Photos

Photos top Laughing Buddha Restaurant and home of Rheka, sponsored child. Next Sumitra and her little brother. Dancing on the street for Tihar. Shree Pun's notebook from Literacy Program. New sponsor meets her child and a cow joins us for breakfast. Rheka and her mother in photo.

Dipawali or Tihar

It is Dipawali here in Nepal and it is a wonderful festival of light, music, dancing and flowers. The streets in Pokhara have been alive with children and adults dancing and singing. All the shops have candles and lights and flowers decorating their fronts. Tomorrow it is the day when the sisters honour their brothers by giving multicoloured tikas and flower malas. Businesses and government are closed for three days.
Today we were invited to Mann's parents for lunch, dahl bhat, which is rice, lentils and vegetables. It was a very nice day. Tomorrow we have been invited first to our little restaurant family to share in the tikka ceremony and then to one of our school principal's home for lunch and their celebrations. It is all very nice.
After this we only have one day left in Pokhara and that day will be spent visiting in Simpani again as we still have families to see and also meeting new ladies for the literacy program.
Tomorrow I will put some more photos on here.

Dipawali ko suva kamana (Happy Dipawali)

Photos

To the left is Pinky and Binita in clothes we gave. At the top Mann and Prakati. Top right is our oldest student Ram Shree Pun writing her name and my name. Above the sports equipment NEF bought for the Simpani school.

I must add that I looked at Ram Shree's school books and was amazed at how much she had learned. She has beautiful Nepali handwriting. Totally incredible in such a short time.

Another busy day in Simpani

We went shopping first thing this morning to buy sports equipment for the Simpani Government School. NEF purchased footballs, a volleyball and net, karom board, chess games, skipping ropes etc. This school had no sports or games equipment. We delievered this and then talked about another new and exciting project which is as follows:

We have had a donation from the Doha RFC Vets Wooden Spooners Rugby Club in Qatar. They have raised enough money to supply science equipment for a science lab at the Simpani school. The teacher here had no equipment at all for his classes 7 & 8. They have a room for it that they are going to paint and put glass in the windows. NEF is paying for the tables, stools and cupboard. Mann is pricing out the equipment and the tables will be ready in a couple of weeks. So the Lab should be up and running in one month. The school is truly grateful for this and it will make is so much easier for the students to learn the practical side of their science studies.
The Ruby Club is also sponsoring four little girls to go to school. These are Pinky, Prakati, Santi and Sumitra. Many, many thanks to this club for their support and making a difference to these children's lives.

I visited quite a few children in Simpani and this afternoon took Reka and her mummy from the restaurant shopping for a new outfit each. This is a gift from Bob. We had a hard time getting them to pick as they only wanted us to choose. We also bought decorations for the Tihar festival which is this weekend. On the way home Reka thanked us several times and said how lucky she was. Such a lovely and so grateful. The family lost everything in the landslide and somehow they always are smiling.

Women's Literacy Graduation

Well it was a wonderful day with our 23 women all receiving medals and certificates. They were so excited and it was very special. Some of the older women I thought would not finish not only did but want to continue. The principal made it a very nice ceremony with flowers, tea and cookies and an award for myself, Bob and Mann. Not necessary but very much appreciated. Many photos were taken, everyone wanted their pictures taken with us. It all lasted about two hours and I think it was a special day for all of us. I am so very proud of them. I had one award to give out and was going to give it to the lady with the best attendance but there was 3 who had only missed one day so I had to change it and give it to the highest achiever and that was a lady named Januka. I now belive that some of these ladies could go a long way maybe even get their class 10 exam. Now they are continuing and are going to start learning English. I told them that I had fallen down on my promise to keep studying Nepali at home because I had been so busy telling everyone at home about them and raising money for this program that I had no time left to learn Nepali but maybe next time they could speak to me in English. They all laughed at this. I told them how their sponsors at home thought so much of them and felt a spiritual link to them

We are now starting another beginner class so will have two classes running. The teacher wishes to teach both classes. She seemed to have a special relationship with the ladies.

We have 15 of these women sponsored now so 8 must feel left out. I hoping to have them all sponsored so let us see what we can do. $10 per month brings this much joy and hope to an otherwise illiterate woman. We are making a huge difference here and it feels very good. They have sure proven their worth. Our thanks also to Mann all has done such a great organizing and monitering this program.

Arrived in Pokhara

It was a very long journey today from 6am till we arrived here at 3:30 pm. The bus seemed unusually slow and it was very hot. Checked into the hotel and then went right to my favourite restarant for a cup of tea. We sponsored the 14 year old daughter of the family that run this restauant last spring. I am so tired that I cannot spell excuse this. I was so happy to see this family and they to see me. It is a tiny shop and the story of the family is this. They lost their home and livestock to a landslide in their village two years ago. They now have the job of running this restaurant. Since I was here in the spring they have lost their rented room as they said it was a wreck and in the monsoons it was flooded with water. They now have no home and sleep on the restaurant floor at night. Reka who we sponsored is such a lovely girl. Her sponsor pays for her three hours of extra tuition per day. So goes to school at 6 am returns at 4 pm and then she says she washes her clothes and then works as the waitress till 8 p. and then studies till 10 pm. This is the first time Bob has met her and he was so touched by her. The mother in spite of her hard life is always smiling. I sat there listening to tourists at another table talking of all their travels and wondered how these people felt who were so poor and who hear day in and day out how the rich westerners live. I felt like crying. Reka says she wants to be a doctor and was eager to show me her school work. She asked me how my Nepali was and I had to tell her that I had forgotton a lot and had been too busy to study much this summer.
tomorrow is the graduation for the ladies and I am so excited about it and so looking forward to seeing them all. We have certificates and medals for them all.
More on that tomorrow.

In Kathmandu

We arrived here in Nepal two days ago but our office computer is not working so I am having to use an internet shop.
I have seen some of our children and matched one new sponsor with a child. A little girl who was burned a year ago but is healed now but was sick with bad sores on her legs.
Tomorrow we are going to Pokhara on the bus and I will post photos here when I am there. The literacy ladies graduation is on Thursday and we are very much looking forward to that. I will let you know how that is along with photos.
The weather is sunny and warm. Mann and Sima at our apartment are well and happy and it was so good to see them and their adorable baby who is nearly walking now.
Till later in Pokhara. I have to meet someone now so have to rush.