Newsletter for 2009/03/22
September Newsletter 2009

Dear Volunteer / readers
Its great pleasure to announce that we have finally designed new web site of VEE Nepal. Hope the new web site will be much more informative and useful for all the interested volunteers and travelers.  We have tried hard to put all the information related with volunteering in Nepal with VEEP Nepal.  Thank you to the web designing Team for their hard work and efforts.  Have look on our new web site with all the updated information.
Since Mid of January 2009, VEEP have mobilized more than 20 Volunteers in different programmes and still 15 volunteers are coming to join the programme. Where the volunteers have played significant role to educated rural community of Nepal as well as helped Orphans around the Kathmandu valley. 

 

 

 

 

                                                                                                                                               
Projects updates:
Recently VEEP has establish partnership with a Orphan home in Kathmandu called “ Sanu Foundation where 7 kids from different parts of Nepal are living with very limited resource. We have started sending the volunteers in that orphanage. And one of our first volunteers in that orphanage from Ireland has finished her placement. She was so much excided to work with those kids. Here is some of her experience during the time in Nepal.

Nepal experiences – Orphanage

First of all I have to tell you that I am so grateful I could be in Nepal! That was one of my best experiences in my life.

I see now –  what I was already guessing before – how much we should learn from Nepal... their way of thinking, rhythm of their life... meaning of sharing and loving each other.... These are so simple but amazing things... we seem to forget about importance of beauty... pure beauty inside and outside also... importance of sharing what we have and accepting what we got...

 I could spend 8 days in a small orphanage in Kathmandu. There are only seven kids over there – three girls and four boys. They have never had any foreigner volunteer so I was the first for them... and this was the first time for me also in my life... must tell you... unique and life-changing experience...

So I was so excited on my first meeting but kids were so nice and after about the first 5 minutes we were already laughing together...

These are such lovable kids... I enjoyed every minute spent with them... they are so lucky to have Suman – he and his wife own the orphanage – and Rama didi (she looks after the kids). These people are doing very admirable and amazing efforts to help those kids... to give them shelter to live, to give them food to eat, possibility to learn in schools... And kids are really clever and grateful.

They are so happy even for a piece of chocolate... I am really happy to had this opportunity being with them... I love them all. We were playing, learning and shopping new shoes, clothes for them together... they are so funny... we did lots of photos... they liked my cameras...and were “fighting” for my hand to hold... I have got so many things from them... they are wonderful little people... 

I cooked them once a Hungarian chicken soup for dinner, a vegetable-omelette for breakfast and baked them pancakes for lunch... they loved it. It was such a nice feeling to look after and caring them... I felt I am doing something good, something nice.

They asked me “don’t go”, “ come back, ok?” and “don’t forget us”... i was crying when I left them... but I really hope, I really do that one day, in the soon future I can go back and visit them again...

But I realized one thing on my last day: even if those people around them do their best and sometimes even more, these little kids are really need to be hugged and kissed... they are hungry to have some physically contact, some “body-connection”. I noticed it in a very nice and innocent way: Kasturi – the youngest girl – was the first who had the desire to give me a kiss into my face in her gently, shy way like somebody who does not know how to do it exactly but feel desire to do it or like a new-born baby who is trying to give kiss for the first time in her life. After I kissed her back she was kissing my arm, my face... (it is not so common for them I think). It was such a wonderful moment and I was so impressed and happy to experience it, to discover it... sounds might crazy but this little girl shew me how a loving-kiss is important...how much can it mean... It was hard for me to hide my tears... it was such an innocent moment...

Those kids really deserve love and caring. We can feel ourselves extremely lucky to have family, to have a warm home to live and sleep, to have enough food to eat. But I am sure in one thing: like all Nepalese people, these little ones will much richer inside than their westerner mates because they appreciate what they have and they know how to share without selfishness...

One more thing: this wonderful and amazing journey to Nepal and being a volunteer in an orphanage were two of my dreams for long. So I can say now, some of my dreams came true... But through this, I got my final confirmation, this is my calling, this is my destiny... I cannot be grateful enough for my fate and for myself also...

You, who are already thinking of being volunteer and doing something really good and beautiful... please do not hesitate to contact VEEP or myself to get advices, support or just to share experiences...

Do not forget: if you think about it, you have already taken the first step... and this is great! So do not give up and do not turn back... 

About the Orphanage: This is a really small orphanage. It is a nice but quite old building therefore it is cold enough in wintertime for the kids. They have no water or toilet/bathroom facility released inside of the house.

The Sanu Foundation is planning to build a brand new house with larger kitchen and running water system inside... If you have any idea or possibility to help, please contact us for further discussion. 

About VEEP: This is a really reliable and honest organisation and I highly recommend choosing one of their programmes. Surendra is a great person and conditions are very flexible, so if you would like to take a few days off to look around and do some trips this is absolutely fine and you can do it without any problem. You can also ask Surendra to help you to find a good package (ea to Chitwan – it was amazing, brilliant time!) or accommodation (like Tibet Peace Guest House with simple but clean rooms, nice garden and helpful and friendly staff or host family – they were fantastic, I had wonderful time with them and finally we became friends also). In the end I felt like I was in a big family... and I was really! Gorgeous time, beautiful memories about people, landscape, culture...

I could just talk and talk and talk... but you know what?  Go there and discover it on your own... you will not regret I can guarantee...

With love: Szilvia 2009 Aug




Volunteer’s updates:
Szlivia is back to Ireland and VEEP has appointed as International coordinator of VEEP as well as Orphanage support programme.  If you are interested to donate Money or cloths or stationeries please don’t hesitate to contact her. She can be contacted through her E-mail: ……………………………….  And if you would like to hear about the experience of Nepal you can contact her.  Especially people around (UK and Ireland) can contact to her. She is currently living in Cork, Ireland

Picture by volunteers

VEEP Funding Projects:
January: VEEP has provided Micro fund for the School in Godavari where  David Walcott Volunteer from USA has worked as a English and Math teacher for 3 moth. With the micro fund Money supplied by VEEP. He has brought different lab equipment for the school laboratory. 


February: Volunteers form Netherlands and USA ( Ieke and William ) used the Micro fund Money   to renovate the Stage of the school in Lalitpur district. It’s like a community gathering place at the school. The roof the school was badly damaged from last year rain and storm they have also carried out the different awareness programme they have replaced school Traditional Black Boards with New white boards. School Students and Teacher were so much excited to use it that.

 

May: Greg Mackenzie, New Zealand. Was our long term volunteer this is his second visit to Nepal. He worked with us about 5 months. He helped to put new benches in the school in Godvari with Micro Fund Money supplied by VEEP Nepal. During his placement in school he has realized that in the afternoon, kids in school have break for Lunch but they don’t have any place to sit and eat their lunch they bring from their house. So he thought its better idea to make few benches around school where kids can sit and eat their lunch and can sit during the break time.

June: One of our volunteer from England Naomi Coleman has started sponsoring a boy from the Orphanage that she worked in Feb 2009.  Hope this will be a big support for the kid and will help the overall development of the Boy. 


Aug: VEEP has donated 5000 rupee to a Children Home in Godavari to buy Kitchen supplies and Plates and glasses for the kids. There were not enough plates for kids to eat now they have enough plates to eat.

VEEP Newsletter team

VEEP Nepal

Kathmandu, Nepal

GPO 8975, EPC 5054

Kathmandu Nepal