Nepal schools are still officially on New Year holiday at the moment. This is equivalent to our (UK) summer holidays - a longish break which marks the start of the new school session. But the Sauraha women's school continues - with smaller numbers. On my visit yesterday I found 3 Irish girls teaching English in separate groups, including a "nursery" class for children that some of the women had brought along. As you can see, everyone sits on the ground underneath a grass-roofed shelter. The whole thing has been built by local volunteers on land which has been provided by a local farmer. The improvement plans are to make a proper mud floor and maybe to build a wall or two. The teachers are mostly local volunteers with a few foreigners at local schools giving up some more of their time (like yesterday). The main subjects are about basic Nepali literacy and mathematics, but also on matters of nature conservation - something which is crucial to Chitwan.
I don't really know yet what the best way for me to help them would be, and I haven't made any promises. Besides, I don't feel it would be right to give them a portion of the funds which I have collected specifically for the NMV in Kathmandu. No doubt I'll be giving it some thought.
I did finally find a good use, though, for one of the C.U.Jimmy hats and a red nose which I had stashed in my luggage. Young Aamod was pleased with the both and has been entertaining his neighbours even more than usual. My reward was dinner (dal bhat of course) with Ishwori and his family yesterday evening. Ishwori and Aamod came to see me off at the bus park this morning (for my return to Kathmandu). Aamod was still wearing the hat and raising lots of smiles!
For once the bus journey went more or less to schedule, and I'm back at the Encounter in Kathmandu. Over the next few days I expect to be trying to finalise how to use the funds in NMV's best interests - as well as developing some better plans for the English lessons I'm due to give next week.
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