How You Can Help With Nepal Relief Efforts

Devastating news continues to pour in from Nepal in the wake of their worst earthquake in 80 years and if you’re like many, you want to do something but don’t know where to begin. To that end, I would like to encourage everyone looking for focused connection to consider donating to the Unatti Foundation. Founder and president, Stephanie Waisler Rubin, maintains a home for girls ages five to 18 in Bhaktapur, Nepal which was founded in the 15th century and is located just east of Kathmandu.

Born into extreme poverty, now shining in the classroom, the leaders of tomorrow.
The Unatti Foundation provides education and housing for eighteen girls from diverse impoverished backgrounds. Let us share their stories with you…

~ Stephanie Waisler Rubin

Unatti executive director, Ramesh Pradhananga, has been posting updates about the girls’ condition via Facebook when internet access and opportunity appear and as of now, they are all safe although there is likely damage to the Unatti Group Home for Girls. Details are as of yet, unknown. On the evening following the earthquake, the girls were moved out of the home and slept in a nearby field with tents.

I visited Unatti House in December, 2010; I’ve worked with Stephanie and Ramesh and am confident when saying that you would be hard pressed to find two more hardworking, dedicated, and decent people who pour their lives into a cause and make a genuine and positive difference for the girls they work with. I’ve met these girls and it is heartbreaking to imagine children in their situation having to deal with a natural disaster of this magnitude.

Consequently, I strongly urge anyone interested in helping to make a donation online at UnattiFoundation.org. 100 percent of your donation will be in Bhaktapur within 24 hours. Go; donate today and help these remarkable girls and those who care for and protect them.

Donate Now
My favorite photo from the entire trip.
Two Unatti girls coming home from school. Without a doubt, my favorite photo from the entire trip.
Having fun with one of the Unatti girls.
Having fun with one of the Unatti girls.
One of the historic buildings in Bhaktapur; 2010 and post earthquake.
One of the historic buildings in Bhaktapur; 2010 and post earthquake.
With Unatti executive director, Ramesh Pradhananga
With Unatti executive director, Ramesh Pradhananga
Meeting the Unatti girls for the first time.
Meeting the Unatti girls for the first time.

About Drew McManus

"I hear that every time you show up to work with an orchestra, people get fired." Those were the first words out of an executive's mouth after her board chair introduced us. That executive is now a dear colleague and friend but the day that consulting contract began with her orchestra, she was convinced I was a hatchet-man brought in by the board to clean house.

I understand where the trepidation comes from as a great deal of my consulting and technology provider work for arts organizations involves due diligence, separating fact from fiction, interpreting spin, as well as performance review and oversight. So yes, sometimes that work results in one or two individuals "aggressively embracing career change" but far more often than not, it reinforces and clarifies exactly what works and why.

In short, it doesn't matter if you know where all the bodies are buried if you can't keep your own clients out of the ground, and I'm fortunate enough to say that for more than 15 years, I've done exactly that for groups of all budget size from Qatar to Kathmandu.

For fun, I write a daily blog about the orchestra business, provide a platform for arts insiders to speak their mind, keep track of what people in this business get paid, help write a satirical cartoon about orchestra life, hack the arts, and love a good coffee drink.

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