It’s been a while…
Since Covid hit Nepal in March 2020, there has not been a lot to report. Our Fireflies, along with the rest of Kathmandu, hunkered down for a very long lockdown lasting all of 2020. Now the second wave has hit.
In the first wave, Nepal fared well. Not too many deaths nationwide and our Fireflies remained unaffected health wise. This second wave from India is a whole different story. We’ve had 5 staff hospitalized and now recovered. Our Fireflies in our Sankhu home are starting to contract the virus, with 10 this week isolating in a different part of our premises. All the children will be tested in the coming days and precautions taken. We feel very thankful to have such a big and beautifully set up home to accommodate these changing needs.
Our 9 onsite classrooms are proving incredibly helpful. Many of our older children help to teach the younger ones and we were also donated some computers, pre-covid, which have proved useful for online learning and exams, which take place this coming week.
During the course of Covid lockdowns, Indira (our on the ground director) has extended her compassion for humans to feeding 1000 people a day on the streets of Kathmandu. These homeless and jobless have nowhere to live, nothing to eat and rely on our team to keep them fed and alive. We are also donating blankets, water and other supplies when we can. It has been a privilege for our older children to help Indira by cutting, chopping, dicing, cooking and packaging the meals. Indira is demonstrating her humanitarian spirit with our Fireflies and they are all happy to be in a position to help. No wonder the world refers to her as ‘the mother of Nepal’.
Sadly, Indira’s mother passed away this morning. Fully vaccinated, Indira is on her way to her home village of Jhapa for the funeral. We wish her safe travels. Unfortunately, Covid is hitting the villages hard and I’m told only 2% of the nation is currently vaccinated. The people have been told a third wave will arrive in November so we are doing our best to get all our staff vaccinated in the next few weeks.
I would like to thank all of you, in these globally challenging times, for continuing to financially support our home. Our Fireflies and the staff are truly thankful to be looked after from afar, especially during times like this.
Look after yourselves,
Amanda and the team.
