After being continuously working as an engineer in over the past 10 year, I had come to the decision to have a career break by end of 2010. Right after the Chinese New Year in February 2011, I set off for Nepal, one of the poorest and least developed countries in the world to participate in a four-month volunteering work.
Having done some studies, I had finally chosen Umbrella Foundation (UF), an Irish founded Kathmandu based Children home to be my placement for the voluntary assignment.
My daily duties involve serving the morning dal baht at around 820am before the kids go to school and walked them to the school which is about 2 km away from the children homes. Volunteers will then gather back at the volunteer house to have our weekly meeting or to have a group discussion for the Saturday activities. Around 3pm, volunteers will again bring home the kids and help to serve them their tea and bread before they began their afternoon study session. Football, basket ball and frisbee are the most popular games for the kids in the evening. Dal bath will then be served at 530pm follow by an evening study session.
As Nepal rest day is on Saturday, we shall endevour to organize some activities on every rest day such as football match between houses, drawing or chess competition, treasure hunt, talent shows or sports day.
Apart from what had just mentioned, each of the volunteers are being assigned with different jobs. I was being assigned to update the kids’ background in the organization database which is of great help when come to reunifying the kids with their long lost family. I was also involved in the preparation of teaching material for school in Gurje, a remote village located north of Kathmandu whereby the UF is working closely to educate the locals. Two volunteers will travel to Gurje to conduct an English teaching lesson to the local school and at the same time promoting personal health and hygiene knowledge to the locals on weekly basis.
Whilst, my assignment with the UF has also enabled me to personally witness a few cases of family reunions. I still can recall vividly the emotional impulse and excitement between the ‘lost-and-found’ kids and their respective parents, moving all of us to tears.
In May 2011, UF opened a new home in Rasuwa. 60 kids were being sent back to their origin province in order to be closer to their families. 130km north of Kathmandu, deep down into the bottom of the Himalaya range, it took the kids 9 hours journey by bus to arrive at a small village name Syambubesi, which is a famous for the starting point for Lantang(NOTE 4) trekking.
Three weeks later, later, together with another volunteer, we set off to Syambubesi to visit the kids . Notwithstanding the beautiful scenery along the countryside, our journey was “incredibly terrifying”. The bus was overloaded with uncountable locals and their poulty such as roosters & goats. Some were even ‘sat’ on the bus roof! I can feel my heart beat jumping fast and i dare not to even look out the window as the road is to narrowed for the bus to go through, one inch away from the road is the canyon with few thousand meter depth in the Himalaya range. The bus wheels just couldn’t afford to slide more than one inch away from the ground
The visit to Rasuwa home was wonderful and I am delighted to find out that the kids adapted well to their new environment. The UF is working closely with the only school in the area in order to provide education for the new arrivals. Having been relocated closer to the kids’ origin village, I witnessed mothers carried baby on their back, walk at least 4 hours over the mountains to visit their long lost child. After a series of assessment, families which are affordable to bear their own kid are allow to bring home their children; else the children will continue staying with UF to received education.
In a blink of an eye, my four months of placement ended with a good mixture of laughter and tears. The bond between the kids and me has grown strong to an extent that words can not describe.
End of June 2011, when it was the time to wake up from this wonderful dream and head back to reality. I had a wonderful farewell party with the kids followed by the traditional Nepalese blessing ceremony whereby tikka(NOTE 5) and khata(NOTE 6) were presented.
Stepping out from the house holding my farewell cards from the kids, I turn around to see the kids gathering at the gate and the balcony waving good bye to me. I wave back strongly to them the one last time with my tears rolling out from my eyes. Whizzing through the small alley heading back to the volunteer house, accompany by millions of stars smiling back at me, I feel the satisfaction for what I had done for the pass four months. The memories with the kids will be kept deep down in the bottom of my heart as part of the most unique and unforgettable experience in my life.
Note:
1. Namaste is the most common greeting in Nepal. It has the same meaning as Hello or How are you.
2. The kids address a female volunteer as sister and a male volunteer as brother.
3. Dal bath is the basic food in nepal which consist of rice and dal and abit of curry vegetable. It is being served twice a day as breakfast and dinner.
4. Langtang is one of the most remote areas of Nepal. Bordering Tibet, the mountaneous Langtang National Park is known for its spectacular Himal Mountain Views, and is a popular trekking destination.
5. Tikka is a red powder to put on the forehead as a blessing.
6. Khata is a scarf to be given to someone who is leaving for a journey as a good luck and safe journey blessing.
Having done some studies, I had finally chosen Umbrella Foundation (UF), an Irish founded Kathmandu based Children home to be my placement for the voluntary assignment.
The UF is a small Independent None Government Organization (INGO) whereby its operations is basically support by the donation raised from all over the world.
Ten years of civil war in Nepal, which ended in 2008 had displaced more than tens of thousands of children. With countless children orphaned and even more trafficked and/or abandoned, UF was established with the goal to rescue destitute children and given them access to education and at the same time working on re-unify the misplace children to their family. There are currently seven children homes under the UF, sheltering over three hundreds children; of which six are in Kathmandu and another one is in Rasuwa, which located at the edge of The Himalaya range.
Upon arrival, I settled into the volunteer house which located within walking distance to the children homes. At here, I get to know other volunteers from all over the world such as Ireland, Germany, Canada and France.
My volunteering life began with a simple greeting “Namaste”(NOTE 1) . I was being introduced to 46 boys as their new sister (NOTE 2). My worries waned immediately when I was warmly welcomed with the innocent smiley faces of the children during out first met. Thereafter, I sat to have my first dal baht (NOTE 3) meal with the kids, learning to eat with hand by mixing the dal with the rice and the skill of putting it into my mouth.
My daily duties involve serving the morning dal baht at around 820am before the kids go to school and walked them to the school which is about 2 km away from the children homes. Volunteers will then gather back at the volunteer house to have our weekly meeting or to have a group discussion for the Saturday activities. Around 3pm, volunteers will again bring home the kids and help to serve them their tea and bread before they began their afternoon study session. Football, basket ball and frisbee are the most popular games for the kids in the evening. Dal bath will then be served at 530pm follow by an evening study session.
As Nepal rest day is on Saturday, we shall endevour to organize some activities on every rest day such as football match between houses, drawing or chess competition, treasure hunt, talent shows or sports day.
Apart from what had just mentioned, each of the volunteers are being assigned with different jobs. I was being assigned to update the kids’ background in the organization database which is of great help when come to reunifying the kids with their long lost family. I was also involved in the preparation of teaching material for school in Gurje, a remote village located north of Kathmandu whereby the UF is working closely to educate the locals. Two volunteers will travel to Gurje to conduct an English teaching lesson to the local school and at the same time promoting personal health and hygiene knowledge to the locals on weekly basis.
Whilst, my assignment with the UF has also enabled me to personally witness a few cases of family reunions. I still can recall vividly the emotional impulse and excitement between the ‘lost-and-found’ kids and their respective parents, moving all of us to tears.
In May 2011, UF opened a new home in Rasuwa. 60 kids were being sent back to their origin province in order to be closer to their families. 130km north of Kathmandu, deep down into the bottom of the Himalaya range, it took the kids 9 hours journey by bus to arrive at a small village name Syambubesi, which is a famous for the starting point for Lantang(NOTE 4) trekking.
Three weeks later, later, together with another volunteer, we set off to Syambubesi to visit the kids . Notwithstanding the beautiful scenery along the countryside, our journey was “incredibly terrifying”. The bus was overloaded with uncountable locals and their poulty such as roosters & goats. Some were even ‘sat’ on the bus roof! I can feel my heart beat jumping fast and i dare not to even look out the window as the road is to narrowed for the bus to go through, one inch away from the road is the canyon with few thousand meter depth in the Himalaya range. The bus wheels just couldn’t afford to slide more than one inch away from the ground
The visit to Rasuwa home was wonderful and I am delighted to find out that the kids adapted well to their new environment. The UF is working closely with the only school in the area in order to provide education for the new arrivals. Having been relocated closer to the kids’ origin village, I witnessed mothers carried baby on their back, walk at least 4 hours over the mountains to visit their long lost child. After a series of assessment, families which are affordable to bear their own kid are allow to bring home their children; else the children will continue staying with UF to received education.
In a blink of an eye, my four months of placement ended with a good mixture of laughter and tears. The bond between the kids and me has grown strong to an extent that words can not describe.
End of June 2011, when it was the time to wake up from this wonderful dream and head back to reality. I had a wonderful farewell party with the kids followed by the traditional Nepalese blessing ceremony whereby tikka(NOTE 5) and khata(NOTE 6) were presented.
Stepping out from the house holding my farewell cards from the kids, I turn around to see the kids gathering at the gate and the balcony waving good bye to me. I wave back strongly to them the one last time with my tears rolling out from my eyes. Whizzing through the small alley heading back to the volunteer house, accompany by millions of stars smiling back at me, I feel the satisfaction for what I had done for the pass four months. The memories with the kids will be kept deep down in the bottom of my heart as part of the most unique and unforgettable experience in my life.
Note:
1. Namaste is the most common greeting in Nepal. It has the same meaning as Hello or How are you.
2. The kids address a female volunteer as sister and a male volunteer as brother.
3. Dal bath is the basic food in nepal which consist of rice and dal and abit of curry vegetable. It is being served twice a day as breakfast and dinner.
4. Langtang is one of the most remote areas of Nepal. Bordering Tibet, the mountaneous Langtang National Park is known for its spectacular Himal Mountain Views, and is a popular trekking destination.
5. Tikka is a red powder to put on the forehead as a blessing.
6. Khata is a scarf to be given to someone who is leaving for a journey as a good luck and safe journey blessing.
