Books & Fruit Delivery

Last Saturday (8th August) Bec and I delivered two very special surprises to the kids at the orphanage at Bal Mandir. The first was a box of books we had collected from various donors in Sydney and Singapore. The second was a crate full of delicious fruit including mangoes, bananas, apples, pineapples and pomegranates!

We arrived around midday and the kids were all playing in the courtyard, unaware of the pending excitement. As Bec and I walked in carrying two very big boxes we quickly acquired a big group of curious followers. We first opened the box full of books and after an initial frenzy of squealing and grabbing we managed to get everyone to line up so that they could choose a book to take and read.

It was amazing to see all of the children so enthusiastic about reading and learning new things. It was also very touching to see the older children helping the younger ones to read their books. Bec got in on the act too with some fantastic facial expressions and sound effects to add to her reading, making her easily the most popular sideshow! Another favourite was a book all about Transformers, which kept the boys very busy as they debated which of the ‘robots in disguise’ had the best powers.

We spent about 2 hours with all of the children reading book after book and just as everyone appeared to be getting tired the fruit, now chopped up and ready to eat, arrived. Another frenzy ensued but somehow all the children ended up with their fair share of fruit.

As everyone settled down to eat it was our queue to leave. We were exhausted but also invigorated by spending the time with such energetic and inspiring kids. Thanks to all those who have donated books after the past year, they are being well used and loved!

Seeking help

This posting is a request for help – plain and simple. In the last year or so we have been fortunate enough to receive significant donations of books, toys and children’s clothes. I particularly want to thank Randwick City Library Service and MLC School as they have both given us so many fantastic resources for use in Nepal.

But here’s the catch, transporting things to Nepal is extremely expensive! We have recently been given 100kgs of free air cargo by DHL and this was very helpful but we still have 27(!) boxes sitting in our storage shed waiting to go to Kathmandu. One of the challenges in sending things to Nepal is that it must go by air. If we ship the boxes they arrive in Calcutta in India and then travel by truck the rest of the way. As you can imagine, there isn’t much if anything left of the cargo by the time it arrives in Kathmandu!

We have had some success with various Rotary Clubs contributing funds for shipment of goods and we are hoping that perhaps some of you may have similar contacts and/or ideas for ways to help. It is a shame to see so many great resources sitting Sydney and we will get them to Nepal one way or another but hopefully with your help it can be sooner rather than later.

If you think you can help us to put these resources in the hands of the children of Nepal, please get in touch. We have some simple resources such as letters or Powerpoint presentations that we can send you to use too.