Sangachok

I haven’t been able to post any blogs while in Sangachok, but that doesn’t mean that I haven’t had anything to write about. I was informed that internet would not be a problem, but upon arrival I learned otherwise. Sangachok, sitting high atop a hill (and I say hill with a Nepali intonation, as we were probably at about 6,000 feet) between the deathly Sun Kosi and lazy Indrawati rivers in the Sindhupalchok District, is not the ideal place for a good internet connection. Let’s face it, do I go anywhere that has a good connection? Though my mother was probably mortified that I had met my demise in a treacherous bus accident (because I could not contact her to tell her otherwise), I was in fact having a splendid time in good company and working my butt off.

after my arrival to Sangachok a Kiwi volunteer arrived, and we hit it off from the get go. I was thoroughly excited to have someone to speak with in English, and as the week progressed we developed a routine involving great walks, intense work in the library, and teacher training in the local schools. Carmen is from Hokitika, a town on the mid-west coast of NZ, and actually a town that I had read about and would have liked to visit (arty, coasty, etc.). She works as an educator that travels around the South Island in a kind of traveling-school-bus of sorts, focusing mainly on health, nutrition, and wellness for kids. Again (as in Kenya) I found myself with an excellent co-volunteer to bounce ideas off of and collaborate with. Though pure luck-of-the-draw, working with someone that you work well with makes all the difference in the world. What you can do in 1 month by yourself turns into one week, which was excellent for me, as I only had one week to give!

When I arrived last Thursday, one of the first things Durga (Director of First Steps Nepal) showed me was the Early Childhood Development Centre. The premier project funded by First Steps Nepal/Himalaya, the ECD Centre is meant to be a comprehensive childhood centre, providing a library, preschool, and wellness classes for parents. For this region, like much of the mountainous regions of Nepal, education is a relatively new concept. Most schools in the area have been built in the past 15 years, with new schools going up every year. Though education is on the rise, there are many improvements to be made. Teachers have no access to materials, and must follow a strict curriculum, usually involving rote learning and heavy discipline. Any preschool or kindergarten level classes are taught the same as those of higher levels- using only ‘repeat after me’ rote learning- and generally have no colors, toys, books, or stimulation in the classroom at all. Parents are not encouraged to bring their children to school, and will often only send their child when they do not need them to do work at home. Durga and Fionna have aimed to change all that, creating a Village-Tourism-Volunteer-Non-Profit that will not only provide the children of the area with ECD Centres, educated staff, creative curriculum, and parent education, but will also provide the tourist with a glimpse into village life in the Himalaya.

Durga was born very near Sangachok, and only went to school until class 3, when he was forced to stay at home and work until he got married at age 14 (that’s nothing compared to one of his brothers, who was married at 9, to a 7 year old). At 17, he rebelled and ran away to Kathmandu, picking up odd work and only visiting the village, and his wife, every so often. Exceptionally bright and curious, Durga picked up both hospitality and management skills, as well as English, working in Kathmandu. At 20 years old, his father pressured him (‘blackmailed’ in his words) to return to the village, and stop disgracing his wife. He had been married for almost 6 years, and they had no children to show for it. They had two children, but Durga continued to make frequent trips to Kathmandu to work. In the late 90’s he met Fionna, a Brit working for a non-profit in Kathmandu, and from there is history. Though his wife in Nepal refuses to divorce him (such a label would shun her from village society), he now lives in New Zealand with his two children from his first marriage and the two children he has had with Fionna. Talk about two lives! After he and Fionna spent several years in Darjeeling working for a non-profit that fell through, they realized that they had a passion for spreading access education, and a knack for business skills. Using what they had created in Darjeeling as a model, they created the partner organizations First Steps Himalaya and First Steps Nepal (registered non-profits in Nepal and New Zealand, respectively). These days, Fionna and the kids come to Nepal once a year for a couple of months, and Durga comes twice. Evidently he is still amicable with his “ex” (but not really ex…), and he will often take volunteers to his village and they will stay with her. Unfortunately, we didn’t have time during my stay to take that awkward trip…

For only being in the second year of their operation, First Steps Nepal/Himalaya is doing a fantastic job. Funded during their first year almost solely by NZ individuals and volunteers, and their second year by Rotary International, FSN has already established 7 ECD Centers in the Sindhupalchok District, two of which required new buildings, and provided teacher training and salaries for the facilitators of those centres.

In the past month, about 8,000 used books arrived via the Scottish non-profit ‘Books Abroad’ (somehow they found out about FSN) and when I arrived they were sitting in massive piles in one of the classrooms. Durga seemed less than enthusiastic about the prospect of going through the masses, but to me the piles looked like a swimming pool of organizing fun. I wanted to get right to work (it was actually making me antsy staring at such disorganization), but he insisted they had, “already sorted some of them” and he was “just going to let people take some” so that there weren’t as many. This horrified me. First of all, there were a TON of fantastic learning/education/library books in there that needed to go in the library. Secondly, I knew that if people had at those books, they would take some and either let them sit in their houses and collect dust or use them in their cook fires. That was not going to happen on my watch.

The next day, when Carmen arrived, she had the same reaction that I did. Though she had come to do teacher training in the schools, she said she was more than willing to help with the library project as well. We spent the next few days sorting. And sorting. And sorting. The amount and breadth of the books we discovered could create a fantastic library in a English-speaking country (which makes one wonder why they spent nearly $12,000 in post fees, when they could have donated to an under-privileged school in their own country…). Being that Nepal is not an English speaking country, however, we had to reconsider comprehension level for each book when sorting. A book may have been good for Nepal class 5 reading level, but was much younger in content.

Eventually, though, we cracked through it. I was also in charge of photography during Carmen’s teacher-training courses, but during one I snuck away to sort more books. Thinking I would pop back and forth between training and sorting, I actually got completely immersed in the book pile, recruiting some local boys to help box up workbooks for schools. Three hours later, sweaty and really needing a bathroom break, Carmen came down after her course and asked if I had been sorting the whole time. I hadn’t even realized it!

In the evenings I worked on my library-cataloging scheme, because if I was going to do this, I was going to do it right. Most primary picture books and novels would be distributed amongst the schools in the area, with only some kept for the library. However, we would keep and catalogue all primary-high school reference books, with the thought that all area teachers and children would be able to come to the library for any of their needs. Thus, an easy and comprehensive cataloguing system was needed. It couldn’t be too complex, because the man that monitored the library was really just a grandpa with nothing to do, and it couldn’t be too simple, as each book needed it’s own number (if in the future it becomes a lending library).

I decided to go with a combination of colors and numbers. Each subject had it’s own color tape on the side (Environment = green, History = pink, Art and Media = orange, etc.), coupled with the letter E (for English language) and a number. Each number denoted the sub-category, and number of the book within that sub-category. For instance, within the Environment, if something had to do with Plants, it would be on a green sticker with E100, E101, E102, if it had to do with Animals, it would be marked E200, E201, E202, and so on. Thus, the 8^th book about Animals would have a green tape marked E208. After condensing categories a bit (we only had 9 different colors of tape), we began. The labeling process actually didn’t take us very long, especially if we had helpers. I felt really good about the final product, and in the end, there were about 700 books in the library! Though that was only a fraction of the 8,000 that were donated, I really feel as though it will be a fantastic resource for local schools, teachers, and children. Mind you, everything could just get jumbled in a couple of weeks… but at least there is some type of label there!

In the midst of all this, Carmen spent time training the village grade school teachers about Western education. This basically meant games. Lots of games. And songs. All of which she needed my help for, so that we could make fools of ourselves together teaching 15 adults the Hokey Pokey. It was great fun, and the teachers loved it. All of them were so keen to learn new teaching methods, it was fantastic. They wanted to do training every day, so we did! One of the days we visited a school to observe, and ended up teaching about 60 6^th,7^th, and 8^th graders the Hokey Pokey, hand games, and other songs. Though some of the girls were rightfully embarrassed, I got them about it with a little coaxing. We also taught a 1^st grade class how to play Duck, Duck, Goose (except it was Buffalo, Buffalo, Goat), and they were ecstatic. The teachers were so excited to get things going in their classrooms, I honestly believe they will take things directly to the classroom when school begins again in a week (kids are currently on ‘Holiday’, though 200 showed up anyway when we came to visit).

So that’s what’s being going on volunteer-wise… but I think I will create another post about what has happened in our off time, as a separate chapter of the journey.

Buses

One can effectively travel through Nepal these days without ever having to encounter Nepali culture. Traveling between the tourist hubs of Thamel (in Kathmandu) to Chitwan to Pokhara, perhaps even to the Khumbu (Everest Region), a tourist will definitely encounter a whole of a lot of haggling (Tiger Balm? Pashmina?), heaps of restaurants with the same novel-length ‘international’ menu, ugly hippie clothes, and fluorescent bedspreads in their guest house- but never will they come across culture. Take a local bus from the Ratna Bus Park, and all that changes. Not only will you be fully immersed in the sounds, smells, and textures of Nepal, you will forget that you ever had a sense of personal space, you will obligingly take on other people’s children as your own, and you will disregard the small mountain of fossilized vomit that is prohibiting your window from opening.

Mind you, I have taken a local bus before. My journey to Sangachok just reminded me of how perfectly serendipitous, and painful, a local bus journey in Nepal can be, and I wanted to share. I woke up on Thursday morning at the usual 6:15 am, a time I can’t seem to shake after my weeks at the orphan home, and headed out to find some breakfast and Wi-Fi. I was to meet Durga and head north through the hills to Sangachok, in Sindupalchowk, at around 10 am. It is working with First Steps Himalaya that I am to spend my next week, helping out wherever needed in any of the 7 Early Childhood Development Centres that they have established in the Sindupalchowk region. When I finally did meet up with Durga, he had collected an array of items for the ECD centers that resembled a traveling Toys R Us. After 5 minutes convincing the taxi driver that we could indeed fit all of it into his cab, we were off to Ratna Bus Park, where I believe I had been before, when Becca and I climbed aboard the godforsaken 9 hour bus to Jiri three years ago. A little bit of a cluster-f***, as most bus parks are (even in the ‘developed’ world), it was easy enough to find the bus, as Durga is Nepali and I just chugged along behind him toting supplies. $1.50 later we were on the bus, and I was surprised at how quickly we got moving.

As our bus pulled out of the park, I was relieved to find that our driver was more of the “slow ambling pace” than the “pedal to the metal” variety, until I found out that he would not leave 1^st gear until we were well out of the Kathmandu Valley. Even after that, I’m pretty sure we only ever made it to 2^nd. While people walking from village to village passed us, our bus made its snail pace up and into the foothills of the Himalayas. Durga and I found the pace amusing, until the bus got so packed to the gills that I had a teenage boy pressing himself into my shoulder, with my nose closer to his armpit than I ever want to relive. At some stage we stopped for a minute and Durga lept up and stated that he “had to go to the stationary store”. Five minutes later the bus was pulling away, with Durga making a mad dash for the door. He had to pick up some apples, I guess. Taking the vacant window seat opportunity, I left Durga for the aisle, to which an unknowing woman gradually made her way as far into Durga’s lap as is humanly possible without sitting on it. His nose nearly in her purse, I jokingly told him that he should take something out. He snooped for a bit, but noted that there was nothing of any use.

Three hours into the journey, two young dusty haired brothers dressed in equally dusty school uniforms hopped on the bus. When Durga asked them where they were headed, the younger replied that they were headed to Sangachok. Durga then scooped up the young one and plopped him between the two of us, commanding him “sutne jau”- go to sleep. If I had to pick one thing about Nepali children that amazes me the most, it would be their ability to sleep on command. This little guy though, tried painfully hard to stay awake, every so often giving me a sideways glance, as if falling asleep would surely mean doom in the hands of the scary white lady who keeps smiling. I tried my best not to scare the poor child, and instead focused my time on keeping my feet from falling asleep, as the jackknife position I had assumed was cutting circulation to nearly all of my appendages. I pity the Nepali that is anywhere near 6 feet tall.

Eventually we did make it to Sangachok, a quiet town high in the hills with sleepy street dogs, friendly people, and a view like you can’t believe. I met Leela and Kamal, who are not only my host family but pioneers of the ECD center with Durga. They have two children, 12 year old Ashish, and 15 year old Anu, who Leela pointed out is, “tall and thin, like you!” Already welcoming us into their 2-storey Newari home with some of the most delicious daal bhat I have ever had, Leela’s family is all smiles and nothing but warmth. Already I’m loving the pace of village life, and tomorrow we are on to the ECD Center to hang out with some kids.

Kids (Part 2)

Shina and Preana- 13 and 10 years old, respectively

I hesitate to describe these sisters together, but truth be told, I don’t know enough about either of them to give them justice in their own descriptions. The girls arrived just one month before I did, and Shina seems to have melted into the pre-teen contingent of girls at Harka quite nicely. Preana, on the other hand, has her moments when I’m pretty sure she has no idea what to think of the place still. Neither girl speaks any English worth merit, and I believe both were a little angry with themselves about it while I was there. At one point, Shina even said to me, with a pathetic look of disdain, “Miss, English no good.” They made the other children (Tenzin included) look like English-speaking-superstars.

I can understand that each girl is still getting their ground in a new home, but individually and together they were probably the most annoying of the children there. While Shina is extremely loud and physically boisterous, barking around and screaming god-only-knows-what in Nepali, Preana is often a baby and whines about the smaller children taking her toys. At times I felt awful for thinking them annoying, as I have no idea where/what situation they came from, but as Preana’s only English word was “This!” to which she screamed with increasing crescendo whenever she was around me (often as a string of “This! THIS! This! This…” with pointing and gestures) I would often find myself seeking peaceful refuge in my own thoughts.

All of this being said, the girls are great helps around the home, with Shina always helping cook and Preana taking on any task she is assigned (including carrying 4 chickens by herself- “Miss, THIS!”). I’m sure it will just take a bit of time for Preana to get used to having 17 brothers and sisters, and for Shina’s English to improve. Though neither girl is very good in school (I got the distinct impression that they haven’t been to school that much in their lives) the other children at the home set a good example.

Bisal- 12 years old

As aforementioned in a blog, Bisal is like the sun on a cloudy day. Perpetually smiling and laughing, he always has something new and exciting that he found or invented that he wants to show me. I like to think that he is the best student of the bunch, because it seems like he would be, but I actually have no idea. He is, by far, the best English speaker for his age, and rightfully so as his favorite subject in school is English (he claims that his teacher is awesome, but I met him and the guy doesn’t speak any English worth a dime so I think Bisal may just be a natural).

Bisal has been at Harka for two years, so he arrived just a year after Becca and I visited. He is an integral part of the orphan home now, as he is the second oldest boy. After Manish left (a mentor to Bisal, I can safely assume from Bisal’s stories about him), someone had to step up and take on more of the physical labor at the home, and Bisal is about as happily obliging (despite his minute stature) a volunteer as any. It is almost as if, at the age of 12, he understands that being at a place like Harka is a privilege as an orphan, and will help however he can. It often makes me wonder where he came from, that he appreciates what he has so much at Harka. Laxmi says he has absolutely no family left, so it almost makes me think that he worked in a tourist area because his English is so good.

Usually the first of the boys up in the morning, he gets all the little ones out of bed before hopping on the bike to take the buffalo’s daily 2 liters of milk to the market. Later he’ll make tea, clean all the chicken water and food, and work through the compost/manure/gas system (not sure what goes on there). In between he squeezes in a little bit of school work, lots of top throwing, and more bike riding before bedtime, when he always wakes up the earlier-sleeping younger boys to go pee, so they don’t wet their bed. To all effects that Soniya is a mother, Bisal is a father (and not in the Nepali sense of the word either). One of Laxmi’s dreams that she confessed to me, is that when Bisal turns 18, a volunteer will sponsor him to work in the United States or Europe, as she can tell he will succeed in whatever he tries (and I couldn’t agree more).

Sujan- 10 years old

I think Sujan won my heart the day he decided to give me a Nepali lesson. He found my “Spoken Nepali” book for Peace Corps workers, and was thrilled to read words and short sentences to me in Nepali. If I was not able to translate them, he would translate them for me. If he didn’t know the English word, he would describe the situation or word using words he did know. Not only did it help me (we did it almost every day), it helped him use his English. Perhaps he got more comfortable with me and thus felt he could use it more, but Sujan’s English is probably the best of the little ones, and comparable to Soniya and the older girls.

Brothers Sujan and Suman have been at Harka for about a year, I think, though no one could remember for sure. While Suman acts younger than he is, Sujan tries to act older. He follows Bisal around everywhere, and helps with as much manual labor as his tiny frame can handle. The older boys treat him with respect, and though he isn’t much older than his brother or Shishir, he seems decades more mature. Sometimes it almost seems ridiculous that he still eats with the little ones and goes to the little kid school. Then of course, I look at him, and realize that he is still only a little boy. Sometimes it amazes me what these little children can do.

Though he does help a lot, most of his time is still dedicated to playing. Sujan has perfected his top throwing skills, and was rewarded with a Buddhi-crafted top last week, to which he couldn’t have been happier. He is also one of the major K’Naan supporters at the orphan home (Bisal and Sima being #1 and 2), and I often found him singing the words to “People Like Me” in his room. At one point he even asked me, “What this mean, people like me?” So cute, but try to explain poverty- and war-affected rappers to a 10-year-old rural Nepali. Instead I just said ‘people that move their homes’.

**Look forward to a movie of Bisal, Sujan, and Shishir, dancing to the entire tune ‘When I get Older”. Sima kidnapped my camera and choreographed a number involving sunglasses and some intense dance moves.