News from Nepal...

We are currently working on our 2010 fundraising campaign to secure enough funding to support the children for another year.

January 2010

We have had many volunteers from around the world visit the children this year and we would like to extend our thanks to all of them. The children have loved having you be apart of their daily lives and look forward to welcoming you back to the home soon.

Another year has passed and the children are progressing well with their studies and their English. Everyone did very well in their latest set of exams and passed all of their subjects.

The children are still attending music and dance classes twice a week and are enjoying it. They regularly put on concerts for visitors to the home to show them what they are learning in these classes.

Recent strikes in Kathmandu have meant that the childrens' school attendance is being disrupted somewhat but even when they are not able to go to school they try to do extra homework and study with volunteers and Horimya's daughters who tutor them daily.

There is only about 4 hours of electricity everyday now in Kathmandu. The home was recently fitted with two lights which run off a battery which charges during the hours that there is electricty. This at least gives the children an extra couple of hours of light in the evening.

A generous donation late last year also allowed us to purchase a 5L rice cooker for the home. We have never seen Horimya so excited!! The children have Dahl Baht twice a day and this means that Horimya and Ruth can cook all of the rice in one go rather than boiling the rice in many, many batches like they were doing previously.

We have been educating the children and the carers on the importance of nutrition and have been trying to increase the fruit and protein intake of the children. This is a slow process as routines are very firmly in place but we are getting there!!

May 2009

Sue has recently returned from spending 3 weeks with the children in Kathmandu. While she was there a new school year at the Darwin Academy commenced.  Everyone is doing very well with Nisshan, Asmita and Soma all jumping ahead one grade and being amongst the top in their grade. Soma also did very well in her exams getting over 85% in 4 subjects.  Exercise books and pencils were bought for the children and text books were organised for the new year. Horimya and Ruth are very keen to learn English and have started lessons twice a week.

               

Walking to the Darwin Academy on the first day back                                      Chek in front of school

Sue and other volunteers took the children on a number of outings including a shopping trip to buy some new ‘good’ clothes with money kindly donated specifically for this from a friend of the home in Canada. We were also able to buy some much needed essentials for the children with what was left over.

 The Children in their new clothes

There was also a Saturday outing to the Garden of Dreams which is just a 20 minute walk from the orphanage. This is a favourite place for the children to visit and gives them the opportunity to have a good run around on something other than concrete!!

The children have now started singing and dance lessons on a Monday and Thursday afternoon which one donor has kindly committed to funding. Here they are taught traditional Nepali dance and songs as well as learning how to play the Mahdal – a two-headed cylindrical wooden drum.

We will update you with more news of the children as soon as it is available.