Joining Hands Nepal
A Family Orphan HomeArchive for Education
A Pilot’s Tale
This week has been story making week during English class in our orphan home, and the children have really been enjoying the process. For most of them, it is their first real introduction to the creative process and having the freedom to make up a story of their own. We spent last week learning about adjectives and using them to describe people and things in preparation for this week’s exercise, and it has been a great benefit. Next we learned about the 4 key elements of a story: Characters, Setting, Plot, and Moral. Using these elements, we have been creating our story. What is most impressive about this whole week is the characters and story the children have come up with so far.
In Nepal, most of the stories have to do with love and duty to family and country. These are certainly valuable and worthwhile topics for a story, but the children are not often exposed to stories of independence and personal freedom. That is why it was pleasantly surprising to hear them choose a young female protagonist who becomes an international pilot, traveling the world, and who is unmarried at the age of 24 and in no hurry to marry despite her mother’s pressure because she is happy with her life of freedom and adventure. In fact, the moral of the story they decided upon is that it is okay to be independent and follow your dreams. When asked if there was anyone they knew in real life who was independent and followed their dreams that they admired, they picked their guardian, our director, Himal. We can only hope they keep this feeling as they get older and find their own dreams to follow.
New Volunteers
We are so pleased that two new volunteers have arrived with us in our home this week. Sundar, left, is from the USA and will be staying with us for two months. Lalita, right, is from the Netherlands and will staying with us for two weeks. Already they are very comfortable at home with the children. The children have had no problem to open up to them and accept them as part of the family. The school gave them a nice welcome program, providing tika and katas and a cultural program from the students. English classes after school have gotten a new dimension having two volunteers, as we can now split the older kids and the younger kids into two groups so each teacher can tailor the class to their group’s level rather than teaching two levels in one group. We are happy Sundar and Lalita were so eager to do this and both teach every day, because it is just an extra benefit for the children these next two weeks that is normally not available. Also, as you can notice in the picture, Lalita quickly got the typical Nepali dress so she can feel even more a part of the culture. She also wants to learn already how to cook dahl bhat, and she plan to cook some dish from home on the weekend for all of us. It is exciting to see how quickly the children have taken to this cultural exchange program, as now Sundar and Lalita are only the second and third volunteers, but it is already quite normal for the children. How fortunate we are to have all of the partners we have helping us to make this wonderful program a reality so soon, and for it to be so successful.
Our Sister Returns
The children have gotten quite a surprise this week as Bina didi from Germany returned to our home for the week to finish her last volunteering week in Nepal. She entertained the children with stories of her travels to Everest base camp, and they were so happy to have her again in the home. Already she has asked our cook to teach her how to make the typical Nepali food, Dal Bhat, so she can try to prepare it for herself and friends at home in Germany when she returns. Also the children requested her to teach them some words and phrases in German one day in class before she leaves. It is beautiful to see the children really becoming interested in the cultural exchange and taking an active role in learning about Bina and her country. It seems the surprise and excitement of having Bina return to visit again has really made them understand the value of these opportunities and these experiences, and now they will try to make the most of it. We are looking forward to a nice rest of the week with our returned sister, home again, home again.
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