The Library Under Construction, Rasuwa District, Nepal

Sorry, I can't really tell you what's going on or in what order this is happening.  But I can see...

The community working together!

 JR, thank you for the photos.  It looks like a fantastic start.  We will all say prayers for good weather.

I had better get busy and collect more money for the books. 

I wish that I could be there!

Thanks again for all of the contributions and support.  It's kind of amazing what we can accomplish together.

Update on the Library Project

I was so surprised a few weeks ago to receive a phone call from Nepal.  The English teacher at Shree Nava Vijayee Mahendra Secondary School called to personally thank me.  The Joy Foundation had informed them that enough funds were sent to cover the cost of building the library.  The school administrators would be arranging a trip to Kathmandu to discuss the details.

Yesterday, I received this note from the Joy Foundation:

7th June, 2011

To,

Ms. Jennifer Gerard

President,

A World of Good, Inc.

OH 44120, USA

Subject: School Library Project.

Dear Madam,

We are pleased to inform you that, today we have signed an agreement with Shree Nava Vijayee Mahendra Secondary School, Laharepauwa – 6, Rasuwa to make a library room in the school. The school has submitted a detailed cost report of Rs. 1,50,500.00 to complete the library room including cost of furniture for library room. However, we have given them 70 % of the above cost as 1st installment of Rs. 1,05,000.00 to start the construction work and remaining 30 % will be paid to them once they spent and submit all the documents to JOY. Also be informed that one of the JOY staff will visit the school in few days time to inspect the work progress in school, so that school may feel responsible and complete the work on time. I hope this information will be  fruitful for you.

With best regards,

Pradip Man Shrestha

Admin. & Finance Executive

I just want to thank you all again for supporting the project and cheering me on. As soon as I have pictures I will certainly share them with you.

Any further contributions made by friends and family to this project will go toward the purchase of books.  Contributions can be made to:
The Joy Foundation
Plymouth UCC (for church members, please note for use on the library project, Nepal)
We are still hoping that Room to Read will be able to provide the books.  But I don't know much about the details yet. 

Peace!

Monsoons in Nepal

Summer in Nepal is a hot, wet blanket of humidity.  It rains almost everyday with terrifying thunderstorms in the evening that reverberate loud and close throughout the bowl shaped valley of Kathmandu.  One afternoon I found myself standing knee deep in filthy water in the center of Thamel, Kathmandu.  There was no way of knowing what manner of detritus might be swirling around my invisible flip-flop clad feet.  For the first time, I understood with clarity why all of the buildings are set up from the road on cement slabs.  I did not go to Nepal again in the summer months.  On that trip I learned that paper products and fabrics do not fare well during monsoon season.  Even some of my jewelry arrived damp inside its packages.

A well prepared tourist would carry rain gear, mosquito repellent, something for the inevitable diarrhea, and salt or chewing tobacco to smear on their bodies as a defense against leeches during the monsoon.  I have never bothered to try to hike in Nepal's Monsoon season, but I have heard some harrowing tales.  Up in the Rasuwa district, my friends told me that the path to their village would be slippery with leeches.  I wasn't sure if those were separate thoughts.  Slippery paths I have seen.  A sudden downpour can turn a former path into a river.  However, I have heard tales of  hundreds of leeches popping up from the ground, blindly waving back and forth as they sniff the air for their next bloody meal, or dropping from the leaves of the trees onto passersby. It is not too hard to imagine slipping on the leeches themselves.

Landslides and floods are frequent during the monsoons in the mountainous areas of Nepal.  Last year I traveled a road that is closed for months every year because of the regular monsoon landslides.   This problem grows worse year after year as deforestation leads to more erosion.  Landslides can be deadly, killing several people every year, but even more deaths during the monsoon season occur because of the poor water quality and lack of sanitation.

The water is absolutely necessary to bring out the lush greenery and the fantastic orchids.  It is what clears the winter dust from the air and makes the rice grow.  But it is also an extremely difficult time to accomplish anything in Nepal.  Before my friends in Nepal can begin to build their library I have to raise another $1,200.  The hope is that I will be able to send them this amount by the end of April so that they have a chance of finishing the building before the rains come.  I will continue to raise money for the books and the laptops after that.  This Sunday, I have another opportunity to raise money for the project at Plymouth UCC.  Wish me luck!

This spigot which is completely dry in the Winter will be gushing water during the summer months.  The creature with what appears to be an elephant's trunk is actually an opened mouthed crocodile.

*To all of you who have donated so generously, you will be happy to know that the first $900 has already arrived at the Joy Foundation in Nepal.  THANK YOU!

Visiting the Rotary Club in Shaker Heights, OH

School children in Nepal's Rasuwa District

Tuesday February 1, 2011 at 7:30 morning I will be attending a meeting and giving a powerpoint presentation to the Rotary Club of Shaker Heights, Ohio.

Thank you Shaker Heights Rotary!

I will hopefully be receiving support and advice about our Library Project in Nepal.

About the Library Project: Shree Nawabijayee Mahendra Secondary School is a recently constructed school in the Rasuwa District of Nepal.  These students are in desperate need of reading materials.  When I visited almost one year ago in March 2010, the school had only the one small bag of books that I brought to them from my blog friends and neighbors. Your contribution is going directly to the building and stocking of a library for this school.  Not only will 320 students be able to use this library, but the library will also be made available to the 1500 inhabitants of the  nearby villages. The Joy Foundation is the non-governmental organization (NGO) in Nepal overseeing this project.

Budget Details in US Dollars:
Cement 30 bags, cost $400
Sand 180 bags, cost $430
Skilled builders, 50 people, cost $290
2 doors and 6 windows, cost $500
Furniture, cost $500
Concrete, cost $40
The community will provide volunteer labor to assist in the construction of this building.
Once the building is complete our goal is purchase 500 books through Room to Read valued at $500.  www.roomtoread.org
We would also like to deliver 2  laptop computers valued at approximately $350 each.
Total Goal - $3360

The Joy Foundation http://joy.org.np/

More information at http://goddessoftheconfluence.blogspot.com

Total contributions including PayPal are currently:  $1259.49.  Thank you for your contributions.  We are making progress.



To see who has donated and learn more about this project, click below:  http://goddessoftheconfluence.blogspot.com/2010/11/library-project

The Library Project, Update

This weekend Plymouth UCC in Shaker Heights, OH will be helping to collect donations for the Library Project.
I have to be out of town, so my son, Josh, will be encouraging everyone to donate as an alternative giving idea for the holidays.

Thank You, for your support!  Read more about the project below.  I have been updating your donations.  Yes, you can send your donation directly to the Joy Foundation in Nepal.  Just let them know that you want to help with the Library Project in the Rasuwa District.

The Library Project!

Kids in the Rasuwa District in need of Books!

I received the most wonderful birthday present today.  The Joy Foundation sent the translation for our Library project in Nepal.  The project has been approved!  Hooray!

Now I'm going to need a lot of help.  Please spread the word.  The first part of the project will be building the library, the second part will be filling it with books.

I have thought of 2 ways I would like to raise money for this project.

1. Direct donations;  If you are moved to help with this project, please send a check to:
A World of Good, Inc.
3120 Chadbourne, Rd.
Shaker Heights, OH 44120
All of your donation will go to this project and you can even choose what you would like to pay for.  (Sorry, I still do not have my tax exempt status so there is no tax write-off.)
email: butternutsquash2@gmail.com

2. Nepal Tour; travel to Nepal, at your own risk, with me as your guide.  You will pay your own travel expenses and donate one laptop computer to the library.  You may deliver it yourself if you would like to hike up there with me.  Contact me and we can tailor a trip for you:  Jennifer Gerard email: aworldofgood@gmail.

Below are the particulars of our project.

Applicant:  Shree Hawabijayee Mahendra Secondary School, Valaydada, Rasuwa.
Chairperson: Shree Keshar Bahadur Bulan
Contact Person: Balaram Dhakal (The school principal)
The Request:  Though this school is quite close to the capital of Nepal, it was started only recently in BS 2019 or 1963 according to the Gregorian calendar, due to the poor economy of the community.  It began as only a primary school and then added a lower secondary school very recently.  The physical structure of the school is very poor and there is a lack of basic educational materials so there is a need to start a library to help the students with their studies.
Location of Project: Shree Hawabijayee Mahendra Secondary School, Lahare Pauwa-6, Valaydada, Rasuwa, Nepal.
Beneficiaries: 320 students from 250 households of the community and the library will be available to 1500 inhabitants of the area.
How the project will be maintained: After completion of this project, the school committee will appoint a librarian to open the library and allow community people to use it every day except public holidays.  Any repairs and maintenance will be taken care of by the school committee.
Budget Details in US Dollars:
Cement 30 bags, cost $400
Sand 180 bags, cost $430
Skilled builders, 50 people, cost $290
2 doors and 6 windows, cost $500
Furniture, cost $500
Concrete, cost $40  (Thank you for your gift, Richard Gerard)
The community will provide volunteer labor to assist in the construction of this building.
Once the building is complete our goal is purchase 500 books through Room to Read valued at $500.
We would also like to deliver 2  laptop computers valued at approximately $350 each.
Total Goal - $3360
If we collect more than we need we will be able to buy even more books.  A donation of any amount will be gratefully accepted.  Thank you for all of your help!

Together may we bring peace to the world through education.

Contributions received from:
Richard Gerard- $100
Nancy Rowe-$35 http://www.naborow.com/
Anonymous Donors-$304.50 (Customers at Shows)
Elaine Maki- World Atlas, 3 volume Websters Dictionary
Eileen Black-$30
The Mac Gregors-$35 http://ofscarabs.blogspot.com/
Jan McGee -$20 http://www.janhelenmcgee.com/
Nancy Atkinson -$100 http://lifeinthesecondhalf.blogspot.com/
Plymouth Church Members -$75
M. Koutroumanis -$20
Eileen Mudgett - $100
The Love Family - $25
The Martin-Rouse Family - $75
Marja and William Blom - $50 http://dutchcorner.blogspot.com/
Dr. Sherry Meinberg - $100
J. Wanstrath - $10
J. Sisson - $10
L. Chatain - $20 http://beadroom.com
Morgan - $20
Benjamin D. - $10
Dawn Doup - $20
The Neary's - $100
The Divakarla Family - $25
SiS Jewelry - $9 http://sisjewelry@etsy.com
S. Scaparotti - $20
Marc P. - $10
Janis Z. - $1.14
Pamela and Gerald B. - $100
Scarlet Fire - $75 http://www.scarletfirebeads.com/

Current total: $1499.64

Please tell me if you do not want your name listed and I will write anonymous.

THANK YOU!

Posters Needed!

We stopped for milk tea beneath the flowering tree to rest and take in the view.  Next to the path, a small stone building with several children playing outside caught my attention.  I don't know at what point every child in the world became my own.  Perhaps it was at the birth of my first son.  I just know that when I see children now, I can only see my boys at that age.  'What if that were my child?  What if we were born into this situation?'  These are the questions that are always on my mind.

I have a feeling that JR and I are similar in this way.   We walked over for a closer look.  This building was the school, the post office, and the home of the teacher.  While the children were outside playing games, an older man, who looked like he had just awoken, was inside making tea for himself.  By virtue of his ability to read and write, he was both the teacher and postman.  JR suspected that not much education actually happened in this facility for lack of resources.  The teacher may have tried to teach the fundamentals of reading and writing but not much else.  Clearly, there was no education happening at the moment that we arrived mid-morning on a school day. 

The man was very accommodating, allowing us to photograph his bedroom/office and the classroom and students.

 This is where we stopped to rest.  It didn't look like a restaurant, but they were certainly prepared to take care of the needs of those traveling along the path.

The school and post office was directly in front of us next to the path.

Outside, the children were playing.

Here is the teacher on his bed in his office.

In the corner of his room was his source for heat in the winter time, and his means to cook his food.

My camera provided the light for the photos.  The only other lighting in the school was natural light from the windows.  Here is the teacher's desk.

Look how beautiful these students are.  They posed for the camera and then raced over to see their pictures.

Sometimes at these high altitudes, which can be very dry and cold, I see mothers take the mucous from their child's nose and rub it on the child's cheeks to protect them from getting painfully chapped cheeks.  It makes them look a bit grubby, but there is a reason behind the dirt.

Benches to sit at and tables to write on.  This is very good.

But the condition of the chalk boards, not so good.

And the posters...

Abysmal!

If you are feeling touched, and inspired to help, here is the address.

Write to:
Gonggang Primary School
Gonggang Chilme VDC
Ward No. 6
Dist. Rasuwa
Zone: Bagmati
Nepal

They have no posters, books or teaching materials of any kind.  They may also not have any tape to put up the posters. They do not have the organizational capacity that the other school I am helping has.  In this case there really is no better way of helping.  We can only send a package of materials and cross our fingers that it arrives safely.  These children would certainly be happy if we tried.

I did send a package of printed material to rural Nepal recently.  It was clearly marked 'printed mater' and it arrived safely in about 2 weeks.  I would not send money, or other valuable items for political reasons.  It is also against the law to proselytize in Nepal, so no religious materials please.

If you are teacher, or a parent, or you have some posters or light weight educational books to send,  please do.  It could be life changing.  Feel free to pass the word.

Peace!

Road Trip, Nepal

Tania and I packed our belongings Saturday evening and bought sleeping bags, water, and breakfast bars for our trip north of Kathmandu toward the Rasuwa District. We were up and checked out of our hotel a little too early to have breakfast.

I count six people on top of the minivan.

We had hired a driver to take Tania, Belief (one of my adopted nephews) and his father, TN, and myself up to the village school. An old white Toyota Land Cruiser with an experienced driver that TN knew picked us up around 6 am. Even early in the morning the streets of Kathmandu were bustling and it took a long time to get out of the city. Eventually, we began our climb up out of the valley and soon it looked less like a mish mash of shops and houses and more like small villages and terraced fields.

On the road we saw many young children and I always wondered where the grown-ups were.

All kinds of work can be seen at the side of the road, farming of course, carpentry and human porters carrying heavy loads of anything you could imagine. Often, the only available water for a village is from a spigot that comes from the side of the mountain at the side of the road. Here a woman is washing her clothes.

Click to see the woman in the background washing clothes.
I was going to take another picture of a woman washing her clothes at a different spigot, but I got distracted by these cute kids.

TN, who is in the back, was able to convince the children to pose for me.

At about 10 am we stopped for some milk tea and a bathroom break where I took these photos. Most of the time it was too bumpy on the road for me to take pictures.

Many of the children whom we passed on the road ran toward the moving vehicles to sell red flowers that are both beautiful and believed to have medicinal value.

Finally, above the smog of the city we could see the beautiful Himalayas.

It took about 5 hours to drive to the path that led to the village school. From there we had to hike.

(All of the pictures are better when you click on them.)