Here's what the Terry Mikeska Foundation did in 2023 in Nepal, plans for 2024

Terry Mikeska is a San Angelo native who saw the destruction an earthquake caused in Nepal in 2015 and knew he had to help.

"To see such total destruction half-way around the world just broke my heart," he said on his website.

Thanks to over 300 family, friends, businesses and churches, the San Angelo community raised over $16,000 in cash donations and supplies to enable his group to provide assistance aiding over 3,000 people.

"During this trip I was able to get a first-hand look at the extent of dire need in this area, which fostered plans for my next mission," he said. "After returning to San Angelo, I was approached by a Christian family who saw my vision and wanted to help. With their support, I formed the Terry Mikeska Foundation, a non-profit 501c3 organization, thereby enabling continuous assistance to the Nepalese and other nations rebuilding from natural disasters by making all donations tax-deductible."

In the past eight years since the earthquake, the foundation has completed 114 aid projects in the country of Nepal.

The foundation constructed of a new school including school supplies, solar systems for generating electricity, housing and medical camps, restrooms and sanitation stations, water filtration systems, health care supplies, and the opportunity for health care providers to attend to the villagers, some of whom have never had medical attention before.

"We seek to serve the whole person with the construction of two Christian churches and the distribution of hundreds of Holy Bibles," Mikeska said. "We have developed training classes for women who want to learn a skill and provided musical instruments for school programs. We have provided the first-ever special sanitary services for young women who were previously neglected during their periods and provided health education to support those efforts."

Mikeska's most recent trip was in August and September in 2023, where he joined pastor Amosh Khadka and his family to finish the construction of his second Christian church in west Nepal.

"Due to the past years of COVID restrictions throughout the country, it was a challenge getting the supplies needed to finish construction and complete the project," Mikeska said.

In August, the church was completed. The pastor invited the district Hindu governor and staff to the ribbon-cutting ceremony along with a few hundred Christian people.

"It was truly an unbelievable sight," he said.

On Nov. 3, 2023, there was a 6.4 M earthquake where several provinces suffered structural damage and over 150 fatalities.

"Our new church stood strong throughout," Mikeska said.

Since then, Mikeska has been on the west side of Nepal delivering truckloads of rice, Bibles, knitted hats and clothes to the Christian churches and their families.

"Hundreds of families lined up with their children and babies tied to their backs to receive help, many of whom had walked miles to get there," he said.

Also in 2023, the foundation hosted a three-day conference where they provided transportation by bus for attendees.

"That trip could take more than a day on foot," he said. "We would bring in speakers from the Nepal Bible Study and provide meals."

Eventually, 203 Christian leaders signed up for the conference.

"I was not budgeted for that many, but how do you tell a pastor they cannot attend? But because of my many foundation angels, we made it happen," he said. "After the conference the pastors and leaders asked if we had any Holy Bibles they could take back to their villages and through the grace of God we made it happen. Missionary work isn’t always planned. Sometimes the hardest part and the best part is seeing a need and responding to it without any bureaucracy, just for the benefit of the people."

Mikeska also took over 100 children on their first-ever field trip off to three different areas in the Jhapa district.

"We had breakfast and lunch and toured a museum," he said. "The children were able to learn much about their history. It's hard to believe the entire field trip only costs $3.80 U.S. per student for the tours and meals. Here, even small donations change the world."

While on the east side of Nepal, Mikeska visited the Lion’s Club of Women in Nepal and Leo Club of Girls as the foundation continues to build large restrooms with sanitary cleansing stations and sanitation vending machine products for the schools. The Lion’s Club of Women also gives sanitation classes to remote schools.

"I was recently contacted by them about a school that desperately needs a water tank and filtration system for its students," he said. "I’m currently working on that project which will cost about $1,600 in total."

While in east Nepal, the foundation also distributed mosquito nets, a projector for a school and women’s training center, and 100 stacking chairs for a women’s organization that meets monthly and usually sits on the ground for their meetings. These women’s organizations work in their local communities on projects that benefit children.

With the help of the Wall Brethren Church Christian Sisters, hundreds of undergarments were collected that Mikeska could distribute to the many villages throughout Nepal along with hundreds of knitted hats and gloves made by the angel donors in San Angelo.

"Many of the children in the villages had never owned a pair of underwear," he said.

Mikeska said he slept most of the way back to the U.S. with a 12-hour layover in Qatar.

"When I landed at DFW airport, I realized how blessed we are to have so many programs such as Medicare, Medicaid, food stamps, unemployment benefits, government programs, COVID relief, food banks and so on," he said. "I am beyond grateful and blessed to live in the USA, and happy that I have been blessed with donors who believe in what we try to do for these very poor people."

The Terry Mikeska Foundation will provide warm clothes, blankets and food for 400 families this winter. They estimate this to cost $3,500.

The next Terry Mikeska Foundation mission will happen in the spring of 2024 and the requests that have come in for projects already total over $40,000.

If you or your organization would like to participate in the Nepal missions with the Terry Mikeska Foundation you may contact the Foundation at terrymikeskafoundation.org. or terrymfoundation@aol.com or call 325-277-5466. You can also mail your gift to the Terry Mikeska Foundation P.O Box 61692, San Angelo, Texas 76906. Your contribution is tax-deductible to the fullest extent of the law.

"Prepare now to make your mark around the world," Mikeska said.

This article originally appeared on San Angelo Standard-Times: Here's what the Terry Mikeska Foundation did in 2023 in Nepal