Dhanybaad! (Thank you!)

Sadly, my time in Nepal has come to an end. However, the resources that I was able to distribute through loving friends and family from home was phenomenal! Thanks to Debbie, Scott, Kai and my Grandma for their monetary donations, totalling $275 or approximately 18,000 rupees. Here is what that money purchased:
*Numerous new yak-leather school shoes
*New school socks for all of the children
*Lots of botttles of Pepsi, Crush, 7up and bottles of water for our long walks (pushing wheelchairs on unpaved roads and down stairs makes you thirsty)
*School supplies for the children's tutoring and fun: white board and supplies, phonics books, reading books and learning books, like children's encyclopedias, alphabet books, etc.
*New, fancy soccer ball
*Shopping spree for 6 tween age kids at the local market (which was a huge highlight for me, getting to pick out their own hand-picked items, while Surendra bargained his heart out). The kids bought clothes, pocket radios, belts, sandals, hats, scarves, etc.
*New sandals for 7 children
*New backpacks for 6 children
*Donation to one of the DRC employees who was a sherpa leading treks in the mountains and lost part of his leg to frostbite. When he became disabled his wife left him with two small children. I gave him 2000 ruppees for his new prosthetic he is saving for, which is about $30 and is more than half of his monthly income.

*Paying for transportation to purchase some of the needed goods.

Additionally, some friends and family from home put together a big care package. Thanks so much Mom, Sarah, Briana and Christine! The kids received:

*Many sets of cool, colorful and educational flashcards.

*Loads of stickers

*Beautiful yarn and knitting needles that the girls and a few boys gobbled up to make cute creations

*Tons if new children's toothbrushes. There were so many, I was able to give some to another orphanage nearby, too.

All in all, this short period of volunteer work was just the beginning for me. I realized that I had the the potential to give so much more, if I had more training. Working with children with disabilities is really amazing and there is much I could learn. Hmmm.... a possible career focus? We'll see!

Saying goodbye took all afternoon and I hadn't expected such a supportive and loving farewell. The children made me cards with poems and pictures. Some of the girls dug into their personal items and gave me earrings, hair barettes, and jewelry. It really made my heart swell up, the thought of these poor children giving me their personal items and sharing so much of themselves with me. I received many hugs and was overwhelmed with their love and appreciation.

I also had prepared over 20 scarves (with the help of my friends in Taiwan-thanks Angela, Reagan and Coby!) On my last day, I gave some children that recently arrived to the DRC and didn't have scarves for the warm weather. Even though it was quite hot, they were really sweet and wore the scarves long enough to be in pictures.

The chairman of the DRC arrived and the goodbye process began. A mixture of tikka-grains of raw rice mixed with a red powder and some water was made into a paste, then many people of the DRC staff, put the tikka on my forhead, then blessed me with a white, Tibetan prayer scarf. I said goodbye and the tears just flowed and flowed down my face until I reached home.

My venture in getting to the airport on the day of my departure was also interesting. It was a Friday and the Maoist party called a "banda" or strike, which basically means the whole city shuts down. The Maoists take to the streets and prevent traffic from going anywhere. It's possible to cross a banda line, but could be dangerous, as violence can erupt. A volunteer, who had visited Nepal many times, suggested that I be prepared to walk part of the way to the airport and also carry my passport in my hand. Generally, foreigners are not bothered by bandas, but since some Nepali people think I look like them, she thought I shouldn't take any chances. My flight was scheduled to leave at 1pm, but I decided to leave VERY early in the morning by taxi, so I wouldn't have to try crossing a banda line. I arose at 4am, had a separate tikka ceremony with my wonderful Nepali family (yes, they all got up to see me off) and by 5am was on my way to the airport. Alls well that ends well! I spent the morning writing in my new journal, reading a fantastic book Shantaram, which I highly, highly recommend and chatting with other people that were also at the airport super early to avoid any banda trouble.

All in all, this experience has changed my life and my volunteerism is just the beginning of some plans I have to continue working with children and possibly children with disabilities. Again, a big thanks to everyone who supported my cause with monetary and material donations, as well as the emotional support and love. I feel so blessed to have experienced this!

Namaste!