Visiting Simpani

Today finally things were back to normal, no strike or holiday and taxis were back to their regular prices.  We went to Simpani and visited with about 40 children at High Mount school.  They were all doing very well.  They all seem to grow so much between my visits that it is hard to recognize some.
There was only one problem and that was with a little boy named Manu.  They are so poor that they do not have enough money for food so he has been going to the temple and stealing the offerings, rupees and bits of rice so they can eat.  His mother has very deformed hands due to being burned and they are not usable so she cannot work and has no husband.  The grandmother does some spinning to pay the rent.  Manu is very likeable and has a happy personality and is regular at school everyday.

Susma who we sponsored last year as she has no parents and had come from the village to stay with a relative, had jumped two classes from UKG to class 2 in one year and was still getting 98 percent.  She is eight and had had very little schooling in the village.
It was good to see so many of the children.  We also paid a visit to the government school and donated a science book to the science lab there

Today everyone was very excited about the election results and it was the main topic of conversation.
The Congress party are well in the lead although final results will not be known for a few days due to the remoteness of the country.  I hope the result will bring peace to the country and an end to the ongoing strikes.  What everyone wants most is a constitution and hopefully they will get it.
I do not seem to be able to post photos tonight so will try again in the morning.

Visiting Children Yesterday

Here are some photos of visits to children yesterday in Pokhara.  Sanchu, his mother and sister with Sarjina and friends in their little room.  Little sisters Yolanda, Sushila and Urmila with their mother and baby brother.  Mann reading a letter from Merritt Rotary Club to their sponsored child Hemat.  Daumaya and Maya.  I was showing her a photo album containing photos of the children over the years that the sponsor had sent.

Kristi School

Yesterday we visited the Kristi School and took Marnie and Trevor Watkins there as they have helped with fundraising for the rebuilding of this village school.  It was a special visit and everyone was impressed with the effort of the school committee with the impressive job they had done with limited funds to rebuild the school.  We gave out uniforms from a school in the Cowichan Valley that has closed and the uniforms donated to NEF.  We also gave out toothpaste donated from Warmland Dentistry in Duncan.  The Watkins donated money for the painting of the school and for some desks. We were lucky to make it up to the village as the roads are dangerous as there is a nationwide strike and even tourists vehicles have been attacked.  We started work at this school three years ago when the old school was literally falling down and actually one classroom did collapse with children in it but fortunately no one was hurt.  Lori and Jay Pollock of Duncan also helped by having a fundraiser in Duncan for the school and also visited last year.

Photos

Here are the other two photos that belong to the previous post.  Jenny with Rahoul and the lunch with Doma.  It is very difficult to post photos on this iPad.

Busy Day

The Watkins took Doma, their sponsored child, and her Aunty and sister out for lunch today.  It was a two hour lunch and they enjoyed drawing pictures together and getting to know each other better.  At the end though it was time to say goodbye which they were sad about.
First thing this morning some students came to visit at the office.  Pradip, and his sister Parmila and then Deepesh and his sister Deepa and their mother.  They had travelled for two and a half hours to see us.  Pradip I have written about often on this blog as he is one of our biggest success stories.  We helped him get off the streets years ago where he was taking drugs.  He has gone on to finishing his class ten successfully and now is in his second year of college.  He goes to college from 6am to 11am and then works in a warehouse till 7pm six days a week and two hours on Saturdays.  He earns $50 per month for that.  I asked him if he was going to go to university as i know his sponsor would pay for him but he said as much as he would like to he has too many problems at home and must work.  He is the eldest son and they are so poor that he has to provide for the family as his father does not come home often and provides nothing.  I am very proud of him as he has come so far and is such a admirable young man.
We next visited the children's home,SBCH, where I have some sponsored children.  Santi, who lost her mother last year and her father this last April is living here now.  She has been through so much but today was looking healthy and happy, a big improvement in a few months.  Also we saw Jenny, the dog who was so sick in the spring and who I took to vets for treatment a couple times.  I really thought she was not going to make but thanks to two boys, Sargon and Rahoul, who followed all instructions and gave the medicines daily she recovered and was looking good today.  When we got there Rahoul was bathing her.
Photos of Pradip, Santi, Jenny and lunch with Doma

Lots of Strikes due to Upcoming Election

Our travel is quite hampered due to limited transportation due to strikes.  We are managing to see some children and to take our sponsors around but we have to be home before dark as their is a lot of unrest at night.  The election is on Tuesday and hopefully after that things will be back to normal.

We visited Smitri and Abiseka this morning who are close to the office and gave out some clothes to Sujan and his family.  It was nice to sit in the sun and watch Mann's little girl Liza take her brother Prem for a ride, he had just had a bath.

Sponsors Visit Their Child

Last night the Watkins family arrived in Nepal and today we took them to visit their sponsored child, Doma.  Doma lives with her Aunty Dickie and it is always a delight to visit there.  Doma is from the Everest region and she comes from a very large family.  The father has died and the mother is sick and unable to care for all her children.  It was a very good visit today and Aunty Dickie had cooked us rice pudding and curried vegetables.  She is a delightful lady.  Doma's sister Yanji was also sponsored through NEF for some years but now has graduated and next week is leaving to work in Malaysia.  The Watkins are going to take Doma, Yangi and Aunty Dickie out to lunch on Saturday.

Yesterday we were visiting Pradip, Prabu and Partima.  Pradip's sponsor had sent photos of the family that I had sent him over the years, he had had them laminated as well.  He also had made a collage of them that they can hang on the wall.  They were just delighted with them.  These families cannot afford photography so this is a really neat idea.  It was also interesting to how the children had grown over the years.  Photos of the Watkins and Doma, Yanji and Auny Dickie, Nanu another sponsored child and Pradip with the photos.  Nanu is wearing a sweater that was donated from a school that closed down on Vancouver Island.  They donated many boxes of these uniforms for the children in Nepal.

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