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It was time for RED and I to catch up on some school fees pending as well as a little up keep of the kids. Did a little shoe shopping as well as a stock up of the basic food necessities. It was great to catch up with the kids again and as usual, they were all very enthusiastic in meeting and chatting with me, telling me all about everything that has happened since my last visit.
Our Journey starts out as it has for the past neatly 10yrs.. scrambling to select the things you know they might most need during this time of year, trying to make sure we are watching the weight restrictions and making sure things are packed in such a way that we don't encounter heavy scrutiny by the customs and other officials upon entry into Nepal.. its a bit of a stress but its also allot of fun .. lol .. right up my alley one might say ;-)
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| RED patiently waits as i run around exchanging currencies, look for our boarding gate, while making new traveling friends |
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| Upon reaching the kids after the relatively easy flight and lengthy drive.. The smiles and the general welcome i always receive is heart warming.. they always have a tea made and a hand crafted flower necklace or other form of traditional respectful welcome gestures.. I always feel as welcome here as i would in my own home. |
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I could not stay very long this trip, as I was only in town for less than 24hrs and had to make every minute count.. the kids understood this and helped me execute my less than perfect plans.. lol
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I always ask the kids what they need that i'm not already aware of and unanimosly they said they needed shoes. Well ok then, shoes it is. Since I have been doing this for a while now, I have learned to bring some backup cash, because this kind of thing is always sure to spring up ;-)
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| There are no malls, or big western style shopping centres, just small family run operations that get most of their supplies from bordering china. I'm always surprised on how well stocked some of these less assuming places actually are. |
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| About an hour later and lots of negotiations, we have 3 full bags and shoes for over 50 kids.. PERFECT |
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| Of course I always top up their basic food supplies between regular visits and today is no different. its never tedious work, its always fun and done with plenty of smiles and good laughs. |
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| we managed 200kg of Rice, 100kg of sugar, 100kg of dried stores, onions, tomatoes and other vegetables as well as some confectionary items for the girls.. packed in a little truck and ready to go ;-) |
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| Then it was time to hit the school to catch up on the school fees for the kids.. I took care of most of the other kids earlier in the year, but this time it was for 9 of the older kids High school fees. |
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| Of course I never travel alone during these events, every one likes to come along and enjoy the fun. today it was boys day out it seems .. lol |
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The school principal and school accountant were more than happy to come out of a Saturday to receive final school payment.
9 great kids, full school term with books and all exams included, summed up to about 400 USD per person (in local cash of course).. not bad compared to other parts of the world, and here they have a great english speaking curriculum. |
After finishing with the kids I have known for years, we said our goodbyes until next visit, and i moved on to explore and experience the next part of my journey
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An all girls Orphanage and sort of development centre, I say it like that because not all the girls are orphan or parentless, some girls their parents are in military prisons and some parents are so poor that they just give their kids to places like this and hope for a better life for them. (can't imagine that)
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The girls are all extremely well mannered and disciplined, but at the same time they all seem very happy. In the photo you see one of the girls bedrooms and how they are kept neat and clean in military barack precision .. lol
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Nearly half of these 50 girls do not have any sponsorship for a proper education, they have food and a roof over their heads as well as some in house educational activities, but nothing for further education. I did some digging and investigating for scams and things as well.. they come up pretty clean and straight forward.
for 350 Euros (375 USD) I can select a girl to sponsor and send to school, I took it upon myself to speak to some of the educators and they assured me, with that i would receive full statements and reports of her progress, as well as open lines of communication. Not to mention my periodic visits to assure funds go where they are supposed to go as i usually do.
People are always asking me, how can i help ? well, thats always hard for me to answer because i just spontaneously do so many things on a whim and on my own that I cannot narrow down what will help and what will not, and i am always against asking for money.
When I found these girls it came to me quite simple.. 350 Euros (375 USD) one of these girls can go to school for a year. there are 3 girls in the back of this picture that have sponsors from Germany and they are already in university training for a Bachelors in teaching .. they have been in this home for nearly a decade... very nice ;-) |
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Back on the jet and heading home... it was a whirl wind 24hrs and a whole lot of fun.. As the sun sets I once again leave Kathmandu and I gaze over the Himalayas, I sit and reflect on what i did and what i'm going to do on my next trip in.. time will tell and as usual the universe will look after me.
Thank you for being part of my incredible journeys |
