Follow up RED trip.

After the initial earth quake disasters i was pretty keen on getting out to the kids in Nepal to see what assistance i could render. The trips made into Nepal for the Earth Quake relief effort was a great one for us. The cassiDys put in a great deal of effort networking their vast social community so the RED adventures could make the most and do the most in this time of need. My hat goes off to them for all their tireless work, and and great deal of appreciation to all the people who stood behind this ongoing effort to make sure the kids can have a future that every child deserves.

RED and the Tumi's are ready to head out the door once again.. this time for a bit of a follow up mission.. but still full of all kinds of surprises for the kids.

I like stopping by the orphanages completely unannounced and unexpected .. I get a chance to see the kids being kids.. just like everywhere else you might encounter in the world.. its good fun

kids really don't need anything more than each other to have a fun day. Although there is so much destruction just a few meters away and aftershock tremors are felt a few times a day.. the kids are not fazed

the living here is very basic, sometimes i wish i could do so much more for them

you can just see these 3 are trouble in the making.. LOL.. very sweet girls in Orph3 .. they take good care of each other.

The kids in all of the orphanages RED visits are all very caring loving children, they take great care of each other. I rarely see them fighting or being selfish with one another. Its always a pleasant experience when visiting the kids here.

In the begining of this month I and finalized the negotiations for the 2015 school fees for Orph3. Even though we paid for the 28 kids to attend school, we still needed to get a few things, so on this day we stopped and purchased a bunch of school note books, pens and ink as well as a few other miscellaneous things they might need.

I can't help but be impressed by the weight these women can carry, and they carry this for an incredible distance as well. measured in kms not meters.

Every year since 2006 I would travel to Kathmandu in time for the new school term and pay for the kids full year of school. Now days some of the kids are in High school, a bit more costly but very nice to see them progress.
So this year is no different from the rest, i'm back enroll them in another year, the difference this time around is that some of the normal schools they attend have been destroyed in the earth quake

its a bit different here in Nepal when paying for school for this many kids. Since I've been at this for years I know how to lead the negotiations in order to get the most for the kids for the lowest price possible.
The negotiating is the best part of my day .. LOL

After a couple hrs of chatter and negotiating we finally come to an agreement. I took a bit longer than normal because this school is not the usual school they attend. The other school is destroyed. Included in the school fees are the uniform cost, transportation cost (5km each way) all exam fees as well as the general admin cost.. perfect.

As we drove thru the Kathmandu valley toward Orph01, we stopped to pick up some much needed gas for cooking. Since we were here just a few short weeks ago and purchased several months of Rice, Flour, Sugar, Lentils and the like. we online just a few things to top them up this time.

I'm still a bit beside myself when i see this home. Back around 2007 I helped build the original orphanage only to see it completely destroyed in 2015, but now that we have all learned what can happen, the building practice has been improved and this place should be much stronger than before ;-)

These are the kids that will be attending High school this year and extremely happy that they are taken care of, One less thing to be concerned about ;-)

I love coming here and helping these and many other kids, they are all so very polite and appreciative of anything we can do for them.  They know i'll be back, they know i'll always help care for them. 

This time around, due to the devastation of the recent earth quake, the media brought more attention to the plight of Nepal and the kids. The upside to that is, I find myself being able to do so much more because of the help from the cassiDy social network as well as Park House school in Qatar.

It makes an amazingly huge difference. Without this help, it would have taken me so much longer to rebuilt and re house some of these orphanages.

The work and efforts to improve life for kids in Nepal will always continue.

"Red" for the kids

Thanks you all.

A Quick trip to help (05/2015 Earthquake)

The Month of May 2015 was a difficult time for the people of Nepal. They suffered from a large earthquake, the largest earthquake on record since the 1940's. That was followed by many large aftershocks and then again by yet another full on earthquake. 

Difficult times are upon them and they will preserver but its a definite struggle. I could not let these times pass unnoticed and as if i could not help. many people pulled together and donated what they could for RED to go and help the kids of this devastation. 
I have to write a personal thank you for all the people who helped RED help the kids. 

I would also like to thank the crew of the flight that took RED and I to Kathmandu on May 14th for the generous donation the they made to RED 

Red, and the Tumi triplets, full of donations
(pretending to be personal luggage..lol) and ready to go

RED is getting his just deserve and sits right up front

Getting ready for the next big adventure and looking forward to doing some good.

RED is even popular in Nepal, with his one channel ;-)

I have assisted in several natural disaster relief programs in my life, but the assistance rendered by the Red Cross here was second to none. They have a huge presents and work tirelessly to assist everyone they can. All the while they travel back to the hotel grounds and take comfort in a tent. They are not here on holiday, they really work hard and deserve allot of credit for all their help to the local community.

Red Cross tent centers are located all around the city and countryside. although still very difficult for the local population, its still 100% than any other options available to them.

How would you like to start you day having to wake up and brush your teeth, or wash in a mud puddle.

Kids are the most resilient people i know, they make the best  of any situation they are in. when i look towards countries and cultures that i know well. i can't help but think.. we are doing it wrong as i watch kids cry for toys, or complain over trivial things. I looks at these kids, playing with rocks and water, and not complaining about having absolutely nothing.

its time for RED to spring into action and start loading up that german TANK that, over the years RED has come to rely on.

hundreds of kilos of aid stuffed into this little tank while driving kms and kms over terrible unpaved roads.. lol.. amazing time and time again

After a bunch of hunting around, bargaining and bartering, I finally found a place I was happy with and purchased some of the items needed to help rebuilt the orphanage (Orph01).
They lost nearly everything in the first quake.. then the second quake just secured the deal that the lost to mother natures fury.

you can't imagine how sore my heart was when i first came upon the children that i have been helping for the past 7yrs.
I seen this home come from nearly nothing when they first moved here from the city, to something really nice (relatively speaking). We help build allot of their home only to come and see it all destroyed. My heart busted into pieces when to see how happy they all where, asking me to please sit on a chair they hd to run and find, while they make me tea and giving me biscuits.
I think to myself, they have nothing, lost nearly everything, they don't even have parents to hold them or just to tell them , its going to be ok,  yet they treat better than some of the richest most educated people i know.

after their home was destroyed they had to make this makeshift tent for the 41 children to sleep in and give them shelter from the the elements

As usual the kids all help unload the 3 month supply of food we bought for them. I'm always impressed how they always work together and never shy away from helping each other.

Team work is something that does not have to be taught to these kids. They need each others help and they are always there for each other.

After a short time, the first load of  building supplies arrived. The kids were happy to see a plan come into reality.
Far to many times in their lives, people come and promised to help and do this and help do that, and unfortunately never follow thru, sometimes never seen again after making many broken promises. They know when RED arrives.. action it taken right away and what is said, is done.

 5 truck loads of building materials that arrived that afternoon. Enough to rebuild about 70% of their home. knowing the local financial and cultural environment, its was agreed that i do this in 2 stages just to make sure what needs to get done is done. So RED will be back to help complete the rebuild.

soon it was time for us to once again part ways, the kids always want me to stay a bit longer but they are used to my MO and confidently know that RED and I will be back in short time.

it won't be long before we come back

As we make our way to the other orphanage i can't help but feel for all these people living in very difficult conditions. Its not like they are waiting for special government assistance, or the insurance company to help them financial to rebuilt what they lost. Nothing could be further from the truth. They went from a meager living to extreme nothing.


 

Mandip, a great 19yr old kid that looks after 18 orphan children. As a christian in a primarily Hindu / Buddhist environment, he also makes sure of the smaller details, like gong to church every Saturday. A church that is a 2hrs and 4 bus changes away, each direction. Good kid.

LOL, the cute chicken kid.. LOL

We needed to purchase atlas a 4 month supply of all the basic for this orphanage. There are a few different reasons for the big purchase. If there is another quake of many more aftershocks there could be a potential food shortage, nit to mention the monsoon season is on the way and could also cause logistical problems. I can now rest assured that the kids will not starve or go to bed hungry.

just like all the other orphanages, everyone comes to help unload the bus... lol. the bus.. that was just way to much fun.

The kids at all the orphanages are just great, good, polite, kind and full of life. Its great to be with them.

These guys were lucky and the house that RED rents for them did not suffer any damage in the earth quake. Not only did we stock them up with food, but we also took care of the rent for 2015. Kids are all set and very happy. (Orph03)

The orphan home behind this hard working young lady.
People here work extremely hard for extremely little.

as most of you know RED has always looked after school for the kids in our first orphanage (Orph01). I was beside myself when i walked into the school to pay the fees for the kids.. only to find, nothing.. really nothing, the school was gone. If you look back in this blog you will see how the school once looked, it now looks like this !!
needless to say, we are working on a plan.

there is a serious problem with water in Nepal. Fresh drinking water. People queue up for hours waiting for a water truck to arrive so they can fill their water containers just to have some drinking water in their, home / tent / shelter.

there are no tourist to be seen in Kathmandu these days, that they are heavily dependent on tourism. This man was so extremely patriotic that he wanted me to take a photo of him and his flag to share with the world that its ok to come back.... please.

I met allot of great people from around the world here, helping to make life a little better for everyone.
All volunteers working hard to make a difference.

Queues around water trucks are a very common sight

RED finally reached (Orph02) and jumped back into action to help pickup the basics once again.. this time it will be going in the little german Tank again. 

unloading the little tank back at the orphanage is always a happy sight for the kids and all involved here. They do receive small donations from the local community, but keep in mind it is a 3rd world country, so the donations are greatly appreciated and help them allot, sometimes it can be barely enough. But when RED comes with a huge car load.. it make a difference, albeit temporary but still a difference.

This is another Orphanage where RED looks after their english medium education.
RED assures that 28 children have a full year of good education

Meeting with the school accountants and making sure the money goes directly in hand.
No funny business when it comes to a Childs education.

Another group of great kids. I wish i could do so much more for them all.

RED and I only do what we can, but we are treated with great esteem and met with great appreciation. To be honest i'm sometimes embarrassed, but they are so happy to see RED and I so i know in my heart we are doing the right thing. I don't ask for thanx from them, i just want to see happiness in their eyes.

As I wander around the different area of Kathmandu i'm reminded of the million of people that are affected, not just the children but also the elderly. Injured, lost everything including her home. She now lives in this tent, thanking the Red Cross for mending her broken arm.

As people try to regroup and carry on with their lives, they have few options and work tirelessly just to eat that day.




RED and I agree, this was an emotionally difficult trip, but so glad we could be here.
We will not be deterred. The next trip is already being planned.