddhi Kunwar’s Residence 

@Buddhi Kunwar’s Residence 

The celebration continued the second day with visits to houses in Kirkland and Mukilteo, hosted by Salana Adhikari and Sujan Kumar Shrestha, respectively. The final day unfolded in Seattle, graciously hosted by Prasanna Gautam and Viviane. Throughout these three days, the singing and dancing aimed to replicate the lively atmosphere of celebrations in Nepal. 

@Salana Adhikari’s Residence

@ Sujan Kumar Shrestha’s Residence

@ Prasanna and Viviane’s Residence

The NSS expresses sincere gratitude for the warm hospitality and delicious meals provided by the hosts. Special thanks go out to all hosts, their friends, and families for their support and contributions, acknowledging the time and effort invested to make the program successful and enjoyable. The NSS team is profoundly thankful for the opportunity to keep our cultural flame alive, bridging the 6000-mile gap from our homeland.

A heartfelt acknowledgment is extended to the deusi-bhailo team and performers who generously dedicated their time to make the event a success. Their names, including Shraddha Malla, Buddhi Jung Kunwar, Dasharath Budhathoki, Pramod Devkota, Kajal Sapkota, Pramoj Adhikari, Saurav Kakshapati, Tara Aryal, Soniya Kunwar, Smriti Dahal, Shubhu Shakya, Srijita Gurung, Lhakpa Sherpa, Aajana Aryal Koirala, Anushree Aryal, Aamod Koirala, Srijina Gurung, Aaryav Adhikari, Saraswati Budhathoki, Prabin   Esha Shrestha, Chahat Sharma, Melisha Dhital, Subu Khadka, Kiara Khanal, Christina Tamang, Dristi Dangal, Aashriya Shrestha, Ariel Adhikari, and many others, stand as a testament to their commitment.

The event concluded on a triumphant note, with a total donation of $6717 collected after reimbursing the Nepali South School performers. The students were graciously awarded $20 each for their participation, aligning to impart traditions and culture to the younger generation. The overwhelming support from the community is deeply appreciated, and NSS is humbled by the success of the event, which reaffirms the strength of cultural bonds within the Nepali diaspora.

Please enjoy this short video capturing not all but some of the best memories of our deusi-bhailo program.

NEPAL SEATTLE SOCIETY

COMMUNITY AMBASSADORS

For NEYPVAL/CDCF YEAR II

About Community Ambassadors

Ambassadors for a community are those who serve as advocates and representatives for that community. By fostering cooperation and communication, advancing the interests of the community, and assisting in conflict resolution, they act as a link between the community and organizations.They aim to create connections, encourage collaborations, and make sure that the community’s needs and viewpoints are taken into account during decision-making.

Community ambassadors are vital for supporting and empowering their communities from inside, in addition to these outward-facing duties. They might mentor young people, offer assistance and support to neighborhood organizations, and seek to increase the capacity and resilience of the community.

Community ambassadors are essential to the success of communities because they act as the voice and face of the community, promote its goals and needs, and create alliances and partnerships with outside groups. Community ambassadors contribute to positive change and the promotion of a better future for their communities via their commitment and diligence.

During the project, the ambassadors had shown their interest to help the community by participating in events that were organized by the CDC-NEYPVAL team. Not only that, they also participated in webinars to spread information on vaccinations.

We are very proud of our Community Ambassadors and we hope that they will be interested to be the part of similar projects in the future.

AYUSH POKHREL

KUSHAL DHAKAL

SushilA SHRESTHA

sRIJITA GURUNG

SONIYA KUNWAR

sADIKSHYA UPRETI

NEPAL SEATTLE SOCIETY

ADVISORY BOARD MEMBERS

FOR CDCF/NEYPVAL PROJECT 2022

About Advisory Board Meeting

The NEYPVAL Year II team was in need of advisors from our community with the expertise from their respective field. We were able to connect with 5 expert advisors from the Nepali Community who would be able to guide our team on the right path to top; covering most of the areas in Washington State. 

During our first meeting, the advisory members gave us various ideas on how we can cope with the current situation of triple burden disease: RSV, COVID, and FLU. The virus was common among children but we could not move forward as there was restriction from CDCF to cover only from the age group of 18 and above. 

 Link to First Advisory Board Meeting: Advisory Board Meeting

Our team is very fortunate to have them in our team. They have truly shown their dedication and determination to help the community. Not only that, they have motivated us and made our project seems effortless. Without their support, we could not have gone that extra mile.

Once again a massive thankyou to all the advisory board members.

Namaste, I work as a Hindu Priest. I’m also a yoga teacher. I’m also a provider for an Adult Family home which is related to healthcare.

I’m in touch with every community and everyone in the board. After I joined this project, I was able to interact with others and I was able to able to share health information with others which I’m really proud of. 

ARJUN ADHIKARI

JAGADAMBA ADHIKAREE

Jagadamba Adhikaree is a Senior Medical Social Worker at University Of Washington Medical Center. She received her Masters of Social Work degree from University of Washington. Her expertise are in community resources such as healthcare related services, insurance,  low income housing, Medicare and Medicaid benefits, and other government assistance programs. She advocates for patients, elderly and other vulnerable population. 

Jagadmba is interested in contributing to the community with her expertise and the NEYPVAL project provided this opportunity. This partnership has been inspiring and worthwhile because there are many new immigrants and elderly people of Nepalese origin who truly needed help and would benefit from this program.  Any opportunity to contribute to improve  the health and wellbeing of the community is inspiring moment for Jagadmba and she would participate in the future to help whenever there is a need.

I am a pharmacist with an MBA, currently pursuing MPH in Global Health at the University of Washington, Seattle. I am the co-founder and director at Samartha Nepal, a profit-not-sharing Company working towards equity in the health and education sectors in Nepal. 

I am passionate about the development and implementation of community-oriented health interventions. I have previously worked with different organizations – public, private, and development – to create people-centered healthcare service delivery programs in different parts of Nepal. At present, I am working with the UW Harborview Medical Center and I-TECH on qualitative research to bridge inequities in healthcare access. I hope to bring my knowledge and expertise in the field of Public Health to serve the Nepali community in greater Seattle and address their pressing health needs.
I shall contribute to the best of my ability to create an impact in the community.

PRIYASHA MAHARJAN

RUBY SHRESTHA

Ruby Shrestha works as Vice President of Scientific Affairs in a premium chocolate company in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States.  She earned her engineering degree from Rajasthan, India under Colombo Plan and MBA from the University of Washington in Seattle under Fulbright Program. 

She is very passionate about building community and has been involved in the activities of Nepali community of the Greater Seattle area for over two decades, even before the inception of Nepal Seattle Society.  She has been a community activist, volunteer, mentor, advisor, and a consultant in various professional as well as in non-profit organizations and possesses a deep understanding of civic engagement for community benefit.  She wants to bring the knowledge and expertise to this project and give back to the community.

An avid reader, an occasional poetry writer, a runner, a nature enthusiast, and a passionate yoga practitioner, she says giving back to the community fulfills her.

I am a Registered Nurse currently working at EvergreenHealth in Kirkland. I have always wanted to help the Nepali Community in one way or the other. I am very happy to be working in this project and contributing to the society.

I have worked at the COVID-19 Vaccination Clinic organized by King County in partnership with EvergreenHealth during Covid-19 pandemic and I would like to help NEYPVAL with my knowledge transfer where applicable.

This is my first time with the NEYPVAL project, and I hope to join this project in the future as well. 

 

sINDHU KOIRALA

YUG DABADI

I have been involved with the social organizations over a decade. Primarily, I am trying to build a bridge between available resources and the immigrant community in Greater Seattle Area.

Professionally, I work for Multicare Health System as a technical specialist where I oversee the functions of medical scientists. I am also pursuing MBA from Washington State University.

My goal for joining the advisory team of NEYPVAL is to help the team to connect members of the Nepali speaking community to the available resources related to healthcare.

NEPAL SEATTLE SOCIETY

Events

NEYPVAL YEAR II

NEYPVAL team at Dashain Cup 2022

📆10/29/2022, Saturday

⏲️10:00am

Learn More

Collaboration with Newah Organization of America for promoting vaccination

📆10/26/2022, Wednesday

⏲️5:00pm

Learn More

NEYPVAL TEAM AT NSS DASHAIN-TIHAR EVENT

📆11/05/2022, Saturday

⏲️6:00pm

Learn More

First Social Media Post

This social media post was created to aware Nepali Washington residents about the availability of different types of vaccinations.

823 people reached

909 people reached

Second social Media Post

This post was created to provide information on bivalent booster shots.

872 people reached

Third Social Media Post

This post was created to ensure that people follow COVID-19 health protocols in mass gathering for their safety.

565 people reached

Fourth Social Media Post

This social media post was created to aware people about triple disease burden which were negatively impacting people’s health during the month of Oct-Dec

713 people reached

WEBINARS

NEPAL SEATTLE SOCIETY

Webinar-1

First Webinar Around COVID-19 and FLU

NEYPVAL Year 2 team hosted their first webinar in collaboration with NSS’s health committee lead Dr. Nitin Thapa (Family Practitioner) and Dr. Diwakar Thapa (Pharmacist) as well as Jagadamba Adhikaree (Senior Medical Social Worker). This webinar was insightful as they answered questions about flu and COVID-19 symptoms, available resources, and upcoming boosters. 

This webinar was interactive with various questions from the community.

Watch video

Webinar-2

Second Webinar Around COVID Variant and FLU

NEYPVAL Year 2 team hosted another webinar around COVID and FLU with our Nepali community health experts Shraddha Kakshapati (PharmD, Rph), Soniya Kunwar (RN, BSN), and Jadagamba Adhikaree (Senior Social Worker). This webinar had thorough information regarding COVID and FLU as well as the Triple Burden Disease: RSV, flu, and COVID viruses among kids and adults. Therefore, it was an interactive and informative session with many family members getting sick during that time.

Watch video

What does Dashain and Tihar remind you of? The cold winter nights, streets full of lights, smell of sel roti and long nights with friends and family you haven’t seen for awhile? 

All the varieties of festivals and occasions we celebrate carry their own significance but I’d say that the main festivals of Nepalese are Dashain and Tihar. We choose to celebrate with our close friends, relatives and family. 

Nepal Seattle Society (NSS) hosted the Dashain and Tihar event on Nov 5th at Cascadia College. The food, entertainment, and the attire was just as like in Nepal. Our Center for Disease Control and Prevention Foundation (CDCF)/NEYPVAL year 2 team was also present at the event

The main purpose of this project was to update our community members on COVID and FLU. NSS had the Dashain and Tihar Event 2079 B.S. after 2 long years where the hope of people gathering was possible, but it came to our notice that the COVID cases were rising. Therefore, we had to inform our community members to take precaution in our upcoming event so that everyone involved can enjoy it. The team posted a flyer on social media to take necessary precaution.

We shared informational flyers regarding covid vaccine, flu vaccine and insurance accessibility. We were able to collect surveys from the attendees at the event. We are hoping that the survey we collect will help us understand the vaccine hesitancy among nepali community. We were able to get 36 surveys from this event alone. We are hoping to collect surveys in the near future event being hosted by Nepal Seattle Society (NSS). 

GALLERY

Nepal Seattle Society is one of the most valued nepali organization in Washington state. We have been successful in maintaining good relationship and harmony with our neighboring organizations and assisting eachother in need.

This time of the year NEYPVAL (Nepal Elder-Guided Youth Partnership Vaccination Accessibility Liaison) Team collaborated with Newah Organization of America (NOA) in the occasion MHA puja on 10/26/2022 to provide updated information on flu and covid.

MHA Puja, which in Newari means “worship of the self,” honors one’s inner spirit. The ritual denotes an auspicious start to the New Year and bestows riches and longevity to those who take part. Wherever Nepalese have settled, MHA Puja and Nepal Sambat are also observed.

Executive Director Subekshya Regmi with President of Newah Organization of America Ishwor Lal Khosin

This event was successful with the presence of two team members from the NEYPVAL team, Subekshya Regmi, the Executive Director and Shubhechha Shakya, the community engagement and IT coordinator. Small goodies were distributed to children and adults which included hand sanitizers, lip balm, stationary supplies, and the survey form.

They were also very successful in thanking the President, Ishwor Lal Khosin in person and handing him a thank you certificate which was made by Shraddha KC, the communication and digital content creator. There were about 100 bags of goodies which were made by Shubhechha Shakya with the help of two community ambassadors Aakarshan Simkhada and Soniya Kunwar.

The team also provided 2 trays of sweets to NOA to represent the culture of celebrating festivals within the Nepali community. The team was successful in collecting enough surveys for the data collection. Most people were amazed to find the role of Nepal Seattle Society in a good cause like this. The team received good spotlight in the event. As a token of appreciation NOA gifted two bags of “Masi poh” to the team members.

Thankyou Newah Organization of America for this wonderful opportunity

GALLERY

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