Dictionary, Handbook, and new non-profit

[Doug Hall]

Hello everyone and नमासते,

Together with Rajesh Koirala, a Nepali living in Manchester NH, I have authored/edited a new book for the Bhutanese refugees "Handbook for Living in the United States," अमेरिकामा बसोबास (सहयोगी पुस्तक)

The book is more than 200 pages, has 19 chapters, covering 340+ topics. Each topic is in both Nepali and English. We were helped by Homa Chetry, a long-time US resident who once taught Nepali for Peace Corps Nepal.

With this new book, my 3 1/2 year effort distributing Nepali-English-Nepali dictionaries for the Bhutanese is going through a transition.

Together with 2 Nepalis, 1 Bhutanese, and 1 RPCV/Nepal (Mike Gill), I have helped found a new non-profit organization Gyan Jyoti Kendra,  ज्ञान ज्योति केन्द्र  that will be distributing the new Handbook and the dictionary. In addition the Nepali-language newsletter Aksharica has also been folded into the new non-profit.

You can check out the beginnings of this new organization at:
www.gyanjyotikendra.org

The new Handbook is NOT copyrighted. We are making each chapter available on the website and anyone can download and print it. It turns out that the effort to print and copy locally is probably more costly than the sales price of $14 per book (no shipping and handling charge). We are hoping to sell the book in bulk to resettlement agencies to give to each arriving family and each family already here. It is perfect for use in orientation programs and later as a reference. The New Hampshire Charitable Fund made a grant that allows us to give a copy to each of the 275+ families in NH. Other resettlement agencies should be able to obtain small grants to do the same in their communities.

Attached to this email is an announcement of the new Handbook.

Gyan Jyoti Kendra has a broader charge that we hope will unfold in coming months. The tag line to the new organization "Global Institute for the Nepali-Speaking Diaspora" gives some idea of what we may begin to do. One project we are considering is placing Nepal Government primary school textbooks online so they can be used to teach reading and writing Nepali to Nepali-origin kids outside of Nepal.

Doug Hall
Nepali Dictionary Project
and now
Gyan Jyoti Kendra

[irish89c...@aol.com]

Congratulations!  That is wonderful!

Chrissy Kohrt
irish89c...@aol.com

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[Aaron Rome]

Doug,

 

This is great news! Let me know if there is anything that Friends of Nepal can do to promote the book. Certainly I can encourage our members to rep the book to the local agencies they are working with. What else? Have you thought of creating any curriculum/ training/ orientation to go along with the book?

 

I am sure this was a lot of work. Thanks to you and your partners for doing this. Looking forward to seeing what else you have up your sleeve.

Thanks,

-- Aaron

[Shenandoah Curley]

Doug -

I can also make the nursing community aware of the book at the MUD symposium.... that is where we are doing the presentation.  I was planning on acquiring a copy for my research anyway....!