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 …