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Sunrise school has recessed, albeit briefly, in preparation for the coming Nepali year of 2066. Exams are being corrected, and scrutinised, and compiled, whilst 150 students wait for their results in about a week’s time.
The staff at Sunrise have organised a two-day school tour for a few dozen of the older students to Pokhara, a beautiful mountain and lakeside town about 6 hours west of Kathmandu. We leave on Sunday, about 10 teachers, 30-40 kids and a handful of volunteers. It will be a rare opportunity for students who never really take a holiday as we know it. Sure for festivals similar to our Christmas, they have holidays, but going places is mainly limited to religious festivals, and usually only a day trip is affordable.
Umbrella – On 14th March, two “Jadugar” (magicians) visited Sol-Himal Umbrella and performed two shows for about 400 people. WOW. The older you get the easier it is to sit back and enjoy the laughter and amazement on the faces of children. This day was no exception. The Umbrella kids have two weeks holidays to look forward to and a gang of creative volunteers devising ways to entertain and delight them.
Amy Mulcahy has been here 6 weeks now and has spent the last few weeks volunteering in Sol Himal-Umbrella, gaining valuable experience and also providing expertise to the staff and children alike. She has been a good friend throughout and a welcome fellow West Dubliner working for the good cause.
School Building – Nagarhope has been working with a Nepali Ngo called TEAM Nepal which has been instrumental in raising money to build a school in a small village called Talamarang, about 3-4 hours from Kathmandu due North East. A proposal has been drafted to construct three large classrooms which can accommodate over 150 children and will be open for use by Mid-May this year. The monsoon rains usually start late-May, after which very little building is done across Nepal. Nagarhope is funding 75% of the construction costs; the local villagers and parents of the students are providing 25% of the total cost through labour and preparation. Already, enough wood to construct the roof-frame has been felled, sand and rocks have been brought from the adjacent river-bed to build both the foundation and walls.
Kalimati Kids – Along the banks of one of Kathmandu’s dirtiest rivers, about 1 mile from the city centre is a place called Kalimati. One of Umbrella’s older kids, Sushil, himself a street kid in the past, has worked in Kalimati amongst Indian immigrants who live in slum conditions along the riverbank. There are dozens of such slums around Kathmandu. Sushil has already managed to send eight young boys to local schools. We are now in the process of admitting another 20 – 30 of these children into a local school.
Two Italian photographer -volunteers have been working with Sushil and Nagarhope – Nicoletta and Marco, and have been documenting the lives of the families living here. The majority of the men in these slums sell fruit for a living, whilst the women and children, especially boys older then 6, collect rubbish in giant sacks and sell it for recycling, getting little money in the process. Of 27 children we interviewed today, a local school will admit thirteen of them, the youngest and any who have had some education in the past. For the rest of them, we will rent a small premises and use it as a pre-school. The children who do go to school will have to come here every morning to wash, change into school dress, and collect their books and copies, and again in the afternoon when they finish. The principal has assisted us in looking for a small cheap room and has agreed to monitor the children’s progress and even provide extra classes if need be from specialised teachers.
Most of these children will still continue to collect rubbish in Kathmandu, some before school, some late into the night.
Another Italian photographer arrived yesterday to document some of the same aspects of Nepali children’s lives – Francesco. Both have been in contact with Nagarhope for some weeks, and together with Sushil, I am helping put them in contact with various Nepali organisations who deal directly with children in some form of conflict or oppression.
As much as is possible, we are aiming to help the children whom they shoot. Sushil has worked with slum and street children for a few years and is giving up his precious time to help his own kind.
To say that a lot has been going on is an under-statement. Since returning in February, Nagarhope has been busy, now that a new school year beckons, things are hectic. Hundreds of children are benefiting from our work here, more volunteers are enquiring about coming to help. There are still uphill battles to be fought, there are still many corners yet to turn.
Here’s to a successful and productive 2066, may the dreams of those without the hope of dreams, be realised and manifested.
Peace out.
Doc
Ktm, March 26 2009, 17:45pm
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