Hello from Nepal!
It's been a long time since my last blog post, (sorry!) but I am back online!
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| At Annapurna Base Camp |
I recently took a holiday from PoD and took the time to trek
to Annapurna Base Camp with a few friends. You can see photos
here. We did it in 8 days in the end and
it was incredible! To be completely 360 degrees surrounded by the Himalayas
is like nothing I have ever done before. Living in Pokhara (a Lakeside
town where we have all our
placements) you forget how diverse Nepal
is and that within just a few days you can be in a completely different
climate. We trekked through forests, single
tracks, farmland, villages, valleys and snow! and through the rain, sun,
hail and storms - incredible! This was part of my training for when I trek to Everest Base Camp in December to raise money for the PoD Charity. If you would like to sponsor me then please follow this
link.
In other news, PoD volunteer is once again starting to get
busier after the Christmas period. We currently have 5 amazing volunteers with
us working in a variety of our placements.
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| Giving the donation at APS |
The
PoD Charity has been supporting
AnnapurnaPrimary School (APS) provide lunches for the entire school. We discovered that nearly
all the children in the school were coming for the day with no breakfast and no
packed lunch, they would then have to wait until late in the evening for their
only meal! Now thanks to the
PoD Charity we have been able to provide yummy
nutritious lunches for the entire school. (Many thanks to all those have
donated.)
Most our afternoons have been spend at our favourite
StreetChildren's Rehabilitation Center.
Generally we get the around 3.30pm
in time for the children getting back from school. A quick change around and
wash and the kids are ready for their snacks (watch out, Ama, them mother there
serves the sweetest tea and will not take no for an answer, a few of our
current volunteers don't like sugary tea so they have seen me trying to drink 4
without anyone noticing!!)
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| Some of the cheeky chappies at Balam |
Jeff, who is with us for three months is working in or rural
school in
Balam. He has been getting to grips with the Nepali way of life and
has settled in very well. Due to lack of funding, Balam recently lost two of
their teachers which means at any given time in the school at least one
classroom has no teacher. So that's where we help out. Jeff has been helping
with the English and Grammar lessons for Grade 1-3 and has been coming up with
some new and exciting teaching methods rather than the rote learning that the
children are used to. The highlight of his weeks are musical Wednesdays when
the whole school participates in singing and dancing!
We are getting excited about our first
Volunteer Experience
group arriving in two weeks and have lots planned for their time here.
For volunteers who are coming out soon, we are out of googly
eyes (it's a tragedy!) and coloured card. If you have the time/space before you
come, we would love some more for our PoD supplies, I've never been able to
find anywhere in Nepal we can buy them.
Holi is a
Hindu religious festival held in Spring, and it's one of my personal
favourites! It is known as Phagwah or the Festival of Colours and if you have a
look at our photos you can see exactly why. 
