When Melbourne resident Stephanie Woollard visited Nepal for the first time in 2004, the then 22-year-old decided to invest her last remaining $200 of her holiday money in helping seven disabled Nepali women.
The money helped to give those women additional skills that Woollard hoped would help them lead a dignified life, away from the discrimination they experienced in their marginalised communities.
In 2006, Ms Woollard started a company called Seven Women in the Nepali capital Kathmandu. Her goal was to help the women produce items that could be sold locally and internationally.
Source: Supplied
After 13 years, the project is said to have helped more than 5,000 Nepali women, and Ms Woollard has been awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia in the general division, for her service to the international community through humanitarian aid.
Ms Woollard is among the 1400 people included in the Australia Day 2019 Honours List.
In announcing the recipients of Australia Day Honours, Governor-General Sir Peter Cosgrove said, “Today’s recipients come from right across the country and from all walks of life. While some are well-known, the majority are unsung heroes.
“Their contributions are diverse, yet there is a unifying theme: they have dedicated themselves to service. They have worked tirelessly for others, to improve local communities and to make Australia a better place.”
The Order of Australia winners were chosen from thousands of nominations sent by the members of the community.
Governor-General Sir Peter Cosgrove says the Australia Day honours list requires greater diversity. (AAP) Source: AAP
Speaking to SBS Nepali, Stephanie Woollard said the award would give her an opportunity to share Seven Women’s success story with a broader audience.
“The award is a fantastic way to show what we’ve been able to create in Nepal and the (positive) impact on some of the most marginalised women’s lives in the country.”
In 2016, Ms Woollard was awarded the Inaugural International Responsible Business Award at the United Nations headquarters in the US.
“The work has led me to places I’d never imagined going, to share our model of sustainable development,” she says.
“I never imagined when I first met the women, [the] seven initial women, who were operating out of a tiny tin-shed in Kathmandu that it would grow to this extent.”
Listen to Stephanie Woollard's conversation with SBS Nepali.
LISTEN TO
Stephanie Woollard OAM speaking to SBS Nepali
SBS Nepali
27/01/201912:01
The success of Seven Women also helped Ms Woollard setup Kathmandu Cooking School and a study tour company called Hands On Development, which runs tours to Nepal for school and university students from Australia.
She hopes to inspire Australians to take meaningful actions within their communities through these tours.
Source: Supplied
Ms Woollard has now been to Nepal more than 35 times and says the country has enriched her life.
“Choosing the road of being an entrepreneur, the self- growth is continuous. The people you meet are extremely generous”.
“Nepal has taught me to prioritise what’s important in life and not sweat on small stuff”, she says.
However, more than for herself, Woollard is exceptionally proud of what the Nepali women have been able to achieve.
“The women now know what they want to do in the future. Sandhya, who has a disability, used to hide her face behind a mask in public is now leading the tours and literacy classes.”
“She wants to teach other disabled people, show them they can achieve anything.”
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More Nepali Connections
Another Order of Australia medalist in the general division is northern Sydney Veterinarian Dr Howard Ralph.
Recognised for his service to conservation and the environment, he has also received numerous other volunteer awards for his decades of selfless veterinary work in Australia and other parts of the world including Nepal.
Dr Ralph says winning the Australia Day medal is a “wondrous thing”.
“It means there’s some official recognition of the fact that wildlife and other creatures and their suffering are important.”
Ralph was in Kathmandu for six years from 2011, providing emergency treatment to animals.
“It’s a beautiful place in some ways but with lots of problems, particularly with lack of animal welfare”, he says.
Sydney Veterinarian Dr Howard Ralph spoke to SBS Nepali about his Order of Australia award Source: Supplied
Seeing cows and calves starving in the street, eating plastic bags out of desperation concerned him a lot.
“The dog population suffers badly, and other creatures like birds, sheep and goats, in particular, are regarded as a resource than a living being.”
While in Kathmandu, he helped with animals’ fractured legs, treating infected wounds and surgeries. Performing such tasks was challenging but not something he wasn’t used to.
“The situation was quite difficult because there was no adequate operating theatre, so we had to make do with whatever was there.”
Listen to Dr Howard Ralph conversation with SBS Nepali.
LISTEN TO
Dr Howard Ralph OAM spoke to SBS Nepali
SBS Nepali
27/01/201904:38
Source: Supplied
Dr Ralph currently works in the charity Southern Cross Wildlife Care Service and Sanctuary and is involved in assisting injured wildlife after bushfires and other natural disasters.
Kenneth John Austine from Green Point in New South Wales, who was the founding member of Nepal Dental Project through Rotary Australia was also awarded the Order of Australia medal for his service to the community and Rotary.
A former member of the Australian Army Reserve and author of “From Arafat to Everest”, Mark Douglas Squirrell from Arthurs Creek in Victoria was awarded for his service to the international community through humanitarian aid.
Squirrell reached the top of Mount Everest in 2006 with the aim of raising awareness about global hunger.
Nominee of Victoria’s Local Hero of the Year Award in 2009, Ms Beverley Iris Wall was also recognised for her service to the community, particularly to women. Ms Wall volunteered in Nepal for a year in 2015.
