We have been fortunate that several volunteers have visited our children, teaching them new skills and how to have fun.
They love meeting people from other lands.
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Due to COVID 19, we have had no volunteers since 2019, but now that the world is allowing more freedom of movement, we hope to welcome volunteers in the future .
(Nepal is currently just asking for a QR code to prove vaccination status, otherwise a Negative PCR test.)
At our new, location there is an opportunity for volunteers to stay on site.
Eu Lynn from Malaysia first visited our hostel in March 2019 and promised she would be back, which indeed she was, a soon as August of the same year.
By profession, Eu Lynn is an editor and worked well with the children, giving lessons in English and Basic Maths to students in Classes 4 and 5.
She also interacted with the little ones, teaching simple games and songs and with all of them Eu Lynn taught them stretching exercises and easy gymnastics, always with the emphasis on safety. She showed them how, if their core muscles were sufficiently strong, they could sit on each other’s stomachs. They loved this !
Sandy Adhikari and Jess Knight from Cornwall in the UK, visited Gaury School and the hostel in August 2019, bringing with them a whole host of good things that they and Sandy’s mother, Renz, had collected, in part by raising funds through Truro and Penwith College, specifically the Foundation Studies students with autism and learning difficulties.
Gryphon Hockey was also a major donor of new hockey sticks and Alex Money, who is involved with Truro Hockey Club, helped Jess get other donations and kit from around the county.
More details and photos will be found on our Facebook Group page, ‘Education Earthquake Nepal’ https://www.facebook.com/groups/816574868474235/
In brief, Jess and Sandy brought along with them lots of hockey sticks with kit, some tennis racquets, hygiene packs for every child and a laptop.
'Rocky Hockey' By Jess Knight
When I first had the idea to bring hockey sticks to Nepal, I was firstly surprised to find out that the majority of Nepalis had never heard of hockey despite India having one of the top teams in the world! I was really excited to be bringing a new sport to them and introduce them to this great game.
Carrying over 30 kilos of hockey equipment was a struggle, but worth it when I saw the looks on the children’s faces! They were really eager to learn the rules and get stuck in. The biggest challenge was playing on the rocky grounds outside the school, making for quite a bumpy game. Every now and then, we’d also lose sight of a child who had rushed off to chase a stray ball when it rolled off the hillside!
It was fun to watch the little ones so interested in learning skills involved in passing the ball to each other, while the bigger boys were more interested in the rough-tough side of tackling! I really hope they continue to practice and hopefully, one day, I’ll be back to see how they’re getting on.
(October 2019)
In September 2019, it was Lauren Kelly’s third visit to Nepal and the second to meet and interact with our children. This time she brought with her her cousin, Leanne Brown. As the path was so slippery during the monsoon, the children came down to visit their guests at our Lodge, where they were staying, and greetings were equally effusive from both sides. It was Leanne’s first visit, but Lauren has been enormously supportive of our project from the outset.
The ladies treated the children to chocolate cakes, snacks and drinks, so there was quite a party atmosphere about the day. Lauren had brought with her some lovely little Australian gifts for the children, and books and calendars depicting her country, its animals, landscapes and Aboriginal art.
A particularly poignant gift was that of story books recently published by Lauren’s daughter’s company, White Light Publishing. These were written by Neill Jones and it was a delight to see the older children settling themselves down with the books to get eagerly absorbed in the stories.
Lauren now works with her daughter, Christie, and brought along copies of the book White Light published about our project three years ago. Called Rising Above the Rubble’, it was thrilling for each child who had appeared in the book to be photographed next to their photo from three years ago. You can just see the delight on their faces.
Leo Lourdes, CEO of Yogasphere, based in London's Shard, is especially supportive of our project. Apart from teaching yoga to the children when he has visited alone, he has also brought volunteers over to teach them new skills such as handicrafts, cooking, singing and dancing.
Another yoga teacher, Madi Mae Sharkey, from the USA visited our Peace Dragon Lodge and invited the older hostel children to learn some yoga. A year later she same back bringing some of her students and they went up to the hostel to give everyone another session.
Helen and Albert Bell have been generous and enthusiastic supporters of our Project since its earliest days They came to visit us late in 2016, when the children were still in our rented hostel accommodation and Albert, being a football coach, taught them how to play well, which they adored, and of which they never tired. Both the girls and the boys showed great enthusiasm.
Albert also brought high quality sports kits, donated by Luton City Football Club.
Helen and Albert both live in the UK, and if anyone prefers not to make donations directly to our bank, Helen is always will into pay cheques into our account, so please just ask if you would like her contact details.
Iona Fraser-Clark was 11 years old when she came to visit our hostel and before visiting she had climbed Poon Hill (3,193 metres) to raise funds for our project. She climbed with her mother Fay, and Fay's partner, Steve.
Iona studies at Mary Webb School and Science College, which was very supportive of her endeavours.
They also brought with them lots of good things for the children, including some lovely clothes that had been Iona's when she was smaller, some of them hand made by Fay. Nepali children in general are much smaller than European children, as you can see in one of the photo below where Iona is pictured with all the 11 year olds in the hostel.
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