If you read my 2 previous blog posts, you know that a couple weeks ago I was in Nepal with Servlife, helping give a teacher's conference. My husband and I sponsor a girl who lives in the girls' home, and this trip meant that we got to MEET HER! Sponsoring her means that we help provide for her care and education, AND we get to exchange letters a couple times per year. :)
Before we left for Nepal, we stopped by Hobby Lobby and got some art supplies to give her...just hoping that she would like it! In her letters, she has asked for stickers, so we made sure to include those too.
Why are the girls at the Daya Home here?
There are about 25 girls living in the home. Nepal is a very poor country. Parents oftentimes have a hard time providing for their families, especially with enough money to send them to school. The girls at the home were unable to be cared for by their parents. Oftentimes, one of the parents of the child has passed away. In other cases, a child is sent to the children's home for a different reason. Sometimes in Nepal, when a woman gets remarried, the new husband will not want to care for the children from her previous marriage. They are sent to live elsewhere.
If you want to see the kids who HAVEN'T been sponsored, click here. Each child has a short profile that tells a little about their life.
The beautiful girl in the striped shirt and pajama pants is Namrata, our sponsored child!! The other lovely girl is her best friend at the home. They are both in 8th grade, and this is their classroom! I told her to point at the board like she was the teacher :) The kids were very excited to show us around their school.
Here is another child posing for a picture in her classroom. Many younger Nepali girls wear short hair cuts.
HERE is the front of the Girls' Home. A bit of a fixer upper. This is a large home, although basic, for West Nepal. Most people live in shacks or huts that they make themselves. We learned that in Nepal, they will build buildings gradually as money becomes available. You saw in a previous post that I presented my teacher conference session in a building that was half-constructed.
2 sisters on the left, Namrata, and 2 more little friends!
A close-up of Namrata and her BFF. One of my favorite pictures!
This is Namrata and her little sister. Her little sister has special needs, although I'm sure she's not officially diagnosed. The little sister was very sweet, quiet, and loved sitting on laps!
Here is a shot of the whole group coming to greet us when we first arrived. As a teacher in the United States, it was amazing to see a group of about 25 kids come in the room and sit absolutely silently! AND even more amazing was this: someone from our group passed out green & purple stuffed bears, and asked the kids, "does anyone want to switch colors?"... NO ONE wanted to switch colors! What?! They were happy with what they were given! They got what they got and they didn't throw a...fit. That didn't rhyme but it's ok.
The girls' bunk beds! Namrata had a few stuffed animals on a dresser. She pointed to them and told us, "We are decorating the room!" It really made us want to paint the room, and get some supplies for the girls to decorate with. I don't know if that would really be possible or not.
USSSSSSS! <3 <3 The bunk behind us is hers.
OK SO the girls got REALLY excited when our team allowed them to use our cameras!! It was so much fun seeing them happily take each others' photos.
I showed them some of my photos before I let them take their own pictures :)
It was such a huge joy to see these girls and meet my sponsored child. Being Westerners taking our first trip to Nepal, we had a strong desire to provide for the kids -- we wanted to fix up their house, buy them new clothing, provide them transportation to school, fix up their school, etc. But is this "I must fix everything" attitude the right one to have? Clearly, the kids need people to sponsor them to attain an education and care. But what after that? In the US we are so used to things and amenities being up to a certain standard. Is it fair to hold Nepal to that same standard? Providing all kinds of materials & improvements to one house, one school doesn't change the big factors (economy, government) that are creating these conditions throughout the entire country. Does that mean we shouldn't do what we can? No. But WHAT can we do -- what SHOULD we do -- is the real question. At least, that's my thought at the moment.
Some of you may be more familiar with this question than I am. If so, please leave a comment. I'd greatly appreciate it.
