A new house mother.

It is high time for a lengthy update as there have been many exciting changes of late.

We have a new house mother, 26 year old Srijana, who is a talented cook and once managed a restaurant. She was also house mother at our Sankhu home so she has a wealth of experience. Aside from being able to relate well to the children, she is good with discipline and has already started taking cooking lessons for the older children. She also makes jewellery and sews so she has a lot of practical skills to share. See her photo at http://www.fireflychildrenshome.org/staff/ We wish our previous didi (Santu) all the best for her future with her new husband. Congratulations!

This year I’ve worked on getting the children involved in extra-curricular activities. Our big boys, Aita, Rupesh and Bijay, recently took part in a national mountain biking competition and did very well indeed. A local Nepali, Sunil, provided the bikes and the training so these young men could be exposed to the sport.

The younger children are taking Taekwondo lessons three times a week. The instructor comes to the home and takes them through a series of warm-ups and routines. The kids love it! See pics at www.fireflychildrenshome.org/photos (to be posted next week)

Our teacher, Nischal, comes every day to take the younger children through their homework. During exam time, he comes twice a day. This extra tutoring is proving to be a great help, especially to those less academic childen.

My recent visit to Kathmandu was timed perfectly to fall during the children’s school holidays. They had two days left of exams and 19 days off which they were most excited about! To celebrate their last day of school the boys went and played football and basketball and the girls danced in the study room for hours! We all had a ball. The boys joined in the dancing… there are some great breakdancers amongst them!

A sponsor, Jayne, accompanied me on my trip, as did a supporter, Susanna. Both women were able to spend time at the home, see how it operates and accompany me to a couple of prisons and our Sankhu home. Please read Jayne’s report of their time in Kathmandu meeting her girl Kalpana: www.fireflychildrenshome.org/the-children/testimonials-sponsors/

Common sense says prisons are not a place for children to grow up in, but some unfortunate children in Nepal have no choice if their parents are sent to prison and the children have nowhere to go. Last week Indira and I went to Brigung Prison, near the Indian border, to rescue three children whose parents were sent to prison a few weeks ago. Siblings Rossini (6) and Rossan (5) have both parents in jail, Binaya (4) has only a father in prison. His mother is dead. These parents are awaiting trial and could be in prison for 10-20 years, so bringing the children to our home is an opportunity for them to develop emotionally, socially and academically – something they could not do in the overcrowded, underfunded prisons of Nepal. All three of them have settled well into their new environment, as have the others who were recently rescued. It really is amazing to see the older children take these new ones under their wing and nurture them with such love and understanding. With official documentation and sign off from the parents, the children are now under our guardianship. This brings our tally this month to 10 new children, one who was rescued from the streets of Kathmandu (he is only three, his parents abandoned him). Their profiles will be up on the website next week.

This year we are working on reintegrating some of our older children back into the community. The older boys will live in a rented room together nearby Firefly home to gain some independance and social freedom. They will return daily for breakfast and dinner, to wash clothes and catch up with everyone, but will study and sleep outside of the FCH home.

It is so wonderful to see our Firefly children, some who came to us 8 years ago, blossom into responsible and educated young adults! Bijay and Rupesh have finished school and are committed to college. Aita and Ranjana are due to sit their SLC next year. So proud of them!

Don’t forget to check your sponsored child’s updated profile and our FB page http://www.facebook.com/FireflyChildrensHome?ref=ts#!/FireflyChildrensHome. Thanks for your support in making a difference to these childrens’ lives.

As I reflect on the year gone by, I am always so touched by people’s generosity. That includes you! So many of you give up what other people would spend on themselves, for the future of our beautiful Nepali children. Thank you so very much.

Here are a couple of the great things people do for Firefly:

Two children in Dubai who live a privileged life have spent a month collecting second hand shoes/clothes etc from their friends to take to Kathmandu in December when they go trekking with their parents. Mum tells me the project has been exciting and has taught them so much.

Glenn Marvin (NZ) just completed the Kepler challenge, beating his time from previous years. Glenn nominated Firefly as his chosen charity so all donations he got for competing have been donated to our home in Nepal.

View full stories and photos on our acknowledgements page or visit our facebook page.

The FCH children had a lovely time during the Festival of Lights. Extensive school holidays enabled them to go back to their original village and enjoy village life. The children always enjoy coming back to Firefly Home as they really miss each other!

We are currently getting quotes for a new fence to secure our complex as security of our belongings is always an issue. Thanks to the wonderful donations that have come in this year, we have enough money in our bank account to ensure this fence gets built.

We continue to have a good relationship with the volunteer organisations in Kathmandu who send keen volunteers our way to help where they can. A big thank you to all those wonderful people who have spent time at Firefly in the past year. We value your time and commitment!

I wish you all a very Merry Christmas! Thank you again for your support and encouragement this year.

The two week Dashain festival, which begins 28 September, is a celebration much like the Western Christmas. It is a national holiday where people return to their villages to be with family, have delicious meals and celebrate with colourful processions. Tihar, a celebration of lights, begins after Dashain finishes during the month of October. Cultural acts of dances and songs are integral parts of these celebrations.

Our children, where possible, will return to their villages or spend time with their parents in jail. Some do not have a village connection so they will stay at the Firefly home. The hiccup we are facing is the chaos and damage caused by the earthquake which hit Nepal on 18 September. Mudslides have closed roads and poor weather has hampered attempts to restore order. If you would like to read more about the Nepal/India/Tibet earthquake, visit www.earthquake-nepal.com/news.html

If anyone did not see the lovely photos of Womens day, scroll down to last month’s update. I will post photos of the colourful Dashain celebrations next month!

Tomorrow is Women’s Day in Nepal, a highly celebrated event. Married and unmarried women sing and dance all day long in public squares and temples. Generally the women are dressed in red saris and fast on this day for longevity of their husbands, or if unmarried, to have good looking husbands! It’s a loud and cheerful celebration until late at night. I understand the children at the orphanage will be celebrating so we may see some pictures of that.

Update: Here are some pictures from the Women’s Day celebrations! 

I will email you all with a document on each of the 23 children, detailing their social and emotional progress. I trust you will enjoy reading about your sponsored child/ren.

The day was always going to arrive – when one of our children finished school – but it is hard to believe we are there!

Bijay, one of the first children to enter our orphanage in 2004, is now 17 and finishing school. He is being funded by his sponsor, Enora, to go to college in Kathmandu and complete a management course. In his spare time, Bijay has been working in a bike shop to gain work experience. All the best to Bijay!

Punam, our eldest girl now 16, is working in a cafe kitchen on weekends to gain work experience. She is interested in cooking and hospitality and with only one year left of school, she is keen to get some experience behind her.

We are looking at other work and apprenticeship opportunities for the children who are soon to be 16, especially for those who are not academic. These activities include sewing, handicrafts and beauty therapy. Under Indira’s guidance and with her business connections, we are keen to get them ready for the day when they do leave school and have to make decisions about their future. Naturally, all the children will always be a part of the Firefly family (and some may choose to be involved/employed at the home). Our goal now is to nurture them into further study or employment as far as we see fit, and if appropriate giving them a bonus to get them started.

As for the younger ones, they continue to focus on school, helping out at home and learning about gardening, hygiene and social awareness.

Volunteers recently created a cartoon film as an afterschool activity, with the children as actors. The children enjoyed learning about the process and of course loved watching themselves!

Below are the children’s exam results for the first school term of their year (April-July). Five of the children failed in Maths options, so we are going to get the afterschool tutor to make it his focus this term. The other subjects include Nepali, English, Science, Art, Geography/Social Studies and Computer Studies. The percentage is an overall mark for all the subjects.
Bibek 85%
Nishu 91%
Bishesh 95%
Bidi 86%
Ashish 85%
Arati 78%
Laxmi 95%
Sabin 75%
Rajib 78%
Bikash 78%
Sujan 86%
Sarita W 46%
Kashmir 89%
Sajina 92%
Santosh 80%
Sarita L 62%
Sushma 74%
Kalpana 72%
Punam 48%
Shanti 85%
Ranjana 46%
Aita 65%
Rupesh 59%

Thanks for your continued support.

The children sat their final exams three weeks ago and we have the results in. This week they are back at school after having a brief holiday… with no homework! The tutors are working out well. There are two of them who come in after school and help those children who particularly need it. We have seen good progress from both Saritas, Sushma and Kalpana. Exam results are below.

The weather is very pleasant in Kathmandu and it is trekking season so there are quite a few volunteers popping in each day to help out. This has been helpful given there is not much for the children in Kathmandu to do during the holidays. Nothing like our kids who have an abundance of things to do!

From what I have heard, our sponsors based in Christchurch and Japan have weathered the natural disasters. But I am sure there is much to sort out and work through for them all. My thoughts have been with you.

Finally, Nonna (who helped me set up the orphanage) has had a baby boy. Congratulations Nonna!

Exam results are an average of all subjects: English, Nepali, Social Studies, Science, Maths and Computer Studies.

The children have finished their winter vacation and are back in the classrooms again. Wrapped up in woollens, they brave the cold mornings and skip around the many puddles as they make their way to school.

This year we have the funds to pay for an after school tutor to assist those children who particularly need help. A few of the girls are struggling with mathematics so we will place emphasis on that subject. We are also looking at getting all the children into an activity to enhance their education, for example soccer, dancing, art and craft. The three children who have been doing karate for the last few years have really benefited from the experience.

Some words of appreciation: Thank you to the women from Auckland who knitted jumpers for the children. They have been wearing them non-stop this winter!

A big thank you to our accountant Hari who is such a dedicated member of our team with a strong work ethic. Hari emails me financial reports and daily updates at 11pm – well after his bedtime! Kathmandu is experiencing 11 hour power cuts which limit the opportunities to get on the internet. Thank you Hari!

Below are the exam results from their January 1st exams. The percentage is an overall average of all their subjects.

Thank you for your ongoing support.

Hi I’m Melissa from NZ. I volunteered at FCH for 2 months this year. It is one of the best experiences I have ever had and one I would like to repeat. The children are vibrant and full of energy. All of them have their own personalities. I know they would love to learn about yours, so go ahead and write them!

Their life is not as easy as ours but with the help of FCH it is a lot better than it would be. To give you an idea of what it is like to be a volunteer, here is a normal day:

Before breakfast – reading or finishing their homework because if there is a power cut the night before then not all the homework can be finished and candle light is difficult.

Breakfast – Daal (rice with a vegetarian curry and lentil soup) I loved this large meal of which they have twice a day.

Dishes – Children wash their dishes with a soap bar in a large laundry sized container outside with rain storage water or well water pumped up.

Time for school – Volunteers take the children to school but the older girls are very responsible and organise the younger children to ensure they are together to walk to school (6 children go to one school and 26 go to another school) They walk them to and from school crossing a main road (the compact size version of a two lane highway) that has no pedestrian crossing so you have to block the road to get the children across safely.

Cleaning Clothes – Cleaning clothes is very hard work and time consuming for such a large household. All clothing is washed by a buddy system with the younger children having an older child to wash their clothes. The clothing is washed by well water pumped up to fill 2 large containers. The clothes are scrubbed with laundry soap and scrubbing brushes outside on the concrete ground. The clothes are rung out and then hung on the clothing ropes outside or on the roof. There are no washing machines or electrical appliances.

School Homework Time – The children complete their homework with the help of volunteers. Older children help the younger children finish their homework. Homework with a number of children is difficult but it is more difficult when there is a power cut (often 8 hours a day)

This is just a glimpse into their life but I hope it lets you see what amazing help you are doing and how a little can go so far.

Melissa

Thanks Melissa. I know the sponsors will love reading about your experience!

Remember, if you have any questions don’t hesitate to email me or post a message on our Facebook page. Have a good month!