Last week at PoD Nepal.

Begnas Tal the 'other lake' about 20 minutes from where the volunteers stay

It's been a busy week here at PoD Nepal (I feel like I start every blog post off that way, as lets be honest, it's always busy here!). When the volunteers haven't been at work they have been spending their time visiting Begnas Tal, the Peace Pagoda, Chitwan Safari Park, Paragliding and Rafting (we've got an active bunch here at the moment) and we also had the pleasure of celebrating Laura's 18th birthday this week! 

On Friday's we always volunteer as a group at the Asha Fondation which is about 20 minutes by taxi and then a beautiful 30 minutes walk through rice paddies. This week we thought it would be nice to do tie dye Tshirts with them, but as I failed in finding the dye, we decided to do some painting instead. It was great to get ALL the children involved. The children at Asha are from 5 to 15 years old so it is often hard to find an activity that would suit them all, but painting is the way forward I think! They were all very creative and came out with some great artwork that hopefully will be up on the walls once it is dry. 

We have been working closely with SOSBahini, a girls refuge for a few years now, but previously only on Saturdays or during school holidays. However, Raymond, the director has recently asked me if volunteers would be interested in helping out between 3-6pm, after school either in the HUB where some of the younger children are, or in the Crossroads house which is where they older girls stay who are doing their nursing, or higher education studies. Most of the girls go to local government schools which means the level of English they are taught is generally quite low (you would be surprised to hear that many of the English teachers, do not actually know English themselves and simply read from the books) and so Raymond would like us to help with their homework and conversational English. By us being there, they chat in English, build up their confidence and improve their vocabulary. In Nepal, learning English is crucial for them for their future so obviously we are more than happy to help out.

I was in for a surprise when I visited Bahini on Monday however. When I went on Thursday I noticed how fat Luna, their dog had been getting, but was told she was just getting old and lazy, but then the very next day we were greeted by 9 adorable new puppies! Mum and pups are all doing well and they have made Luna a lovely little room with straw and blankets and are keeping her very comfortable. What a lovely surprise!

We also had the pleasure of taking ALL the children from the Street Children's Rehabilitation Center (plus one of the neighbour boys who snuck in!) out for pizza in Lakeside Pokhara. For those of you who already know the kids, will know that this is a great trip as they rarely get to venture into Lakeside and their normal diet is Dal Bhat (the Nepali traditional dish) twice a day. You can see from the looks on their faces how happy they were! They demolished 9 pizza's in under 30 minutes!! I'd like the say thank you to all the volunteers for coming along to this evening as it was such a great night (Although B.J, one of the youngest kids, might have over done it slightly as he vomited quickly afterwards!) 

I know many of you will be wondering how Annapurna Primary School is getting on since the burglary, and I am happy to say they are doing surprisingly well. We have re-stocked them with some basics (pencils, paper etc) and have told them that we will help get some items for the nursery once they have improved their security. Currently there is a gap between the walls and the roof and that is how the burglars got in, Bina (the head teacher) is having a meeting with all the Board Members to get this sorted. So that is good news as well. Two of our current volunteers went to Tika's house (one of the teachers at APS) for lunch at the weekend which was a lovely afternoon and a great way to get to know the teachers better.

It is slowly getting cooler in Nepal now and we are starting to see the mountains a bit more regularly.

If you would like to join our team out here in Nepal then please contact Gemma on gemma@podvolunteer.org

Its nice to be back!

Hello!! It's Chrissy this time, officially back to work with PoD for my second year. I have just arrived back in Pokhara and I have to say it's great to be back. although it is a lot muggier than I seem to remember! I had a wonderful holiday in the UK full of weddings, mini breaks, catching up with friends and family, and now I'm back and ready to get to work.

This is me with my family at my sisters wedding in the UK

 Harriet did an amazing job whilst I was away (I was pleased to see my flat still in one piece!) and it's clear that all the children LOVED her. Although I got a lovely welcome back, it was quickly followed with 'but why has Harriet left' !! I would like to say a massive thank you to her for taking care of everything so well out here. (Not only did she take over my job but she also had the task of keeping an eye on my dog as well and for those of you who have met her will know, that's not always an easy task!)

I've just about caught up with Bindu, Janice, Julia, Phil, the placement staff and the 4 volunteers we currently have in country and am delighted to see that things are going well. They are all really enjoying their placements and getting on very well.

However, on a sadder note, it was a shame to hear about the burglary that happened at Annapurna Primary School, one of the poorest schools we work with. They didn't have much in the first place, and most of what they did have (the toy boxes, books, pens and crayons) had been donated by the PoD Charity. It is devastating that this has happened to them and we are hoping that we can help get them back on their feet. I have a meeting with the chairman in the next few days to determined what is essential to replace to keep the school running and we are hoping that the PoD Charity can donate some emergency funds as it would be such a shame for this school to shut down. All the toys were taken from the nursery, they even took every pencil they could find. For those of you who have had the pleasure of going to Annapurna Primary School, you will know how devastating this will be for Bina, Tika and Anita. It's great that we have two wonderful volunteers at Annapurna at the moment to support them during this difficult time.

We've got several volunteers arriving in the next few weeks and lots planned, but for now I am off to the Street Children's Center to say hi for the first time in 6 weeks. Can't wait!

Fun and Games at the Street Kids

If you would like to join our team out here in Nepal to continue the hard work that we are doing, please contact Gemma on gemma@podvolunteer.org or call the UK Head Office on 01242 250901. If you would like to donate to the PoD Charity to help Annapurna School get back on their feet then please follow this link.

Highlights of summer in Nepal '13

I can't believe it is already time for me to leave PoD Nepal, after (the fastest) 6 weeks. 

It has been an absolute privilege to be given the opportunity to return to Nepal and see the invaluable work that PoD continues to do with the most deserving of children!

It has been a pleasure to welcome such hardworking, enthusiastic and talented volunteers and support them throughout their time here.

A summer in Nepal, however, is never all work and no play and am pleased to say I have had also had lots of fun!

Thought my last blog could show a few of my highlights from the last 6 weeks!

Current volunteers embracing the Nepali culture

1.Working alongside brilliant volunteers who have all put a great deal of hard work into the placements. Here is a few of our recent volunteers, embracing the Nepali culture, and trying on sari's from Bindu's impressive collection).

Our brilliant host family

Bindu and I

2. We are very lucky in Nepal that we are all welcomed into Bindu's family and made to feel like part of the family. Volunteers often comment on how "home like" their stay has been.



3. My main highlight: the incredible children we work with in a variety of different placements, who never fail to amaze me with their optimism, personalities and ability to cope with adversity.

Pupil at Annapurna Primary School

Asim at Asha Foundation 

A big thank-you to all volunteers, staff, and most importantly the children for making my time here so special.

A song and dance at Annapurna Primary School

Today, I spent the morning catching up with Annapurna Primary School. A small, government school which is directly supported by PoD.

  
I was especially keen to see the classrooms which had been painted by previous volunteers, and 10 months later they are still looking in great condition!

 No visit to any school is every complete without a little entertainment... and today was no disappointment. I was rewarded with a show of break dancing, traditional Nepali dancing and singing from the children. Reminding me just how much fun volunteering in Nepal can be!

Break-dancing at Annapurna Primary

It is always incredible to see happy children who clearly take great pride in their school, and I look forward to working with them for the next six weeks.

It's time for me to say goodbye as I'm off to the UK for the Summer. I've had a great first year with PoD in Nepal and the time has flown by! Harriet (or Harimaya as she is locally known!) will be taking over as Charity and Volunteer Manager for the next two months, and will also be updating this blog from now on.
I will be back with PoD mid August and cannot wait for another year here. But for now...Pheri Bhateaula from me!!

And it's Namaste from me, Harriet!!! I am very excited to be back in Nepal and to be taking over from the fabulous Chrissy. I cannot wait to welcome the new volunteers! Just have to find a way to keep Chrissy's dog Buttons under control!

A video from volunteer Patrick

Spring in Nepal - an update from the PoD Charity

Hi everyone, time for an update from PoD Nepal! We recently celebrating the Nepali New Year and it is now officially 2070 (the summer of 69' is long behind us!) which also marks the start of the new school year. We were all delighted to hear how well all our children did in their annual exams, in fact many of the children from the Asha Foundation came top in their class, and every one of our children have moved up a year. Congratulations!!!

Handing over the donation at the Street Kids

It's always a bit slow going back to school, inevitably the school books have not been printed, the calendar is late and everyone has that post festive feeling, but things are slowly starting to get back to normal. There's a new batch of children at Ward 6 and Annapurna Primary that are starting to settle in, we are nearly past the crying every morning when Ama drops you off stage!

We were fortunate enough in Nepal to be given quite a large charity grant this month thanks to some amazing individuals fundraising for us. So with the help of the current volunteers and Phil (the placement manager) I have been set about doing some good with this money.

The first thing we have done is to buy a new carpet for the children of Ward 6, one of our day care centers. The current carpet they have is quite old and tatty, it still has a little bit of life left in it, but the staff at the center wanted to move that into another room, which currently is just bare concrete and get a new one for the main playroom where the kids spend most of their time. We were more than happy to lend a hand, as it makes such a difference as the children spend most of their time on the floor, it will also keep our volunteers happy as the new carpet is quite a bit thicker which will keep their bottoms warm in the winter months.

After this we then visited the Street Children's Rehabilitation Center which is currently home to 11 at risk children. We are supporting them with a years worth of gas for cooking, meat, fish, eggs and vegetables. You'd be amazed how much food these little guys get through, but we thought it was important to provide decent food to help with their nutrition, growth and development. I have also donated some tea as Ama is always offering the volunteers tea every day we go there!

With the headteacher at Shree Krishna

We then went to Shree Krishna Lower Secondary School where they were in need of a new whiteboard after the previous one was damaged. They are in real need to furniture for one classroom  as well (I visited this week and the children are sat on the floor studying as they had no desks or chairs) but unfortunately we currently do not have the funds to provide this, however I have added it to our 'wishlist' for the future.

Me with the chairman from the Asha Foundation

Our last stop of the day was to the Asha Foundation where we have offered to pay for a years rent of their farmland. This is the donation I was most excited about as it means they can save thousands of rupees each year by growing their own vegetables. To this date, they tell me they have never had to go to the market for vegetables. Our aim is to make Asha as sustainable as possible. They recently were donated a cow, which is incredible as it means the children get fresh milk every morning and curd (yoghurt) every afternoon after school. After discussing with the chairman we would also like to introduce some chickens and a few goats, but before we buy them we need to make sure we have the funds to care for them and keep it going.

We are also continuing the support at Annapurna Primary School and paying for the whole school to have snacks each day as many of the children do not get fed before they come to school, have no food with them and are expected to wait until the evening before any food.

It's been a great month for the PoD Charity. For more information on our work in Nepal and how to join our team, look at our website or contact Gemma in the UK on 01242 250 901.  If you would like to help, but don't have the time to come in person right now, you can always make a donation to the PoD Charity and help fund our work here.