INFO Nepal - Monthly Newsletter
September 2007
 

THE NEW CHITWAN HAPPY HOME IS UP AND RUNNING!!
We have some very good news regarding our new Happy Home in Chitwan.  It is finally up and running!  On September 6^th, after having moved in all the materials, four INFO Nepal volunteers and one Nepali staff member welcomed the 13 children to the New Happy Home.  The children are 6 to 9 years old.  They attend an English Medium School every day, from nursery through class 2.  Three of the children are from the Happy Home in Kathmandu, four are from Sauraha, and six were brought from the Goljung region of Langtang.

Thanks to our volunteer and staff, everything seems to be running quite smoothly at the Happy Home.  The lice and scabies from the children’s hair and arms are gone (thanks in great part to Helen Henderson’s nursing skills!), and the children have adjusted to their new environment.

At the new Happy Home, we have built nine rooms – one kitchen, one dining room, one large study hall, two rooms for volunteers, and four rooms for the children.  There is, additionally, a beautiful garden and playground in the backyard, a library of 500 books, some games (including the much-loved Caram Board), a fridge/freezer, and even a TV/DVD! 

Past volunteers may remember Tenjing, Mingma, and Sarita from the Happy Home in Kathmandu.  To update you on what they think of their new lives in Ganganagar, Chitwan:  Tenjing is very happy to be in Chitwan Happy Home but he is missing Nawarash.  Mingma is enjoying the rural setting, as she is able to go to the Rapatip River on the weekends for fishing.  She is also being a very good help to Mumy as well as the other children.  Sarita was a little worried about the heat of Chitwan at first, but has now realized that when winter arrives she will still be able to take hot showers, so now she is quite happy!  All three children, being very experienced in the running of Happy Home, have now taken on leadership roles in Chitwan.

We would like to thank Colm McKeown, Helen Henderson, Annelen Schartner, and Roland Trauer for their help in the first month of operation at the Happy Home.  Without their help and input, such a smooth start to our Happy Home would not have been possible.

F.Y.I. We will be sending our children back to their villages for the Dashain Festival.  When they return, we will make a two-year plan for each child.  If you are hoping to sponsor a child, please contact us and we will send you the children’s details after Dashain, when the children have returned from their villages.

OUR NEWEST PLACEMENT – SOLOKHUMBU DISTRICT

Thanks to our volunteer, Spela Sebjanic, we have started a new placement in the Solokhumbu area of Nepal.  Spela traveled independently to this region, wanting to make contact with a more remote, and just as direly in need, place.  Upon her return, Spela couldn’t say enough good things about her school and host family.  This peaked the attention of another volunteer, Andrea Fall.  She promptly dropped her plan to go to Pokhara, and instead journeyed the 11 hour bus ride and 5 day walk to get to Mude.  She will be there for 6 weeks teaching English at the local school.

Because of the initiative of these two volunteers, INFO has decided to expand the placement in this area of Nepal.  We have now made contact with three remote hillside schools in Solokhumbu, all a 1-hour walk from one another.  Roughly 200km East of Kathmandu, and home of Mount Everest, Solokhumbu is now our most remote placement.

One of the three schools with whom we have made contact has now received two volunteers, but the other schools have never had a volunteer and they are very eager to receive help from our future volunteers.  For those with English skills and teaching confidence, do not hesitate to experience the unique and wonderfully friendly culture of the Solokhumbu area while helping to improve the quality of teaching in this remote area of Nepal.

To hear more about our volunteers’ experiences in this placement, contact them at:

Spela: spela.sebjanic@gmail.com

Andrea: andrea_fall@freemail.hu

To receive more details about the three placements we have established in the Solokhumbu area, contact Brittany or Asim at infonepal@mail.com.np

OUT WITH THE OLD, IN WITH THE NEW

September marked the end of Mr. Ryan Betters' time at INFO Nepal.  He had worked as our Volunteer Coordinator for 10 months, being a reliable and helpful figure for the staff and volunteers.  We were very sad to see him go and we will miss him terribly.

The good news, however, is that in his place we have found a fantastic replacement.  Brittany Sears started as the new Volunteer Coordinator at the end of August and has quickly learned the ropes here at INFO Nepal.  Please direct any future queries to her.

Ed Kerry, 14th August – 14th September 2007

Placement in Thula Khet, Pokhara

Arriving at Kathmandu airport was a bewildering experience, with about thirty taxi drivers all trying to grab my bags and lead me to their car. Somehow, I managed to meet up with another Info volunteer and we were soon on our way to the guesthouse for the first night. The traffic was incredible to watch, and we had our first accident (a minor bump) within 10 minutes! Bicky took us out to dinner and made us feel very welcome, and the next day we moved to the Happy Home orphanage.

All the children had been moved from Happy Home as the new orphanage in Chitwan was about to open, so there were only volunteers staying in Kathmandu. I had a few days of sightseeing, cultural training and language lessons, which were very useful for bartering in the shops of Thamel! I was able to practice the language more at the training village where I spent one night with a host family to get a taste of Nepali life. The family was very hospitable and made me feel welcome with a huge plate of dhal baat and a comfortable room.

My placement was at a resource centre in the village of Thulakhet, about an hour's bus journey from Pokhara. It made for a relaxing and very welcome change from the noise and pollution of Kathmandu. The host family was again very welcoming, and made me feel like part of the family. I was allowed to help with a few household tasks such as cutting grass for the buffalo, but they were very concerned about me getting too tired and often refused to let me help! The village is in a beautiful location, at the end of the Pokhara valley, with the lake and city just visible. There is a perfectly clear river that is great for swimming, and you can see the Annapurna peaks on a clear day. The room was quite basic, with a very healthy complement of rats, spiders and cockroaches, and a mattress made of wood, but I soon became accustomed to it and eventually found it quite cosy!

A typical day at the placement involved getting up at about 6am, teaching one class from 7-8am, and another from 8-9am. The first class had anything from 3 to 15 children in it, aged around 2-5 years old, and it was hard to teach them anything more advanced than the alphabet, so this lesson usually descended into chaos and plenty of clapping, running and jumping games! The second lesson had children aged from 7 to 10, and was much more relaxed. I was able to teach a range of different things, from the months of the year, past and future tense, geography, different musical instruments, animals and likes and dislikes. The standard of English was variable, and some students struggled. The more advanced children would often finish their own work and then take over from the weaker children, simply writing in their books. There seems to be an attitude that as long as the work is completed, it does not matter who wrote or understood it. I made some headway in changing this.

After my morning classes at the centre, I volunteered at the nearby primary school, which was a bit of a shock. The school had five classes and only four teachers. However, the teachers spent the majority of the day chatting in the staff room, so usually at least three classes were without supervision. Teaching here was a challenge, as the children would copy things from the board without trying to comprehend what I was saying. I observed this behaviour in Nepali, history and maths classes as well, and the teachers accepted it as unchangeable. The teacher's level of English was quite poor, and they admitted that they sometimes had difficulty with the textbook! I had to point out to them where England was on a map. The school had no resources to speak of, and it was not a good advertisement for government education. It did show that the resource centre was working well, as the children that attended had a much better understanding of English than those that relied solely on the school!

In the evening, I would teach another class of slightly older students at the resource centre, most of them attending the nearby secondary school. It seems that the standard of education improves dramatically at secondary level in Thulakhet, as the English spoken in this class covered similar topics to the morning, but at much faster pace and in more depth. All the students had confidence and ability with both spoken and written English, and look forward to the classes immensely. They were very unhappy when Saturday arrived and no lessons took place!

I thoroughly enjoyed my time in Thulakhet and Nepal. As well as teaching, I managed to spend a weekend in the Chitwan jungle, and take a 5-day trek around Pokhara. Unfortunately visiting during the monsoon meant that the clouds obscured the mountains and the leeches were out in force, but this did not distract from the experience. I would certainly recommend spending time in beautiful Thulakhet with the wonderful host family. I am certain that the volunteers, resource centre and InfoNepal are making a truly positive impact on the children of the village.

Anisha Patel – UK

Trekking 

Rising at the crack of dawn to walk for an average of 7 hours a day, hauling yourself uphill backpack in tow, struggling not to slip in 6 inches of snow and a serious lack of hot showers may not seem like everyone’s ideal way to spend 4 days – but put yourself in the stunning surroundings of the Annapurna mountain range, with breathe-taking views, fresh air, and isolation from the commotion of city life, and you may have one of the most unforgettable and amazing experiences of your life. 

When I was initially planning my gap year travelling, I knew Nepal had to be one of my stops: not only to absorb the culture of such a fascinating and diverse nation, but also to experience the enormity of natural beauty it had to offer.  It was my first time doing serious trekking, so naturally I was concerned at my ability to do it, but the team at INFO was ever- obliging and great in reassuring me, especially Bicky, who accompanied us as our very entertaining and good-humored guide. 

Though tough at times, the overall experience of the trek was fantastic – I don’t think I have ever done anything as physically challenging that left me with such a sense of accomplishment at the end. The diverse landscape also meant you were constantly taking in a range of views of the vast terrain: from lush green covered hills, to blankets of fresh snow and muddy woodland.  

Even though The Royal Trek is one of the easier treks, there were some grueling parts (especially since I am not the epitome of fitness): at one point, we had to climb 3,300 steps up to Ulleri, the village where we spent our first night. After what felt like a never ending experience, especially as the sun had disappeared, and being extremely sweaty from the mornings stretch, all I wanted to do was have a nice hot shower, and not climb thousands of steps uphill. Getting to the top was tremendously fulfilling though, as well as a great relief, and it was exciting to see our first bits of snow. Having some snow on the trek definitely turned out to be a lot of fun – the boys certainly enjoyed attempting to play various sports using snow, including heading a ‘football’ and using a stick as a make-shift baseball bat. It also added to the picturesque surroundings, which were so tranquil and beautiful – at times, I felt like I was walking through the forests in Narnia. I remember a moment when we got to the top of a snow-topped peak, we were greeted with the most amazing 360 degree view of the mountain range – it was brilliant! But sometimes, it became less visually appealing, and posed as an additional obstacle… 

Walking downhill in the snow turned out to be a more arduous and difficult task than it first appeared, and after slipping and falling more than a few times, I found myself wishing for a pair of ski’s – it would’ve been faster and probably a lot easier! The boys were slightly more adventurous than me going down the big slopes – they just slid down on their bums! Something I refused to do at first, because let’s face it; frost bite on your behind is never a good thing. I must admit at one point, I became increasingly infuriated at my lack of pace compared to them and attempted to crouch and slide down a hill. But whilst I tried not to get too close to the edge (as there was a considerable drop down), I managed to flip myself over onto my side and crashed into the guys. Not so good, but very entertaining for the rest of the group… 

Climbing Poon Hill to see the sunrise was an incredible highlight – though getting up at 5am and then going out into the bitter cold and total darkness of the early hours, aided by only a torch to climb 400m was not my idea of the perfect Sunday morning. Nevertheless, making it to the top in time to see the luminous hue of orange creeping into the sapphire blue skyline, casting its warm rays onto the snow capped mountains whilst sipping on hot chocolate was absolutely sumptuous. What came to follow the spectacle of the sunrise, however, was possibly the hardest thing I have done – I think I pushed every bone, muscle, ligament, and all my other body parts to the maximum. We knew we had a good 8-9 hour walk ahead of us, so we set off early, walking 5 hours straight. After the first few hours, the sun had gone away, and the surfaces seemed more slippery than usual. I was beginning to think, “Why am I doing this to myself?” -  I was cold, tired, and hungry, my feet were wet, and it felt like our destination was miles away. Regardless, after a quick stop for lunch, we carried on another 3 hours to Ghandruk, our resting place for the night. I’ve never been happier to see a trekker’s lodge than I was at that moment. I remember hugging Bicky and saying, “We did it!” – 10 ½ hours of walking, finishing in one day what most people take a day and a half to do.  

Sometimes the best part of trekking was reaching your destination triumphantly, the trekkers lodge, at the end of a day’s walk. With cold, often wet feet, exhausted, and in need of a hearty meal, it was almost decadent warming myself by a nice fire with a hot cup of tea, accompanied by other trekkers from all over the world. The lodges, though basic, boasted a lively, spirited atmosphere - with only our banter to keep us entertained, we sat around the fire exchanging life and travel stories. It was also great being able eating copious amounts of food as this was probably one of the only times that I could eat so many carbs without wanting to kill myself! Finally, the evenings would end with people dropping into their beds one by one at shamefully early hours (I think 7:30pm was the most disgraceful of my bed times…). 

At the end of the trek, I was left with blistered feet, bruised toe nails and aching muscles – but I also had the most amazing and cherished memories of a fantastic expedition that rounded up my experience in Nepal perfectly – all thanks to the brilliant team at INFO Nepal. I’m already planning when I can return to try a more challenging trek!

Orphanage Placement 

I have to admit, being the first stop in our travels, and our first placement, the thought of staying here for a month was a bit daunting – but at the same time, exciting, because I knew I would learn so much from it. I had decided that I wanted to volunteer in an orphanage rather than teach because I wanted to really give something back to children who weren’t as fortunate as me to have a stable family growing up.

Having stayed at the Happy Home for the first two weeks, any daunting thoughts were firmly expelled – the warm, welcoming atmosphere created by Asim and his family really made me and Menisha feel at home. He had warned us though that the orphanage we would be placed at wouldn’t be as comfortable as the Happy Home, which was described as the ‘Club Med’ of orphanages. But I had gone in with no preconceptions, and the beautiful, beaming smiles from the innocent faces of the children was enough to settle us in. They were what I can only describe as amazing – full of life, energetic, and always polite and courteous. I often found myself thinking back to how children in the UK had lost these basic childhood traits. All the children we had met in Nepal had been absolute gems, and the children at the orphanage were no exception. I was deeply touched by how cheerful and content they were with what little they had, and how much love they showed us: they were always singing and dancing with us, making us gifts, and above all, smiling. I wondered if I would have anything to offer them, and whether I could make a long-lasting difference. 

We mainly helped with the daily runnings of the orphanage. At only 22 years old, Ram looks after all the children at the orphanage, as well as his own two young boys. He’s the same age as me, but you’d never guess it. He does so much more than just running the orphanage; he is like a father figure, or at least an older brother, to all the children. It’s quite remarkable how selfless this young man is – there is so much genuine love from his heart to every one of these children. During the week we would help get the children ready for school, getting them their breakfast and making sure they were washed and that their homework was done. The evenings would involve us helping them with their homework, playing with them, and serving them dinner, before seeing them off to bed. It’s emotionally and physically draining work looking after 31 kids, especially when you consider the extremely tragic and heartbreaking circumstances of most the children, their ages ranging from 3 to 15. You can understand why they crave the love and attention.  It’s incredible to think Ram normally does this single-handedly. 

His hospitality to us was unbelievable; he was always looking out for us and making sure we were comfortable and happy. He often took us out to explore the charming village of Dhapasi whilst the children were at school, and took great care of us. It was rewarding to show him our appreciation for his kindness by helping him with his English - he had such a determination to learn, and it was a pleasure to help him, as well as the children with their studies. There were some real bright sparks amongst the children - their English is surprisingly good, better than I would have thought, really putting my knowledge of two sentences of Nepali to shame! 

It was difficult at times as my energy levels tended to wane, but I had to keep remembering why I was there and what I was doing. It was heart-warming seeing them after they got home from school or after we returned from a days’ outings, watching them pour onto the balcony from below, waving and shouts of ‘Hello Anisha sister’. Sometimes, your presence means so much to them: just being there for them and giving them support whilst teaching them a few basic life skills along the way was appreciated so much. William, the previous volunteer, had taught the children valuable lessons, such as always washing their hands before and after a meal, and they took great pride in holding their soap scented hands to our noses to show that they had remembered.   

Our last day there was particularly memorable – we had bought the children a new football to play with, and some sweets and chocolates. It was fantastic seeing the children sitting patiently waiting for us to hand them their treats, as opposed to crowding around us chaotically as we’d experienced when we first arrived. We had showed them how to be orderly, patient and wait their turn. They also had a lovely leaving ceremony for us, where we were completely showered with flowers, hugs and kisses, and had more red powder thrown at us, after having just removed the last remains from Holi. It was so sad leaving them and saying our goodbyes – as our cab pulled away they once again poured onto the balcony waving, faces still beaming. 

One of the young girls whispered to me as I left, “Never forget us” – and I never will. Nor will they forget us. It was an absolutely brilliant and worthwhile experience, and I learnt that although you might not change their world completely, you can still give them hope for a better future. 

Dimple’s Placement – Street Children Project, Pokhara

Well where can I start, this has been the most amazing and unique experience of my life. When I first arrived in Kathmandu.  I was incredibly nervous but those nerves soon went away after meeting other volunteers. I had so much fun meeting everyone else in my group and sightseeing. We spent a few days getting used to the culture and the food, learning Nepali was helpful with my placement. The training village was a major cultural shock on the first night and I barely slept but the next few days went by too quickly. I really enjoyed hiking up to see what Pashupati called 'heaven' and it really was. The views were spectacular and what amazed me even more was how a single rock kept five volunteers and three kids amused for almost two hours. Life at the training village was difficult at times, (We didn’t shower for two days) but it’s the families that make your stay memorable.

After returning from Dhulikhel (and after a much needed hot shower) we went for dinner (…and drinks) at happy home. We were out until two in the morning knowing we had a 6 o'clock start the next day. We spent the next two days rafting and camping. It was a challenge trying to sleep in a hot tent with scorpions around us but we managed a good two hours. Chitwan was a lot more luxurious (…we had a bed to sleep on). I will never forget riding the elephant into the river and bathing it.

After all the activities, I arrived at my placement in Pokhara only to be down and out with flu. Ramesh my host father was a great help in looking after me for the next few days. I spent just under three weeks at my placement at the orphanage. The kids were brilliant and I wish I were there another month. I was excited when Asim gave us money to decorate the classroom and it now looks like a place where children can learn. The kids despite their naughty outbursts were very cute and I did contemplate sneaking one into my suitcase. We laughed, we played, we had so much fun being creative with the resources we had. On my last day I had a mixture of emotions, I was extremely sad to leave but I was happy knowing that I had contributed to the orphanage in some way.

It has been difficult to say bye to Nepal. I have shared some unforgettable moments with amazing people and I hope I can return someday very soon.

Jon and Rachel

Nirmal Pokhari, Pokhara

We spent nearly 2 weeks at the Nimal Pokhari placement. It is about an hour bus ride from Pokhara in a hilly jungle area. It is a lush area, they grow bananas, coffee, pineapples and oranges. We helped plant rice when we were there. We stayed with a lovely family who cooked really great food everyday and invited us to a family wedding.

The placement in the resource library was fun and very popular with the children. Lots of the older children can already speak quite good English due to private school education and especially loved the games we played at the library. The younger children really seemed to benefit from the extra English.

We also visited the orphanage in Pokhara for street kids. It is a new project that Info Nepal is beginning to support and seems to be very worthwhile. 

Sue Thomas' report -  July/Aug 07

Pokhara

After a quick training in Kathmandu,  including excellent Nepali lessons from Rama and a memorable visit to the  training village of Dhulikhel , I was quickly off to Pokhara to work at a new orphanage for street children for a 14 day  placement.

James – my co-volunteer – and I taught English in the mornings to about 22 children ranging from 5 – 14 yrs..  We also took them off to play football, and had visits for splashing and washing at a local "waterfall", and generally got totally involved with life at the orphanage.

I had brought musical instruments  with me - bells, claves, triangles, drums, a guiro, a slidewhistle, a gazoo – also lots of scarves ( wish I had brought more) - and my lessons were almost totally music based – singing, playing. using scarves  and dancing – but teaching them English through this medium.  I had the most enormous fun doing this – and the kids responded with enormous enthusiasm.

This has been the most magical 3 weeks for me – meeting so many wonderful, friendly Nepali people, living in Pokhara with probably the most hospitable family ( Ramesh and Deeta ) you could ever meet, and really experiencing Nepali life  - and food!The children, who had nothing but the clothes they stood up in, gave out so much love and friendship and fun – I will never forget them.