New people, painting and trekking...

My first few weeks have gone by in a blur. I cannot believe how quickly time is going, it will be Christmas before we know it!

Since my last blog post, we have been incredibly busy. Not only have we had 6 new normal volunteers arrive but we have also had a group of 29 young people from England called HEG (Hereford Expedition Group) here with us! We are truly exhausted but it has been a great few weeks. Chrissy will do a more detailed blog post about what HEG have been up to soon.

 

My new volunteers have all settled into their placements brilliantly and have adapted to the ever-changing last minute nature of Nepali life very well.

Last week, the volunteers and the young people from HEG painted three of our schools. They painted the outside of Annapurna Primary School, so that it now looks bright and welcoming. At PrabhatPrimary School, two inside classrooms were given a nice coat of paint so that they are now clean and fresh. Finally, at Shree Krishna Nursery, our talented volunteers painted incredible artworks on the walls giving the once dull classroom an exciting and stimulating feel. The volunteers really enjoyed this; it is slightly different to their usual volunteering role and so they found this opportunity to improve the schools and make them a better environment for learning something very worthwhile.

Sadly last week, we had to say goodbye to Sylvia. Sylvia had been volunteering at Shree Krishna, running English speaking lessons with the younger children. They got a lot out of this opportunity to work with her and will miss her.

As well as being hard at work at their usual placements, the volunteers and myself visited Asha Foundation on Friday afternoon and the volunteers ran an Arts and Crafts session with the children and young people there. It went very successfully and the children had a great time making wonderful  creations!

Sunday, yesterday and today have been festival days here in Nepal. We have been celebrating and enjoying the dancing in the streets! Our volunteers decided to make the most of their unexpected long weekend, and have been on treks to Poon Hill and Australia Camp. They returned with stories of leeches, beautiful views and the most hospitable people they have ever met.

I’ve just returned from a closing ceremony at a local village where the HEG group were staying. I took Sophia with me, who is currently here on a film and photography placement to document the event. It was great to go into the more rural areas surrounding Nepal and see a taste of village life.

If you would like to join the team here in Nepal please email Gemma on gemma@podvolunteer.org