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.