Alan
Heaton’s Everest Report
A
couple of years ago I spent two months volunteering in an orphanage in Thankot,
Kathmandu. The experience was an overwhelming mix of emotions. I was instantly
taken back by the children's smiles and kindness. Many people after visiting
label the people of Nepal as 'emotional millionaires'. The poverty within Nepal
and the horrendous living conditions the orphan children have to endure on a
daily basis left me feeling helpless. Knowing my time in Nepal was very short
lived and the support I gave to the children only barely scraped the surface, I
realized that I wanted to help far more. I wanted to give the children a more
sustainable future, a chance to improve their community and live a happier life.
With this thought in mind I decided to start my own charity to raise money to go
towards sponsoring children at the Happy Home in Chitwan, with the goal of all
the money donated reaching the cause it was intended for. I decided that my
first fundraising endeavors was to be running the Everest Marathon on May the
29th 2007.
The
Tenzing Hillary Everest Marathon is considered by many high-altitude running
lovers as the ultimate race or the ultimate challenge of this form of extreme
sport . Runners endure the harsh weather and even digest altitude sickness to
participate in this Highest Marathon Racing.
I landed in Nepal early in
May after training hard and raising over $4000 back home. I spent several days
reviewing the construction work on the New Orphanage in Chitwan and met several
INFO Nepal volunteers and staff in Kathmandu. I was impressed with the
outstanding work they were doing for the children of Nepal. All that was left
was to complete my first marathon. I remember waking up at Base Camp on the day
of the event, shivering and waiting for the sun to rise above the ridge, with
Everest towering in the background. I knew even with the endless hours I put
into training in South America and England, this was going to be the hardest run
I have ever done. Starting on a moving glacier, running over boulders, down
cliffs, over rivers, across suspension bridges and then back up a mountain
finishing in Namche Bazaar. The event was a great personal achievement and one
of my proudest moments to date. I collapsed over the finishing line in 6 hours,
6 minutes and 15 seconds, finishing second in the foreign category. The biggest
winners, however, are the children, and I look to carry on fundraising for Happy
Homes for many years to come.
For more information
please visit my official website at
www.starfishpromise.com
IMPORTANT NOTICE!
We are organizing a
reunion on the 22nd of September around London for previous INFO
volunteers. Please contact us here at INFO if you would be interested in
attending, the festivities will not be something to be missed.
Balaju Children Home -
After getting admission all the children of
Birendra Peace home are very happy. We would like to give a big thanks to David
and Margaret's friends who have been sponsoring these 13 children for their
Education. Our friend Lisa is here now staying with the children who been
supporting for lodging and food for the children. A big thanks goes to Lisa
arranging a good house for these children.
Asim’s Report - My 2nd
visit to UK - June 2007
It
was not that much of a cultural shock for me this time while visiting the UK.
After having a good rest for two days I started having meetings with our friends
and volunteers. A couple of meetings went very well with our partner
organizations and we are looking forward to having more volunteers in the coming
days. The 2nd week I spent in the UK was the most memorable time in
my life. Going to Lancashire and learning all about English history was amazing
– it was hard for me at first to understand the development that took place
hundreds of years ago. I have only ever heard and read about the Industrial
Revolution in England but after seeing all the technology and engineering I
understood everything much better.
The countryside I like the
most. The people were very friendly, co-operative and helpful and I can say I
felt as thought I were home in my village. Thanks a lot to Jim-ji for making me
feel at home. The waterfalls at Worcestershire National Park was not as big as
ones I’ve seen in Nepal but people look at them the same way, to make themselves
happy and find a good mood. The people were also very serious and give a lot
more time and energy to save the environment and to preserve the animals of the
National Park. All in all it was lovely to visit the National Park although I
was disappointed not to see any one-horn rhinoceroses or tigers!
Maggie and her friends
drove me to Scotland to go sailing. The drive from Yorkshire to Glasgow was
fantastic and the scenery was a gift. The city was very beautiful and I did not
find it that hard to understand the accent. This was the first time that I have
seen a sea and gone sailing. The weather was not very happy with us at the start
of our sailing expedition but later on in the late afternoon it was fantastic
and sunny and I was able to come out and see all the blue sea for the first time
in my life, long and long, far and far, just water….The first night we stayed in
a small See luck of Mull Island which was a great experience for me.
The 2nd
night we stayed in Iona which was very exciting. It was a very peaceful village
and full of greenery. The house made out of coloured stones was a very new thing
for me. This is a place that you really need to visit once in your life. The 3rd
day sailing from Iona to Toreador was another big challenge for us as the wind
was not blowing in a good direction. We had to sail around 60 miles on that day
and after everything we made it. The maximum speed of our sailing was 9.05 miles
per hours on that day and this was while I was driving the ship. I was lucky to
have seen the see for first time in my life and also to have learned how to sail
a ship. It is very hard work but a lot of fun too. All the ropes, cables and the
challenge of nature made for quite an adventure. Anyway, I was very happy that I
didn’t get seasick.
Going to Lamington Spa and
meeting Margaret and David's family was very important as we had discuss a lot
about our organization and our sponsorship program. Thanks a lot for David and
Margaret's friends contributing to the education of Nepali children. Now
Birendra Peace Home's children have regular educational support. The meeting
with Dan and Cheryl in Worcester was a great time and I am waiting to see a
picture of their boat when it is ready so I can move there.
Again, I have never seen a
sea and to see the tide was a huge surprise for me. Anna's home is just in front
of the see in West Cliff. Meeting Emily and Anna's family made me feel like I
was at Happy Home with our volunteers.
I would like to give a big
thanks to all of our volunteers that supported me for being wonderful hosts and
making me feel at home. I am looking forward to my next trip with my wife
Namrata in the future.
Melinda’s Report – Devis
Falls
I arrived in Kathmandu on
the 14th of May for my volunteer project with INFO Nepal.
Despite
having a few issues getting here due to delayed flights, INFO head office were
totally understanding and very flexible with my arrival date. So, when I finally
arrived in Kathmandu I was greeted at the airport by Bicky – a welcomed sight at
such a chaotic airport. A great guy who works tirelessly to ensure that all new
volunteers are comfortable and well looked after (along with everyone else in
the office I might add).
The first
week of training far exceeded my expectations. The language classes were
comprehensive, the cultural training very informative and the sightseeing was an
added bonus! Staying at the Happy Home gave all the volunteers and opportunity
to get to know each other and makes you feel less like a tourist and more like a
volunteer. After returning from my 2 day stay at the training village (in
Dhulikhel) I chose to head straight to my placement in Devis Falls, Pokhara.
Arriving at Pokhara bus
station was an experience. Mobbed by taxi drivers before you even get off
the bus! My bus had arrived late so ‘Uncle’ from my host family wasn’t there to
pick me up as planned. After a phone call to Bicky it was all sorted. I
just had to fend off the 20 or so taxi drivers that decided to set up camp
around me until Uncle got there. Eventually I was on my way to my host family.
As a suggestion, perhaps a brief ‘fact sheet’ including phone numbers and
addresses could be created so that if a volunteer is stranded, they can get
themselves to the host family as phone service isn’t always available to call
the INFO office for help. (editor’s note: a fact sheet has since been created,
and all new volunteers receive a list of crucial contact numbers, instructions
and placement specific directions to help in the event of a mishap or an
emergency).
Arriving at the host
family home was both a relief and a bit unnerving. Unlike most of the
dilapidated houses in the area, the house was a newer brick house with clean
modern facilities. Unfortunately Uncle didn’t speak much English at all and my
Nepali wasn’t the best, so he wasn’t able to tell me much about the resource
centre, or where Aama and Buba were. I felt like a fish out of water…. I was
hoping that someone at some stage would be able to shed some light for me as I
hadn’t been given any information on the resource centre and what to expect.
That night, I met Buba, Aama and their two sons. The family was so welcoming and
the food was amazing. One of Aama’s sons who spoke English gave me a bit
of information about the resource centre or the ‘school’ as the locals had named
it. The school had been closed for a week since the departure of the last
volunteers so he’d have to put the word out that it was re-opening.
My first class at the
school was a bit of a shock. Kids between the ages of 5 and 13 came, some who
knew how to speak English and others who couldn’t speak a word. It was
going to be hard to tailor classes to deal with such varying degrees of language
skills. Luckily a few of the previous volunteers had kept a classroom register
with notes on what they had taught which made it a lot easier to determine what
to teach, what the kids liked and how to structure the classes. Something like
this should be maintained to help all future volunteers who arrive, especially
if they are on their own. Anyway, the kids were wild! They’d all bustle
into the classroom – almost spilling out the doors there were so many children.
A few days later, Kate,
one of the previous volunteers returned as her second placement was cancelled
due to teacher strikes in her area. Her arrival was such a relief. With as
many as 50 children or more attending some of the classes, the extra pair of
hands was really needed. Also, as Kate had taught at this school previously, she
was able to do a bit of an induction which was really helpful.
The local community at
Devis Falls didn’t appear to be as poor as some of the more remote locations of
Nepal that I had seen on my journey to the area, however, the social and
cultural issues in the community were still very real. Drugs, abuse and
alcoholism are devastating this community and the resource centre in this area
provides a safe haven for the children to come to instead of playing in the
streets. The local families were certainly appreciative of our work there
and would often come and sit outside to watch us teach the kids.
To say that my time at the
placement was smooth running from the start would be a lie. Sure, at times
we had hurdles to jump but these were equaled if not exceeded by triumphs. Being
here with these children isn’t just about teaching them English… it’s more than
that. From showing them that discipline doesn’t necessary come in the form of a
stick, teaching them about respecting the property of the school and of each
other, and encouraging them to follow their dreams and more, in the short 4
weeks I was there I could see all our hard work paying off.
Well, sadly my time here
in Nepal has come to an end. I look forward to returning some day to see all the
great work INFO Nepal has done and the positive results they have managed to
achieve. Volunteering with INFO Nepal has been an absolute pleasure – a
professional organization with such a bright future ahead of it. INFO Nepal
gives the opportunity for both volunteers to touch the lives of those less
fortunate, and for those less fortunate to touch our lives in return.
Alex’s Report – Prabatipur
When I first got to the
library in Prabatipur, the first thing I had to do was clear out the birds-nest
perched in one of the windows. Over the next two weeks I would have a running
battle with my sparrow nemesis, but I did not yet know that.
After the sparrows came
the children, in what appeared to my untutored eye to be hundreds, but was in
fact only about 20.
My time at the library
consisted of two shifts. One in the morning before the kids went to school and
one in the afternoon once they'd finished. In the mornings it was mostly the
younger kids, and the afternoon the older ones. The time was filled up with
reading, games, conversational classes, and (to the disgust of some) grammar
classes with the older ones. Although the classes were occasionally tiring on
their own, it was more the heat that was killing me, I walked around most of the
time looking like I'd just got out the bath.
The schedule left my days
free for…well…free for reading really. Here I tip my mental hat to those past
volunteers that who kindly left behind their novels. The novel section will soon
rival the more educational sections of the library!
I also started taking some
more formal English classes at the local schools (one government and one
private). As someone who has never done any teaching before it was quite
an experience, and while it's perhaps not something I would like to do for a
living, it's definitely something that I enjoyed for the time that I was there.
Throughout the time my
host family was fantastic giving the experience a feeling of stability that I
wouldn't associate with travel normally. All in all it was a great experience.
Good food, great family, great students (most of the time)
Jon and Rachel’s Report –
Gatlang
After a busy first week of
training which included sightseeing in Kathmandu, language classes, staying in
Happy Home, a short stay in Dhulikhel and a Nepali wedding we found out we would
be placed in Gatlang village in the Langtang region. We met Durga Tamang the
INFO host father from Gatlang who we took the bus with as far as Bon Dada (10-11
hours) before the road turns off to Goljung, then a two hour walk and we were at
Gatlang village and Durga’s house, where we met the rest of our family; Saki,
Durga’s wife, and Rasila and Pemba, their 2 small children.
The school building was
undergoing some construction work, which meant there was no fixed abode for the
INFO Nepal library and for the first while we would carry books, paper and pens
from the house to school and back. The classrooms are not locked and are used as
a general play area out of school hours so nothing could be left there. We
worked in the library from 7-9am then at the school from 10 until about 1pm then
at the library again from 4-6pm.
Being surrounded by such
beautiful scenery is constantly inspiring and Gatlang feels like a very special
place up in the mountains. Looking out at Langtang everyday made us want to trek
so we decided to go with Durga (who is a trekking guide) on a hike to Gosaikund,
then Langtang, and down via the Heritage Trail. It was awesome and we had
perfect weather. All the time we were trekking there was no school as the
teachers were on strike.
The school principal gave
us a lock for one of the old classrooms to keep the library in and soon we had a
regular group turning up (10-30 children at a time). Lots of the children coming
to the library sessions are quite young and mostly speak Tamang but they still
managed to pick up new English vocab. The children loved the chance to do some
drawing and colouring and soon our room was decorated with their art work. We
tried to vary the ages by making a time table but the same children kept coming
which was sometimes a little chaotic. At school the teaching was a lot more
structured for us as we taught the older classes every day and saw some real
improvement.
Overall our placement in
Gatlang was a great experience. Gatlang is a Tamang community, mostly Buddhist
and Christian with lots of interesting traditional dress. The area and culture
are fascinating and our family were lovely.
See some volunteer's
Testimonials:
http://www.INFO-Nepal.org/volunteers.htm
Monthly Newsletter:
http://www.INFO-Nepal.org/newsletter.htm
Current Volunteers :
www.INFO-Nepal\current_volunteers.htm
Latest Newsletters:
www.INFO-Nepal\current_volunteers.htm
