Nepalese Association of Florida (NAF) is pleased to announce the receipt of 5 years’ commitment to fund Youth-Led-Initiatives. Mrs. Punam Ghimire Risal, Former Vice President and General Secretary of NAF (United FNA-FANS), and Mr. Atulya Risal, entrepreneur and local community member from Tampa committed $2500 to support projects led by our local youth members for the next five years. According to the Risal family, “We are thrilled to contribute towards connecting Florida Youths of Nepali origin to Nepal through community service. We hope to inspire other Youths to find similar innovative engagements and donors to support them. We shall work with NAF for the annual selection process during our funding years.” Feb 05, 2022, what a great day to communicate this as according to the Hindu lunar calendar, it is an auspicious day of Saraswoti Pooja, a great start for everything specially knowledge based.“
As a part of this commitment, for this year Risal Family and NAF has chosen to award funds to the project “Women for Nepal”, an initiative started by our local youth community member- Ms. Smarika Nepal. This initiative increases awareness of Nepalese women’s issues as well as helps to “bridge the gap” between many socio political disparities faced by Nepalese women. Financial support like this can allow “Women for Nepal” to continue reimagining what education could look like for underprivileged women in Nepal. “ We are so excited to help Youth-Led Project “Women for Nepal ” on their journey to promote awareness for issues affecting women in Nepal, through NAF”, said Mrs. Risal. Niraj Shrestha, President of NAF, stated “NAF is creating opportunities for our youth members to develop as leaders within the Nepali community and beyond, and with assistance from our local community members like Mr. and Mrs. Risal, small yet big in impact, youth-led organizations such as Women for Nepal, will continue to grow and serve. We look forward to collaborating with our donors and youth-led organizations and continue to facilitate collaboration between them.”