In today’s world, the mankind is in rush every time, any where and at any moment. The world has become so materialistic to the extent that everyone is running after the money and materials. But surprisingly, people do not get satisfied or contented even after acquiring the money, the status and the physical materials once they had dreamed of. The thirst and crave lies there with more. In this pursuit, People have forgotten the basic values of life, love and relationship. The fraternity and compassion has become almost extinct in today’s surroundings with full of scream and chaos prevailing everywhere. The rich are getting richer and the poor are getting even poorer. The gap between the rich and the poor is getting wider and wider and the ditch between them getting deeper and deeper. The poor people are living in misery struggling to fill their hungry stomachs and cover their body with clothes. They are deprived of basic rights of life like education, employment, health and social security etc. The gender discrimination is more terrible with the women in the underdeveloped countries like ours are forced to live suffering from a domestic violence. This all has happened because we are living a life in unconsciousness which has compelled us to think and act selfishly. We have become so selfish that we don’t think about others. I and Mine have become more important than we and ours. The sense of responsibility among us is missing. We need to be awake from the profound sleep of unconsciousness to know the reality and truth of our life and to discover the meaning and duty of our existence.
We were also in sleep of unconsciousness before the heartrending and tragedy rocked us twice leaving us shocked. The cruel fate snatched our beloved sons Kumar (28) and Balram (26) in different road accidents during nine and half months of period. Our eldest son Kumar was charming, talent and dynamic in his personality with a soft heart having primary hobby in social works and helping the poor students in the public local schools. He had associated himself as one of the founder members of Lions Clubs of Kathmandu Rising Sun and had been contributing personally the stationeries and computers to the local village schools on behalf of the club. Professionally, he was the one of the emerging tourism entrepreneurs running Shuang Qi Tours Pvt. Ltd as a Managing Director being successful to attract the maximum number of Chinese tourist through his agency. The night of 29th December, 2008 came as the saddest night of our lives as we witnessed the sudden death of our beloved son in a fatal motorcycle accident about one kilometre away from our house, when he was returning home from his friend’s house.
Nine and half months later, we heard another shocking tragedy which snatched away our other precious jewel our beloved son Balram in a fatal car accident on the United States. By nature he was like a Buddha, always smiling, cool, helpful, responsible and always obedient. At 2004, he had flown to the US to pursue his higher studies in the subjects of Maths and Computer Science. Thanks to his Buddha nature, helpfulness and brilliance he was very well loved in his university among his classmates, friends and professors and went on to be rewarded and awarded with different merit and awards such as President’s Honour, Vice-President Honour, Math Student of the Year 2008 Award, Outstanding Senior Award. Upon the completion of his studies, he was professionally engaged with Woodward Regional Hospital as an IT System Administrator. After the death of his elder brother Kumar, he was planning to come back the motherland to support the family. The recurrence of the cruel fate in the same family within that period rendered the family totally shocked and frustrated. Anyone could easily imagine the pathetic condition of our family of two elderly aged grandparents, the parents and two siblings missing their precious pearls and their hopes of lives. The days and nights went on without being realized. Life was like a curse and a severe punishment. But thanks to the integrity and co-existing nature our family we managed somehow to survive through.
Those tragic incidents could never be overturned and the crying, screaming, mourning couldn’t help us rather than aggravate the situation. Neither wetting the beds with tears could bring us any solution. Then we thought of living by helping, supporting and working in the favour of the poor, helpless, needy, Underprivileged and socially discriminated children, women and people through diverse programs and activities, in the memory of our sons. In other words, we tried to search the image of our departed sons in the face of people living in miserable conditions by helping and supporting them. We thought of carrying out charitable and welfare activities by establishing a memorial foundation named as Laxmi Pratisthan under the name of the bereaved mother of the deceased sons Mrs Laxmi Gautam in an effort to provide her consolation. Formally, we founded Laxmi Pratisthan on 17th Dec 2009 amid friends, well wisher and relatives. Since then, Laxmi Pratisthan has been working tirelessly for the help and support of needy children, women and men to raise their living standards. The activities of Laxmi Pratisthan are focused on:
1. Empowerment and upgrading of Local Community Schools in remote villages including the establishment of libraries. The Foundation has also introduced diverse extra curricular and recreational activities for the all round development of students like Quiz Contest, essay, story, poem competitions as well as Dance and cultural classes.

2. Basic Education and Vocational Training Programme (BEVTP) for the illiterate and unemployed women in the villages who are mostly from the underprivileged, backward, indigenous and the Dalit communities. In the programme, the women are provided with 3 months of basic education followed by the next 3 months of training in vocational fields like candle making, sauce and ketchup making, tailoring, beekeeping, goat rearing, poultry farming, pig husbandry etc. which can be carried out on relatively small investment with better income. Upon the completion of the training, if needed, the foundation facilitates for the loan linking them with the co-operative and micro finance institutions for the easy loan on reasonably low interest rates on collective responsibility. The foundation hopes it will help the women to be self-employed enabling them to stand in their own feet. This will upgrade their previous status and rescue them from the cycle of gender inequality and domestic violence. This program targeted for the empowerment of women will render them capable to contribute for her family as an integrate part of the society.

3. The foundation has also envisaged a Technical Skills Education and Training Program (TSETP) targeting the unemployed youths of the village and Peri-urban areas. In the present context, it is unhidden fact that each month thousands of youths are flying overseas mostly in the Arabian Deserts to work in the extreme conditions for paltry salaries due to the lack of their skills and expertise in the job. They are forced to irrigate the dessert with their sweat, tears and bloods due to the lack of their skills. To get rid of this unfavourable situation, the foundation has come up with a package of technical training skills for the unemployed youths to transform them into a competent and skilful workforce. They will be provided with education and training in technical skills in their any of their preferred choices among the most demanded ones. The technical training includes Masonry, Shuttering, Tile and Marble Fitting, Plumbing, Wielding, House and wall painting, Furniture making, Shoemaking, Handicraft Basic Computer Training and Webpage designing etc.

4. The foundation has also envisioned the “Ek Ghar Paanch Bot” One house five plants programme. The foundation has started distributing the five cash or fruit plants to each people of different VDCs of Anekot village in Kavre district. This programme encourages the villagers to plant at least five plants which will support them in their economy in the future simultaneously contributing to the nature and eco system for greener tomorrow.

5. Apart from that, the foundation frequently carries out awareness programs in schools and locals places targeting the people in the remote villages regarding the health issues, social issues, against the gender discrimination, against the domestic violence and against superstitions etc which have remained as the obstacles for the development of the Back warded communities.

To know more about the foundation and its activities you are requested to visit the foundation website www.laxmipratisthan.org . You will know even more through our blog in the website.
The foundation has been able to carry out all those abovementioned activities through its dedicated members who are deeply attached to the foundation. Everyone is committed to achieve a common goal of socio economic transformation of the backward communities through diverse programs and activities. Our ability to transform the tragedy into energy has energized and driven us forward to carry out numerous activities in a short span of time. Commencement of a campaign is important but its more important and challenging to continue. Laxmi Pratisthan believes that socio-economic transformation of the of our remote and rural villages is only possible when we are able to educate and instruct the local people, make them aware of their rights and duties of a citizen, and provide them the opportunity to raise their living standard and economic condition creating them self employment through various training programmes, enable them to exploit the possibilities out of the locally widespread natural resources. If we are able to execute the abovementioned activities then the poverty struck people will be able to discover the diamond which has been hidden beneath their feet. They will have access to good food, tidy clothes, and safe houses. They will be able to educate their children in better schools. They will be engaged in economical activities. Thus, the development will begin. And it will be a development of a country in a true sense. When the backward and underdevelopment community and area rises, the country will begin rising. Laxmi Pratisthan is firmly committed to continue and expand its programs and activities for the accomplishment of its mission. In this campaign Laxmi Pratisthan’s sole effort won’t be sufficient thus the foundation appeals all the friends, well-wishers, national and international donor individuals and agencies to help and support the foundation and its programs and activities. Your valuable support, guidance and any assistance to the foundation will be for the transformation of people who are still living in the dark. Your help, support and assistance of any kind will be heartily welcomed with your contribution clearly revealed. Your will have every rights and opportunities to know about the expenses of your donations and contributions. If you are interested to sponsor any of the activities of the foundation, it would be our immense pleasure to launch it in your presence. We are purely and truly dedicated for the noble and social cause. At the success of our programs and missions, we see the smiling faces of our beloved departed sons which we think would be a true tribute to them. And the humanitarian efforts initiated by Laxmi Pratisthan belongs to us all as our collective responsibility as a responsible citizen. Please lend us your hands in this pious campaign for the sake of humanity. Let us commence thinking about others. Let’s help for the people in dire need. At one point of time, we also have to depart leaving everything behind us. Everything is impermanent except our good acts and humane deeds which rest eternal. The realization of this bitter truth is the awakening from the sleep of unconsciousness. Let’s awake ourselves. At the end, I would like to conclude with the gist of GITA in the lines below which has influenced me deeply.
Whatever happened had happened rightly
Whatever is happening is happening rightly too.
Whatever happens will happen rightly too.
What have you lost that has made you unhappy?
Did you come with anything to this world that you get so worried to lose it?
Whatever you have amassed you did it in this world.
Whatever you hold today it was of someone else yesterday.
It will be of someone else tomorrow.
Nothing is permanent in this world.
Be a human and perform your duty.