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Friday was the final day of the volunteer program for our visitors from Australia and after two extremely chaotic picnic days I think they were very relieved to be returning to the relative peace of an afternoon spent at the Model School with the teachers and some students!

Some of the group continued with their workshops from Tuesday but there were some new workshops on offer this time as well. We had a workshop for Social Sciences, a workshop for primary teachers, but the star of the day was Heather from Flinders St Primary School in Adelaide who hosted a fantastic art workshop for around 20 students. In less than an hour the group were churning out all kinds of colourful works that were used to decorate their classroom! It was obvious that as well as brightening up the place the kids were really enjoying what they were doing.

A group of Year 9 and 10 boys joined the Science workshop as word had got out from Tuesday's workshop that Science could actually be fun! And as I walked past the English workshop I was sure I heard them reading a story about a platypus?! There was much excitement in the Maths workshop as not only did we have electricity but someone actually got the internet to work. This was important as Keith from St Catherine's School in Waverley had arranged for the school to be given user codes for HOTmaths, an online Maths education program. The teachers were instantly engrossed in trying to complete the questions online and were amazed at the way the system would enable them to track their students' progress - a lot more fun than learning from a textbook! We must thank Keith and HOTmaths for organising the licences for us.


With visitors, teachers and students all having so much fun the afternoon passed far too quickly and it was soon time for our farewells. It was clear the advances the school had made since MLC's visit a year ago so it is exciting to think of how this trip will have benefitted them even further. After a quick thank you speech from the principal and the presentation of a 'token of love' in the form of Riviera school badges for everyone, it was time to once again board the bus and return to Thamel.

This concluded the formal program for the group. However that evening there was a quick trip to the tailor to collect some traditional outfits that some of the group had ordered. Then on Saturday morning I took a small group to visit Kathmandu Animal Treatment (KAT) Centre, where street dogs are taken in and 'cleaned up' before being adopted or returned to the street. This was of course a confronting experience for the group but by the same token it was great to see that things can and are being done and that there is hope. Those who did not join the visit to KAT no doubt spent the morning doing last minute shopping in Thamel, hunting for that 'special morning price'!

On Saturday afternoon I waved the group farewell as their bus left for the airport. I want to take this opportunity to thank everyone in the group for the amazing contributions they made throughout the week, all of the programs ran like clockwork and gave some insights into life in Nepal and how we can help. I would particularly like to thank Rosemary King from MLC School who organised the trip and did a great job of keeping everything in order for them once in Nepal!