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The NAF Youth Forum is starting a new fundraising campaign to launch the Youth Scholarship Program!

The NAF Youth Forum is starting a new fundraising campaign to launch the Youth Scholarship Program! As a 501 (c) (3) certified organization, we’re very excited to involve our community in our latest fundraising efforts!

With these funds, the Youth Forum will be able to help 3 Nepalese incoming or enrolled college students one-time in their academic journey.

To donate to our cause, please go to our fundraising link below: https://www.paypal.com/fundraiser/charity/2159688

If you so graciously donate, please ensure that you write “Youth Forum Scholarship” in the section that asks for your address!

Thank you and look out for other Youth Forum opportunities in the future!

Warmly,

The Nepalese Association of Florida Youth Forum

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PRESS RELEASE ON NAF Youth Forum-College Application Preparation

On January 23rd 2022, NAF Youth Forum organized the information program on “College Application Preparation”. The program was focused on college application preparation and career advise. Facilitator: Ms. Shailee Banskota In Attendance Dr. Niraj Shrestha (President) Dr. S.K Sharma (General Secretary) Ms. Debbie Satyal (Lawyer at Office Depo) Ms. Jenisha Khanal (Bachelor in Cyber Security) Mr. Sai Shrestha (ongoing Bachelor in Biomedical Engineering) Mr. Bijay Shrestha (Bachelor in Accounting) Actions: • Welcome speech by Dr. Niraj Shrestha, President, NAF • Introduction of the speakers • Ms. Shailee Banskota, coordinator for NAF-Youth Forum, put forward questions asked by other people previously with the first speaker Ms. Debbie Satyal. Ms. Satyal described how a person can take a law degree and the job prospects for a person with dual degree, like engineering and law. • Second speaker Jenisha explained her journey into the college and how she ended up into the Cyber security. She explained about the job opportunity after the cyber security degree as well. • Dr. Sharma asked third speaker Mr. Bijay Shrestha about his journey from Nepal to the community college in the USA. Mr. Shrestha about the job opportunities after getting an accounting degree. • Fourth speaker Mr. Sai Shrestha was asked by Ms. Shailee Banskota how he got interested in STEM courses and how does it feel being a biomedical science student. Some other questions like how he chose University of Florida for the course, is volunteering and internships required for the program were asked which Mr. Shrestha answered with excitement. • Later, President Dr. Niraj Shrestha explained what NAF can help in promoting students, and help them decide what they want to pursue in future. Dr. Shrestha stressed on a fact that NAF is always ready to provide platform this kind of this kind in coming days such th

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Press releases- Network of Nepalese Student Association (NNSA)

A Network of Nepalese Student Association (NNSA) of seven different Universities within Florida has been established. The network was established in the collaboration and initiation of the Nepalese Association of Florida (NAF) and its president Dr. Niraj Shrestha. The main purpose of NSA is to bring students together, help them acclimate to life at the university, connect them to other students as well as alumni, and help students develop transferable skills.

The network call for the NSA within Florida was organized on 30th November 2021 on the platform of NAF. NSA presidents and representative; Rabin Acharya (University of Florida), Ganesh Khadka (Florida International University), Suraj Paudyal (University of Miami), Bijayita Thapa (Florida Atlantic University), Sujeeta Bhandari (South Florida University), University of Central Florida (Atul Regmi), and Florida State University (Nawaraj Poudel) shared their opinion in the program.

The meeting of NSA presidents along with NAF general secretary, Dr. Shiv K. Sharma (SK), and NAF president, Dr. Niraj Shrestha agreed to initiate academic cross-collaboration among the Nepalese graduate students studying in Florida Universities. The meeting also decided to commence virtual talk series regularly in three months intervals. Further, the importance of the NSA outreach program was also discussed rigorously. Students from other colleges and universities will be also contacted to participate in the network. The program will work closely with undergraduate and graduate students and Post-Doctoral Associates.

If you need more information about the Network of Nepalese Student Association (NNSA), please contact naflorida2016@gmail.com

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Newly elected NAF-Tallahassee Chapter

We like to welcome and introduced to the newly elected NAF-Tallahassee Chapter team led by Dr. Suraj Bajgain – President and the team Dr. Manjita Shrestha – Vice President, Dr. Bishnu Regmi – General Secretary, Ms. Shanti Thapa Nepal – Treasurer, Dr. Les K Shrestha – Members at Large, Mr. Gautam Kumar Joshi – Members at large, Ms. Babita Thapliya Chiluwal- Members at Large, Mr. Saroj Shimkhada-Members at Large and Mr. Yuwraj Adhikari – Members at Large. We also like to Thank Immediate Past President Dr. Mitra Khadka and his team for completing a successful tenure. We are excited to continue our journey together with the newly elected team to serve this community. Please feel free to reach out to NAF-Tallahassee Chapter.

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Establishment of funding for Youth-Led-Initiatives:

 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.”

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NAF Organized -“Empowering and Connecting Youths Through Mentorship and e-Education”

The Nepalese Association of Florida (NAF) hosted a virtual interaction event titled “Empowering and Connecting Youths Through Mentorship and e-Education” on October 2nd, 2021. The initiative was created to show how NAF’s two flagship programs, “Mentorship” and “Connect Nepal,” may be used in Nepal’s e-education system. During the occasion, NAF President Anila Neupane emphasized the relevance and progress of the ongoing mentorship program. She also emphasized the importance of expanding the mentorship program beyond Florida and to Nepal. Shailee Banskota, the leader of the NAF Youth Forum, also spoke about the Youth Forum and how the Mini-Mentorship Program may benefit children and youth in both Florida and Nepal. Guest speaker Shailendra Jha, program director for Bits Ladder, discusses how collaboration through education, innovation, and technology may help bridge the gap in society. He also mentioned how young people are nurtured through numerous interactions and learning sessions in many domains. In addition, he described the deployment of SMART learning and how children are currently utilizing the e-education system. NAF’s Information Secretary Narayan Neupane gave a brief overview of the project Connect Nepal, which involves creating a communication center in the Sisne village and demonstrating how a communication center may be used for e-education systems such as SMART learning in Nepal’s rural villages. Pratap Singh Budhamagar, a youth leader from Sisne village, also spoke about the advantages of the communication center that will be built shortly. 

At the conclusion of the session, NAF President Anila Neupane gave a presentation on the NAF’s activities and programs that spanned the past two years and thanked the whole NAF central executive team. The session was moderated by NAF General Secretary Niraj Shrestha. The program drew participants from all throughout the state, as well as from outside of Florida and Nepal. 

If you need more information about the program please contact naflorida2016@gmail.com.

Program Video: https://www.facebook.com/naflorida2016/videos/251171186805331

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ADOPT-A-HIGHWAY Program in Florida by Nepalese Association of Florida ( NAF) for Litter-Free Florida !

ADOPT-A-HIGHWAY Program in Florida by Nepalese Association of Florida ( NAF) for Litter-Free Florida !

Nepalese Association of Florida ( NAF ) had completed the scheduled quarterly highway cleaning under the adopt a highway program on 11 July 2021 in west palm beach , Florida . Almost after the 16 months of break due to COVID 19 pandemic, all locals from west palm beach including fifteen volunteers particularly our youth volunteers Deep Adhikari, Sahil Bhandary, Smarika Nepal, Sarah Thapa, Rohan Shrestha, Swochchhanda Shrestha together with parents Sunita Shrestha, Mitthu Joshi, NASeA Former President Bimal Nepal NAF former president Ram Sharan Thapa, NASeA General Secretary Krishna Shrestha, NAF community Service Coordinator Dr. Amar Bdr Karki, Manoj Joshi, Chandan Shrestha, and Dev Bhandary .

This program is one of the best and effective way to eastablish rapport with local government through department of transportation. Not only the well visible metallic reflecting board with the name of NAF attracts the hundreds of thousands eyes everyday but also this program maintains the neat and cleans in this section of highway and refreshes the local environment pleasantly.

NAF would like to thank to our former president Bimal Nepal who also coordinator for this event , Ram Thapa . Former president NAF , Krishna Shrestha , NASeA General Secretary who is also the pioneer of this event, Sunita Shrestha , Mithu Joshi  , Manoj Joshi , Chandan Shrestha  and Dev Bhandary for the coordination and continuation of this great program .

During the presidency of Ram Thapa , NAF had started this program during its silver jubilee celebration . NAF had assigned Krishna Shrestha  to start such adopt a highway program for the first time in Florida.

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Meet and Greet with Dr. Mahabir Pun” on June 19th, 2021

“Meet and Greet with Dr. Mahabir Pun” June 19th, 2021 NepaleseAssociation of Florida (NAF) organized the second in-person program “Meet and Greet with Dr. Mahabir Pun” in Orlando after the Nepali new year program in April, after the pandemic. NAF executive team 2019-2021 also did the first physical meeting on the same day in Orlando. NAF has suspended all in-person programs due to the COVID19 pandemic since January2019. The chief guest of the program was Dr. Mahabir Pun, who is an activist is known for his work in implementing wireless technologies in remote areas of Nepal. In his presentation, he shared his journey after returning to his native village of Nangi, in the Myagdi district of Nepal, and discussed how he spent his first decade in his village by providing better educational opportunities and introducing different community development projects. He also reminded how he founded the Nepal Wireless Networking Project to build a local communication network using wireless technology for communications discoursed how the project was able to connect many mountain villages to a Wi-Fi network and those villages are using the technology for learning, healthcare, and weather monitoring He shared how he established National Innovation Center (NIC) and ongoing different opportunities and innovation in NIC. At the end of the speech, he emphasized how NIC is currently focused on COVID19 pandemic-related issues by manufacturing Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), working on maintenance and repair of oxygen concentrators, designing the COVID19 PCR test center. At the beginning of the program, NAF President Anila Neupane honored Dr. Pun by providing Honorary Membership of NAF and appreciate Dr.Pun’s contribution to the development of Nepal. During the program, NAF-GeneralSecretary Dr. Niraj Shrestha presented the past and present activities of NAF, and Information Secretary Mr. Narayan Neupane highlighted the project “ConnectNepal”, the flagship program of NAF. At the end of the program, NAF President Anila Neupane presented a vote of thanks on behalf of the NAF central executive team to all participants who came to attend the program in different cities of Florida. She also thanks Mr. Narayan Neupane for the overall arrangement of the program and Mr. Suresh Subedi, owner of Spice Indian Grill for providing the space for the event and Mr. Surya Baniya and all the supporters for their help in setup the event venue and logistics. At the end of the program she introduced all the team members from the current executive team who attended the program and come for the first physical team meeting. During the program, the convention chair of 16thNASeA/ ANMA joint convention Krishna Shrestha who is also the General Secretary of NASeA thanked the NAF and all Nepalese-based other Floridian organizations for hosting this important convention and request to all communities to make this convention a grand success. NAF had discussed the preparation of this joint convention in its executive board meeting held at the same event. Newly elected NRN-Florida Chapter President and NAF Past President Mr. Bikash Devkotaalso spoke during the program about the new roles of the NRN-Florida Chapter. The program was moderated by NAF Information secretary Mr. Narayan Neupane and participant registration was collected by NAF treasurer Mr. Bishal Gautam. Ms. Mahalaxmi Silwal from ML Online TV covered the event from MLOnline TV. The program was attended by 45 community members including senior leaders of different Nepali organizations.If you need more information about the program please contact naflorida2016@gmail.com.https://youtu.be/wlGf0pVdDP8

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Interaction program on mental health titled “An Introspective Look At Child and Adolescent Mental Health”

Mental health is an important aspect of adolescence and youth that may often be overlooked, which is why NAF wanted to create a discussion to better educate and inform the greater Nepalese community about its prevalence and significance in a developing child’s mind. Mental health includes our emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It affects how we think, feel, and act. It also helps determine how we handle stress, relate to others, and make choices. It is important at every stage of life, from childhood and adolescence through adulthood. Over the course of your life, if you experience mental health problems, your thinking, mood, and behavior could be affected. In recent years, there has been increasing acknowledgment of the important role mental health plays in achieving global development goals, as illustrated by the inclusion of mental health in the Sustainable Development Goals. The month of May is observed as Mental Health Awareness Month in the United States and the rest of the world. The month is observed by reaching out to millions of people through the media, local events, and screenings. The NAF-Youth Forum, Nepalese Association of Florida (NAF), organized the interaction program on mental health titled “An Introspective Look At Child and Adolescent Mental Health” from experts in the field on Sunday, May 23, 2021. The purpose of this discussion was to provide some insight into the struggles that young people face with their mental health. The panelists, Dr. Ranjeeb Shrestha, a Child, and Adolescent Psychiatrist, and Dr. Vinita Sharma-Luitel, a Public Health Policy Expert on Mental Health discussed views and experiences on child and adolescent mental health. During the program, the panelists touched on different topics such as the primary causes, importance, stigma, and common mental health issues. Dr. Shrestha highlighted more on clinical aspects of mental health while Dr. Sharm-Luitel touched on public health aspects of mental health. Both panelists suggest that NAF should run different mental health programs with the community in the future. Both panelists emphasized the importance of fostering discussions amongst Nepalese families and in the community to prevent mental health issues in younger children. At the end of the program, Shailee Baskota, the NAF Youth Forum Leader summarized that mental health should not be something to avoid or shy away from in the household, as it is so prevalent in this age group of young adults and teens. It should be something that you and your family discuss openly to ensure that you and your children live your best lives. The program was moderated by Shailee Baskota, NAF Youth Forum Leader, and Niraj Shrestha, NAF’s General Secretary. At the end of the program, NAF President Anila Neupane thanked all the panelists and audience members on behalf of the NAF family. Link for the program https://www.facebook.com/naflorida2016/videos/2972612369694595

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“ कोरोना मा के गर्ने के नगर्ने?

Though COVID-19 impact is now less in this part of the world, the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic hit hard in our motherland Nepal. Currently, Nepal is in lockdown mode, the health system is broken, lack of medical supplies is affecting human life. As a community organization, the Nepalese Association of Florida (NAF) is working with different other major medical and social organizations to help in the current crisis in Nepal. Focusing on the current crisis in Nepal, NAF organized the interaction program title “ कोरोना मा के गर्ने के नगर्ने?” on May 23rd, 2021. The goal of the program was to inform the general population and medical professionals from our expert panelists from the USA. Our panelist, Dr. Aashish Neupane, MD Critical Care Medicine, Dr. Bhaskar K Chettri, MD MBA FACP, and Dr. Manish Basistha, MS, MPH, Infection Prevention, and Hospital Epidemiologist presented views and experiences on COVID-19. On public health, treatment, and critical care. Dr. Basistha presented from public health perspective on the importance of lockdown, social distancing, different variants, and tests while Dr. Chettri discussed how to manage the patient and what are the vital factors to consider during the primary stage of treatment. He also discussed pre-existing conditions and COVID-19 effects. Dr. Ashish Neupane presented on how to manage patients in critical care in detail focused on available current different treatments and their efficacy and side effects. He also covered how to manage the patient in critical care. All panelists emphasized vaccination, mask, sanitization, and social distancing as critical major for the current situation in Nepal. The program was moderated by Madhu Nepal, a Member of the NAF-Tallahassee chapter. At the end of the program, Anila Neupane, NAF-President thanks to all panelists on behalf of the NAF family. The program was attended by an audience from Nepal and the USA and was broadcasted live on Facebook, Times FM 90.6 MHz, and Radio Himalaya.

Link for Facebook Live:

https://www.facebook.com/100008375828381/videos/2971270926495406/