Merry Christmas with lots of Thanks

As we are now into December I think it is time to say Merry Christmas. I also at this time wish to thank all of our sponsors for their support this year. I appreciate you all as without you I could not do the work that I love so much. As you all know from the newsletter and reading this blog we have accomplished a lot during the year and this will continue into 2008.
There are some businesses I would like to thank:

Chemainus Animal Hospital - Lori and Jay have been supporting us for sometime now.
Eggplant Inspiration - an internet card company http://www.eggplantinspiration.com/
Body Beautiful/Sun Rayz a beauty salon in Ontario
Orca Book Publishers who are in the process of sending children's books to Nepal for us to distribute
An apartment rental company and I do not know their name in Ontario

I hope these businesses do not mind me mentioning their names but we do truly appreciate your support.

A very big thank you to Larry who has taken over all my beer and pop recycling chores. This has been a huge job for me for years and now Larry picks up the many garbage bags of cans that are donated, cleans and takes them all back for me. Money from things like this help pay admin costs so that no money comes out of your donation and sponsor money for postage, computer ink etc.
This charity's base for all our work is from individuals who care about the children in Nepal and the help we are giving to educate them. We have sponsors from age 6 years to the late 80's and I am often very touched by the generosity of our sponsors. One example: two little girls who give up getting and buying presents so that they can sponsor two children in Nepal.
So everyone young, old and in between seasons greeting and many, many thanks.

Susan and Bob

Another Sponsor Meets their Child

It is always good when a sponsor gets to meet their sponsored child and their family. That happened today when Jim met his child, Bijaya. He visited with Bijaya and his brother and their parents. He said they made him some good milky tea and he very much enjoyed his visit. Bijay's brother Sarjeet, who is a budding artist, made Jim a picture. Jim went out to visit Kamal and the orphanage later in the day after visiting Boudanath temple with Jagat.

More Sad News

Samjhana and Shirjhana's father, who I wrote about earlier in this blog, died a few days ago. His wife who is ill with severe depression has returned to her village leaving the girls in the care of their uncle who is my friend Ram for now. Bishnu was about 40 years old but he would never have recovered from his brain injury and it would have been impossible for a 13 and 14 year to have looked after him and continued to go to school. I am hoping that the mother can recover enough to return and looked after her daughters.

Payment of 2008 Fees

A few people having been asking when they can pay their 2008 fee so I thought I should address this. You can send your payment anytime now and the deadline for 2008 will be February 15, 2008. This gives us time to process the payments and get them transferred to Nepal and to replace any sponsors who do not renew before the new school year begins. You can send your cheque or money order made out to Nepal Education Fund to the following address:

Susan Marshall
6718 Beaumont Ave.
Duncan, BC
Canada
V9L 5X8

Fees are the same:
Government school $75.00
Private $250.00

Last year we were able to put private school payments through a foundation and get a tax receipt but the fee then was $275 as we lost 10% for this service. I personally do not see the sense of this as I am sure you will not get $25.00 back on your taxes for this donation amount so then you are paying $25.00 extra to them for nothing. I really do not see this as viable but if anyone really wants it we will do it.

Krishna

This is a story of a young boy with an entreprenual spirit. He has been sponsored for a couple of years. Last spring he decided he did not need a new school uniform and asked if he could have the money instead which would have been about $20. My friend Ram who was looking after this for me agreed. Krishna then took the money and bought vegetables to sell on the street. He goes at 5am to get them and sells till 8am when he goes to school. He goes back after school to sell them again. This has been his routine since the spring and he has now saved $100. Most married women in Nepal wear a piece of gold jewelley, it is their custom. As his mother did not have any he bought her a piece from his money. He also bought a bike for 400 rupees and sold it for 500. He now wants to open a bank account to save his money for his future education but in Nepal you have to be 18 to do this and he is only 14. He is doing well in school also and reads and writes English now.

We liked this story as we know he will do well and has used our help in a different way but with a good result.

Back home in Canada

Arrived home two days ago after a few days with my mother in England.

It was a very successful trip to Nepal with lots accomplished. The new roof for the Tamangs, a store for Jagat, first college student enrolled, equipment for two poor schools, lots of children visited, some new matches and our first sponsor from New Zealand and I think Australia also.

Our children are doing so very well in school, two children standing first in the class and another second.

For those of you who remember the lady with the bad burns in the spring I am happy to say she is doing so very well now. When she saw me she came running with a big smile. She was so much happier and her gratitude was so evident.

We have some new plans of helping a poor school with more equipment. We are going to pick some schools and decided which is the most commited to working with us in this regard. The principal and teachers have to be dedicated to helping the students and in some government schools they are not. Certainly the Hattiban school will be one to be considered. We will use donation money for this.

The tea shop started in the spring is doing very well. With extra money that the sponsors sent her she bought a fridge for the shop so she could sell cold drinks and keep milk. I thought this was a great idea as it helps the business which supports the family.

I want to thank the Beauty Salon in Ontario for their donation which did so much with help for a poor family, school equipment, medical and some toward the roof. Thanks, of course to all sponsors. I have letters and photos for a lot of you which I will get out as fast as I can. Also thank you to an inspirational internet company called Eggplantinspiration.com. They sell cards and other products and a percentage of the price goes to a charity of choice. Ours is on the list and we have received money from them. Please check them out.

Photos are of the tea shop, Jagat's shop and our first college student Nauchhen and Mrs. Jalari (with the burns) looking so much better.

Visit to the Hospital

This morning I went to visit a man in the Bir Hospital. For those of you who were reading my blog the last time I was here you will remember the two little girls, Shirjhana and Samjhana who were living by themselves because their mother was in a mental hospital. The father had gone to work in dubai. Six months ago he developed meningitis and has been in hospital ever since. He was finally transferred back to Nepal three days ago. I have known this family for three years and they asked me to visit. The father is unable to speak or move much at all. There is nothing much they can do for him other than physiotherapy. They asked him if he knew me and he nodded his head. The mother is quite mentally ill and they do not like her at the hospital as she cries so much. The two little girls sit with him from 7am till 5pm. Two sad little faces gazing into his eyes and holding his hand. This was such a good little family, they were very poor but both parents worked, and now it has been shattered. Neither parent will ever work again and now they are having to pay to keep him in the hospital at least until he can eat by mouth and how they will look after him at home I do not know. The girls are doing really well in school but now they have this huge burden at 12 and 13 years old. I had a donation of $100 for medical costs and I gave it them.
The Bir Hospital is a horrible place. I don't think anyone in the Western World would complain about their medical care if they saw this place. I was there nearly an hour and did not even see a nurse, the family seems to care for the patient. There was a dead body in the bed next to Vishnu who I was visiting. It had been there for three hours. It is not much better than a cow shed. My friend said to me as we left and they were finally sliding this dead man into a van "What is Life"?. It sure does not count for much here.
It has been a sad year for us here in Nepal and also some changes. We leave for Delhi tomorrow afternoon and to London the day after. I have visited a lot of families and children but not all of them as there just has not been the time. More photos here when I return and I can download them easier. I have quite a lot of letters and many photos that I will get out to the sponsors as soon as possible.
On a personal note Bob, Grant and I have opened a little grocery shop for Jagat and his wife. The was our own money and money from Grant that he raised and not from the fund. It was something we wanted to do for a couple of years now. they are so excited and happy with it. It has given them a sense of purpose.
More on return to Canada

Our first College Student

Nauchhen is our first college student and we are very proud of her. She was referred to me a year and a half ago as she was so poor. Her two brothers look after her. She was going to quit school because of lack of funds. After we supported in her studies she went on to get an excellent mark in her school leaving certificate. I met with her and her brother and was touched by their gratitude and her dedication to her studies. Many thanks to her sponsor for her support. Nauchhen is an excellent student and individual and so worthwhile. Hopefully we have many more like her in the future.

Hattiban

Here is the photo of the new house roof. Not only did they put a new roof on but also made a new second floor plus a new porch roof. All for the price of $480.00. Not only were the family very happy with this but the whole village was so thankful that we had helped this family.

We also took balls and books to the village school. In the photo the children are playing with the new football. This was a very worthwhile project and we feel very pleased with the work done here.

Photos

Sumitra in her class.

The BK family who we helped with a donation

This is all the computer will allow me to download. A bit frustrating but such is the cyber world in Nepal.

Good work in Pokhara

Yesterday we went and visited the two schools where we have students in Pokhara. We took a football, volleyball and net to the government school and visited with the Principal at the private school. We took a man we met in the mountains with us. He is from New Zealand. He toured the school with us and visited families. He sponsored a little girl named Mankumari who followed him around everywhere holding his hand. This is our first sponsor from New Zealand, in fact from the Southern Hemisphere. With a donation from a beauty salon in Ontario we were able to help ManKumari's family with some rent and food. The father has left this mother with four little girls to care for and she has very little income from spinning wool.
I took some photos of another four children who the school brought to us as they are very poor. All our children here, 19 in all, were doing well.
Back in Kathmandu now after a long hot bus ride. Now my days will be full finishing up all I have to do before we leave.
The Tamang's house roof is finished and I am told that it looks really good and I am looking forward to seeing it this week.
We also have our first student in college. Her name is Nauhhen and she did extremely well in her school leaving exam and received a 92 in science. We are really proud of her. With our help she improved so much in the last two years and is now hoping to go into nursing.
Tomorrow I will try and put some photos up here. It can be slow and difficult. I want to share with you some of what I see.

Back from the Mountains

We have just returned to Pokhara from a wonderful four days in the mountains. It has been a rest. The weather was extremely hot and mostly we had cloudless skies. The mountain people are friendly and charming and the children delightful.
Tomorrow it is back to working with the families here and seeing the children. We are taking some sports equipment to the school and are using a donation to help a mother with four girls whose husband has left her. More on that tomorrow.

Pokhara

Arrived in Pokhara yesterday after a very tiring journey. It was extremely hot and after 6 hours on the bus we got off to visit 4 children in a town 25 kms from Pokhara. We visited dolma, Rubin, Puspa and Prishka here. Then took a broken down old car the rest of the way. today we visited all our children here, 15 in all. this area is really challenging as everyone is so poor and all close together. We are followed around and with so many in need in is hard to know who to help and it becomes frustrating as there is never enough to go round. We are a small ripple in a very large pond here. But the children we have helped are doing well. When we stop in a family's room for tea so many people pile in and the heat becomes unbearable.
Tomorrow we are going into the mountains for three days rest and then I will return to where we were today to finish off what we have to do here. I was given a donation for a poor family and I have picked a poor woman with four girls whose husband has left her because she did not bear him a son. She lives in a tin shack and after considering so many families I have picked her. So next week I will pay some rent and buy groceries for her.
the lady who was so badly burned last time I was here looked so much better today and she seemed happy.
Now I will go and shower all this sweat away from the oppressive heat and get some sleep.

Some of the Children

Kumar Lama, Milan (Kamal's baby) and some SBCH children doing homework.

Lots of Children Visited this Week

We have visited over 40 children this week. Everyone is doing fine. I have also visited a school today and talked with the principal. Paid for tutoring for some children and this afternoon went shopping for shoes etc. some of the student's shoes were falling apart and one child was borrowing someone else's shoes. It is wonderful to see the progress being made by the children in their studies and also in their personal appearance. One little girl in particular who was always dirty is now very neat and clean in appearance. Bob and I talked today of the difference we have seen in the families over the past three years.

The Tamang's roof is well under way. The old one torn off and contruction of the new has started. Unfortunately is it a long way from here so I cannot see it being done but I am told about it every day. When it is completed I will go and see it and take photos. I also have some more balls, world map etc to take to the school in Hattiban. Rajindra is who supervising the roof for me has told me that the whole village wants to thanks us for helping the deaf family. this money for the roof has come from donations and garage sale money so I pass on the thanks to you.
Tomorrow more families to visit and I am also going to spent the night at the orphanage.

Hattiban

Visted the village of Hattiban yesterday. We started the Tamang's new roof project by getting it measured and buying the corrugated tin and wood, bricks etc. Hopefully it will be finished by the time we leave so I can take a photo of it. The family is very happy about this, they do not hear or speak but the smiles on the faces show what they are thinking.

We also visited the school and took them a first aid box which was bought with money donated from an Ontario Beauty salon. Today we also went and bought a football and volley ball for them from the same donation. The one we had bought in the spring was totally worn out although they were still playing with it.

We have eight sponsored children here and we gave them all clothes which were uniforms from the Cowichan Station Traditional school which closed. The photos is of these children. This is a very poor village in the Kathmandu Valley.

Arrived in Kathmandu

This is the end of my second day and I have been busy visiting some families and the orphanage.

I visited Dawa's family yesterday. He is the little boy that died a month ago. It was very sad. The mother was very upset and there was not much I could do to console her. She was grateful for our help. She had no food so I bought her groceries which was the least I could do. the father was drunk somewhere. I cannot imagine this woman's life even though I am staring it in the face. Her younest son is up for adoption and that will be another loss for her. She says he will have a much better life.
I am at the orphanage now and everyone is fine there and the babies are a delight as they are 8 and 10 months now.
tomorrow we go to Hattiban and visit children there and see about a new roof for the Tamang family.

Leaving for Nepal

I am leaving for Nepal early Wednesday morning, the 19th. Thank you for the letters etc that I have been given to deliver. I will keep the blog updated while I am away as long as internet is available.
As usual the political situation is not that good in Nepal at this time but hopefully I will not encounter too many strikes etc.

Sad News about Dawa

I am sorry to have to write this but we lost Dawa Tamang yesterday. He died before a second operation could be performed to try and save him. It happened late in the evening and he was cremated in the middle of the night with Kamal, Jagat, his mother and a few relatives attending. His father did not attend and after he was told about his son he disappeared which left the mother to deal with the paper work and arrangements with the help of Jagat and Kamal.
This makes my heart very sad and it was caused by untreated ear infection for lack of money to take him to a doctor.
When I am in Nepal this time I am going to try to make it clear to families that when a child is sick they must let us know so we can deal with it early to hopefully stop this from happening in the future.
I know this little boy and his family well and my heart goes out to them especially to the mother who apparently was so brave.

Great News of Dawa

I have just heard that Dawa's surgery was very successful. Jagat and Kamal waited to 11 o'clock last night until the surgery was finished and sent these photos.

This is wonderful news. A little boy's life has been saved.

A local artist, Melanie Circle is having a silent auction on Sept. 2nd at a local art show to raise some money to help Dawa. More on this later for local sponsors who would like to attend.

Brain Surgery for Dawa

This is a sad story about a 10 year old boy called Dawa Tamang. He is one of our sponsored children from a very poor family in Katmandu. He was hospitalized a couple of weeks ago with suspected meningitis. He was admitted to the Children's Hospital which is a teaching hospital and they will allow poor families to pay half of the medical fees and give them free food. We paid for this and for his medications. He then needed a CAT scan as they suspected he had a brain abscess. Jagat and Kamal took him for this to another hospital and then a few days later went to the Bir Hospital in Kathmandu to see the doctor who told them he had an octogenic brain abscess and that he needed surgery immediately or he would become paralysed and probably die.

The cost for this would be about $660.00 and they only might be able to give him a slight deduction due to his poverty. We told them we would send the money and he is at the time of writing in surgery. I do not know what the prognosis is but Jagat tells me that the doctor says he will be okay. Our garage sale money will pay for some of it and the sponsor is helping also. Thank goodness we can do this or this little boy would die.

Jagat and Kamal have spent days at the hospital and waited hours to speak to doctors. Yesterday they were there from early morning and got home at midnight. They had to go and buy the blood and medications he needed for surgery in midst of huge political demonstrations.

I am relieved that we can help this child but what is so sad is that had we not provided the money this child's life would be over and he would have probably died a slow and painful death. How many children is this happening to in the third world? Also he got this from a untreated ear infection.

I am very grateful for Kamal and Jagat's dedication to helping this child.

I will keep you posted as to his progress.

A tarp for a leaking roof

From the garage sale money we purchased this tarp for a family in Hattiban. Their roof is in very bad shape and leaking. Really a problem during the monsoons. These parents are hearing and speech impaired and very poor. We also bought them some rice.

Returning to Nepal

I am returning to Nepal on September 19th just for one month this time. Due to luggage restrictions on the airline I am flying this time I can only take letters and very small items. I will be visiting as many families as possible in the time I am there.

New Photos of SBCH

Just received these new photos. Also news that all the children are doing well. They are just sitting their 1st term exams.

Another Successful Garage Sale

We had our second garage sale last Saturday and we made $557.00 making a total between the two sales of $2,357.00. This beats last year's total by $357.00.

The funds will be used to help children with extras such as tutoring, medical and other needs. We will also use it for special cases where some food and rent needs to be paid. For those of you who remember the story of Sanu and the debt she incurred going to work in Kuwait, with disastrous consequences, we will be paying off the final installment of $160 which clears that debt. She can now put this behind her and finish school and hopefully go to college.

Thank you to all who donated and helped to make these sales successful.

Pokhara children

Kamal has just returned from Pokhara and has sent these photos. These children all go to the same school.

With Kamal are Susmita, Sumitra, Asmita, Raju, Sita, Deep Jyoti, Deepa and Seriya.

Kamal and Susmita with a doll I gave her in March.

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Sujan

We first met Sujan in March this year when he followed us around wanting some children's sunglasses we had. Sujan is badly crossed eyed and can only see straight ahead by covering one eye and turning his head. He is also very poor. Medical treatment was out of the questions as the mother had no money for this. After we returned home a sponsor offered to help Sujan's family. Kamal has just brought Sujan and his mother to Kathmandu. They have spent two days this week at the eye hospital seeing doctors. It may be too late to help Sujan and he will eventually lose his sight. Apparently even two years ago they could have successfully operated. They have prescribed some glasses for him for two months and then he will be reassessed by the doctor. Hopefully they will be able to operate and help him. We will have to wait and see. Today he went home to Pokhara with his mother. They both had some new clothes and shoes which they badly needed.

Successful Garage Sale

In spite of rain and cold weather the garage sale was a success and we raised $1,723.00.

Thank you to all who donated and to those who helped out. Without all of you it would not have been possible. The money will be used for extra projects in the way of tuition, extra family needs, medical help etc. I will give details as these things happen. The guess the amount contest was won by Sandra Whiting who guessed the exact amount.

I still have a lot left over so I am having another sale in Duncan on June 30th. If any local sponsors would like to help out at this it would be wonderful. I realize it is a long weekend but I need a week's break.

These are photos I have just received from the SBCH. You will notice that we have new children and now have a total of 17.

Raffle for Doll

Thank you to all those that sent me suggestions for the doll. We have decided that a raffle would be best especially as that is what the donor had suggested. If any local sponsors would be willing to sell a book of tickets it would be appreciated. They are in books of 10 and are $2.00 each or 3 for $5.00. I have added a 2nd and 3rd prize also. 2nd is a leather knapsack from Nepal and 3rd a wool Nepali hat. The draw date is Sept. 1st.

Garage sale is happening this Saturday June 16 and Sunday 17th. If you have any stuff to drop off it can be taken to 2167 Calais Rd. off Lakes going towards Herd. Garage sale times are 8am to 2pm. Thanks to all who have donated so far.

Samjhana is Recovering at Home

Samjhana came home from the hospital a couple of days ago. She is doing well and it appears that the tumour was benign. Thank goodness for this. She is being well cared for by Kamal, Sema and Aama and baby Milan is very happy to have her back home.

Sewing Project at SBCH

Madhu and Mina in their newly made clothes

These are the latest creations from the sewing group at SBCH. This project continues to be very successful and the children not only love it but it has given them a lot of self esteem. Kamal buys a bolt of fabric at a time and as they improves he buys better quality.

Samjhana Recovering after Surgery

Samjhana, Kamal's wife at SBCH, is recovering in hospital after major surgery yesterday to remove a large tumour from an ovary. Hopefully everything will go well. We have all been very worried about her. Baby Milan is having a hard time without her and is not wanting to feed from a bottle. I will keep you posted as to her progress.

Garage Sale

We have changed the date of the garage sale to June 16th. Monica and I are both away on the weekend of June 2nd so would not be around to sort and pick things up. This gives us more time. If no one is at home when you call please do leave a message.

Our Children in Pokhara

Kamal has just returned from Pokhara where he was registering children and buying their books. He has just sent these photos. I did not realize we had so many children here but it really made me feel good to see them all in these photos so I wish to share them with you.

Address for Correspondence

I have had a lot of requests for an address for sponsors to write to their children. You can send any mail to the following address and it will be delived from there. Just put your envelope with the child's full name on it into another with this address on it. Remember that mail to and from Nepal can be very slow with letters taking up to three weeks to arrive.

Save Blessing Child's Home
G.P.O. Box 8975, E.P.C. 1093
Tutepani, Lalitpur
Nepal

Fundraiser - Garage Sale

We will be having our garage sale again this year on June 16th. Any local sponsors who have anything they would like to donate please call me at 746-0249 or 746-8936. We are quite willing to pick anything up that you cannot drop off. Drop off is at 6718 Beaumont Ave. Maple Bay.
Monica has very generously offered her driveway for the sale again. Last year we raised $2000 which was excellent and we were able to do some special projects with this money and also have some as a back up fund which we had never had before.

Back home in Canada

I returned home to Canada last Monday evening after spending five days in England on route.
All in all it has been a good three months with a lot accomplished in Nepal. Highlights were: the move to the new residence for the orphanage, the sewing project and the buying of the tea shop for the newly widowed lady and her family and paying the medical fees for the burned lady. These things were very successful. There were also all the new matches of sponsors and children. It was a busy time with good results.

Unfortunately I had trouble with photos. First back at the end of January I accidently deleted all my photos and we had to retake. The the day before I left Kathmandu I left my camera in a taxi which had almost 500 photos on it. I had tried to have them burned to a CD the previous day but the computers were down. All my friends tried all avenues to recover the camera but of course in a city of thousands of taxi cabs it was impossible. There were a lot of sponsors photos on there. Kamal and Jagat will retake but it will take some time. Some of the photos are irreplaceable. I am sorry about this but I feel terrible about it, so much work wasted.
Please be patient and you will get your photos but it may take some weeks. I have all the earlier ones that were taken but not the ones from the last month and some may be missing from the first lot that I deleted. Eventually all will be retaken.

Thank you for all your sponsorship renewals the families and children really appreciate it and thank you to all the new sponsors.

Susan

Our Trek into the Mountains

I have returned from a week in the mountains which has been wonderful in spite of bad weather, everything from snow, rain and hail. We did have some sun for a few days. A trip to Nepal does not seem complete without some time spent in the mountains as they are the essence of Nepal. The mountains, villages, animals and very friendly people are second to none. Long days of trekking is akin to meditation and clears the mind. I also trekked into a village where I visited a school six years ago. It was this school that gave me the inspiration to start the work that I am now doing. I wanted to see it again. I was happy to see that it was much improved from when I was last there. It seems every donation that they have had has been put to good use. They had made improvement all round and were continuing with such things as glass windows, science lab and a secondary school program since a little girl died while making the three hour walk back and forth to get higher education.

We also spent more time working in Pokhara. This is very rewarding. Great news to report. We were able to pay the medical debt of the lady who was so badly burned through a donation specified for this. It will be one of the highlights of the trip as the gratitude of the family and the organization where the money was owed was overwhelming. Now the family can get on with recovery.

I have left Bob in Pokhara for a couple of days as he is helping two grandmothers who have been left to look after their grandchildren. One lady was sleeping on the stone floor without even a mattress with her granddaugther. We have bought her a bed and mattress and now Bob is getting a bit more furniture for both of them. He wanted to do this as his donation. We also want to get some medical advice for a little boy who is crossed eyed so Bob will enquire about this.

I left half my heart in Pokhara and will leave the other half here when I leave next week. I have a lot left to do this week before I leave as there always seems to be things left to do and people to visit.

Holy Day in Nepal

Yesterday was Holy Day a festival which involves colour and water. Small bags of water with coloured dye in them are thrown from roof tops at people below. The water bags actually went on for two days before the festival. Yesterday though it was much worse and colour was also thrown and rubbed in your face and clothes. A lot of people just stay indoors. It is quite a sight to see. Kevin had fun having water fights with the kids at the shelter.

Today we bought a gas stove for the woman in the tiny room and she was really pleased with this. We were going to paint her room but she said if this happened she would be thrown out as then the landlord could re-rent it for more money. The walls and ceiling are black from the kerosene.

The Tamang family's mother has returned which is great news. We saw her there a couple of days ago. Tomorrow we are returning to Hattiban to see some children. Hope to go back to Pokhara on Wednesday although there are some rumblings about more strikes.

A day at the Zoo..... from Kamal

Kevin tooked zoo all the children the children was very happy. Projul also went us he don't want to keep that Madal at home . The children played many funny things and they looked many animals. Tomorrow is Festival colures. Festivel children will play each other with cloures and cloures water with balunes. Anyway see you all the best and have good luck. God bless to you. Here are pictures of children at Zoo with Kevin.

Kevin a big hit amongst the children at shelter.

Everything going well with Kevin. He has gone to see the temples with Kamal today. Yesterday he spent the day at the shelter and in the afternoon we went for a long walk through the fields around here. The sun was warm and reflecting the yellow of the mustard fields and it was all very beautiful. It gave Kevin a taste of the Nepali countryside.

Tonight he is going to stay in my room here and I will stay in his at the hotel. He loves spending time here and he will spend another night here on Friday. He is great with the children and wishes he could talk their language. He is enjoying riding on the back of the motorbike with Kamal. Tomorrow we are going to take him to the village of Hattiban where we have several children sponsored. It is a typical Nepali village so good for him to see.

Another sponsor with enjoyable visit with children

Kevin from Calgary arrived yesterday and today I took him to two schools which we toured. I took him to two families homes and to the SBCH shelter. He said so many times today that he is overwhelmed. He wanted to take the local bus which we did and I took him through old Kathmandu. He loves the children and played games with them at the orphanage. I was so happy to see him taking everything in and appreciating all that he saw. He thought Kamal was amazing and was impressed at how good he is with the children. He was so surprised at how much the children enjoyed seeing him and wants to spend a whole day playing with them when they are off school. It is gratifying being able to show someone from Canada all that we do here. Tomorrow we are going to see his sponsored child and her school.

This next photo is of a man selling fish that I picked up on my morning run saying what I thought was "Peace" and I said peace back but what he really was saying was "feech, feech" (fish, fish) I took him home with me and we bought a big feech which he then cut up and scaled for us. The children were very excited and thanked me for the fish. I was surprised at this, as in the west would children thank you for bringing home the dinner? It was a touching moment. There are so many of these cherished moments here.


This photo on left is of Moti. Moti is a wonderful young woman who helps us in Pokhara, and who does a lot of volunteer work for us. She supervises the children, helps with studies and keeps us updated on how they are doing. She also helps us pick the most needy children. She told me she always wanted to help poor children but financially cannot but through us she is able to fulfill her wish. Her help in invaluable.

Other's who help at the orphanage are of course Kamal and Samjhana shown here with their baby Milan, Jagat who is long time friend of Susan and who has helped her from the very start of the sponsoring and then we have Sima, another wonderful young lady who does very good and hard work at the orphange. She does cooking, cleaning, and spends time teaching the children with their home work.

We did buy the two sewing machines for our sewing classes and we have a teacher who will be teaching two hours per day for 6 days a week. She is only charging 1500 per month about $25. We are starting with Uma, Saku and Mina. I think this will really be a good thing. Now we have to get some fabric and supplies. Lara is sending some sewing supplies with Bob. I used her money for the machines and she is really pleased about that. Another 6 weeks to go and lots of work to accomplish to get the sewing class project off the ground before I get back in April. Namaste everyone.

Pokhara visit very rewarding.

Pokhara was a very rewarding time for us although very busy and long days. We are working in a very poor area like a refugee camp for poor people from villages. There were many sad cases here. The lady who was supposed to have been burned from cooking actually tried to kill herself by burning herself to death. Fortunately her husband awoke and saved her. We sponsored her little girl and bought them a two burner gas stove. Another little girl we sponsored her father was drunk and arrested by the Moaists some months ago and has not been seen since. We had long discussions here about who we should help.

A young lady named Moti helps us here. She told me she wanted to help poor children but could not afford to herself but by helping us she is fulfilling her wish. One boy aged 12 we met at the school had no school uniform or shoes. He was the only child in school without a uniform. He made himself known to us than then followed us for two days. We asked him into Moti's home and asked about his life. He had no parents and stayed with a man who was dumb and this is where he got his only meal of the day. He had recently returned to school and we told him if he would continue to go to school we would buy him his uniform which we did. To see this boy getting his new shoes was quite something. He was anxious as to when his uniform would be ready. We phoned last night and he will pick it up today. I am going to return to Pokhara again before I leave to see these children again and to see Sunil in his uniform.

Kamal and I both found this boy to be quite special and his persistance paid off. Susmita who I told you about recently had a very bad skin problem on her arms and legs. We gave the mother money to go to a doctor which she did the next day and she now is being treated with medication and returns to the doctor in a couple of weeks. Her mother was very concerned about this and now hopefully the problem will be cured.

A bright shining child's face stands out in a crowd of many

We are till in Pokhara today and have had two very full days so far here. The community we are working in is very poor. A lovely girl named Moti is working for us here and doing a good job. The Principal of the private school also very good and he just took us all out for supper.

A Little Girl named Sasmita

Sometimes a child shines in a crowd and this was the case with Sasmita. I was at the government school looking for one or two little girls. There were many children crowded around us but one little girl stood out from the rest. My eyes kept coming back to her. She was very poor, in ragged clothes, dirty and her shoes were broken, but her face was bright and alive. The children did not know what I was doing but I am sure Sasmita did. She is only 5 or 6 but very bright. I took her aside and we asked her about her family and then I asked the teacher about her. I was told she was a bright student but had no notebooks as her mother could not afford them. Her father left the mother to marry another woman and Sasmita has one older brother. She eagerly took us to her home to meet her mother. I was going to sponsor her for government school but changed my mind and gave her one of the private school sponsors.

When we told her we were going to put her into private school she giggled with delight. We borrowed a motorbike and took her shopping for school uniform, shoes etc. I also bought her a barbie type doll for 20 rupees. She put that in her bag and when she got home it was the first thing she pulled out and her smile lit up her face. This little girl must have good karma and that attracted her today to having her future changed. Something made her stand out today and she made me feel awfully good.

Another little girl we sponsored was in private school but her father could no longer keep her there as his wife has suffered very bad burns when her clothes caught on fire while cooking with kerosene. She came home from hospital today after many months and we went to visit her. She took off her clothes to her waist and showed us her exensive burns. I thought..... is it not enough to be so poor and then to suffer this also. She could only move very slowly. They lived in a tiny room that the father kept very neat and clean. The father worked in a stone quarry. They now have a large loan to pay the medical bills. I thought maybe tomorrow we would have a day off but I know Kamal wants to go back and make sure Sasmita gets her uniform picked up.