A quick but important Mission

After the usual relaxed 4 and a half our flight from Qatar to Katmandu Nepal. We hit the ground running. Quickly arriving at the hotel and within minutes we were back out on the street heading for an orphanage and home for the elderly unwanted. 

We spent most of the evening with them. 

Due to some recent local donations they did not need us to assist with the regular food stuffs. So instead we purchased 6 propane (LNG) gas cylinders to assist with their cooking needs. This amount will only last them about 2 months but it certainly helps them.

These kids there are great and extremely clever, because all the kids attend an english speaking school they all speak perfect English, sponsored by other kind individuals. 

Its easy for me to have long chats about my profession, interesting situations and geographical destinations as well as other points of interest they have,  it's good fun and they are very good kids.

Yolande and I are always amazed on how well they looks after each other in such a natural way. After all, they don't have allot guidance or examples, they do things like that with there own initiative. It's really a pleasure for us to visit and help them.

RED and friends the TUMI sister getting ready to leave the house

RED and the TUMIs worried about their weight, full of donations.. lol

Nice and close to Everest and almost ready to land in Katmandu

In Katmandu there is a special lane just for RED,, imagine that ;-)

After the flight and before a busy day. RED and the TUMIs need a little rest

Kinds in the orphanage know no different, they run and play having a good time like all other kids would

This little boy is new to this orphanage. He arrived just 7 days before we arrived, he comes from a village the other kids tell us, he speaks no english yet and is quite shy. the other kids take good care of him and we are glad they do. This little guys name is Modan and what sets him apart from the rest is that, he's blind

If you seen some of the earlier posts, you might recognise this little girl.. it's Binita. she seen Yolande from a distance and came running.. she's very sweet

Kids enjoying their dinner together, this is just some of them because there is not enough space for them all to eat together

Dinner with the Kids

The kids here do not need to be taught the basic things they must do, like wash their plates after eating. They are all on their own when it comes to taking care of themselves. They have shelter, food and many other kids around them, but little in the way of guidance. Having said that.. they seems to to just fine. Great kids.

They wash their dishes and wash them selves before getting dressed for school every morning

These guys are very clever good kids.  This is the boys room (one of them) where they typically sleep 3 to 5 to a bed.. yes in 1 bed !

Thanx to some kind donations, some of the kids got shoes and some other thing  ;-)

This little girl was happy to get out of her wet soiled cloths for these new donated cloths.

Simple things like these hair bands are greatly appreciated by any of the children. They are also very good at taking care of their belongings.

Binita, new cloths but sad we have to leave again.. with the promise of a return soon

It does not have to be said that this little girl appreciated her new cloths. She along with her sister and little brother are also new to this orphanage. The list is getting bigger not smaller.

Before leaving, a donation of basic vegetables arrived, as well as the gas Cylinders we purchased for cooking their meals

This is where the kids wash their own cloths.. the luxury of a wash machine does not exsist.

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After a good night sleep, we are up at 0530am .. Sort some things out, have a bite to eat and hit the streets. First stop after a hours drive out of Katmandu is the children's school. 

A short time before this trip the friends at the orphanage messaged us asking if we could help put 6 of the older kids in school, of course we would never denie these kids a education, so we sprung into action. Thanks to the help of some friends and acquaintances (namely the Troucott group and the CassiDy clan) we were easily able to get these kids enrolled for a full year with all exam fees tuition fees as well as transportation for all 6 kids. Bravo and thanks to all for the help.

It goes without saying that we had RED with us. Inside RED as well as inside the TUMI sisters we had loads of other donations from some very generous people. We also help stock up the orphanage with about a 3 months supply of dried goods like, rice, beans, oils, tea, sugar, chillies and some other basics that they require for their daily source of nutrition. It is always a action packed busy 12hrs, reaching the airport within 30 min of our departure back to Qatar .. Job well done and big thanks for the support on this RED adventure.

Even as we drive thru the streets we can find kids all over the place that just need the basic things

Most of the orphanages have PLENTY of donated cloths but very few of the street children have anything.

New shirt and new closed shoes.. this little boy.. was happy as can be

His older sister stood by quietly hoping that Yolande would find something for her to wear out of the back of the car where RED was riding.

Its so simple and easy to make kids happy here.

New shoes, new cloths.. good to go and by the condition of the clothes she had, it was good timing ;-)

This is the school that we come to enrol 6 children into. The orphanage managed to get the younger kids into their school but the older kids in higher grades were far to expensive for them to afford, they called on us for help and in turn we got help from some our friends (The Turcott Group and Jean Clan). it's with their kindness that we got all the kids into school for the entire year.

This is the school that we came to see and help enrol some of the kids. Its from 1st grade until year 9.

Meeting with the school President and the accountant… dont like accountants.. lol

After a lengths bit of bargaining, we got the kids exactly what they needed and then some ;-)
some say I can sell ice cubes to eskimos, well this time it was for a good cause.

Yolandes heart does not just go out to the kids, but even while we were making orders for the large purchases to deliver to the kids, Yolande spotted this old guy counting his few rupees to buy a few meals worth of rice. he left a happy man with 2 kgs of rice and some Lentils.. simple food but its what he wanted and was extremely grateful for this small act of kindness. avery little goes such a long way.

funny thing is, this trip we could not find a little truck to help us transport all the goods to the orphanage. we spend a long time searching one down. Just then we stopped a passing bus, made a quick deal… and next thing you know we were loading it up.. lol.. tooo much fun.

400kgs of rice, few hundred litres of cooking oils, beans, sugar, chillies, Tea, biscuits, noodles and some other stuff.. this little thing was over loaded to the max.. lol

No room in the doorway.. thru the window  boys.. lol

I was not in-charge of the packing but it all got in and we were on our way ;-)

The road to the orphanage can be fairly rural and in these areas we commonly see the elderly as well as children carrying extremely heavy loads for many kilometres to their home or village. 

A traditional respectful greeting

Looks funny, feels even funnier, but its an honour

Some of the goods unpacked and at the orphanage

The kids just got back from school shortly after we arrived.
To make note of money well spent, a few trips ago we arranged to buy school sport uniforms for the kids. we arranged with the tailors but could not stay for the end results. we were pleasantly surprised to see the uniforms in action and once again we have to thank the help we got from a few friends. 

These kids have been in this orphanage for most of the childhood lives, now attending grade 8 and 9, these are the 6 kids that are extremely happy to be able to attend school tomorrow and stay in school for the entire year.

RED.. happy to be back

A Great little Traditional dance the kids did for us.. just to cool

They even performed some old english songs for us. like this Clementine ;-)

The kids are not afraid of some hard work and happy to help out as they always are.

This little girl found a donated toy and that was that.. she claimed it as her own and would not let it go… cute.

The kids love to sit around chatting in english with us.

The kids typically walk about 1hr to school everyday

Its a nice rural walk to school 

A nice addition to the orphanage this time is some donated Goats. they will raise the goats and they sell them to help fund the orphanage. they do as much as they can on their own. 

A baby with a kid.. lol

When the kids first got to this orphanage after being evicted from the city, this is what the kitchen cooking area looked like

after some time and many visits, improving it little by little this is now what their kitchen looks like today.. 

This is the wash area where the kids wash before school and also wash thier cloths.

nothing could be closer to the truth.

well, it was 10hrs of flying, 7hrs of sleeping and 19hrs of pleasure.. 36hrs of our life, time well spend ;-)