The Nepalese Association of Wiltshire hosted a day of cultural celebration for Swindon residents to enjoy, at Faringdon Park.
The event ran from 11am - 7pm, with a variety of different stalls and cultural displays for locals to enjoy.
The guests of honour attending the celebrations included South Swindon MP Sir Robert Buckland, the Mayor and Mayoress of Swindon, and Hilary Pearce of the Gurkha Welfare Trust.
All the guests of honour joined Mr Gyan Prasad Gurung, President of the Nepalese Association of Wiltshire, and the traditional Nepalese band, in procession through the official archway, and along the red carpet.
Sir Robert Buckland and Mayor of Swindon Cllr Abdul Amin were invited to light the ceremonial candles up on the stage area to officially open the day's programme of events.
Mr Buckland said: "It has been great to attend this annual event organised by the Nepalese Association of Wiltshire. The event really celebrates and promotes the huge contribution that the Nepali community is making to Swindon.
“It is a growing community and we of course welcome all former members of the brigade of Gurkhas and their families. But it’s more than that now, because a lot of the Nepali and Gurkha community are working in various local businesses and within the public sector.
“I think the Nepali community’s cultural contribution is really significant as well, so I’m really happy to have been invited to this event.”
The culture day gave members of the public the opportunity to enjoy traditional music from the Baglung Samaj Naumati Baja band, and see a fashion show with examples of traditional Nepalese dress. Different traditional Nepalese garments were worn and individuals could learn more about how they are put on, and what occasion they would be worn at.
There were also dance displays performed.
Mayor of Swindon, Cllr Abdul Amin said: "I am delighted to have been invited to this year’s Nepali Cultural day of celebration. It is so nice to be amongst my Nepalese friends. It is great that we are seeing a lot of cultural events in our community.
“Not too long ago, I held a Boishaki Mela event in Faringdon Park. I think these cultural events are what draw people from all different communities and faiths together.
“Swindon is a multi-cultural town with so many different people from different backgrounds, and it is important to celebrate this, and get to know each other’s different cultures and faith. These events allow us to come together and learn from each other.”
Mr Bhawani Gurung, Secretary of the Nepalese Association of Wiltshire, was in agreement with the Mayor.
He said: “With this event, we wanted to showcase Nepali culture. There is a wide range of Nepalese tribes, and our landscape is very varied too.
“We wanted to invite people to come and share this day with us, and have a great time. We will be showing our traditions and culture through the programme we have worked on. It includes Nepali music, costume and food.”
As well as the Nepalese Association's programme of events, attendees to the cultural day could browse a variety of stalls - including food and drink stands, clothing stalls, and information stands from local organisations and charities.
Amongst the local organisation stands, were staff from Livewell Swindon, the Swindon Carers Centre, and Swindon Police.
Later in the day, a cheque of £1,000 was presented to the Gurkha Welfare Trust from volunteer John Patel. Guest of honour and Partnerships Manager of the Gurkha Welfare Trust Hilary Pearce was there to accept the cheque.
She said: “John has kindly raised £1,000 from his Garden Gala event that he held – this is one of the Trust’s annual events. The gala aims to promote the Gurkha Trust as well amongst communities within the UK. We ask people to open up their gardens and host people, to raise money.
“The amazing amount of £1,000 is now being given to our organisation, plus we will have our gift aid, which is brilliant.”
John Patel added: "I have recently turned 75, and I wanted to do something for other people, rather than spend money on myself. We raised £1,000 in one day!
“I flew with the Gurkhas a lot in my service days and got to know them and admire them. I found out about the Gurkha Welfare Trust and the garden gala event and decided to raise something for the cause.”
The Gurkha Welfare Trust are based down in Salisbury, but staff mainly work out in Nepal. The Trust look after 3,500 veterans who do not get a pension from the British Government because of a change in how their service terms were set.
The Trust also looks after 17,000 veterans who do get a pension, but chose to retire in Nepal. These citizens do not have a welfare system like the NHS, so the charity helps to fundraise for this cause too.
3,500 individuals in the Trust's care are known as welfare pensioners. This year their pension subsidy is £93.55 a month. This amount is given in cash, and it is based on the cost of a basket of goods that would be deemed essential for these individuals.
The veterans receive these funds usually in three month instalments. The Gurkha Welfare Trust also provide hardship grants to those in need.
Beyond that the Trust do international development, and typically build three major schools within a year, and carry out refurbishments on the schools that are already out in the country. The charity also visit the Gurkha recruiting areas and build water systems for clean water.
More information about the Gurkha Welfare Trust can be found at https://www.gwt.org.uk/
Additionally, Drs Rosa and Ian Matheson from Friends of Angel's Orphanage were in attendance at their own stall.
The pair work with a team of volunteers to fundraise and make visits back and forth to Nepal and help individuals in need. Their orphanage adopts orphaned or 'given-up' children from Nepal and helps them with their futures. This could be through funding their education, their rent, and their medical expenses.
More information can be found at www.friendsofangelsorphanage.com
As well as this, Rosa and Ian help women in Nepal with their Freedom Kit Bags. The aim of their Freedom Kit Bag campaign is to educate all people in Nepal about period poverty and the dangers of misinformation and misinterpretation around menstruation.
Ambassadors have been trained in Nepal to keep the campaign going whilst Rosa and Ian are away. Kit bags are given out to women and young girls who have started bleeding. The kits contain a variety of period products, and the women and girls are shown how to use them, and taught that menstruation is not a curse.
More information about this campaign can be found at www.freedomkitbags.org
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