Joining Hands Nepal
A Family Orphan HomeArchive for Nepal
Masters of Command
This week in English conversation class at the orphanage we have heavily focused on teaching commands, and the dedication has really paid off. At the beginning of the week basic commands were introduced, such as “stand up”, “sit down”, “come here”, “show me the …”, “bring me the …”, and so on. Then, throughout the week as we moved on to different lessons, commands were always included fundamentally into the lesson without specifically mentioning the topic and the range of commands was slowly expanded. Now, the children automatically respond to several important and universal commands in English without having to think or be given any hints. The speed at which they pick up things through a careful combination of repetition and patience is amazing, and it is very satisfying to see how much progress has come in about a month from these daily classes, especially this last week. We are happy we can provide this great advantage to the children and to see it pay off. Here’s to hoping the success continues and their English level soars above their peers in the coming years!
Oh Captain, My Captain
The day of Bina’s departure, as we attended her goodbye ceremony following the morning routine, we were afforded the opportunity to see the announcement of the new school officers for the year. One student is selected from class 10 as school Captain, one from class 9 as Senior Vice Captain, and one from class 8 as Vice Captain. We recognized instantly the new school Captain as the young girl who gave the student speech during Bina’s welcome ceremony in impressive English, and so it was no surprise to see her elected to this position. In addition to these school officer positions, the other upper classes each have their own boys’ Captain and girls’ Captain. We found out the next day that our own big sister Chhiring was selected girls’ captain of class 7. It is quite a surprise given that she has just come into this new school this year, so to be selected a class Captain shows her strength and intelligence.
She has also been stepping up lately in the orphan home, speaking more English outside of classes and taking a leadership role in English conversation class. In the beginning, she was too shy to speak any English at all, even when asked, and so it was hard to gauge where her level in spoken English lay. Already the exposure to foreign guests who speak no Nepali has begun to impress upon her the necessity of practicing and speaking English if she wants to communicate with them. With her newfound focus and dedication to improving her spoken English, we are already envisioning the day when perhaps we will be watching her announced as school Captain 3 years from now and giving speeches at the school to welcome future volunteers in flawless English. The future is definitely bright for this fast maturing young girl if she continues to realizes the unique and wonderful opportunities provided to her by the programs we have set up here at the orphanage and take advantage of them. Hopefully she will be the first of many from our home to reach such great heights.
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