Thursday, November 15, 2012

Leaving Nepal

As usual when it is time to leave Nepal it is sad to say goodbye to so many friends, children, dogs and of course our Nepali family of Mann and Sima and their children and Jagat, Puspa and their children.

It has been a very busy trip with five different sponsors visiting and all the activities we have attended such as Kristi school and Phumbi Bumdi school etc.  Friends and sponsors Lori, Jay and Madelynn have been with us most of the time and they have thoroughly enjoyed their visit and seen things that they have never experienced before.

Things change in Kathmandu but not really for the better and the poverty never seems to improve.  I find myself wanting to help everywhere but know that this is not possible and have to keep my vision  of educating women and children in focus as this I feel is the only way to a better future and the best value for money.  Visiting some of our teenage students was very satisfying as I have seen them come so far and blossom.  Mann continues to do an excellent job in managing the charity and looking after sponsors when they visit.  Jagat still helps monitor children when he is not working as a trekking guide.  Chandra, who was working for us in Pokhara is now living in Kathmandu.  Unfortunately the shop he and his wife had he lost as the rent doubled and they could not afford it.  So I have asked him to work for us in Kathmandu and help Mann as he is becoming over worked.  Hopefully this will relieve Mann and the three can work well together.

NEF has been very lucky in having honest staff all these years and I can assure you that all your money goes to the cause.  I hear about other charities in Nepal that have financial and staff problems and feel so blessed with the success of NEF.  There are always small problems with some families as nothing is 100 percent but we deal with these as they come along but I can honestly say our track record with the children is extremely high.  I have seen many of them grow up into successful young men and women and this is very satisfying.  Likewise the schools we have assisted have helped hundreds of children have a better learning environment and education.

I look forward to returning to Nepal in March when I will visit all the children and schools.  Hopefully we will have another dental program at that time as well.  I matched three new children on this trip for the new school year in April.  We have five government children waiting for sponsors.

The photos below we're of the dog Tihar festival.  Madelynn and Mann with puppies and Lori with her mother and sister's sponsored children Prakash and Rabina.

I will post more photos here when I get home on the weekend as I am having problems downloading them.

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