Exhibit and Workshop presented in Salt Lake City, 26 to 28 August 2019
FEZANA partnered with WZCC, (www.wzcc.org) RAD -AID International (www.rad-aid.org) and PARTNERSASIA,(www.partnersasia.org) to show case incredible humanitarian work at the Hospital for the Rehabilitation of Disabled Children, (www.hrdcnepal.org), in Nepal over the last thirty years.
More than 90,000 (ninety thousand children) have been treated by a dedicated team of professionals. Ostracized in civil society, on account of a congenital deformity (Club foot), children are rescued from a life of misery and transformed into productive members of civil society. A medical advance, the Poinseti technique, developed in Ohio, USA has resulted in this high impact positive public health outcome in a very low resource poor country.
Using innovative thinking, and an entrepreneurial approach, prosthetic devices are manufactured at the hospital , significantly reducing costs.
An on-site school provides children with education during the recovery phase, to begin their journey to self sufficiency and human dignity. Parents of affected children from adjoining northern states in India, and from Bhutan now travel to Nepal to seek help.
Over 4000 participants from 120 countries participated at the 68th United Nations Department of Global Communications- Non Governmental Organizations Civil Society conference in Salt Lake City, the first time it was held in the USA.
Fezana participants came from Vancouver, Canada, Auckland, New Zealand, Baltimore, Maryland, Orlando, Florida, Metropolitan Washington DC, Los Angeles, Chicago, Illinois, New Jersey and from Salt Lake City, Utah.
The panel presentation / workshop, held on 27 August 2019, entitled “A North South South Model of Sustainable Development “ which used the HRDC example, as a case study, concluded that the world should move away from a Global North South Model which perpetuates dependency, to a South South Model of development which promotes empowerment locally, in resource poor environments. This was the seminal learning we received from the thoughtful presentation by Edul Daver, Global President of the WZCC.
President, of FEZANA, Homi Gandhi, graced the occasion with his presence to give words of thanks and a token of appreciation to all the panelists for their participation.
In its 34 year history, this was the first time that FEZANA has showcased an exhibit at the United Nations.
Decked with Nepalese prayer flags, the eye catching artistic display was professionally designed (and paid for) by Friends of HRDC c/o Partners Asia, Oakland, California, who collaborated with us.
Drawn in by the colorful display, at the exhibit, a local Television station in Salt Lake City brought its crew to interview Dr. Carlin Ridpath, from Missouri, and Dilnavaz Irani, Orlando, Florida. The lead Country Manager for Nepal from RAD AID International, Dr C. Ridpath led a humanitarian expedition to Nepal from 7 to 20 September 2019. A second panelist at the workshop, Emily Lenzen, from Salt Lake City, The Manager for Pediatric Ultrasound at RAD AID, travelled with the team to teach musculoskeletal ultrasound in Kathmandu and Banepa. Additional expeditions to Nepal are being planned for the winter of 2019 and the fall of 2020.
Special thanks to Eileen Moncouer from California, for facilitating outreach with Banepa, Nepal and being the rock solid stalwart in arranging for the exhibit showcasing HRDC at the UN.
The FEZANA Banner supporting the Sustainable Development Goals of the UN was created by Delzin Choksey of CRISPY DOODLES (www.crispydoodles.com) from California.
During the Conference, Youth Representative, Behnoosh Sethna, from Baltimore, Mani Rao from Chicago, Dilnavaz Irani, volunteered with the several thousand conference attendees in packing 500 000 packages of food for the hungry.
The Rapporteur’s Report presented by FEZANA to the United Nations was compiled by Sanaya Master from Auckland, New Zealand aided by Kayras Irani from Vancouver, Canada.
The point person for the exhibit in Salt Lake City, was Firdosh Kavarana and his family (see photo). The audio visual arrangements for the workshop (including Skype arrangements on 27 August 2019, for Mr. Krishna Bhattarai, HRDC, Nepal) was arranged by Erv Adil Minocheherhomji , Vice Chair of the Seventh World Zarathushti Youth Congress.
The fifteen minute presentation by Dr. Ashok Banskota, Founder of HRDC made during the UN workshop in Salt Lake City, on 27 August 2019 is accessible here…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XpZGmYnrCpM
u tube presentation by Dr Ashok Banskota
Press Releases from WZCC and from the HRDC about our participation at the United Nations are uploaded on the global internet platform, www.zoroastrians.net, courtesy of Yazdi Tantra.
64th CSW in New York:
The call for participation at UN Headquarters in New York, for the 64th Commission on the Status of Women (which will revisit the Beijing Declaration and Platform of Action), from 9 to 20 March 2020 is in the public domain on FEZANA’s website at https://fezana.org/fezana-call-for-participants-to-the-64th-annual-commission-on-the-status-of-women-conference-march-2020/.
Zarathushtis from anywhere in the world, (not just from North America), interested in participating with the FEZANA UN NGO Committee should contact both Co Chairs , Afreed Mistry Afreed.mistry@gmail.com in Toronto, Canada and Behram Pastakia behram@fezana.org in Metropolitan Washington DC, with a copy of their curriculum vitae and an essay indicating how they would further the mission and vision of the UN.
As an NGO in Consultative Status with ECOSOC and with the DGC , Department of Global Communications, FEZANA will provide access to the UN for selected participants. The responsibility for costs for travel, visa, food and accommodations rest with the participants themselves.
