Bhaktapur
We are going to spend one morning visiting the historic town of Bhaktapur, just outside of Kathmandu. Bhaktapur has many beautifully restored temples and buildings and is an excellent living example of traditional Nepalese architecture and design. We have been helping the Muscular Dystrophy Centre there so we are going to work with them to do a treasure hunt weaving through the alleys and laneways of the town. We will divide the group up into teams and each team will include a couple of boys from the centre. This will be an amazing day for these boys as they rarely ‘get out’ and are not allowed to go to school because of their disability – it really will be a once in a lifetime experience for them!
The program will conclude with a lunch in a traditional Newari (one of the main castes in Nepalese society and the major influence on the architecture and culture of Bhaktapur) house. The house we have in mind has been renovated recently after it fell into disrepair and became a chicken shed! The restoration work is spectacular and has even received an award from UNESCO.
Phulbari
One day will be spent visiting a school the Foundation is working closely with in Phulbari. This is a small village in the hills just outside of the Kathmandu Valley. Reaching the school will involve a small trek as the bus can only get us so far!
At the school the MLC girls will be divided into groups to work on a number of different activities including:
1. Teaching an art class with a view to the Nepali students preparing some works that can be auctioned in Australia as a fundraising exercise;
2. Painting a mural on one of the outside walls of the school building; and
3. Delivering library bags that the girls will have prepared in Sydney before the trip.
Teaching – Model School
Two of the days will be scheduled for teaching programs in the model school, another project the Foundation is working on at present. Some of the activities we are working on doing with the girls include:
1. Teacher training programs in which the girls from MLC provide examples of the different methods of teaching that could be used to teach a straightforward class such as Maths or Geography;
2. Starting the 100 VIEWS project, a teaching project focused around students doing creative works based on places/things of significance in their school’s area (more information can be found at http://www.100views.com.au/); and
3. Preparing a musical/dance item to perform for the school. The idea here is that the Nepali students will also perform a traditional Nepalese dance and then each group can teach the other their dance, no doubt leading to loads of fun and laughter!
These are just a few of the things we are working on at the moment and it already looks as though it is going to be an amazing experience. The plan is for MLC to introduce this trip as a regular activity for the girls each year which means they will be able to develop ongoing relationships with the places they visit and the people they meet.
We want to give our heartfelt thanks to Rosemary King and Judy Tenzing, both of whom originally approached us with this idea. Rosemary is a teacher at MLC and is the chief organiser within the school, Judy teaches at another school and is a good friend of Rosemary’s and most importantly is responsible for organising all of the travel logistics for the trip! Judy has a longstanding association with Nepal and she shares our passion for its people and culture. We are really excited to be working with her on this initiative.
It is so rewarding to be able to work on a project that creates more direct involvement with people from Australia and hopefully it is only the start of something that will become much bigger!
