Rice Planting, Swimming and clothes...

OK, I've learnt my lesson! Last time I said how quiet it had been...well not any more!! We've had an extremely busy two weeks (but that's how I like it!)

We started the week off by going to Annapurna Primary School for an assembly whilst the Lions Club of Pokhara donated them new school uniforms. The children were so proud to have new uniforms (right down to their socks!) and all looked very smart the following day at school. Having a uniform is a point of pride in Nepal, as many families cannot afford to buy uniforms, or they are passed down for years and often very tatty and mis-fitting. To have uniforms is so special for them and we were happy to have been invited to this event.

Speaking of clothes...last Friday, myself and the volunteers went to Asha Foundation to spend some time with the children there but also to donate 2 sacks worth of clothes. We had lots of T-shirts, dresses, trousers and a few pairs of shoes for them. Unfortunately for the boys, it was mostly girls things, but the boys got at least one t-shirt each. Thank you to every one who has donated clothes to us over the past couple of months - it's like a jumble sale when we give them the clothes, with all the kids sifting through it all looking for the most fashionable item!

In sadder news, Ama (from the Street Kids Center) has been unwell over the past few weeks, from what appears to be intestinal problems. She has been in and out of hospital, at one point they wanted to keep her overnight, but due to her responsibilities (having 10 children to look after!) she was unable to. She has been having to foot her medical bill by herself which has become quite expensive. After speaking to her at length and hearing her struggles, I contacted the PoD head office to see if there was anything we could do, and the PoD Charity has very kindly offered to help out with her medical expenses so that she does not need to worry. (Another great example of the help the PoD Charity can do)

 

On Saturday, for volunteer Daniels last day and the start of the holidays for the Street Kids, we took them swimming to Penguin Pool in Pokhara....So much fun!!! The kids had an absolutely fantastic time, diving, swimming, playing around. It was great to see how much they have improved since the first time I took them back in September 2012. Cheeky BJ who is quite a competent swimmer anyway, spent quite a bit of time with me wanting to learn different strokes. He would then go and teach his younger brother what he had just learnt! He got the hand of backstroke and breaststroke pretty quickly but for s

ome reason can't quite master floating on his back!

Now the monsoon has started, everyone is busy getting their rice planted. Georgie and Elizabeth spent Sunday at a local Rice planting festival which is held annually. From the sounds of things there wasn't much actual rice planting, but a lot of mud fights, races and a tug of war. It sounded like a lot of fun! They got covered in mud!!

No it's the school holidays, the kids have finished yet more exams, so our current volunteers are spending their time with the girls from Bahini trying to help improve their confidence in conversational English and then the afternoons at the Street Kids.

If you would like to join the team at PoD Nepal, then please email Gemma at gemma@podnepal.org

A quiet week in Pokhara...

It's that time of year again - It's starting to rain again! But this is actually a blessing. We've been averaging around 30 degrees recently so it's actually lovely when the rains come in and cool every thing down. It's also great for the farmers and so many great fruits (lychees, mangos, watermelon etc) are at the markets now.

We've been having new volunteers arriving every week now, and it was great to welcome Georgie back who volunteered with us last summer. She said it felt like coming home when she arrived back to Pokhara which is lovely to hear. She is already stuck in working at Annapurna Primary School, the Street Kids and Asha Foundation.

It has been a fairly quiet few weeks actually, which is sometimes nice considering how busy we usually are! The schools have been ticking over nicely, the street kids are doing great, and the Asha kids are spending most of their free time tending to the farmland (thanks PoD Charity for paying for another years rent!).

Juan, a longterm volunteer left last week, but not without shaving the kids hair one last time! They seem to like it at this time of year as it keeps them much cooler. Although Khadke did tell me when Juan walked in with his shaver 'not me this time, I not like bald!' 

We've got lots of plans for the next few weeks though as holidays start soon so most of the kids will be off for a month. Lots of activities, swimming, football, picnics and treasure hunts soon!

If you would like to join the team in Nepal, then please email Gemma on gemma@podnepal.org

Asha Foundation Update.

Well it is getting HOT in Nepal! We are averaging 30 degrees now most days and thunder storms and lightening almost every afternoon (which by the way I love!!)

Me with Ashim, the youngest of the children

Me and Phil have just completed giving out our quarterly 3 month donations by visiting the Asha Foundation yesterday and donating money towards meat so that they can enjoy chicken or buffalo twice a week. I love Asha Foundation, I know I probably shouldn't have favourites, but this is one of them. I have enjoyed seeing how they have developed in the past two years since I have been visiting them. They are now almost totally self sufficient. What with the farm land that PoD Charity rent for them (and I've just got news we have the funding to continue this for another year!!! :-) ), and their livestock (cows, buffalo, chicken and one gorgeous dog), they have to do very little shopping. They get fresh curd every day and a whole variety of veggies from the land. In fact when I left yesterday they insisted me and Phil take some corn and pumpkins with us!

It's been a few weeks since I last visited Asha and since then they have started a new project. The local government development office has started building them a huge water tank to collect water from the natural spring behind the center. They will collect so much that they will in fact be able to sell the vast majority of the water to the local village supplying them with a much needed income. I love small micro projects like this as they make a massive difference to the local communities.

We volunteer at Asha Foundation as a group every Friday where we run fun activities for the younger children. The placement is about 30 minutes away from Lakeside in a beautiful quiet valley just the other side of Sarankot. It's one of the highlights of our volunteers weeks.

If you would like to join us in Nepal, to volunteer and see the work that we are doing, please email Gemma on gemma@podvolnteer.org

May Update from Nepal

Namaste everybody!

I have just returned from my trek in the Everest Region to raise money for the PoD Charity (a full blog post coming soon), I'm still slightly sore and achy, but am back to work in Pokhara.

Before I left for the trek I visited the SOS Bahini Village which is looking absolutely incredible and the girls have finally moved in!!! I went and spent a Saturday with them, eating dal bhat, singing and dancing and it's great to see how quickly they have all settled into their new home. As you know, the Bahini Cafe shut down a few months ago, but they now have a large kitchen where they will continue their bakery training, and sell the produce in the village and also to local restaurants which means volunteers no longer need to survive without those incredible Brownies!! I was so impressed with the set up of the center, the houses are beautiful, they have a health center, a community room, tonnes of outdoor space, a basketball court, veggie patch, and everything made out of natural materials. Unfortunately I didn't take my camera up with me, but I'll make sure to get some snaps for you all next time I'm up there.

All the Schools are now back after what felt like a very long New Years Holiday (they celebrate New Year in April), but I'm pleased to say yet again, all our kids did exceptionally well and have all moved up a year. In fact the vast majority of the Street Kids came top of their class!

Speaking of the Street Kids, whilst I was away, both Pawan and Nissan have left the center and been reunited with their families. Whilst this is extremely positive news and great for their future, I was a bit sad that I didn't get to give them one last hug. This will be a huge change for Pawan who has been at the center for over three years (and he's only 6), but we all wish them the best of luck and they both know they have a home with us whenever they need.

The next bit of exciting news I have is that Bindu is up and walking again! You may remember she got knocked over by a motorcycle over six months ago, it's been a long road of recovery, which is still continuing, but this is very positive and we hope to have her running around in no time.

If you think you would like to join our team in Nepal and volunteer with PoD, please email Gemma on gemma@podvolunteer.org for more information.

Holi, DVD players and Bahini Birthdays

First off, let me apologies for the long gap between posts. I have been sick for about two weeks now, but finally on the mend and back on the computer!

 

It seems like ages ago that we celebrated Holi, the festival of colours, which basically turns the whole country into one giant colourful water fight! I spent the day celebrating with my friends, throwing colour and water on everyone I passed and the volunteers ventured into town to play for themselves. It's a great festival and you really feel like the whole country is having one big party all together!

We're still in the middle of School holidays, following their exams and we will celebrate Nepali new year on the 14th, marking the start of 2071 in the Nepali calendar and the start of the new school year. Most of the schools will re-open on the or around the 20th. In the meantime, volunteers have been working at the Street Kids Center, trying to keep them entertained during the holidays (lots of crafts, football and trips to the park) and Asha Foundation, an orphanage in the hills.

Juan, our Spanish volunteer, recently brought the Street kids Center a new DVD player so that they could watch DVD's in English to help improve their language skills. Needless to say, this has been a great hit, and when the power has been on they have had a few 'cinema' afternoons. In their collection now they have Cars, Toy Story, Avatar and Monsters Ink!

Bahini celebrated their 10th birthday last weekend. I was so upset to have missed it, but because I was sick, I didn't want to pass it on to any of the girls, but it sounds like they had a fantastic day. They have all now moved into the eco village and are settling in well. Because there are over 80 girls there, and many of them may not even know their birthdays, once a year they have a celebration for everyone's birthday, which I think is a fantastic idea. It also celebrates the opening of Bahini and the great work they are continuing to do.

I am still getting ready for my Everest Base Camp trek, which is now only 3 weeks away (esk!). I've been doing Taebo three times a week, swimming and lots of lots of dog walks, hoping to improve my fitness before the trek. I have already raised a fair amount of money for the PoD Charity but am hoping to get a little bit more in the next few weeks. If your interested in following my progress you can see my donation page here.

If you would like to join us and volunteer in Nepal, then please email Gemma on gemma@podvolunteer.org

Shivaratri, Chicken Pox and the new Eco Village.

It's been another great week here in Nepal. Unfortunately we had to say goodbye to Marion who has been volunteering with us for the past 8 weeks but the same day we welcomed Julie so we're never sad for too long!

Before Marion left, we celebrated Shivaratri, which is the celebration of Lord Shiva's birthday. To celebrate, (and I'm not sure why, but) they heat up sugar canes in a big bonfire in the center of town and then smash them on the concrete, making the biggest sound making you thing explosions are going off all around. We joined in and brought a few sugar canes of our own before heading off to our favourite haunt, Silk Road.

Today I visited the SOS Bahini Village which is looking absolutely incredible and so close to completion. Raymond (the founder) thinks the girls should be in by the next 2 weeks which is fantastic news for everyone. As you know, the Bahini Cafe shut down a few months ago, but when they move into the Eco Village, they have a large kitchen where they will continue their bakery training, sell them at the village and also to local restaurants which means volunteers no longer need to survive without those incredible Brownies!! I was so impressed with the set up of the center, the houses are beautiful, they have a health center, a community room, tonnes of outdoor space, a basketball court, veggie patch, and everything made out of natural materials. Unfortunately I didn't take my camera up with me today, but I'll make sure to get some snaps for you all next time I'm up there.

Bahini Eco Village

The Street Kids are all still down with chicken pox - it is spreading quite quickly amongst them all. Because I am unsure whether or not I have had them before I haven't been up there for the past two weeks. I'm missing them a lot, but have been phoning regularly to check the kids are fine and to see if there's anything they need, hopefully I can start visiting again this week.

Schools are gearing up for their exams. The older kids have their SLC's (School Leavers Exams) soon and then it is a months holiday in April, I know the kids are really excited!

We are currently looking for volunteers to come in April to run extra curricular activates at SOS Bahini and the Street Kids Center. This could be any thing from English classes, sports, arts, dance, music etc. During the holidays, there isn't actually that much for the children to do, and a month of no structure or anything fun can be quite a hard time for them. Over the past few years, we have run a type of 'summer camp' at Bahini. Last year we had volunteers running conversational English classes and dance classes with the girls which they absolutely loved so we are hoping to do the same again this year! If you would like to join us in Nepal then please email Gemma on gemma@podvolunteer.org.

A short February Update

It's already mid February now - I've no idea where the time keeps going! It's been quite a quiet few weeks here in Pokhara. We've had the usual unplanned holidays (my favrouite last week was when all the schools shut for a day to worship the Goddess of Education!!! A little ironic I thought, but we had a nice day)

 

Me and Phil made all the donations from the PoD Charity last week and it's great to go to the placements now to see all the things we donated at work. Ward 6are enjoying playing outside on their new matt and the Street Kids are over the moon with their new inverter (and Ama is extremely happy with her new stove). Mark, a man I recently met who was actually volunteering in Chitwan also donated some new towels and sports equipment to the center as well so I'd like to say a huge thank you to him.

Early last week, I received a phone call from the Chairman of the Street Kids Center to inform me that Bidan, one of the children, was sick and suffering from Small Pox. A little worried, I started googling Small Pox and hoped that he had made a mistake, and actually meant Chicken Pox - which is in fact what it turned out to be. He was off school for about a week, but is doing better now, and none of the other children got infected. We asked them about chicken pox, some remembered having it but some didn't know whether or not they had it before. However, a few of our adult volunteers are now not going for a few weeks as they have never had the infection before and it is more serious in adults than children.

 

I'd also like to say a huge thank you to our current volunteer, Marion, who has very generously donated money to buy a carpet for Tika's room at Annapurna Primary School. The PoD Charity has already helped with the other two classrooms so it's great to be able to finish the school off. 

If you would like to join us and volunteer your time in Nepal, then please contact Gemma on gemma@podvounteer.org