Seasons Greetings from Mitrataa

Thank you to all of our supporters, sponsors, donors, volunteers, staff and well-wishers for your contributions to an amazing 2010!

Best wishes for the holiday season and for a happy, healthy and prosperous 2011.

From the Mitrataa family.

Project Snow Leopard part 3

Once back in Kathmandu we had two more workshops with the Project Snow Leopard girls at Bal Mandir. Linda reviewed their photos from Pokhara and discussed some of the best ones with the group. The girls always love to see their work displayed on the big projector screen!

The last outing for the girls was a day trip to Panauti, a traditional old Newar village about an hour from Kathmandu. There we took the girls on a walk around the town to see the sights including some stunning old temples, pokey little cobbled alleyways, and lots of ducks, chickens and pigs. Panauti sits on the confluence of two rivers so there were lots of photo opportunities there too with many people bathing and doing their washing on the banks.

Throughout the course of this trip we had also assigned ‘official photographer’ positions to each of the girls at the various programs that were held. The last of these was the Daisy Chains Women’s Project conference and picnic, also held in Panauti. Three of the Snow Leopard girls joined us for the day and their brief was to take lots of photos that captured the mood of the day and ‘told the story’ of the women. In addition to this the girls did a fantastic job of assisting with translation work during the formal parts of the program.

That concluded phase two of Project Snow Leopard and it was fantastic to see not only the development of the girls’ photography skills but also their growth in confidence, communication and leadership. We are planning the next set of workshops for March/April next year and the girls are already excited about Linda’s next visit!

We are presently working with the assistance of John Wiley & Sons on gift cards using the girls’ photos which we will be selling as a fundraiser. Also, as the girls continue to amass a very impressive collection of photos we will be starting work on a book highlighting their achievements so look out for that late next year or early 2012.

Our thanks as always to Linda for all of the time and energy she has put into the project.

  

Project Snow Leopard part 2

Following an amazing morning of mountain views at Sarangkot, we took the Project Snow Leopard girls to the lake at Pokhara for an adventure they could never have imagined – catching a row boat to the other side of the lake! Swimming and water sports are not common leisure activities in Nepal so many of the girls were quite daunted by the prospect of venturing out onto the beautiful lake in a small wooden boat. However once out on the lake most of the girls were able to relax and enjoy the amazing views back to shore and to the hills and mountains behind. Pokhara is a popular adventure sport destination and from the lake we were also able to enjoy the views of some crazy people para-hawking and hang-gliding from nearby hills!

After around half an hour on the water all 4 boats landed on the opposite shore. It was then time for the real stress to begin as we had to trek up a fairly steep and rocky track for about an hour to reach the top of the hill. We were however, rewarded at the top with stunning views over the lake, the Pokhara township and surrounding hills. We could even see back across the valley to Sarangkot where we had been that morning!

In addition to the views, the top of this hill was home to the World Peace Pagoda – a beautiful big pagoda built by the Japanese a few years ago. It was the perfect location for more photos and some group shots to commemorate our trip.

By now the light was fading and it was time to return to our guest house for some well earned dinner and an early night. It had been a fantastic day both for the girls and for us.

The following morning we had one more surprise in store for the girls. They thought they were getting on the bus and going straight back to Kathmandu but we planned a quick stop at another of Pokhara’s famous sights – Devi’s Falls. This is a waterfall with a small blow hole but made famous for the story that a Swiss couple were bathing in a rock pool on the edge only to be washed away during a sudden gush of water. The girls were thrilled to see it as they had been disappointed that they thought they had missed out.

With this final burst of excitement it was now really time to head back to Kathmandu.

More photos from the trip can be found on our facebook page.

  

Project Snow Leopard part 1

The beginning of November saw Linda join us in Kathmandu for phase 2 of Project Snow Leopard. The 10 girls from Bal Mandir were very excited to be expanding their knowledge of photography as well as getting numerous opportunities to refine their skills.

First up was a workshop in Kathmandu where Linda gave the girls a coffee table book she’d had made showcasing their photos. The girls were stunned to see their work in print! This workshop also gave the girls a chance to update all of us on the work they had been doing since last time. They had been given a number of guest photographer assignments for major festivals etc which they loved. We also spent some time planning the Pokhara trip which was already causing great excitement amongst the group.

Two days later it was off to Pokhara in a bus full of very excited girls. With almost a full day of traveling behind us, the first night was spent with Linda giving a workshop on the landscape setting on a camera and also use of tripods. These things were critical as we were leaving to go to Sarangkot, a high lookout point, first thing the next morning…

At 5am we headed off through the dark and quiet streets of Pokhara for the lookout point at Sarangkot. Walking up the trail to the lookout we were greeted with a few glimpses of some very close snow-capped mountains, the Himalayas. The girls were squealing with delight and any ill effects of the early rise quickly dissipated. We rushed on until we reached our final destination on the roof of a small café. The girls set up the tripods and we all eagerly waited for the first rays of sunlight to appear and land on the white snow of mountains including Annapurna I (8,091m and 10^th highest in the world), Machapuchare (6,993m and famously known as ‘fishtail’), Dhaulagiri (8,167m and 7^th highest in the world) and Manaslu (8,163m and 8^th highest in the world).

Well as anyone who has seen this view will tell you, it is truly breathtaking. Although there was a little cloud blocking some of the mountains we still had some amazing scenes of them as well as the lake and neighbouring hills. The girls went into photo overdrive and their enthusiasm and excitement was contagious. As the sun rose and the air warmed up the clouds moved around revealing different peaks and aspects of the range, presenting even more opportunities for some great shots.

We were back at our guest house by 8:30am, ready for some breakfast and invigorated and wide awake from our morning experience. After breakfast the girls spent some quiet time in the garden writing in their journals. We then spent a fun filled hour playing some crazy team games with them, their energy was limitless!

To be continued…

Visit our facebook page for more photos taken by our director, Sarah Johnstone.

Quick update

Just a quick post to let you know I am leaving Kathmandu and heading back to Sydney today. The last 3 months have been amazing with so many visitors, volunteers, great events and progress on all of our projects.


There will be plenty of blogs in the coming weeks to bring you up to date on all of the news so stay tuned...

MLC back in Kathmandu Part 4

The day after the fun and excitement of the Dream Centre picnic, the MLC group spent the afternoon at the Wiley Dream Centre in Chandol.

Prior to the trip, a number of senior students from the school had prepared a Dream Book which contained a series of activities designed to assist the Dream Centre students with the life skills component of the program. The MLC girls split up into groups and worked with girls from the Wiley and Baneshwor Dream Centres through the books. As always there was time for some crazy games such as ‘amoeba’, and also some snack boxes for lunch.

It was a fantastic afternoon and gave each girl in the MLC group the chance to really get to know some of the amazing girls we work with here in Nepal. It gave the Dream Centre girls the opportunity to work on their English and to share their thoughts and ideas with their peers in the wider world.

The following day was the final day of MLC’s program and it was time to open the MLC Dream Centre!

The school had raised the funds to sponsor a new Dream Centre including the running costs for the next 2 years. The centre is located in Koteshwor and when we arrived there were 20 excited girls from the local school eagerly waiting to start their Dream Centre experience.

After group leader, Rosemary King, cut the official ribbon so that we could enter the centre, Bec and Chetana led the group through introductions and some welcome speeches. The Nepali girls were shy and a little nervous of course but the MLC students showed the way and before long everyone was laughing and enjoying themselves. We had arranged for 2 girls each from our two other Dream Centres to come and give short speeches on the things they learned from the program. This was a really inspiring moment to see these girls stand so confidently and share their experiences. One of the girls’ mothers also came to talk about the changes she had seen in her daughter and how proud she felt of her achievements.

Brittany, one of the MLC students, performed a beautiful rendition of ‘Hands’ by Jewel. Standing up to sing, unaccompanied, in front of a room full of strangers is not easy and you could see how impressed the Nepali girls were. The local school principal then gave a short speech, the MLC girls gave a wonderful combined presentation with many inspiring messages for the Nepali girls and Bec spoke about the journey these girls were about to embark upon and the importance of having dreams.

After some quick votes of thanks it was time for the party to begin, starting with a special layered sponge cake decorated for the occasion, and cut by Rosemary on behalf of the MLC group. There were also cookies and plenty of soft drink. The MLC girls also presented a number of beautiful big blankets that had been made by students from the school back in Sydney. As we come into winter in Nepal these will be well used! The group also presented some pencil cases fully equipped with pens, pencils and all the things the Dream Centre girls will need to get the most from their studies.

Our immense gratitude and thanks must go to Rosemary, the MLC girls who visited us in Nepal, the wider MLC family who all contributed to this trip and made the MLC Dream Centre a reality, and especially MLC’s principal, Ms Barbara Stone, who personally donated the remaining funds to get the centre started. We look forward to sharing the updates with you of the ways in which the centre will no doubt change the lives of many girls in Nepal.

 More photos from the MLC Dream Centre opening can be found on our facebook page.

MLC back in Kathmandu Part 3

The final part of the MLC group’s program in Nepal was working with our Dream Centre girls and culminated in the opening of the MLC Dream Centre.

For the first day we took around 60 graduates from the Dream Centre program to Thangkot for an activities day and picnic. This provided a great chance for the MLC girls to get to know the Nepali girls in a fun and relaxed environment. Breakfast was served as soon as we arrived at the park and then everyone was allocated a team number. It was then straight into team building activities with the first being a getting to know you game in which each team member had to learn the name, age, school and favourite hobby of each of their team mates. Once these new connections had been made the groups had to choose a team name which always brings some fun and unusual results!

The first ‘serious’ activity of the day involved each team having to design an outfit made entirely of newspaper and dress one team member in it. We gave each team some small strips of crepe paper to add a little colour and the craziness began. We saw everything from dresses, skirts and shoes to handbags, watches and earrings! The girls had so much fun and really had to work as a team to achieve a good result. It was a good chance to illustrate how creative you can be even with minimal and inexpensive resources. They knew the stakes were high as there was to be a fashion parade with prizes for the best outfits. Once all of the entrants were complete we lined them up on a pathway in the park and had everyone else stand on each side and then the girls paraded their teams’ designs up and down the ‘runway’. We had everyone clicking the cameras furiously to create the fashion parade effect and the entire group were in stitches of laughter. Winners were chosen, the prizes (chuppa chups and chocolates) were presented to the winning teams and everyone was congratulated on a fantastic effort and some great entertainment!

With no time to rest the groups were then split with half going to play ball games while the other half played a crazy version of fruit salad. All of these games had been prepared and were led by the MLC girls. The ball games – captain ball, tunnel ball and under/over – were complete chaos as the teams frantically raced to be the fastest. Fruit salad was not much better with the numbers hidden in a ‘story’ so that the girls really had to listen carefully to see if their number was called. At times it was hard to tell whether games were being played at all or whether there were just 70 girls running around screaming – the sign of a great program!

By now with the sun high in the sky the girls were thoroughly exhausted and it was time to sit and enjoy some dahl bhat for lunch. This was the que for some very well-fed looking dogs to start hanging around, but they didn’t have much success as everyone ate all of their lunch and many went back for seconds.

Now replenished it was time for all the groups to come together for some larger games such as ‘bang’ and bull rush. I don’t know how the MLC girls or the Dream Centre girls had the energy but they went on running, screaming and laughing for another 2 hours. I think they would have continued into the evening but as the shadows began to grow longer it and the day became cooler it was time to return to the buses for the trip back to Kathmandu. No doubt all involved would sleep well that night!

The day was a great success and a fantastic opportunity for the MLC group to meet Nepali girls from a variety of different backgrounds and see the importance of programs such as the Dream Centres’ ‘skills for learning, skills for life’.

To be continued…

MLC back in Kathmandu Part 2

Following the two days at Bal Mandir the group from MLC spent a day in the small town of Panauti, about 35kms south-east of Kathmandu. Three of the girls from Project Snow Leopard joined us as official photographers for the day, giving them a fantastic chance to test their skills. The photos in this blog were all taken by them so thanks to Jalpa, Sabitri P and Asbini.

Panuati is a very old town perched between two rivers and is believed by many to be a particularly sacred spot. There are a number of ancient but well maintained temples there and a walk through the laneways is like a step back in time. We first took the group on a walk down to the confluence of the two rivers, passing many people drying grain and herding their ducks along the way.

I shared some stories on the history of the formation of Panauti and the rivers before we continued on to a bamboo swing that had been erected for the Dashain celebrations. Dashain is one of the main festivals in the Nepali year and giant bamboo swings are put up everywhere for the children to enjoy. Each of the MLC girls were eager for their turn on the swing, much to the amusement of the locals passing by.

After visiting the Indreshwor temple, believed by some to be the oldest original temple in Nepal, the group made a quick visit to a local school where a number of our Dream Catchers scholarship girls studied. Four of these girls then joined our group as we moved on to our house where everyone enjoyed some refreshments on the roof terrace and some lively debates about the status of women and girls in Nepal started! It was the perfect opportunity for the girls from both countries to share their ideas and experiences with their peers and we saw many points of view change as other perspectives were considered. I then shared the story of our house being haunted(!) and the bizarre ritual we had to perform to exorcise the ghost which caused great amusement and some looks of concern amongst the group.

It was then time for a quick lunch followed by some games and activities as well as some impromptu dancing and singing. All too quickly the afternoon came to an end and the MLC group had to board their bus for the drive back to Kathmandu. I’m sure the day provided them with a wealth of cultural and religious information about Nepal that they would not have seen in the metropolis of Kathmandu. As well as this, meeting their peers from a rural government school would have provided them with another aspect to the lives of girls in this part of the world.

To be continued…  

MLC back in Kathmandu Part 1

A group of 9 students from MLC School, Sydney have once again been working with us in Kathmandu. Arriving on the 16^th of October they spent 7 days with us on a mix of service work and cultural activities, as well as a few more days doing sightseeing, shopping etc.

After an orientation meeting and a trip to Boudha, the first day of ‘work’ involved an afternoon visit to the child protection home at Bal Mandir. There the girls paired up with similar aged girls from Project Snow Leopard and they spent an hour or so discussing youth issues in Nepal and comparing them with Australia. As well as some obvious differences I think the girls were quite surprised at how similar teenagers are all over the world. Once the girls were feeling comfortable in each others’ company the singing started with rounds of Resham Phiriri bursting out from all over the playground! This was the cue for all the groups to come together for one combined rendition which included dancing and which a couple of the MLC girls attempted to learn. This led into the Macarena which always works to get everyone moving as they try to learn the moves.

By now a large number of other curious children from the home had arrived to join in the fun. The MLC students had prepared a number of larger group games and activities which they started to allow everyone to be involved. It is always amazing to see the way children can learn to play a game without any understanding of the English explanation they were given – play and fun really are universal. All too soon it was time for the Australian group to leave however there was no doubt about the fun and excitement they had brought to Bal Mandir that afternoon.

The following day the group returned for some more work with the Snow Leopard girls. First up was a quiz contest for which the girls were divided into three mixed teams. I gave them a variety of questions covering geography, culture, current affairs, entertainment, maths and logical thinking. All teams did very well and it was a great way for the girls to get to know each other better. After the quiz we divided the group into four teams and gave them two debate questions – it is more important to focus on education than health for the development of Nepal, and women are more important than men for the future of Nepal. Both of these topics had somewhat controversial elements to them and it was fascinating to see the arguments some of the teams came up with.

At the conclusion of the debates it was time for MLC to present the girls from Bal Mandir with some beautiful hand made blankets from the MLC students back in Sydney. The girls were extremely grateful and immediately told us that they would give them to the toddlers and babies in the home as they needed them the most as winter approached. With that, it was time for the MLC girls to depart and begin plans for their next activities in the days to come.

You can see more photos at our facebook page.

To be continued…  

Dream Catchers Celebration Day

Last Saturday (2^nd October) we held our first ever Dream Catchers celebration day. The day was a chance for all our girls with Dream Catchers scholarships to meet, play games, do activities, share experiences and celebrate their efforts in grabbing hold of the opportunity of education.

Of the 200 girls currently holding scholarships, around 150 were able to attend. The event was held in Panauti, a small town just outside of Kathmandu and in the centre of the Dream Catchers project reach. Girls attended the day from Phulbari, Sanga, Bhaktapur, Panauti and of course Kathmandu.

The busloads of girls arrived at a small Ganesh temple complex in Panauti around 10am and after a welcome tika it was time for breakfast. Many of the girls had traveled for almost 2 hours and needed to eat in order to have enough energy for the planned activities. Straight after breakfast the girls were divided into 10 groups, each with a mix of girls from all the different schools we work with. It was amazing to see how quickly the girls got to know the new people in their groups as they started working together.

First activity of the day required 3 girls from each group to remember and state the names and hobbies of everyone in their group, a good way to get them to learn something about each other. The groups then had to decipher their group name which was the name of an Australian animal hidden in a hangman puzzle. Girls in Nepal love playing hangman and before long we had our teams: kangaroos, koalas, kookaburras, snakes, sharks, rosellas, red back spiders, platypus, echidnas and dolphins. The teams then designed and created a team flag which would later be judged for bonus points.

It was then time for the games to begin. First up was the 3 legged race, clearly a new concept for many of the girls but they all took to it with reckless abandon and often chaotic results! This was followed by the equally challenging balloon between the knees race. By now all of the teams were completely into the swing of things with wild cheering and applause for their team mates’ efforts. Next game required the girls to complete the race course whilst sucking on a straw to hold a piece of paper on it. Not at all as easy as it sounds as the girls soon found out!

The final game on the program required the entire teams to participate in a game of captain ball, racing against each other to complete one full round. At times it appeared as though there was no game at all as balls appeared to be flying randomly through the air in every direction, but somehow the game was completed and winners were decided.

 That concluded the games and activities part of the day and it was then time for everyone to move to the hall to enjoy some dance performances whilst the judges tallied up the final results. Prior to announcing the winning team Bec made an announcement and presentation to a very special girl amongst the group. Srijana had in April completed the SLC (School Leaving Certificate) exams and came first in her school. She is from the small village of Phulbari and attended the government school there. It was the first time a girl had ever placed first in the SLC exams at this school. What a truly outstanding achievement! When this was announced there were huge gasps and cheers from the girls in the hall, they were stunned and awestruck by such an effort. We took the opportunity to share Srijana’s story as a way of motivating and inspiring all of the girls present, all of whom share a similar background and set of challenges in gaining an education. Srijana is truly a remarkable young woman who will no doubt continue to do amazing things with the opportunities she has been given.

At last it was time to announce the winning team – and it was the Snakes who came out on top. Each team member came to the stage to accept their certificate from Bec and a big round of applause from the audience. The points system was structured such that the winning team had to have done well in the team building exercises such as the flag creation and ‘getting to know you’ exercises to have won, so well done Snakes!

With the official program completed it was time for lunch and some more dance performances. Everyone devoured their plates of dahl bhat whilst watching some traditional Nepali dances and of course some of the girls joined the dancers on stage. Some girls even had the energy to go back outside and start playing more games! But as 4pm approached, and knowing many of the girls had quite a bus ride home, it was time for new friends to bid farewell. The day was a huge success and a real treat for these most deserving of girls.

Thanks to everyone involved who helped to make it such a fantastic day! 

Dream Centres Graduation - Part 2

Last Friday (1^st October) we attended the graduation of the second group of girls from the Wiley Dream Centre in Chandol, Kathmandu. The program was also attended by our volunteer from Scotland, Katya and her daughters, Fern and Clover.

We were taken through the afternoon’s proceedings by 2 girls from the centre acting as MCs, one announced everything in Nepali and the other in English. They had obviously prepared a great deal and they did themselves proud on their big day.

To begin with, each of the girls stood up and introduced themselves in English. This was a huge deal for these girls as many of them struggle with English at school and it was the first time they had to stand in front of others and speak. They all did exceptionally well and it set the tone for an inspiring and happy occasion.

After a speech from the head of the local community group who have provided us with the room for the centre, and a quick speech from me, it was Fern’s turn to wow everyone by giving a short speech she had prepared in Nepali. Both Fern and Clover have been studying at Riviera, our Model School, and the Nepali classes were clearly helping!

It was then time for the serious business of the afternoon – prize giving! Awards were presented in the following categories: Highest Star Achiever, Best Performance, Best Improvement, Most Creative, Most Co-operative, Highest Attendance, Best Speaker and Best Speller. The winners were presented with a special note book and a badge recognising their achievement.

We then presented each of the graduating girls with a certificate and their memory book which they had been working on over the 6 month course. This was a touching moment for these girls and there were a few tears.

Last order of business was the food. Snack boxes were distributed and everyone mingled and shared in the wonderful achievements of this group of girls. It wasn’t long too before the music started and some impromptu dance performances began. As the afternoon drew to a close it was again truly inspiring to reflect on the progress these girls had made and exciting to think of where they will go with their new found skills and confidence.

Thanks must go especially to John Wiley & Sons for their sponsorship of this Dream Centre.

Dream Centres Graduation - Part 1

Last Thursday and Friday we attended graduations at the Baneshwor and Wiley Dream Centres. It was the third group of girls to graduate from the Baneshwor centre and the second group from the Wiley centre.

In Baneshwor, the girls opened the program with a special Dream Centre song they had prepared. It was a fantastic start to the afternoon. I filmed it and will be posting it on our YouTube channel soon. The song was followed by some short speeches prepared by the girls to share their experiences of attending the Dream Centre. The girls spoke with such confidence and conviction and it was inspiring to see how they had grown since starting this journey.

It was then time for the serious business of the afternoon – prize giving! Awards were presented in the following categories: Maximum Star Achiever, Best Speaker, Good Discipline, Most Creative, Very Helpful, Highest Attendance, Best Improvement and Most Active. The winners were presented with a special note book and a badge recognising their achievement.

Both Bec and I then gave quick speeches, focusing on how proud of the girls we were and encouraging them to continue to reach for the stars in everything they do. We also told them about an upcoming picnic they would be attending as part of the visit from MLC School. This sent a frenzy of questions through the room and they could then concentrate on nothing else!

Time for further presentations finally calmed everyone down. Chetana presented each of the graduating girls with a certificate and their memory book which is a collection of activities they had completed during their time at the centre. It was wonderful to see all their hard work recorded in such a way that they will always be able to refer back to it if they need inspiration.

This was followed by speeches from each of the facilitators – Sabita and Bipana – who as well as congratulating the girls, directed their words to the parents who had attended. They stressed the importance of family support and that the parents should be very proud of their daughters and all they had achieved and will continue to achieve. It was fantastic to see that 8 parents had attended the program, showing support for their daughters. Many of them begged us to take their daughters for another 6 months but we stressed that it was important the girls did not become dependent on the centre, they now had the skills to move forward on their own.

The program concluded with a delicious snack box for everyone and unfortunately lots of tears from some of the girls. I guess this showed they really enjoyed their Dream Centre experience!

I will post about the Wiley Dream Centre graduation shortly …