In the spirit of the book list that has been started already on this group page, I wanted to start a list of helpful websites for those of us working among Bhutanese-Nepalis.
1. Sites Specifically Related to Bhutanese Refugees
Bhutanese Refugees—The Story of a Forgotten People (Best site of its kind on the web)
Cause Up Bhutanese Refugee Group (Also search for location-specific groups on the Cause Up page)
Cultural Orientation Resource Center—Okay, so not specifically for Bhutanese-Nepalis, but more general information on refugee resettlement that you may find helpful in assisting your newly arriving friends. There are specific resources for Nepalis.
International Nepal Fellowship-North America: Not exclusively related to Bhutanese-Nepalis, but helpful nonetheless.
Slideshows
Bhutanese Refugees in Nepal by Andrew Hein. This is a quick and helpful PowerPoint slide show that provides a basic introduction to Bhutanese-Nepalis.
Nepali Culture, Hinduism, and Refugees by International Nepal Fellowship. This is a no-frills presentation covering just what the title says. Be warned, a number of the points about culture do NOT hold true with Bhutanese-Nepalis. If you want to understand Bhutanese-Nepali culture, careful observation and asking questions is still your best bet.
YouTube Videos
There are many videos that give basic information, news, and some that have been posted by Bhutanese-Nepalis themselves. Click here for the latest YouTube search results.
Jhupadiko Jindagi - This is a feature-length Nepali film (fiction) that is based on life as a Bhutanese refugee in Nepal. The film was made by Bhutanese refugees and seeks to provide a glimpse into their lives and challenges. Sometimes you can find the film online. Click here for the latest Google results. Tukriako Mutu is also a film of similar theme.
Double Your Impact is a nice, brief video that is intended to help mobilize Christians to engage in meaningful ministry to Bhutanese-Nepalis.
2. Churches in the U.S. with Ministries Specific to Bhutanese-Nepalis
Trinity International Baptist Mission (TriEak Parmeshwar Mandali is the name of their Nepali church plant
Nepali Baptist Church (Baltimore, Maryland)
International Nepali Church (Dallas, Texas)
Bhutanese Nepali Christian Church (Clarkston, Georgia)
International Community Church: Laliguras Sangati (Richmond, VA)
3. Nepali Scripture Resources
Holy Bible, Easy-to-Read Version (I’ve heard that there are grammatical and translation errors in this version.)
Nepali Bible Storying Sets (Note: This is an immediate download of a large zip file that contains textual and MP3 versions of many Bible stories.)
Forum of Bible Agencies (Links to several Biblical resources in Nepali language)
World Bibles (Links to several Biblical resources in Nepali language)
Faith Comes by Hearing (From this site, you can download free MP3s of the entire New Testament in Nepali. It is nicely dramatized.)
4. Web-Portal Sites with Potentially Helpful Resources for Nepali followers of Jesus (Yeshu Bhaktas)
5. Nepali Music for Followers of Prabhu Sri Yeshu
YouTube Videos (changes all the time)
Bolaunu Hoodainchu Yeshule Timilai
.com/watch?v=YvFRCpzDG5g”>Jeewan Anmol Srista Shara
Herana Hera Shristyko Sundarta (instrumental only)
Tod Phod Gari Jodnu Hos Prabhu
Nepali Musicians & Singers who Follow Prabhu Yeshu
Karna Das (also famous for singing Nepali love and pop songs)
Aradhna (mostly Hindi music but some Nepali)
Nepalichristian.com (a web-portal with a few Nepali Christian songs)
6. Helpful Sites for Understanding Hindu – Christian Dialogue & Effective Communication of Spiritual Truth, Contextualization, etc.
7. Linguistic Resources
Nepali Unicode: This is a relatively easy-to-use way to write in Nepali (Devanagari) script. I use it when I need to write short phrases or sentences. If you can speak Nepali, but aren’t great at typing it, this will be helpful.
Spoken Sanskrit: This is an excellent online Sanskrit dictionary that I use very, very frequently to improve my ability to communicate theological concepts to Nepali Hindus. It has also been very helpful to our Nepali translators as they have thought through how best to translate certain Biblical terms and concepts. If you are engaged in the pursuit of contextualized ministry to Nepalis, you’ll find this tool extremely helpful.
Devanagari Script Tutor: I use this site very frequently as I seek to improve my ability to read Nepali. It is easy to use and so helpful.
Nepali-English Dictionary: This is by no means an exhaustive dictionary, but it is helpful nonetheless. It is a PDF, making it searchable by word (a great plus) and it contains both Devanagari and Romanized renderings of each word.
Nepali-English Glossary: More thorough than the above dictionary, but perhaps less helpful as it features only Devanagari renderings of Nepali words (making it difficult for Nepali learners to use. Also a PDF.
A Comparative and Etymological Dictionary of the Nepali Language: Much more scholarly that the others mentioned above. Some might find this helpful. Pretty thorough.
LearnNepali.com: There are several sites that can be found that provide help in learning very basic Nepali. I haven’t found any that will get you to a conversational level, but these are helpful. LearnNepali is a nice, user-friendly one. Others include – Speak the Way They Do on Top of the World (YouTube series), NepalVista, Phrasebase, Nepali Ann’s Primer, and LearnNepaliLanguage
Okay, that’s all for now. I’m sure you can add to this list. Please do in the comment thread. I’ll periodically edit the main list here as you do. Blessings!