Notes from Nepal - Travels, Trials & Tribulations

by Rob Rose

[Rob Rose, his wife Gina and son Carey are on a Rotary Club trip coordinating the installation of 100 computers into four Kathmandu, Nepal, area government schools, with the assistance of Emerald City Rotarians and Nepali Rotarians from the Rotary Club of Patan. A group of students from Garfield High School will soon be arriving and doing the installation. In addition, a group of volunteer Rotarians will be arriving to participate in hands-on volunteer projects in the Kathmandu area. Rob and his son will be sending back their impressions of the area and the impact of their projects.]

I put some extra alliteration in the title of my current installment as there’s quite a bit of that in the local newspaper, the Kathmandu Post. It always gives a catchy ring to a title and that’s what sells papers, right? But first, a quick update on the progress of the project.

The computers are still resting at the port of Calcutta awaiting the go-ahead to make their journey to Nepal. They are due to be released from bondage tomorrow (February 18), but this won’t be in time for the kids to do the installation before they head home on Saturday the 21st. The Nepali Rotarians have been doing their utmost to get it done, going way beyond what they had been asked to do. The computers will arrive and they will be installed into needy schools by local Rotary and Rotaract members. Add to that the two city-wide strikes that have been called by the maoist insurgents since we’ve arrived!

You might think that news like this might dampen the spirits of the kids and sink the project, but I want to tell you how resilient and impressive these kids are. In spite of arriving in Kathmandu a day late, due to a canceled flight, and faced with the realization that the computers weren’t going to be arriving in time, they regrouped and decided to join in the adult volunteer projects! On the bandha (strike) days we have all walked or biked around our respective neighborhoods, which have been pleasantly free of traffic and pollution, thus making the best of the situation.

Last Sunday we all visited the Newlife Disabled Children’s Center to take the 30 children residing there out for a picnic at a local park. This project was done with the help of the Rotary Club of Kopundol. The children at the center range in age from about 7-17. They are fairly evenly divided between boys and girls. This was a very emotional visit for me, as over the past several years I have been selling my scenic photos of Nepal to raise funds to cover the cost of surgeries for the kids as well as upgrading the facilities at the center. Seeing the children who have had the surgeries brought tears to my eyes. I felt deep satisfaction and true joy in knowing that I have been fortunate enough to have been able to do this.

The children from the center and our group were a little tentative at first, but after we entered the bus, the hesitations quickly melted away. Dolma, the 10 year old girl who sat next to me immediately took a seat by the window as she’s prone to car-sickness. Oh well, at least she’s by the window! I could tell that she felt awful, and I tried to comfort her the best I could.

After arriving at the park we broke out the soccer balls and frisbee. It made no difference whether the kids had only one leg, or one arm, or only one working foot, they all loved to kick the ball around or toss the frisbee. Some were quite accomplished, moving gracefully on crutches, pirouetting to address the ball in a soccer ballet. Others weren’t so proficient, but you know, they all enjoyed the personal attention that our group gave to each kid! There were smiles all around, from the disabled kids to the adult volunteers and to our high school students! I was so proud of our kids — they jumped right in and helped out. After lunch, which I should say was very rudely interrupted by foraging monkeys interested in our bananas, we played a Nepali game which I had never heard of. It consisted of a medium-sized clay pot and a stick and a blindfold. It’s a pinata-type of game where the clay pot is set on the ground and a stick-wielding kid is blindfolded and spun around. Then the crowd tries to direct the player to the pot where he/she then swings the stick down upon the place he/she thinks the pot should be. It’s tougher than it looks and it took a while for someone to finally break it. There’s nothing in the pot, but you do get a prize for breaking it!

Rain broke out shortly thereafter and we found covered shelter where we sang some songs and heard from one blind girl named Namrata who sang a beautiful and touching song about people with disabilities and how they can overcome their challenges and adversities.

We then got back into the bus and returned to the center where our high school group painted and planted a new swing set in the ground, and then they raced around the courtyard playing games with the kids. When it was time to leave there were many sorrowful farewells and a few tears. There were so many touching moments that magical afternoon. If that day had been my last, I would have felt fulfilled. One of the older girls asked my wife, Gina, if she would be her mom. Dolma, the little girl with the sensitive stomach, grasped my hand through the car window, hanging on, finally releasing it to blow me a kiss through the air ... the way the adult volunteer’s age melted away as they ran around with the children ... and most of all, I was so proud of the way our own group of kids melded with the disabled children. They didn’t need to tell me in words what it meant to them to be a part of this project — I could see it in their faces as they left, wishing to stay longer and wanting to return another day.

This has been my dream, to give to others the joy that I have felt in giving of myself through service to others, through Rotary!

I wish to thank all of our team members, the C4W (Computers for the World) kids, and especially my host and most excellent friends, Rabendra (RR) Pandey and his wife Chandra, without whose help I would not have accomplished these meaningful projects!

The saga continues. Next up is a trip to a village orphan home to plant a vegetable garden. And lastly, we’ll be painting and fixing up the boys' dormitory at the Kathmandu School for the Deaf. — Rob Rose