Spontaneous RED adventure.

I found myself with a couple days OFF and instead of wasting this valuable free time with silly adventures that I tend to do allot of.. I decided that I would take RED out for another round of fun.

Knowing there are 2 new Orphanages that I discovered on our last trip.. I decided to go visit them and see what we could do to help.. I have not seen some of these kids or places they live their lives.. so it was a good new adventure and we tried to help what little we could, but this was the first visit and will not be the last. Maybe next time we can do a little more.

RED and I heading out on a last minute trip to see what kind of trouble we can get into… its a long trip from home to help, but its always good fun, and you know what they say about time and having fun.. lol

Once we arrive at the Hotel in Kathmandu, we are always greeted with the warmest of welcomes by the staff and given a perfect room for us to relax after the long journey over to Nepal.. we need the rest, tomorrow starts the controlled chaos as usual.. 

Nepal is one of those countries that seem relatively unspoiled by western life and lifestyles.. its an amazing sight to see the local people in some areas living very basic lives, for western people it seems almost unimaginable, no electricity, no running water, no plumbing of any kind, no heat.. and in some cases, no food.

There is a small but interesting village just a short drive away from Kathmandu. This village still practises the old traditions. The woman who harvest the rice from the rice fields bring thier harvest to the town square to let it all dry in the sun so they can then remove the sheaths to pack and store thier rice for future consumption.. they don't buy much from shops here.

My first stop was to a group of just 14 children that I heard about in a conversation... I decided to investigate further and found these great kids. 9 boys and 5 girls. The mother is a house keeping staff at a hotel and earns a smaller salary than that of her husband, her husband works 2 jobs in Kathmandu.. by day he's a general laborer and by night he is a watchman, he has only 1 day OFF per week. He has to stay in Kathmandu and travel by bus back home only once a week to see his family.. He does this because recently he had to sell his motorbike, the only means of family transportation in order to pay the rent for the home they live in.. (200 USD per month) this only bought him 7 months which runs out very soon.  He presently earns about 18,000 local rupee per month (less than 180 USD). With their combined income they do their very best to look after these children, as there is no one else.

They have 2 sons a 16yr old boy and the man you see in this photo, the 19yr old son Mandip.. They both look after everything.  They once had some outside volunteer help to look after the kids so Mandip could also work and add to the income, but one day this outside help ruined their home, ran away with what little they had as well as with some children.. never to be seen from again.. leaving them all homeless and in debt..  Now Mandip vows it will never happen again and he, along with his brother look after everything themselves while their parents work... Its a monumental task for these young boys, but he does it very well and all the kids are great.

Thanks to a english medium school, all the kids read and write good english.

The kids rooms (this is the girls room) are basic but they are happy.. much better than some we have seen but much less than others we know.. but for the time being they are all happy to have this roof over their heads before the mid-winter cold.

The boys and the Boyz rooms

This is usually a car garage area, but of course these kids do not have a car so the room has been converted into a makeshift dining area where all the kids eat.

The path thru the rice fields and a common road travelled by the children to get to and from school as well as into the local village.

Being my first visit to these children, i had no idea what they really needed and want to use my limited funds wisely in order to have optimise the help they might need. After a brief conversation with Mandip, i realised they love school and needed some very expensive (for them) supplies.. I was lead to a place in the village where they can buy some of the things they need. Mandip was very careful not to buy anything that was unnecessary and took great care in choosing the right stuff, in the end.. books, notebooks, pens, pencils, sharpeners, erasers and rulers .. all things they could not afford for a total cost of less than 10 USD for all 14 children..

I did carry with me.. RED and some donated cloths which we distributed before we left.. now that I had a good look around, I know what i should bring next. I decided to stay one more night in Kathmandu and come back tomorrow with a little bit more stuff
:-)

It was not long before the youngest of the girls was running around in her new found dress.. lol.. these kids are really great fun.

It was a short but productive visit to this little orphanage, now i had my mind in gear and knew what to do next.. i told them they would see me again tomorrow, then RED and i created a list and said our "seeya laters"


 

The roads to and from some of the places i frequent in Nepal are not like any other roads in the western world and a trip of just 60km could take hours.. its something you definitely have to plan for.. lol

Me and my adventurous spirit sometimes finds me going places even i would rather not see.. but I have to.. something inside me drives me to adventure and something else deep down inside, drives me to wanting to save and help…
( its all part of my plan, to take over the WORLD !! mmuuuhahahaha (evil Laugh)


You can see in this photo the pollution along side the river banks.. i have learned that its not always carelessness, its more attributed to a poor education, lack of consideration and no forward thinking. Some countries I visit are astonishing in what they do to mother earth, Nepal is on that list unfortunately.

Beside this river and right on the bank, there lies a shanty town of homemade shelters where people live.

I wandered into this shanty town and had a looking into a couple of peoples homes. I found these kids there playing alone and reading some school books, they also spoke some broken english and told me (via my nepalese driver) that there are over 250 kids living homeless (of sorts) in this shanty town, but they all go to a small government school close by. They have little food and no cloths but atleast there are getting some form of basic education. Its not to a western standard but its something. When i asked what happened to this little girls eye i was shock to hear that she had a small eye infection that was not treated … (they have no means to treat homeless, nor do they actually care) and her eye infection became so bad that she actually lost be vision permanently . something that could have been prevented by simple antibiotics or something.

There are children everywhere in this little slum.. they are by no means unhappy kids though.. they are running and playing about like you would see in any other place in the world.

This little girl had lost both her parents and nobody around knew how, No one knew how old she was.. but she was being looked after by the folks in this home. They seemed like very good people and as poor as they were, living in squaller and unbelievable extreme poverty, they would still ask me to please sit and they wanted to make me a tea… in some cases, I would not get this kind of hospitalty in a rich mans home. The family has been living here for 8yrs, previously comes from a far away village looking to better themselves only to find live very difficult and do not have the money or means to go back.

She does not go to school, she does not have parents and the words on her shirt leaves me wondering if they even have the same meaning.

 As i continue my journey to another orphanage, i was loosing daylight and thought i would stop in just to see if i could get some information of what these kids might need. Since I was still going to be around the next day, I could provide them with some of the basics.

A very good and tiny resident of a great little orphanage.

The rooms in many child orphanages looks the same.. bunk beds with 2 or more to a single bed.. limited lighting and sometime no electricity, no hear and in some cases sometimes even no windows.

 I happend to stop into see the kids just as they returned from school and had their dinner.. its a huge task to feed 28 children with nearly nothing.. the kids not knowing what or even IF they will eat at all.

With nothing but local rice for dinner, the kids eat what they get.

The kids basically eat once per day and have little to no choice on what they eat. They eat with great enthusiasm. from the biggest child to the youngest child, they serve themselves but never take from each other.. they all make sure they have enough.

With nobody around to do everything for them.. they all do a good job cleaning up after themselves and taking care of each other.. if they dont do it for each other, no one else will.

My driver and I had little daylight left and we rushed out to get some of the basic food stuff that the kids would like.. eating only rice was normal for them but i could not see it happen the next day.. so we filled up on snacks for school.. rice of course, Lentils  Noodles, Flour, sugar and some other basics as well as plenty of soaps and other hygenic products for the kids. Loaded the little Black Benz and headed back to the kids.

Upon our return we found all the kids hard at their school work, they take it very seriously and very good at all their academic studies

Girls in one room, Boys in the other.. all quiet and all helping each other get their school work done.


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The next day, I woke early, connected with my driver, was about to start the day,  just then I received some information that some good friends (The cassiDys) were also in the hotel enjoying some time off. The cassiDys have become an important part in the RED team adventures, they work tirelessly letting people know what RED is out there doing and they are always offereing help as well as raising funds for future RED adventures thru their vast network of people.. the cassiDys, great people living the dream.. so when i was asked if they could come along for todays adventure, how could I or why would I want to say no.. when it comes to RED adventures, the more people, the more we can do

After a quick trip to a local market for some veg and other essentials, we all headed back to the same bunch of kids i seen the night before.. we managed to get there just as they were preparing to go back to school..
We dropped off some fresh veg and I felt comfortable inside knowing that the kids would not be eating just rice for dinner tonight, and for a few nights at least they would have some good fresh food.

Some of the donated goods we had contained allot of colouring books and playful school work books as well as large drawing pads,, the kids loved them and were excited to receive them just before heading to school.

They rarely get something new, and they take great care of everything they get. even the school books they receive are photo copies and not always new.. so a new book is very special to them.

With a part of the cassiDy clan in tow, I ventured off to find some back packs for one of the orphanages . they need them for their long walks to school.

After some searching  negotiating we managed to find some decent back packs for the kids to use for school.

 Most of the places we visit have little to no electricity and even if they do have, most places do now have refrigerators, so keeping perishables like chicken and meats is not an option. Its not every day and in some cases its rare occasion that the kids can have meats or chicken.. So before heading up to see the other kids I stopped in to buy some fresh chicken in a typical Napalese way.

For the second time in as many days.. the little black Benz was full up with all kinds of dry stores and other goodies that the kids need.

The trunk is full as is the back seats once again.. just enough space for the cassiDys to sit :-)

The old saying goes.. its not the destination but the journey.. right.. well that seems to apply to every trip I make as well.
On the way to the kids, there is a small room I pass that contains a couple of ladies and some looms.. making those famous Nepali carpets. a person pays hundreds to thousands of dollars for these in Europe and other countries while these ladies work 12hrs days for less than 3 USD per day to make these beautiful carpets.. one small carpet can take this woman up to 2 months to complete.

Everywhere I stop in rural areas, i'm usually stopped by curious people and children wanting to practice and show off their english speaking skills as well and just curiously look on... one thing everyone seems to love,, is a look at is themselves in a photo or video, as one of the cassiDy clan is demonstrating here.. lol


 

upon reaching the other orphanage, the children really wanted to show us their school, they were kept out of school because they knew we were visiting today and they all wanted to be there… the walk to their school is via a rice field and long and winding country roads.. fun for us, but the kids have to traverse this course 2 times a day 6 days a week in all kinds of weather.

The school is a government school . the education curriculum is not as high as the private schools but these are orphane children and cannot afford private schools, so the local gov. school will suffice, and they still learn decent english while attending.

This is a grade 7 classroom.. very basic in style but everything they need is here.

This is the grade 0 and 1 class.

Some students and their teacher (speaking broken english because of my presence.. lol) teaching these grade 4 students.

I noticed on our walk to and from the school that we pass a little shop on the street side.. since the kids were so kind to show us their school i thought it only fitting to stop and have a cold drink and some munchies.. normal for some kids but for these kids, its a fun treat on the way.

Doesn't matter where i go.. i'm far more attracted to the countryside that some cities.. despite all of the countries problems, Nepal is a beautiful country.

another mission accomplished and some more good things for some great kids.

Goodbyes are always a bit sad.. but I know RED and I will be back.



+++++++++++++++++++++++




On a side note… Leela, the driver I have been using for more than 7yrs of RED adventure and a guy that help me negotiate not only the roads but also the local vendors, never says no to anything and is there for me day and night with no question or hesitation.

His wife used to occasionally email on her old used laptop.. but when if finally met its maker, they could not afford another one.. tax on electronics in Nepal can be as high as 250% !! and laptops are only for the affluent. Since his wife is still a student and could use a good laptop for her studies,, we decided it was something we had to do.. I hit the shops close to my home.. found a great Laptop and dropped it off to them the moment I arrived in Nepal.. a new one, along with a old one I had kicking around the house, so they have a back up plan :-)

Its not everyday I get to take our driver out for dinner.. we are usually much to busy and at the end of the night we are to tired.. and usually have early mornings.. but this time we timed it right, I also insisted his wife come along.
I was happily surprised where she told me that she had never been to a restaurant in her life … 
It was a great night of first for her and such good fun… they are really great people and a great help to RED's adventures.

Another great RED adventure.

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.

Little RED and the TUMI heading out the door for another mission to Kathmandu, Nepal.

Waiting to board the jet.. just rollin around the new international airport.

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 ;-)

Little RED arriving on the belts in Kathmandu international airport.. this is a place we know all to well ;-)

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.

After some good natured bartering and finding all the different sizes of shoes required, we then set off looking for more of the basics.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

When we finished with some of the stuff.. I  looked at our little pile of goods and thought about the little Black Benz..

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. 

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.

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.

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.

  

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 ;-)

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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

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.

The boys are not afraid of a little hard work with this 50kg bag of sugar.. lol

Ramish helped hand out the shoes and watch over to make sure the right kids got the right sizes..

The smallest of things are so greatly appreciated here. This little dude is adjusting his shoes for a comfy fit.


 

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

It was another great RED adventure and we cant wait until the next time we see all these guys again ;-)

Riding back towards Kathmandu  i was thinking that I should help more.. maybe there are some more kids somewhere along the way…… 

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 ;-)

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.

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.

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.

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 ;-)

These kids have not had anyone helping in quite some time and they were every excited to receive what little we could offer.

Like all the kids here.. they are not afraid of a little hard work unloading the old Black Benz...

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 ;-)