This trip was purpose built, meaning it was the time to pay up on some school fees and other associated costs for 7 of the older kid who are now in High school. Of course thats not the only reason and the only thing we did.. the kids needed some shoes as well as some of the dry basics, that along with some generous donations made this trip a fun and productive one. Upon arriving in Kathmandu, I hooked up with the driver i have been using for more than a decade, Mr. Leela and his old black Benz, we set out and later Joined by Mr. Ramish, who has grown up in this orphanage and is now helping to keep things in order, and doing a great job.
Later on after leaving the kids we have known for nearly 7yrs now.. I happen to find yet another small orphanage that really needs some help.. I had little time and limited funds at this point.. but managed to work out some help and basic needs, as well as some generously donated items that I kept aside for just such an occasion.
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| Little RED and the TUMI heading out the door for another mission to Kathmandu, Nepal. |
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| Waiting to board the jet.. just rollin around the new international airport. |
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| Once on the Jet, i got comfy in the big seats while Little RED took his place in the overhead.. knowing in 5hrs or so we will be where we are needed ;-) |
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| Little RED arriving on the belts in Kathmandu international airport.. this is a place we know all to well ;-) |
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| There is no time for fooling around and we hit the streets with Mr. Leela and Mr. Ramish to help get things in order for the kids.. first stop was to get some shoes for the 42 children. |
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After some good natured bartering and finding all the different sizes of shoes required, we then set off looking for more of the basics.
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| As usual and keeping with our custom of helping out the little guys, we stopped at this shop where we purchased a great deal of the basic needs and some of the luxuries not afforded by the orphanages, things like shampoo, tooth paste and soaps. |
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| Ramish and I when thru some of the garden items to find the good ones that would last a while, freshness and longevity is important and finding that combination easier said than done. |
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Our extremely helpful driver Leela, assisted in getting the kids some apples, we needed about 50 apples, and this little bicycle apple cart guy was more than happy to oblige. The kids get nearly nothing in terms of fruits, so these apple represent a special treat for the kids.
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| Some of the local veg is different to what I know back home, so its very handy that Ramish was there to make sure we got the right things. By this time i was getting a bit concerned about Leela old black Benz. |
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| On a previous trip i'll never forget asking the kids.. "is there anything you guys really want?" expecting them to say typical things like.. toys, candy and the like.. thats not what my ears heard.. they said in unison, "chicken please".. I almost could not hear over the sound of my breaking heart. I then came to realise that with limited electricity, they do not have refrigeration and that combined with little to no financial resources . equals the painful fact that they dont get simplest of things.. like a meal with chicken.. so needless to say, every trip since we pick up about 5kg or more of chicken, knowing the kids will eat something they like. |
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| When we finished with some of the stuff.. I looked at our little pile of goods and thought about the little Black Benz.. |
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| 45kg bag of onions, 100kg sugar, 50kg of flour, 5kg chillies, 5kg tea, 5kg of Ghee, 10 boxes biscuits, 10 boxes noodles, 5kg garlic, 5kg ginger as well as 10kg beans, shampoos, tooth pastes, soaps and plenty of other stuff, including RED.. this little Benz is a tank. |
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Well since there was not room for much else we decided we should be on our way, but not until we made a mandatory stop at the kids high school.
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| Most of the roads in Nepal are not how you would find in other areas of the world. Some of the things you see along the way are also very unique and interesting. |
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St. Xavier is the name of the high school that 7 out of the 42 kids are attending. Here you can see me, one of the 7 kids and Ramish standing at the school entrance. its a very good school by local standards and has a strict English standard that follows a european type curriculum.
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| After all the paper work and bargaining formalities out of the way, it was time to pay up.. 7 kids, 7 tuitions, 12 months of school, 4 exams (each), transportation to and from (over 10km one way), lunch as well as needed stationaries.. sorted ;-) |
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| The typical classroom in the school. They attend school from 0700 until 15:00, 5 days a week and taught by local english speaking teachers. |
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| its not like schools you would find back in your home country, but it is a very effective school and fairly well run. The kids at the orphanage speak perfect english as a result. |
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| School rule.. english only on school grounds, if a student is caught speaking Nepali, they are fined 2 rupee (less than 5 cents) every offence.. not alot to some, but a big penalty to those who have nothing. |
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I sat and had a chat with one of the many teachers they have at this school.. since today was a Saturday, there was no classes in attendance and this local teacher gave me all the info there was to know about how things are done, as well as a little tour.. its a pretty strict school they run here.
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In Nepal not all kids have the luxury of owning toys, these kids spent their time playing with bricks.. and having a great time as well .. lol
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The final stretches to the orphanage can be quite a demanding drive in a heavily laden old black Benz.. I had to get out a push a few times but it was worth the efforts,, and a bit of fun as well.
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Every time i come here we get such a warm welcome. The kids are happy to see us and full of questions and stories about everything that happened since the last visit.
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Takes us half a day to get this stuff all loaded and takes the kids about 5 minutes to have it all unloaded and put in its proper places.. lol
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These kids do everything they can to help each other as well as anyone else. They are so well mannered and polite, i sometimes wonder what happened to the other kids i know in developed societies.
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The boys are not afraid of a little hard work with this 50kg bag of sugar.. lol
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Ramish helped hand out the shoes and watch over to make sure the right kids got the right sizes..
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The smallest of things are so greatly appreciated here. This little dude is adjusting his shoes for a comfy fit.
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| Remember those apples we bought earlier in the day.. once they took them, they went immediately into the wash, got cleaned and the kids washed their hands then stood in a very orderly queue while each of them received their apple.. something so simple can sometimes mean so much. |
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The kids found a couple of magazines tucked away in some of the donations we brought . full of western things not seen in this area.. they loved them,, and the boys with the football (soccer) players.. crazy .. lol
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| This is a look into one of the rooms. The kids sleep in bunk beds and share just about everything. There is no heat here, so winters can get very cold. |
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The school back packs which we helped purchase the last time we visited here.. glad to see they're still in working order, but we know next trip they will have to be replaced.
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This trip we received some very helpful donations for some extremely kind people we have around us.. these are 6 of the seven kids that we helped put thru hight school this year (the seventh kid you seen earlier photo at the school helping out) .. they thank you all very much for your kind generosity and helping them get what anyone deserves… an education.
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It was another great RED adventure and we cant wait until the next time we see all these guys again ;-)
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| Riding back towards Kathmandu i was thinking that I should help more.. maybe there are some more kids somewhere along the way…… |
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We later found this Orphanage n the way back to Kathmandu…. 25 kids and absolutely no funding at all. I didnt have to much time left in the day and funds were also running short, so we had to act fast ;-)
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Most of the kids were just sitting on the floor watching a 15 in black and white tv set .. because they are closer to the city they have some electricity, although its usually hit and miss.
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We had a small storage of donated cloths for just such an occasion . and proceeded to get these kids into some clean and warmer cloths.
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two of the girls in this orphanage spoke reasonable english so we threw them into the old black Benz and headed to a small shop to see if we could get them some of the basics.
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we didn't have much time as well as money but we took every minute and spent every cent we could before we left.. little RED was right there helping out ;-)
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These kids have not had anyone helping in quite some time and they were every excited to receive what little we could offer.
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Like all the kids here.. they are not afraid of a little hard work unloading the old Black Benz...
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I'm sure you will be seeing more of this little orphanage in the future.. they have noting and need a bit of help from those who can….
a good RED adventure… many more to come ;-) |
