MLC Sydney - Nepal Service Project Day 5

Day 5 was the final day for the MLC team and the tiredness was starting to take its toll! Fortunately the day’s plan involved only a short bus ride back to the model school and I promised them we would be finished by lunch time so that urgent matters, such as last minute souvenir shopping, could be addressed!


The first task was a follow on from the teacher training program we did at the school on Tuesday. It was now the Nepali teachers’ turn to use what they had learned and teach their respective classes with consultation and assistance from the MLC team. This worked brilliantly and it was great to see the various groups collaborating on teaching ideas so closely. We are hoping and working towards this connection being a permanent feature for both Riviera and MLC as it provides the perfect platform for a lasting cultural exchange.

Once the bell rang to signal the end of first period however, the fun really began. We had arranged with Riviera to host a parents’ day. This is a concert program in which all of the children from the school perform various traditional songs, dances and poems etc and all of the parents are invited to attend. On this occasion the entire team from MLC were the guests of honour! An enormous marquee had been erected covering the school playground and a stage complete with booming sound system had been constructed – in Nepal a parents’ day can never be done in half measures!

As the program began the crowd began to swell as nearby locals soon heard that a group of foreigners were going to perform. By the time things were in full swing there would easily have been an audience of 300 Nepalis eagerly awaiting a performance of traditional Australian music. When their time came to perform MLC did not disappoint, starting with a rousing rendition of the Australian national anthem. Their second item was “Kookaburra sits in the old gum tree”, an Australian classic. For this song they even managed to divide the audience in half and got everyone singing along in a round which was greeted with rapturous applause. However the highlight for the enthusiastic crowd came when the first notes of “Resham Phiriri” were played. This is probably the most famous Nepali folk song and nearly all foreigners who had visited Nepal would also be familiar with it. MLC music teacher, Karen Carey, had even bought and mastered playing a Nepali flute especially for the occasion. This performance absolutely brought the house down and it must have lasted through at least a dozen repetitions before they were finally allowed to stop.

The performances from the Riviera school children were all excellent and I hope provided an interesting piece of culture for the visitors to take home with them. After some (not so) short speeches it was time for the MLC team to depart, having completed their final service project for this visit. I could see by the looks on everyone’s faces that they were exhausted but clearly also exhilarated by the awesome things that had seen and done.

At this point we would like to thank Rosemary King from MLC, and Judy Tenzing who both worked tirelessly for the better part of a year to put this trip together. Their passion and dedication to Nepal was a joy to be a part of. We also want to thank the teachers, parents and friends who accompanied the girls on the trip and whose support was invaluable.


Lastly, we want to say a big thank you to the MLC girls. Their energy and enthusiasm was inspiring, particularly in sometimes difficult circumstances. They conducted themselves with integrity, maturity and sensitivity at all times and are a credit to themselves and their school. Well done girls and we hope this is the beginning of a fantastic partnership with MLC.