Purpose

With the encouragement of several families of both past and present residents of Beresford Hall and Drayton House, the Deodar Foundation was established to give the people and villages of Nepal an ongoing token of our respect and gratitude for sending so many of their young as Nurses and Carers to look after our elderly in Australia. Their skill and unwavering compassion especially during the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak engendered a spirit that carried us, both staff and residents, through those challenging times. The Deodar Foundation seeks to honour their contribution by supporting their communities back home in return.

The Deodar Foundation offers a tax efficient way tohonour, recordand celebrate the lives of both past and present residents who have been members of our extended community in Beresford Hall and Drayton House. The first donation received was in memory ofa young Irish woman: Ann was accepted as a trainee at Oxford University's famous training hospital the Radcliffe Infirmary. She obtained her SRN qualification at theRadcliffe and continued to become a theatre sister. After marrying and raising a youngfamily in the UK and New Zealand, Ann graduated from Auckland University as a mature student, finally retiring from her own practice asa psychotherapist inSydney. She passed away peacefully ina fully locked down Beresford Hall over Christmas 2021at the height of that first major COVID outbreak.Due totravel restrictionsher children, both nowliving overseas, wereunable to be by her side. In an extraordinary act of compassion, two of her Nepalese carers stayed with her well beyond their shifts, remaining by her side until shortly before midnight when Ann passed away.

Revenue

Our goal is to establish an annual flow of funds to be directed where and when they are most needed in Nepal. While climate change is already impacting our agricultural and livestock industries here in Australia.................................. in fact our whole way of life, up in Nepal, at Himalayan altitudes, these changes can be equally if not more significant, certainly less predictable: huge ageless masses of wind compacted snow begin to warm, slip and avalanche, glaciers melt, retained lakes burst out devastating isolated villages in river valleys below.... as witnessed in August 2024.

While clearly the Deodar Foundation did not possess the local daily expertise that we needed, those boots on the ground, to deliver our aid keeping medications stocked in village healthcare clinics or help to rebuild a damaged school classroom restocking lost textbooks. We needed not only a partner who could do all that and be a reliable conduit for our aid, but one dedicated only to Nepal without being diverted by emergencies developing elsewhere in the world. We are delighted to confirm that such a partner has been found: it is the Himalayan Trust. Their very name reflects their exclusive dedication to Nepal, their provenance is impeccable, and their over 60-year record is such that they have long been a trusted channel for other Australian donors supporting Nepal for much the same purpose that inspires us.

The Himalayan Trust

The Trust was set up by Sir Edmund Hillary and his wife over 60 years ago as a tribute to the people of Nepal and the Sherpa mountain guides for the essential part they had played and the sacrifices they too had made leading to the first successful ascent of Everest in 1953. Sir Ed himself passed away in 2007 but his family continue his legacy: his son Peter is Chairman of the Trust and his son, Alexander Hillary, Sir Ed's grandson is General Manager.

With the Himalayan Trust, we have not only a safe pair of hands but a passionate and committed team working exclusively in Nepal ensuring that our donations are directed to where and when they are needed.