Category Archives: Children of the Home

Rain, fun, and a new brother!

Written by Josep Mas, volunteer of the children’s home in Bhimphedi

It is monsoon time when the landscape acquires an intense shade of green and a scent of earth and vegetation. The plants in Bhimphedi valley grow at dramatic speeds, and the sound of the rain keeps you company all day long. How is life in Balmandir Chilrden’s Home with the arrival of the rainy season? Keep reading to know more about our activities, games and outings these days… and about the arrival of a new brother!

Vegetation blossoms in Balmandir gardens with the arrival of the rainy season

Despite the rain, there are sun spells every now and then, and the activity in Balmandir doesn’t stop! Let it be painting, playing, or making origami works…

A sunny morning?! Time for painting!
Lov and Ramesh during an exciting button football match.
While making origami works time flies, and our collection of small art pieces keeps growing!

There are also those who impatiently wait for the door of the computer room to be opened. Power outages happen on a daily basis, but as they say here, “ke garné!” (what to do about it!)

A small crowd eager for for some computer time!

One of the trends these days are trolley strolls across the garden, something that everybody enjoys, and not only the kids!

But not everything is staying in Balmandir. Nature is all around, and rain is not an excuse for giving up on small outings!  In fact, puddling in all possible ways makes the walk much more interesting!

A walk in the rain to Bhimphedi hanging bridge

 

Small Ekendra did not miss the stunning views from the arms of Kiran, despite the hood!

Going to school is also much more exciting under the rain. Everybody hurries up to get hold of a raincoat or an umbrella before leaving, to avoid getting drenched from head to toes….

Kushal and Binita had a lot of fun the first time they came back from school under an umbrella.

These days the river grows bigger and, when in calm, it’s an ideal place for a refreshing dip. There are skilled youngsters in Balmandir who don’t lack inventiveness to build a pool with stones and branches, where they can jump, dive, and maybe catch some fish…

A pool in the river, under construction.

If sun shies away as the afternoon progresses, a small bonfire by the riverside helps warming up before coming back to Balmandir, just in time for a good dal bhat meal!

Getting warm by the fire after a river dip.

 

But as you know, not all are good news during the rainy season. Monsoon also brings problems every year with transport, flooding, and landslides. Young Bikram, born in the vicinity of Bhimphedi, lost his parents and brother in one of these fatal landslides about a year ago. Nepali newspapers related about that episode of floods and landslides that took away the life of tenths of people across the country,

After a few months living with his grandparents, without enough resources to offer him a secure future, Bikram got into custody of Nepal Children’s Organization (NCO), who assigned him to Balmandir Children’s Home in Bhimphedi.

Bikram explains us about how was his family before a landslide took them away.

Here he started a new adventure, new house, new school, and a big family where everybody shares the conviction that whoever enters Balmandir becomes a new brother! This is for the good and for the worse, to share fun, games, some fights, and happy moments.

This new house of Bikram does not lack colour, thanks to the help of his borthers and sisters.
Teachers of Bhim Aadhar Community School giving Bikram a level test on his first day of school.

After a few weeks Bikram is already making himself familiar with Balmandir and its surroundings,  catching insects, collecting plants, or climbing somewhere high with a good view from where to contemplate the valley of Bhimphedi. Who knows which new adventures are awaiting for him?

Bikram on a tree with a view to Bhimphedi

Another monsoon day grows older in Bhimphedi, as the music of the falling rain leads us once more to the world of dreams.

River and fishing!!

Writed by Vanessa Martínez Lozano at the children’s home

It was 20 years since the last municipal elections in Bhimphedi, and for this reason there was one week of official holidays. We took the opportunity that we had holidays again and that it was very hot to go to the river many days!

While small kids enjoy the river and learn how to swim, some of the big boys are fishing.

After a while, by the river, a bit of sun to get warm.

Ready for fishing!!

We use the walks to the river to take pictures of the plants and later look for information about them. The kids know a lot about local plants properties and they love to search for new plants.

When we return to Balmandir everybody works together on cleaning and cooking the fish.

Sumit, Basu, Bisu y Kush are working toguether on cleaning the fish.
Sushil is in charge of cooking today!!

 

Birthdays and more!!

  Written by Vanessa Mártinez volunteer at children’s home

April is a month full of birthdays, so we celebrated all of them with a big party!!

We had gymkhana, cake, presents, music and lots of fun!!

Kush singing Manu Chao!!
Samir, one of the birthday’s boy enjoying the cake!!

We celebrated the birthdays of Samir (9 years old), Bishnu (12 years old), Arjun (18 years old), our didi Beli and Mònica from Awasuka.

And to refresh ourselves in these hot days we went to the river! Kushal that is just 4 years old, walked downhill and uphill without any problems.

Beautiful hill sight!!
Kushal’s first time at the river. He gets crazy!!

New school year, more kids!

Written by Pau R. E.

In Nepal the new school year begins in May. This new year also comes with new additions to the center. We go to the Nepal Children’s Organization coordination center in Kathmandu with a new volunteer that arrived recently. Once in the coordination center, we ask to pick up the children, but they are not ready yet. After almost 4 hours of paperwork, finally 2 boys and 2 girls are assigned to us.

With the letters prepared, we first go to pick up the girls, who are in Naxal children’s home. Just arriving many children recognize Dani and they start shouting that they also want to go to Bhimphedi, all of them very excited.

While they finish preparing the girls, the children of the center are put to play with us making a circle around us. Once the girls are ready, we get so surprised by their age, they are very young (6 and 4 years old)! And they are sisters too! We continue our trip to pick up the 2 boys in the Siphal children’s home. Once there, the boys are already ready; but they are even smaller than the girls (4 and 3 years old)! What a surprise!

So now we have everything ready to continue by taxi to Balco, where we take a Jeep towards Bhimphedi. We are assigned the 4 back seats for the 6 of us (2 volunteers and 4 children). Just before riding the older girl begins to cry. She has recently arrived in Naxal, so we can’t imagine how she felt. After trying to reassure her without any success we decide that she will eventually accept the situation, so we proceed to get on the Jeep where her crying persists and seems to start passing into her younger sister. The rest of the Jeep passengers (6 more people) start to be bothered by the crying. But luckily soon the two sisters fall asleep, leaving only the two boys awake. The older boy gets along very well all the time, and the younger one doesn’t stop eating cookies and playing with curiosity with the window of the Jeep.

The first half of the journey takes place with a lot of traffic, mainly caused by the amount of mud left by the rain of the last days. The Jeeps, despite having four-wheel traction, they slip and have a hard time making some of the hills. All this makes us arrive much later than planned at the break point, in the middle of the journey. In this places they offer food and/or cleaning of the Jeep to the driver, because they all end up full of mud, all in exchange to bring the travelers as customers.

Once at the stop we awaken the smallest girl, the oldest one had been awake for some time now. We try to get everyone out to stretch their legs and go to the bathroom. The major girl does not want to leave the Jeep and we let her rest quietly inside the vehicle; she neither wants to eat or go to the bathroom. Meanwhile the rest of the passagengers of the Jeep ask curious about the gender of the children, since the boys dress more pink and the girls more blue.

After all the others kids have stretched their legs and have gone to the bathroom we continue with the journey, this time much less calm. The older girl starts to vomit as soon as the jeep continues. Despite asking for a plastic bag, it didn’t arrive in time and her vomit stain her side of the Jeep. The young girl takes little time to want to imitate her sister. We try to distract her and with the ventilation of the vehicle, and this helps her to not be the next one. After a while, the older one throws up again, but fortunately we are about to reach Bhimphedi.

Once in Bhimpedi it is night already, and we call other volunteers to help us carry our bags and the children to Balmandir Children’s Home. We walked slowly through the streets of Bhimphedi, now really dark. When we arrived all the children of the center received us with great enthusiasm, since they were waiting with impatience, and the Didis even more. They are very tired and go to bed early.

The next day we discover how the oldest boy is not a calm one at all, he is the most active in the whole children’s home: wanting to discover all the corners and do as many activities as he can. Who would think that seeing him being so calm in the Jeep! The younger boy is the favorite of both girls and Didis. The new girls need one more day, but they end up playing together with other kids and with a very big smile. It is hard to imagine she is the same girl full of tears inside the Jeep.

The next day we go to buy new shoes for the younger girl and they all go together to take pictures wearing the uniform to enroll in school. So everything is set to start the new course.

The place where you can not go from

Written by Joana Alsina, volunteer of Bhimphedi Children’s Home from 4th May of 2016 to 30th August 2016

There is a place in the world that few mortals know and where only the privileged have been reached. The mountains guarding as it was a fortress are gray and inhospitable during the dry season, offering a lethargic panorama to anyone who walks there. Suddenly the sky becomes a party, and as a noisy alarm relives the mountains and fields, spreading slowly across a blanket of water. Within few days gray and brown turn to bright green, the streams begin to revive, fields of corn growing unstoppable inch per day and buds of the old caterpillars hatch to butterflies so spectacular that they might be confused with mythological animal.

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There is a place in the world where there parsimony and improvisation, where timetables and plannings lose all validity, forcing outsiders to develop a sense of patience to a professional level. Ke garné!

In this place of bright colors, the hours pass peacefully and often too fast between tea and tea, surrounded by bollywoodians rhythms that flow from the radio at full sound and the smell of incense every morning to honor the infinite deities that take care of maintaining the harmony of the place.

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Always with wet feet you walk through the fields or up the street among strong small men pushing heavy carts and goats that seem horses. The bus that carries the milk reaches and distributes its cargo to the women of the town, using the opportunity to chat about the news about other villagers, laughing and shouting with their characteristic endearing and stridency. On the other side of the street starts a parade of dozens of uniformed lads with miraculous white clothes way to school, and dozens of uniformed youth also carefully disheveled way to college.

There is a place in the world where teachers play truant more often than students and where every little event is reason for celebration. In the afternoon the students return home undoing their ties and pulling their shirts out of the clamp trousers. It’s time to go back with family. In this corner of the world there is the most numerous of all, a family where brothers and sisters are counted by dozens. His home is a temple in the middle of the valley, although you should not expect to find the mysticism and peace of a sacred place… nothing further from reality! When you enter this temple, often you can see some of the its young inhabitants hanging over ten meters high trees taking the tasty spring fruits or on roofs next to the water tank that needs a simple and temporary reparation. Yes, there is a place in the world where children run and jump and climb without the help of any adult and without any soft surface where to land safely on. They fall, and sometimes they get a scratch or hound, but nothing happens, on the contrary, because these young men and women adore everything that can be found in a simple medicine kit and the shock of the moment immediately becomes excitement with the first drop of Betadine and the smell of hand sanitizer.

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Between laughter and shouts, brothers and sisters take care of each other with delicate words… or with a slap! Their relentless sincerity and spontaneity will make you feel the most special person in the universe or sink you into the cruelest misery. Nothing eludes these little beings!

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You can find them all over the temple playing guitar, rehearsing the choreography of the latest megahit, practicing complicated magic tricks, cooking wild plants, planting pumpkins, helping to bring to the world small goats or building any new (and when I say any is any) device. The members of this particular family have infinite abilities. You can also see them with bored face in the study room, memorizing and repeating like parrots the lesson or in the most critical moments, laying on the floor with the head on the notebook sleeping. But if you really want to make sure to find them, look for a screen! Computers, phones, televisions… screen addition is the strongest of the pathologies that suffer these kids.

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After much excitement it’s time to sleep. The amazing and loving mothers check that no clever kid goes to sleep without washing teeth, while elder boys gather with absolute secrecy to discuss which the most charming girl in school is. Then, very early, they fall asleep, in pairs, in threes under the fans of the hot room of the temple. Peace reign again for a few hours under the stunning starry sky of this village.

There is a place in the world that has a strange magic that prevents you from leaving it. A place where the emptiness that you feel when you are going from, can be only filled when one day, months later, you wake up and realize that all the memories are real, you were one of the few mortals who had the privilege of reaching Balmandir, Bhimphedi.

In front of the courtains

Written by Daniel Roig, coordinator of the Bhimphedi Children’s Home

Anuj and Raju are two children rescued from the street by the police when they were very small. So, we do not know of any relative of them. But you do not feel pity for them because they do not have a bad life. They study 3rd grade in English medium in the Bhimphedi Community School in a beautiful village in Nepal. They live in a house with many brothers and sisters who take care of them (staff and volunteers), a house with garden, kitchen garden, soccer field, computer room, swing, with guitars and movies every Friday.

They have been especially happy this week because February 14th was Raju’s birthday and two days later Anuj’s, and they celebrated together. First they did it in the school, they brought candies and all the children sang “Happy Birthday” when all the kids are ready to enter their classes.

At home we also organized a very fun competition to see who was going to get the prize: a starred tissue and a chocolate bar.

First test: Fishing bottles

Second test: Blind score

Third test: go to the other side unnoticed

Fourth test: Getting the packet (but it was not possible to get them if they where just competing, they had to collaborate to succeed both. And they did!

Special test: Open the present as fast as you can to get an extra chocolate tablet

In the package they found their birthday presents, in each package: a pencil case full of school supplies and a very modern jeans.

The following week was not bad for these kids neither, because it was the festival of Shivaratri and we made a huge bonfire and we ate, danced and sang around it! If you want to know more about this festival you can see the posts we wrote in previous years: Shivaratri 2015 i Shivaratri 2016.

 

But this is what you can see on the stage, but behind the curtains there are many people working to make possible that all these initially underprivileged children have a happy childhood and a chance to learn a lot in Bhimphedi Children’s Home.

On top of the sponsors, it is absolutely essential the work of many people who altruistically organizes activities to raise money for the children’s home.

Do not miss what happens behind the curtains in the next post!

The Detective Siwakoti

Written by Daniel Roig, coordinator of the Children’s Home

Ashok Siwakoti is a youngster grown up in Bhimphedi Children’s Home. A sharp, funny, outgoing, honest boy, always ready to give a hand. As a member of Amics del Nepal, every day I am proud that we have been part of his life and personal growth, and we still are part of it.

Ashok has been a very active member in the family of Bhimphedi Children’s Home. We remember him playing the main character role of Sagarmatha drama show (directed by Miquel Comas), being the best student of the house, singing and playing with his younger siblings, helping volunteers (even to translate the song “Water Paani” of Monica Sans)…

Long time ago, in a not too far land, there was a problem with waste, which could be found everywhere.
One day came a huge and mysterious bucket. Everyone was scared, but curious to know what it contained.
And from the bucket, the captain Sagarmatha appeared.
Captain Sagarmatha, armed with his cutxo (Nepalese broom) with his speech, …
his army of assistants and …
his catchy songs …
sung by all the children …
and accompanied on guitar …
tried to convince to the amazed public that it was time to solve the problem, working together it was possible!

Ashok is already 17 years old and two years ago he left the Children’s Home and moved to Kathmandu to continue his studies. Since then he can only come to visit his siblings occasionally because he is always busy with school, work or courses. But when he visits the happiness on his face and his brothers’ and caretakers’ is more than evident.

I am lucky that I go to Kathmandu quite often, so I can meet, chat and have a good time with him. Whenever I take any of his younger siblings from the Children’s Home to a Kathmandu hospital and they must stay a few days in the capital, Ashok takes care of them while I have other jobs to deal with.

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Ashok and Pemba (on the two sides) taking care of Lave, who came to Kathmandu for a medical visit from the Bhimphedi Children’s Home.

Even right after the earthquake, a very difficult time in Nepal, Ashok went with Miquel to visit Patan Children’s Home when it was impossible to contact by phone. Everything was fine!

A month ago, Ashok made possible something quite extraordinary. It was a day like any other. Ashok was at the hotel where he works and a colleague ask him to join to a dinner with his friends. Ashok immediately accepted.

Chatting with these new friends Ashok said proudly that he had grown up in Bhimphedi Children’s Home. There are so many Children’s Homes in Nepal, there are so many children at risk here… Another boy also had a story to tell: “I have a friend from my village who has one brother in a Children’s Home. They had to admit seven years ago and later they lost all contact… “.

Ashok continued chatting with this guy, and he got to know that he was from the same district, but Ashok didn’t know the village. There are many villages in Dolkha district, and some of them are really remote…

Ashok: – What is the name of the brother of your friend?
Other kid: – Ramesh Thami.
Ashok: – Ramesh Thami??? This is the name of one of my brothers Bhimphedi in Bhimphedi Children’s Home!

The next day I had the phone of this girl and we called her. She was the sister of of Ramesh Thami and the smaller brother Som Thami! The 18 years old girl, works in Kathmandu taking care of a house. His older brother, already married and with a son, lives in the village of the Dolkha district (one of the most affected by the earthquake), and we could get the number of their aunt, who lives with his two children on the outskirts of Kathmandu in a house made of metal plates.

And thus is how the detective Siwakoti found, after seven years without contact, the family of Ramesh and Som Thami. The two brothers love now to talk on the phone with their family. Before, they had no one to call to. We brought them to Kathmandu for two days to meet their sister and aunt. Now they are very excited about the idea of going the next holidays to their hometown and meet their brother and celebrate the festivals all together!

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When I left for two days the Thami brothers with their aunt, oncle and cousins.
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When I picked the brothers, two days later. This time on the picture you can see their sister.

Thank you Detective Ashok!

To know more about Ashok Siwakoti, read the text he wrote for this blog, here!

Saraswoti Puja

Written by Daniel Roig, coordinator of the Children’s Home

Although there is no fixed number of deities in Hinduism, there is the popular concept that there are 330 million of gods and goddesses. Naturally there is no list with all their names, and many are considered different avatars (manifestations) of the same gods.

Of all these gods, naturally, some stand out and have much presence in the lives and culture of Nepali people. Brahma (the creator of the Universe), Vishnu (the preserver or protector of the Universe) and Shiva (the destroyer or Judge of the Universe) form the Trimurti, the three aspects of the supreme universal God. These three aspects symbolize the whole circle of “Samsara” in Hinduism (the cycle of reincarnation).

There are the three goddesses and consorts of the Trimurti. Saraswoti (goddess of intellect and art), Laksmi (goddess of prosperity) and Parvati (goddess of fertility and love) form the “Tridevi”.

Saraswoti is the goddess of the arts, creativity, intellect and letters. In almost all the compounds of temples in Nepal you can find a small independent temple dedicated exclusively to this goddess. You can recognize her by her four arms, sitting on a lotus flower, dressed in a white “sari”. Often holding a book and a vina (stringed instrument). Her vehicle is a swan.

The day of worship to Saraswoti (Saraswoti Puja) is considered the end of winter and is very celebrated in Nepal. People believe that this day is the best day to start learning something. Parents and schools take young children to temples dedicated to Saraswoti to write their first letters on the walls with a chalk.

On this day students worship books, pens, notebooks… Musicians worship their instruments and artists worship their tools.

The schools of Bhimphedi also celebrated this special day. The teachers and students made a ceremony and everyone was offered with some food in honor of Saraswoti.

It is a really special day in the community school where all parents are invited, students show dances and school awards to the best students of the previous year: The three students with the best marks in each class, the student with the least absences, the tidiest student…

Some children of Balmandir danced (Basu, Samir, Raju, Sarita, Purnima, Santa, Sumit, Bishnu and Ramesh) and also won some of the prices: Basudev, Raju, Sushil and Bishnu for their marks and Manuj, Bishnu (again) and Ashish tied with the best attendance, missing only 2 days out of the 209 school days. Hopefully next year it will be even better.

A Christmas Story: The boy who lived

Written by Cristina Morales, member of the Board of Amics del Nepal, with the collaboration of Miquel Comas and Daniel Roig.

Drawings by Ramesh Syantang boy of 14 years of Bhimphedi Childrenps Home, who has lived 10 years with Jay.

Jay has a smile that grabs you and does keeps with you and takes you to the highest cloud sky beyond…

Now is one of the eldest in the house, where he is loved by everyone: he helps in the kitchen and the children, always ready to play football rather than to do homework… with a confused apperance, sometimes it seems that he plays to hide what he understands; he does not speak much, but his look is noble as the water of the rivers of the Himalayas.

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Jay with a friend, studying, playing and sleeping in Bhimphedi Children’s Home.

Jay does not like the surname “Balak”. It is not his real surname, but the one Nepal Children’s Organization gave to him when they took him, it means “child” and means that the person has no known origin or caste, there is a stigma to it… so he decided to change the name and take Anish Rana as own.

Sometimes Jay/Anish wonders why he has lived for 14 years in Balmandir the Children’s Home of Bhimphedi. Some nights, while listening to the laughter and confidences of the caretakers, carrying utensils in the kitchen when almost everyone sleeps, watches the sky full of nearby stars and dreams awake that somewhere, maybe in the mountains or perhaps in the hot plains of Terai, now there is a woman who looks to the same Nepalese sky, remembering a child that was lost long ago…

Jay has grown up, it’s time to leave the house and start a new life. He carries with him the gift of solidarity: an education, a secure environment for his childhood, proper food, personal care, affection, friends and family of a different kind: Amics del Nepal, working, with the help of so many people of good faith, so that Jay and many like him have more opportunities in the future.

As a condition to integrate into society and find better jobs to be independent, Jay should get the Nepali identity card. Not knowing the exact origins of a person, this process is very complicated. For Jay/Anish it will be very difficult to get his ID…

Searching for distant memories still stored in his memory, suddenly, one day Jay/Anish could say to Krishna, the director of the Bhimphedi Children’s Home, a name that reminded him of his place of origin: “…laghara…”.

And with this name Krishna decided to embark on the adventure of going to all the villages with a similar name to “Laghara” near the police station where Jay was found, to try the foolish and risky task of finding a relative of the boy. Hours in bus, three days of frantic visits to offices of police, meeting with people of different communities, local government officials…

One night, a family from a village from three hours walk reached the police headquarters. They heard the news of this young reunited. Won’t it be the son who they lost 14 years ago while accompanying his mother to cut grass for the buffalo?

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Jay, thanks to Krishna (Former Center Chief of Bhimphedi Children’s Home), finds his family in the far west.

The marks behind the ear and hand do not lie. Nor his factions… a miracle! whole family burst into tears of joy. The next day more and more people come from the village to the police station to see with their own eyes the boy who lived!

14 years ago, a mother left with her three years old son to go to cut grass for their cattle. It is a very common job in Nepal, anyone who has seen it has been disconcerted watching Nepali women loading huge piles of grass hanging from their forehead walking up in the steep paths of the Nepali hills as if it was not a superhuman job… The name of this boy who accompanied his mother was Dipendra Malla son of Jay Malla.

But that day something unexpected happened that would change that boy’s childhood. In a moment of distraction, he lost sight of his mother! The boy walked and walked, but he could not find his mother again. Finally he reached to an urban area, where the police picked him, but he was only able to say “Jay”…

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Jay, after getting lost in the forest, walked and walked till he reached to the citye where the police station is.
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The police takes Jay when he was walking alone lost.

His family was looking for him for weeks, but finally they had to accept the tragic “reality”, his son was dead. No sense to keep looking, much less to go to the city, three hours away, to talk to the police at that time of civil war between the Maoists and the rulers, many people died at that time…

Police label Jay as orphan, and gave the surname “Balak”. They put his photo in the newspapers but he was never claimed, so he was transferred to Bhimphedi Children’s Home, where he lived for 14 years under the tutelage of NCO and Amics del Nepal.

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When the police was unable to find the kids family they took him to Bhimphedi Children’s Home.

But now, on any day of autumn, it seems that life has wanted to reward the determination of those responsible for the Children’s Home to help Jay/Anish/Dipendra to find his origins, and the boy with the captivating smile has gone from being an orphan to have mother, father, two brothers, one sister and uncles, cousins… everyone is very happy and surprised of this event!

Two months later, Anish already has his Nepalese citizenship, there his name is Anish Malla and now he is doing all steps to correct the information in the certificate of secondary education. He has even got time to register for further education in the closest city to his hometown.

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Jay has found his parents in the far west.

This Christmas story is a true story, example of other stories of this 2016 of boys and girls from Bhimphedi Children’s Home, as Susmita Syantang, Bipana Khadka, or the brothers Ramesh and Som Thami, who, thanks to tireless work of those responsible of Balmandir-Bhimphedi-Amics del Nepal, have given the most important gift the them, to rediscover their roots, to reconcile them with their origins and make them unique people, important and loved by their family.

On behalf of the entire team of Amics del Nepal, I wish the best for this 2016 Christmas and that this New Year fills our lives of Happiness and Solidarity.

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Jay will make a kite fly up away.
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Jay dressed to go to the school in his last year of secondary level.
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Jay leading his team in a game in Balmandir.
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Jay with the face full of flour after completing a game.
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Carrying some of his small brothers in Bhimphedi Children’s Home.
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In a walk to the forests of Bhimphedi.
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Helping with some works in the Children’s Home.
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With a “tica” celebrating a Nepali festival.
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When Jay finished the secondary level he work some time as a cook and in the project Awasuka.

 

Twenty-fifth, Christmas!

Written by Joana Alsina, volunteer of Bhimphedi Children’s Home.

In Nepal the streets are not glazed, the trees are not decorated, the lights do not flicker night and day but even so, the 25th is a national holiday also in Nepal. So, we decided to make of it an special day for all of us, as we had already done the previous two years (2014 and 2015).

This year we organized an orientation race for all the town for the 8 groups of 3 kids from the Children’s Home. The preparations took us several days. But it was fun and interesting. We learned a lot, both volunteers preparing, and children playing.

This Christmas game in groups consisted of:

1. we gave a map to each team with a cross that they should locate and go. (The original map was provided by Mònica Sans. Raquel brought the printings in A3 format from Kathmandu).

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2. Once there, the three members of the group wished “Merry Christmas!” to the shopkeeper or the family they had to find and they asked if they had something for them.

3. The selected villager told to them only the beginning of a Nepali saying or proverb. The work of compiling, transcribing and translating the proverbs was done by Manisha, with the help of the other community school teachers, books and technical help from Dani. The work of allying with the villagers was also made the day before the game by Manisha (our Nepalese volunteer), with the help of Joana and Raquel, walking around the village, map in hand, to mark the selected places for the clues.

4. The group, then, had to return to the Children’s Home, and write the complete sentence on the board to get up to 5 points. If they did not know the complete proverb they had to find someone to help them (and the great wild card was Maya didi, the caretaker of the Children’s Home who knows all the Nepalese sayings).

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5. Once the phrase was written, the group had to invent a small representation of a situation in which that proverb could be said. 5 more points in play.

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6. Once they had done these two tests a new location was made on the map and they had to go there again. Each team had to get up to 5 sayings from different places of the town.

The locations were drawn by lottery so that some groups had to go several times to Chabeli (the farthest part of the village, uphill). It was two very intense hours. Kids ended up exhausted of going up and down, and volunteers stressed of receiving so many groups with the new phrases to be checked and scored.

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Finally, around twelve-thirty noon, we finished the game. The first three groups were asked to choose one of the three Christmas lots we had prepared.

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There was also a gift for all of the kids: speakers to watch movies and listen music.

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But the surprises did not end here. Kush brought meat for everyone for Christmas dinner. It was delicious! So at the end, this didn’t become being so different Christmas for the volunteers, although being so far from home we were with family, with excitement and surrounded by good food.

We leave you with the 21 Nepali sayings we used for the game. Now all the kids and volunteers can already use when necessary:

Example sentence that we represent Dani, Raquel, Manisha and I:

मुखमा राम् राम् बकलिमा छुरा।
Phonetic: Mukhmā rām rām bakalimā chhurā.
Literal: In the mouth Ram Ram, in the pocket a knife.
Meaning: When someone says good things, but later in the facts he betrays his own words.

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The 20 sayings the kids had to find in different locations in the village:

हाड् नभएको जिब्रो चिप्लिन्छ।
Phonetic: Hāḋ nabheko jibro chiplinchha.
Literal: Because the tongue doesn’t have bone, it slips
Meaning: If we speak sometimes we will make mistakes.

वैगुणिलाई गुणले मार्नु पर्छ।
Phonetic: Vaiguṅilāī guṅle mārnu parchha.
Literal: We have to kill the bad with good.
Meaning: Even when people do something bad to you, you should do good to them.

तै रानी मै रानी कसले भर्छ कुवाको पानी।
Phonetic: Tai rānī mai rānī kasle bharchha kuwāko pānī.
Literal: If you are a queen and I’m a queen, who will take the water from the well.
Meaning: If no one wants to work, who will do the necessary things.

अचानाको पिर् खुकुरीलाई के थाहा।
Phonetic: Achānāko pir khukurīlāī ke thāhā.
Literal: The knife doesn’t know anything about the pain of the cutting board.
Meaning: Who is suffering some pain, only himself can understand.

रात् भरी करायो दक्षिणा हरायो।
Phonetic: Rāt bharī karāyo dakshiṅā harāyo.
Literal: Someone who shouts all night and doesn’t get anything
Meaning: When someone works hard and doesn’t succeed.

एकले थुकि सुकि सयले थुकि नदि।
Phonetic: Ekle thuki suki sayale thuki nadi.
Literal: One split dries, hundred splits make a river.
Meaning: Alone you cannot do big things, but all together we are powerful.

नाच्न नजान्ने आगँन् टेढो।
Phonetic: Nāchna najānne āga:n ṫeḋho.
Literal: Who doesn’t know how to dance, feels the ground irregular.
Meaning: When someone who doesn’t know how to do something, blames the environment instead of accepting his own weaknesses.

आफ्नो आङ्गको भैसी देख्दैन अर्काको आङ्गको जुम्रा पनि देख्छ।
Phonetic: Ᾱphno āηgko bhaisi dekhdaina arkāko āηgko jumrā pani dekhchha.
Literal: On your own back you cannot see a buffalo; on other’s back you can see even a louse.
Meaning: It’s easy to see other’s mistakes, but it’s difficult to realize about your own.

अल्छि तिघ्रो स्वादे जिब्रो।
Phonetic: Alchhi tighro swāde jibro.
Literal: Lazy thigh, delicious tongue.
Meaning: When people don’t want to do any effort, but they want to get the benefits.

मेरो गोरुको बाह्रै टक्का।
Phonetic: Mero goruko bāhrai ṫakkā.
Literal: My ox costs twelve.
Meaning: When someone is stubborn and feels he is always right, and he doesn’t listen to others.

के गर्छस् मङ्गले, आफ्नै ढङ्गले।
Phonetic: Ke garchhas Maηgale, āphnai ḋhaηgale.
Literal: What Mangal does, to himself the mistakes.
Meaning: When you do bad actions you will suffer the consequences.

वनको बाघले खाओस् नखाओस् मनको बाघले खान्छ।
Phonetic: Vanko bāghle khāos nakhāos manko bāghle khānchha.
Literal: The tiger of the jungle may eat you, or not; but the tiger of the heart will eat you.
Meaning: If you are scared that something bad can happen to you, then even if bad things doesn’t happen, you will not be fine.

घरको बाघ् वनको स्याल्।
Phonetic: Gharko bāgh vanko syāl.
Literal: House Tiger, Jungle Fox
Meaning: When someone is very stubborn and rude in house, but later outside when someone does something wrong to him, he doesn’t dare to confront.

खुट्टा भए जुत्ता कत्ति कत्ति।
Phonetic: Khuṫṫā bhae juttā katti katti.
Literal: If feet, a lot of shoes.
Meaning: If you don’t succeed in something, don’t worry you will find other options.

हुने हार् दैव नटार्।
Phonetic: Hune hār daiva naṫār.
Literal: What has to happen, God can not stop.
Meaning: Noone can do anything for the inevitable events.

बुढा बुढिको झगडा परालको आगो।
Phonetic: buḋhā buḋhiko jhagaḋā parālko āgo.
Literal: The fight of husband and wife is like the fire of hay.
Meaning: When a husband and a wife argue, they cannot be angry for long time; so others should not interfere.

जसले मह काट्छ, उसले हात् चाट्छ।
Phonetic: Jasle maha kāṫchha, usle hāt chāṫchha.
Literal: Who cuts the honey leaks his hand.
Meaning: Who makes labor can collect the fruits.

बादरको हातमा नरिवल्।
Phonetic: Bādarko hātmā nariwal.
Literal: The coconut is in the monkey’s hand.
Meaning: When someone does not take care of something, so it may break soon.

१२ छोरा १३ नाति बुढाको धोक्रो काधँ माथी।
Phonetic: Barhā chhorā terha nāti buḋhāko dhokro kādh: māthī.
Literal: Twelve sons and thirteen grandsons, but the heavy pack is on the old man’s shoulders.
Meaning: When someone, even being surrounded by many close people, he/she doesn’t get any help when needed.

एक हातले ताली बज्दैन।
Phonetic: Ek hātle tālī bajdaina.
Literal: One hand cannot clap.
Meaning: We should help each other.