Art, Wine, and Pennies 🍷

At the Bo M. Karlsson Foundation, creativity seems to be in our blood. All of us. Our sponsors and donors, our board members, scholars and alumnae. And even the youngest among us. As we transition through the summer, this creativity is coming to life as we continue to support and serve the wonderful women of Nepal.

In August, we had our yearly wine event, hosted by the amazing Amanda. And our annual Penny Drive, with an unprecedented goal of $5000 this year, run by our young entrepreneurs, Phoenix and Kaia, reached a new high. We also continue to tap into the artistic gifts of our scholars and supporters with several options to own a piece of this dream, from jewelry to sculptures to pictures and paintings.

As the Bo M. Karlsson Foundation continues the important work of serving the women of Nepal, we invite you to explore and join in. Attend an event, donate a few pennies, or buy a treasure. And help us to support our scholars.

BMKF loves artists. And they love us back.

We are so pleased to announce that our ongoing partnership with the talented and generous artists listed below are already making a difference for our scholars. A percentage from the sale of any of these unique and varied pieces is in turn donated by the artists to our scholarship fund. We cannot thank these lovely people enough, for not only beautifying the world, but bettering it.

Visit http://bomkarlsson.com/get-involved/art/ to view the work of these artists. Keep checking the page as more artists are scheduled to partner with us in the coming months. Are you an artist who might want to participate? We would love to hear from you!

I have nearly completed 2 months working with BMKF/MSN. Settling in wasn’t much of a problem because everyone was supportive as well as open. I have been fortunate enough to meet up with most of the scholars and a few of the alumnae. The energy that I have received from them has been incredibly positive and fulfilling. I couldn’t have asked for a better working environment.

For someone who has never been to a tax office in her life, I sure had a memorable experience there. My misadventures ranged from having to ask for directions at every corner of the street to having to fill out the forms twice because the carbon paper was not working and at last submitting the wrong form twice. But for the very first time in my life, I found the people in a government office very cooperative and patient enough to tolerate my novice behaviors.

These past weeks have been so busy: keeping up with the work in the office, meeting up with the scholars for different events, and arranging meetings with board members to talk about what changes are necessary for the organization. I am slowly catching up with all the head-buzzing activity, and I am simply loving all the new experiences that I am getting by working here!

Namaste,
Pabita Basnett
BMKF Program Manager
Kathmandu, Nepal

Grishma Manandhar is currently serving on our US Board. She belongs to a growing and glowing group of BMKF alumnae giving back to the foundation as board directors or advisors in the USA and in Nepal. Grishma graduated in 2011 (Mechanical Engineering) and later pursued a masters in engineering in Germany. She now lives in the USA with her husband and is about to embark on a PhD program. Last month, Grishma returned to her native country to see her family. She also spent an afternoon visiting with our scholars and staff in Kathmandu; here is her own account of that brief but fruitful encounter:

My visit to the BMKF office and interaction with some of the scholars were some of the last-minute highlights of my recent trip to Nepal. Though the interaction program was just a short get-together of BMKF fellows, being able to share stories of our experiences with this scholarship turned it into an enriching experience for all. It was amazing to learn from all the fellow ladies about the great passion they had for what they were studying and what they wanted to do in the future. Talking with them gave me renewed hope for my country's future and its women.

During the meeting, one of the main topic of discussion was the growth of the BMKF foundation itself. We all shared our experiences with the scholarship and how it had impacted our lives. I shared my experiences and how it used to be when I was a recipient of the scholarship. I also had a talk with Pabita about the future activities of the organization and I was amazed at how long the organization had come in terms of helping young girls in Nepal.

It was also good to learn about everyone's life experiences during the talk we had. I shared my experiences of studying and working in different countries and cultures. I also tried to share some of the harsh realities of living abroad that many people abroad miss to deliver to people back home. We got to share about some of our life experiences as a woman in Nepal and how we are dealing with them or have dealt with them in the past. During the interaction with all the amazing ladies, we discussed in great detail about the outstanding work that women do in Nepal but still somehow remain unappreciated. We also talked briefly on how challenging it is to be a woman in Nepal and be able to balance work and home.

All in all, it was such a warm welcome in the office by the recipients and the staff and it only reiterated the family feeling of the foundation. As I talked with my fellow younger sisters, I felt like a big sister trying to shed light to things which I have experienced.

Across the globe, engineering continues to be a male-dominated profession and field of study. It takes a brave and focused woman to pursue this type of career, especially in a country like Nepal. Susmina Manandhar, BMKF scholarship recipient, is just that woman. Because for Susmina, it is the fulfillment of a dream.

Born and raised in Kathmandu, Susmina attends school in Pokhara, the gateway to the Annapurna circuit, and is a 2nd year Geomatics Engineering student. She wants nothing more than to make her mother proud.

Her father doesn’t live with them, so her mother must work all day to support her and her younger brother. Susmina wants to graduate and find a job that will bring respect and help to enhance the economics of her family. She hopes that one day, her mother will not have to work as much as she does now.

Susmina is one of only six women in the program of 48 students. She says that the men in the program support and encourage them. Her favorite part is the practical surveying and the math. But when she’s not studying, she has plenty to keep her busy. She is currently working with fellow students on a guide book on Applied Dynamics for junior students to use in the program. She also belongs to The Happy Club, an association of college students and loves to participate in programs where she gets to dance.

Susmina credits the Bo M. Karlsson Foundation scholarship with changing her life and putting her on the path to improving her family situation. A strong and confident young woman, Susmina is an inspiration to women across Nepal and the world.

Many thanks to Zak and Chitra Parpia for sponsoring Susmina!

By Shannan Chapman, BMKF Board President
Photo by Gloria Posada

On August 9, the greatly anticipated summer event hosted by Board Vice-President Amanda Wager & Family took place once again in the tasting room of the Sol Stone Winery in Woodinville. This was the 4th season for this delightful evening among friends and family of the BMKF, and this year Amanda’s event broke its own record in attendance and revenues raised. Camaraderie, goodwill and generosity were the main flavors of the night as the community gathered together to cheer our scholars and give generously to their scholarships fund. When it was all done, the event brought in close to $5,000 for our scholarships.

With one more month to go before the penny drive for 2018 ends, our fabulous kids have partnered with five local businesses and managed to raise one third of their ambitious $5,000 goal for the 2019 scholarships. They garnered extra donations by making and selling chocolate chip cookies, lemonade and bracelets to family and friends.

Now they are hoping some generous benefactors will come to the rescue by matching portions of what they have raised already so they can reach that as-of-yet elusive $5,000 goal. And there are still a few jars of coins to be counted by September 30th, the day of the grand finale! Will they make their goal? We are holding our breath in full anticipation as the suspense thickens.