BlinkNow is an organization which has built a children’s home, school, and women’s center in Surkhet, Nepal.  BlinkNow derives its name from the belief of founder Maggie Doyne – a 2015 CNN Hero of the Year – that “In the blink of an eye, we can all make a difference”. Â
When Maggie comes home to visit her family in New Jersey, Dollies Making A Difference (DMAD) makes sure to send her back with a big box of Dollies and Teddy Bears for the children she serves. This year we also awarded BlinkNow a DMAD financial grant which funded TB testing for all 350 students.
In December, 2016 BlinkNow volunteer Ruth Dekker traveled with her own family to Nepal where she distributed the Dollies and Teddy Bears.  She shared with us this story:
Dear Dollie Ladies:
The dollies could not have been more welcome for the children at Kopila! This Christmas will go down in history for dolls. The kids received them on New Year’s Eve as part of their Christmas celebration. For the next week all play seemed to revolve around playing with the dollies, caring for them, sewing new doll clothes… Even the older girls were smitten.
Some of the dolls were given to children in the community, like Manisha who lives just up the road.  Manisha attends Kopila Valley School and spends a lot of her time eating and playing there while her mother is working. This is the first toy Manisha has ever had and she just loved it.
You may have heard that the TB Vaccines were administered to all students at the school. A total of 46 tested positive and needed additional blood tests. Of those, 9 are receiving follow up tests and treatment. The problem of TB in the area we serve is really prevalent and dangerous so we are grateful for the opportunity to detect and treat it in our children.
