Our News

End of Financial Year donations - this year we’re directing all EOFY donations towards Bhutan and their battle against domestic violence and abuse

Wind of Change will provide bilateral support to Australian Himalayan Foundation in collaboration with a Bhutanese partner RENEW (Respect, Educate, Nurture, Empower Women) who work tirelessly to increase opportunities and improve wellbeing for children who’ve experienced domestic violence, abuse or neglect. This collaboration works to ensure vulnerable children, especially girls, can access school until at least Year 10, as well as receive counselling, medical and legal support.

WoC director’s visit to RENEW early June uncovered a program which is run in the most professional, efficient and heartfelt manner. As we share the core values of education and wellbeing, WoC is honoured to offer our support to this essential cause.

We hope that YOU can join us in this action towards ending domestic violence against those most vulnerable

Please click the "Donate" button on our homepage to make a donation.

This year we get to wish you a very merry festive season with some fantastic news

CItizenship. To belong to a country (or two) at birth and become part of a nation. Something that many of us get to take for granted.

In Nepal citizenship is not automatically a birth right but needs to be applied for when the child reaches adulthood. For children who grow up with their biological family this is a pretty straight forward process. But for many of our young ones this process can be brutally agonising - even if family members still exist, the official papers and certificates might not.

This was the case with our beautiful Roshni

even after various attempts she wasn’t able to convince the officials of her Nepali heritage. This incredibly bright young lady with endless potential to go far and wide in life was facing a paperless future.

Until last week, when Roshni and our wonderful Onni Narayan embarked on a long and challenging mission - a 10-day journey to collect 10 witnesses who were willing to vouch for Roshni’s case.

When the incredible news of success finally came through at the end of their long and hard battle it felt like the heavens opened and millions of angels loudly sang.. no doubt the best news all year

Happy celebrations everyone! There’s always a reason to be joyful and grateful - even if it’s life’s small luxuries like having a citizenship

Greetings from Pokhara where life is holding up well

Our young ones are mostly thriving and loving life. With independent life comes some challenges but we’re ready to overcome them together, one by one!

It was so wonderful to see everyone again and gather with the new and the old - we even had visitors from the very early days..

While everyone in our bubble is fine, our hearts fly out to the people of Jajarkot after the recent earthquake

We certainly felt the Earth shaking and could sense how every wound from 2015 was ripped wide open.

All our love and prayers are with you.. Happy Tihar Nepal!

We have a newly constructed knee

It was the 9th of May when a very brave, resilient and strong Manish here underwent a challenging knee construction surgery in Kathmandu. The operation went well and he is now in rehab, on the slow and steady path of recovery, being nicely cared for by our loving family in Pokhara

From the bottom of our hearts, we would like to thank you all for making this possible This was a truly global operation involving a whole team of orthopaedic surgeons from Melbourne to the best on ground in Nepal. Not to mention the funds from all over the world which were available only because of your love, care and kindness

Thank you for giving Manish a new, healthy future

14 years of Nepal. 14 years of Onni. 14 years of celebrating love, joy, family, friendships, partnerships. 14 years of ”Project J338N” now officially closing after coming full circle with successful young adults all living independent lives. We still continue to support them both emotionally and financially but Onni House as we all used to know it, is now officially closed.

Projects may close but love and family will forever continue to expand and flourish

As we always say, an end is just another opportunity for new beginnings.

Thank you everyone for being such an integral part of our Onni Journey. We will remain forever grateful for your unyielding support during these 14 years.

Meet Roshni Roshni is one of our Onni graduates. We tell her story with her permission.

Roshni came to us in 2008 as the first Onni girl. She was about to turn six.

From day one she was the bright sunshine who lights up the room everywhere she goes. Her sparkling smile, happy chatter, gleaming giggles, lingering laughter and witty way of looking at the world instantly had her in the heart of Onni family. Before getting a permanent home with us, Roshni had spent some months in a local rescue centre for girls who had been saved from child sex trafficking. She was unharmed but had heard stories and seen destinities no child should ever come across.

We will never forget the very first night at Onni when the sun had set and dinner was cooking on Punam’s stove. We were all sitting under the dim lights, the cool evening breeze was whispering in from the open windows while the generator kept on humming in the distance.. We were all getting to know each other, every little heart beating a little nervous and shy. Suddenly there was this young lady who stood up and started dancing. So brave. So beautiful. So Roshni.
Biraj who was our in-house teacher at the time instantly grabbed his fipple flute and started playing ”resham firiri” - a song that anyone who’s ever been to Nepal will know instantly.. One by one all the children stood up and soon we were all dancing and clapping to this familiar tune. Suddenly there was so much love under the dim lights. The ice had melted. The little blue house had become a home. Onni was born

Throughout the years at Onni, we were privileged to watch Roshni continue to flourish and grow to be the incredible young lady she is today. Since day one Roshni has been the strong one, the one who always gets stuff sorted. If we ever needed anything done, we would send Roshni. If we ever needed answers to tricky questions, we would ask Roshni. If we ever needed to get matters resolved, we would trust Roshni’s judgement. If we ever needed to count on someone, we could always lean on Roshni’s wisdom and wit.

Today Roshni works as a Montessori teacher in Pokhara, a job she loves and which also provides her a private room as part of the work contract. After graduating from Year 12 with great grades in December 2021, Roshni also started university studies with Bachelor of Education at the same college with her Onni counterparts.

Words can’t express how incredibly proud and grateful we are for Roshni. She is a true manifestation of our dreams and hopes now coming to fruition after 14 years - a strong independent young woman about to conquer the world! Alongside her Onni siblings she is the reason ”why” we set up to do this work in the first place.

We thank YOU for all your support on the journey with these children and look forward to sharing many more stories of success with you in the future. As always, we send a very special thank you to our in-country partner organisation Namaste Community Foundation, whose wonderful daily work and commitment have made this all possible

Meet Dal Bahadur, Indra Kala and Shova
Our one and only ”Waling Trio”, and now also our Onni graduates. We tell their story with their permission.

These siblings came to us 14 years ago. To meet them was a lucky coincidence. We were on a field trip visiting a family whose child later joined our scholarship program, when a local social worker urged us to visit this other family up the hill. She told us their heartbreaking story. The hill was steep, the sun was already setting but we knew we needed to meet them.

Throughout the years at Onni we were privileged to watch these siblings grow and begin to flourish. Since day one, it was like watching beautiful flowers gently opening up and starting to reach for the sun. Dal soon became the leader of the Onni pack, the firm and formative, yet gentle big brother of the house while Indra took a quiet, caring and loving role of a big sister. Young Shova has always been a natural leader just like her elder siblings, always curious and keen to learn new things, asking questions about the world around her and keeping us in awe with her academic excellence and young intelligence.

Today Dal, Indra and Shova are happy, successful, capable and confident young adults sharing a beautiful little house and independent life together. Dal and Indra have both commenced university studies, and to earn some extra income, they are both teaching elementary students outside university hours. Shova got selected to study Year 11 and 12 in an exclusive law stream, which is not for the faint-hearted. Only the very best Year 10 graduates are chosen for this special college program.

Words can not express how incredibly proud and grateful we are for these young ones. To see our work come full circle like this is exactly what we set out to achieve in the beginning - this is our dream coming to fruition.

We thank YOU for all your support on the journey with these children and look forward to sharing many more stories of success in the future. As always, we send a very special thank you to our in-country partner organisation Namaste Community Foundation, whose wonderful daily work and commitment has made this all possible 🧡

We’re very happy and grateful to share some great news from the top of the world after such a long time.

From toddlers and pre-schoolers 14 years ago to university students and teachers today, we now have young adults starting their independent lives, living on their own, studying, working and navigating life. Cooking, cleaning, paying bills, making sure uniforms are clean and ironed for the morning, getting used to waking up early without the gentle whispers from the mothers and sisters and brothers.. some who have changed cities. One who has changed countries.

Who would have thought how far and wide we can come together. Thank you everyone for your continuous love and support for these young lives

From all of us to all of you a massive thank you for 2021. We are wishing you wonderful end of year celebrations and happy new adventures ahead..

For us year 2021 has been one with many hiccups but above all one with many more incredible achievements and meaningful moments.

Year 10 graduations, Year 12 graduations, university admissions, new jobs, new homes, new beginnings..

We welcome year 2022 with open hearts and minds filled with happiness, gratitude and excitement, and look forward to many more special times ahead

Kiran is one of our Onni graduates. We tell his story with his permission.

Kiran came to us as the very first Onni child. He was only 4 years old.

He is the beautifully cheeky little fellow we picked up from the local police station before the official opening of Onni in 2008. He had been found abandoned at a bus stop and after days and weeks of searching for someone to claim him, we were asked to become his guardians. To provide this little angel with a safe, healthy, happy home. We will never forget his sparkling smile and enthusiasm - or the bubble gum he squeezed under the police officer’s desk just when we’re leaving the quarters, and waved good bye with a big smile!

Throughout the years at Onni, we were privileged to watch Kiran grow to become the incredible young man he is today. Along the way Kiran has melted as many hearts as he has met. His cheerful, funny, gentle, generous, uncomplicated self has touched countless lives and continues to be the beacon of light for the people around him. Not to mention his amazing wit and social intelligence - or his unwavering soccer moves!

Today Kiran is well on his way to lead a fully independent life. He has recently started vocational training to become an electrician and is currently working in a paid apprenticeship with a senior electrician. He’s renting a small room and finding his own feet - perhaps missing the easiness and comfort of the proper home cooked meals but no doubt enjoying his batchelor life..

Words can not express how incredibly proud and grateful we are for Kiran. To see our work come full circle like this is exactly what we set out to achieve in the beginning - this is our dream coming to fruition.

We thank YOU for all your support on the journey with these children and look forward to sharing many more stories of success in the coming years.

Deumaya is one of our Onni graduates. We tell her story with her permission.

Deumaya came to us in 2008 as one of the first Onni children. She was 8 years old.

When we first met her in her home village, the entire family had just experienced severe trauma, events unimaginable to any family. We were touched and humbled to be able to help her deeply traumatised single mum by offering a safe home for her two young ones, Deumaya and younger brother Ganesh. Accepting help was an act from a loving mother to finally be able to take care of her own health, whilst knowing that her children would be well taken care of and offered an education - something that especially for girls in Nepal can not be taken for granted.

Throughout the years at Onni, we were privileged to watch Deumaya grow to become the incredible young lady she is today. Deumaya was always the responsible, kind and considerate big sister in the house, caring for the young ones and helping out wherever she could. Not to mention her determination and top marks at school! And her beautifully quirky sense of humour. Indeed we were priviledged to watch her fragile smile slowly turn into full happy bloom, to see her beautiful soul opening and starting to flourish and trust life.

Throughout the years Deumaya and Ganesh have kept in touch with mum and their two older brothers who’ve been caring for the mum. They have regularly visited their home village, never losing connection to who they are or where they are from.

Today Deumaya lives independently in a peaceful village nearby Pokhara where she works as a Montessori teacher for Maya Foundation - a grassroots initiative established by our dear ”Uncle” Narayan, who used to work at Onni. Narayan, who is like a father to our children. Since graduating Year 12 with great grades, Deumaya has also started university studies with Bachelor of Business Management.

Words can not express how incredibly proud and grateful we are for her. To see our work come full circle like this is exactly what we set out to achieve in the beginning - this is our dream coming to fruition.

We thank YOU for all your support on the journey with these children and look forward to sharing many more stories of success in the coming years 🧡

After one of the hardest years in Nepal, these incredibly resilient, smart, hard-working young minds have managed to graduate Year 10, which is the last (and most demanding) year of compulsory Secondary Education in Nepal.

For these students it has been a very long year filled with online learning, uncertainty and regular setbacks, yet they have done it - securing great grades as well! Upward and onward they go!

Our hearts are bursting with love, happiness and pride - Go Champs - the world is your oyster!

We are happy to share with you that Wind of Change has been involved in helping families affected by the devastating floods in the Bhalam area near Pokhara. 12 desperate families (67 people) received basic food supplies such as rice, lentils, cooking oils and spices. We have also donated some essential items for two community health posts, who are helping the villagers to fight Covid-19 with basic sanitary items from face masks and shields to hand sanitiser, gloves and oximeters.

Thank you for your continuous support toward our work in Nepal.

Aasish is one of our Onni graduates. We tell his story with his permission.

Aasish came to us in 2009 as a 9-year-old boy. His mum had fallen severely ill and the wider family couldn’t cope with taking care of him. Instantly we knew that given this new opportunity with a safe home, education, care and guidance, Aasish was a child who would go far in life and make himself a bright future. We knew that with his determination, dedication, cleverness and kind heart he would always excel in whatever he decided to do.

Throughout the years at Onni, we were privileged to watch him grow to become the incredible young man he is today. He was one of the big brothers of the house, one that the others could always rely on - whether to have their back at school, a strong member of the soccer team or fixing anything and everything around the house. Indeed we always thought Aasish would become an electrical engineer or a mechanic just to explore his gifted nature and talent as the handyman.

Then he fell in love with food beyond eating, discovered his true passion and took it to the next level. We started receiving the most delicious curries from the kitchen where he was learning from the best, Punam mummy. Our tummies were sold.

Today Aasish lives in Kathmandu after graduating from Year 12 with us with great results. He’s undertaking a degree in Culinary Arts and loving every moment of engaging in his passion. We are so incredibly proud and grateful for him. To see our work come full circle like this is exactly what we set out to achieve in the beginning - this is our dream coming to fruition.

We thank YOU for all your support on the journey with these children and look forward to sharing many more stories of success in the coming years.

We are beyond delighted to share some wonderful news with you in these otherwise tough times. One of our Onni girls has officially passed her Secondary Education Examination with an excellent GPA of 3.45.
The SEE is a major academic challenge every Nepali student needs to undertake in Grade 10 to graduate from school. From here on it’s a personal choice for the next path - whether to proceed with Grade 11 and 12 or engage in vocational training or the workforce.

We are so incredibly proud of our hardworking students!

The current situation strikes hard globally, but no doubt disadvantaged countries like Nepal can experience the potentially devastating consequences harder still.

In this long fight against Covid-19, Wind of Change has pledged further support to the people of Nepal by participating in the funding of 73 PPE packages (Personal Protective Equipment) and 5000 face masks for the front line healthcare workers in Gandaki Hospital, the only government hospital in the Pokhara region attending to the virus.

A big thank you to our wonderful partner Namaste Community Foundation for being a key participant administering this support whilst always working tirelessly to enable life and justice across the social spectrum.

And so has another year officially elapsed with our projects in Nepal! Children are becoming young adults, students are slowly becoming graduates and us adults - well, nothing's changed right! However, we are increasingly proud of our wonderful bunch of youngsters..

On the 26th of October we packed the jeep full of food and goodies, filled up a bus with loud singing and cheering, and headed outside the city's huzzle and buzzle to the peaceful Dipang Lake for a picnic and a play. The park quickly filled up with music and dancing, heated games and lots of laughter! A heartfelt thank you to all of you, who have been walking this incredible journey with us. Without your continuous support none of this would've been possible.

26th of October 2008 was the day we first cut the ribbon of Onni Children's House, the little blue house in Pokhara that later became our flagship project. That day 11 disadvantaged children started a new life with access to education, safety, health and well-being and unconditional love. Later growing to 16 children, Onni Children's House has been a home and safe haven for these young ones to grow and develop towards adulthood in a supportive environment. Today 10 years later we have intelligent, brave, capable and caring young adults in our hands who now have every opportunity to do well in their independent life. In the meanwhile we have also been providing education to children who live at home through a Scholarship Program as well as been involved in running a very successful Hearing Clinic for beneficiaries with hearing loss or impairment.

We are massively grateful for these years, especially to our dedicated local staff as well as our partner organisation Namaste Community Foundation. They've done an amazing job with everything. And as always, a huge thank you to all our supporters from all over the world without whom our work would have never been possible.

While Nepal celebrates Dashain, one of the biggest Hindu festivals of the year, our wonderful journey in the Onni Children's House current property is slowly coming to an end. As the house lease is expiring, the children and staff of Onni will be moving into Namaste Community Foundation's House near by to join their existing team of 17 children, staff and management. NCF has been our local partner since the very beginning in 2008 and we look forward to the future together now under the same roof as well. The official Farewell party at Onni will be held on Sunday 15th of October. All our Onni family and friends are warmly welcomed to join these memorable celebrations!

While the new Academic Year 2017 is commencing in Nepal, the annual Scholarship Program Distribution Day took place at Namaste Community Foundation.

Every year children who are supported through this education initiative receive new school supplies from books and stationary to bags and clothes but also get their tuition fees and any medical expenses reimbursed.

We are a proud supporter of this great initiative that provides financial assistance to allow children from disadvantaged backgrounds to continue their education in circumstances where otherwise their families could not afford to send them to school, and they may become vulnerable for child labour, begging or human trafficking.

Education, especially for girls, really is the key to a future with choice and a voice!

On 12th of March Nepal celebrated the festival of colours. Holi is one of the main - and the messiest - festivals of Hindus. Holi welcomes the spring, the colourful season with colourful powders and coloured water people throw at each other. The streets become a colourful warzone for a day while buildings, animals, people of all ages, clothes and faces get covered with a mountain of colours and playful fighting. The Onni boys in the photo started creatively with some incredible face paintings which later on ended up all smeared into one big happy mess. Indeed after taking part in Holi celebrations you're bound to find the coloured powder deep inside your ears and nose for weeks to come!

On the 26th of October we celebrated the 8th birthday of Onni. These 8 years together have been eventful, full of fun and laughter. At the same time they've been full of growth and learning for all. During these wonderful years we have become such a close family where everyone knows their special place and role - and extended across and beyond international spheres with volunteers and friends all over the world.

At Onni we have now 15 children who have grown up to be such great characters; confident, intelligent, caring and funny young people - which is not at all surprising when you look at our amazing Onni-staff who look after these children and care for them with every step of the way. We are very proud and so grateful for all these years.

On the 22nd of March we celebrated Holi. The festival of colour. The festival of sharing love.

"A carnival of colours where participants play, chase and colour each other with dry powder and coloured water, with some carrying water guns and coloured water-filled balloons for their water fight. Anyone and everyone is fair game, friend or stranger, rich or poor, man or woman, children and elders. The frolic and fight with colours occurs in the open streets, open parks, outside temples and buildings. Groups carry drums and other musical instruments, go from place to place, sing and dance."

In the face of the trauma and devastation, together with our partner organisations on the ground, NCF Nepal and Namaste Foundation (The Netherlands), we were able to join in the international efforts to help the earthquake victims. After a day-long drive on difficult roads we reached the remote district of Sindhupalchowk, an area east of Kathmandu where most destruction and the highest casualties were reported, to deliver emergency aid packages and tents to the most affected families. Read more.

June 2024

Make an EOFY donation to support victims of domestic violence in Bhutan ✨

March 2024

Happy Holi from Pokhara 💖

December 2023

Happy news bring you happy greetings for a Happy Festive Season ✨

October 2023

Greetings from Pokhara ✨

August 2023

The Closing of our sister association in Finland 🙏

May 2023

We have a healthy knee!

October 2022

The Ceremonial Closing of the Onni Project 🙏

October 2022

Meet Roshni 🧡

October 2022

Happy Dashain!

August 2022

Meet our Waling Trio 🧡

July 2022

More Year 10 Graduates ❣❣❣

February 2022

Greetings from Pokhara🧡

December 2021

Happy New Year 2022

October 2021

Meet Kiran 🧡

September 2021

Vaccines for staff

August 2021

Meet Deu Maya 🧡

August 2021

Another 5 students graduate Year 10

July 2021

Immediate Relief for Covid-19 and Floods' Victims

June 2021

Devastating Floods

May 2021

Devastation in Nepal

April 2021

Meet Aasish ❤

February 2021

So proud to present our first Year 12 graduates

January 2021

New Year New House

November 2020

World Children's Day 20th November

November 2020

Visit to Seinäjoki Soroptimists

October 2020

12 Years of Onniness

October 2020

Happy Dashain Nepal!

August 2020

One more 10th Grade Graduate for the Onni Project

April 2020

Wind of Change reaches out in the fight against Covid-19

October 2019

11 Year Anniversary Celebrations

June 2019

Congratulations to our further 3 Secondary School Graduates!

May 2019

Scholarship Distribution Day at NCF

March 2019

Happy Holi

October 2018

Wind of Change Celebrates 10 years of successful work in Nepal

May 2018

Scholarship Distribution Day

April 2018

Wind of Change International Newsletters

October 2017

Opening of a New Chapter for Onni Children's House

May 2017

Scholarship Program Distribution Day

April 2017

Wind of Change Newsletters

March 2017

Happy Holi Nepal!