All posts by isabelvalero

[:ca]Activitats i tallers[:en]Activities and trainings[:es]Actividades y talleres[:], Children of the Home

Birthdays in Balmandir!

Written by Isabel Valero, Bhimphedi Children Home volunteer

One thing I like to celebrate birthdays here is that we never held in the same way. And this month we have had a lot of them!

You can start the day with a “happy birthday!” and making tickled early in the morning to wake them up, or maybe you have to pursue some of the teens because they are ashamed of you go shouting “Happy birthday,” but it is a thing which makes you happy to any age!

Or maybe you have to say double happy birthday as twins Kush and Love, that drop a smile even bigger than they have, which is nota little thing!

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Kush and Love opening their presents

And then there are the special and risky birthdays activities, as we did on the birthday of the smallest in Balmandir, Manuj.

Dani came to mind that we could make a treasure hunt throughout the shelter to find gifts that he had prepared (such as crayons, balloons, a little cap and gloves for the cold and a wood crocodile). But in the end we inspired and the treasure hunt was extended to the whole town!

We did a treasure map with marked places where he had to go. The mission was complicated when reaching places, he had to say “Hoy es mi cumpleaños” (in Spanish!) And if he said well, he got the present.

We picked up Manuj at 16h at the exit of the school and after telling him how the game worked we started to search.

Manuj buscando uno de los regalos
Manuj looking for the presents

Here in Nepal it is not very common doing a gymkhana, so it was quite fun to watch Manuj embarrassed going from one place to another, saying the sentence in Spanish. After spending over an hour and a half walking around the village in search of “treasures”, making a stop to make a tea at each house and eating all sweets offered us finally got them all the presents!

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After having found the first present, a cup of tea and pastries to get some energy.

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Some fo the found gifts and other done by the shelter’s children
The birthday ended, without a doubt with Manuj offering candy to all the other children Balmandir!

Children of the Home, Festivals and Traditions, Nepali Culture

Maghe Sankrati festival

Written by Krishna Pudasaini, Center Chief of Bhimphedi Children Home:

Maghe Sankrati was celebrated across the country on January, 15th 2016 (1st Magh 2072). This festival takes place every year, on the first day of Magh (nepali month).

It remarks the end of winter and the beginning of the spring season. In every house, friends and relatives enjoy Magne Sakranti by eating ghee, chaaku (a kind of fright sugar), yam, selroti (a fright doughnut), tharul (sweet potato), with other delicious varieties of food items.

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On this day, devotees who lives near a river take a holy dip known as makan snan. This types of holy dips take place in different parts of the country, especially in Chitwan, which is also known as makar mela.

Maghe-Sankranti

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Magne Sakranti is the special festival for tharu community. They celebrate as their new year and the day of emancipation and they perform their cultural dances.

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Newari community calle the festival as Gyhyo chaku sanun celebrating this day by eating ghee and chaaku.

On this auspicious day in Betrawati, a village situated near Rassuvoa and Nuwakot, hundreds of people observed annually bull fighting as the event to preserve their ancestors’ memory. Such event attracts people from the nearest districts as Kathmandu, Dhading, Lalitpur, Makwanpur…

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We celebrated it in the Children’s Home as well. The day before, the children went to the mountain with shovels and picks to dig up the root eaten in this festival, a type of sweet potato they call “tharul.”

In the morning, everyone ate the sweet chaaku with butter (gui). At noon, it was time to eat tharul.

Some kids helping didis to peel thoru.
Some kids helping didis to peel tharu.

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Som eating chaaku
[:ca]Activitats i tallers[:en]Activities and trainings[:es]Actividades y talleres[:], [:ca]Visites i excursions[:en]Visits and excursions[:es]Visitas y excursiones[:], Children of the Home, General

Hike to Dhorsing!

Written by Sergio Rodriguez, Bhimphedi Children Home Volunteer:

Today we thought that going out together to enjoy nature and give us a daring bathing in this sunny winter day was a good way to spend this holiday for small kids of Balmandir (the big ones have still class). We hike to a nearby river in Dhorsing. Start recruiting!

All the kids are scattered on the playground and many are reluctant to leave the comfort of their daily entertainment, such as spinning top, I tried to pass on the desire shouting “Who wants adventure”? Finally, we got a good group (almost all) and we set out of our way.

Alguns dels nens arribant a les cascades de Dhorsing.
Some of the kids walking to Dhorsing waterfalls

The trip was fun and entertaining for the team with an unexpected union of a goat that has followed a good stretch, battling with the two dogs from Balmandir, who also made the entire trip with us. After crossing the yellow bridge of Dhorsing we entered to the jungle trails to get into the river. Frozen water and small waterfalls received us and we have had a very good time playing in the sand and getting our feet wet.

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Soiking the feet in the cold water

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Water is too cold for Manoj!

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The return was tiring and a bit more difficult. The group splited into two because the first group went to a wrong way. The second group waited in the bridge eating some snacks. Tired but happy at the same time we made our way back looking forward for one thing: dhalbat. The feeling of having used great the last four hours with laughs and good moments.

The kids show great agility, orientation, domination of territory, knowledge of the environment and even creativity in creating tools and “toys” with different things they have been found along the way. They are amazing!

[:ca]Activitats i tallers[:en]Activities and trainings[:es]Actividades y talleres[:], Children of the Home, General

Exams week!

Written by Isabel Valero, Bhimphedi Children’s Home volunteer

Namaste!

This week had been very fast, but not for the children of class 1 to class 5 who have had a week of exams. They were all studying very hard these days to pass everything.

Every morning, after the glass of milk with rice, they have studied an hour. Occasionally, the volunteers asked them what went into the exam to verify that they knew all. And yes, the truth is that they memorize all with ease!

After eating dalbhat, they made a last reviewed and prepared, a little nervous to face the exam.

Some of the children studying before going to school

Two hours later we had the children back to the shelter. They returned very happy, I don’t know exactly why they had got rid of the exam, without thinking whether or not to pass it or so had gone well and knew that they would take good marks. In any case each time we asked them how exam had been they always said, “Very good!”.

After distracted few hours, one hour of study. Then, at 4 pm, when the big ones arrived from school, Kul, one of the youth in the shelter, managed a session of sports activities. Kul greatly help in the shelter, both in the garden and farm, such as taking care of children.

After dinner, we started all over again to study all the topics of the exam of the next day. And so, for 8 days.

The exams ended on Friday, and as a prize, have a whole week without class!

This week, as we don’t study much, we go on trips, do fun activities (playing games, using the computer, playing Meccano, they made amazing spinning tops themselves…). In the evening, the have the opportunity to put movies in English and spend a very relaxed time together.

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Som, Bisho, Raju, Santa and Isabel painting the wall of the library.
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Ramesh and Ramraj painting the wall of the library.

This week certainly is happening much faster for them!