Updates From November 2016

DEAR  FRIENDS,

Another month has passed, and so, we bring you an update on our adventures of late. As you know, we already had the festival break for one month and now all the kids are headed back into their school work and many projects with full energy and enthusiasm,with the help of our new volunteers .

And I would like to give a special thanks to our volunteers, Ms. Robyn and Mr. Ilkay for helping me with this newsletter write up.

OUR NEW VOLUNTEERS - ROBYN AND ILKAY

As you may remember from our October update, we have two new volunteers with us here at NECO. We’ve asked them a few questions to help you get to know them.

First of all, tell us a little bit about yourselves, and where you are from?

Ilkay - I am 25 years old, from Germany and my roots are Turkish. I used to work in a German Bank, but since nearly two years I’ve been traveling.
Robyn - I’m 20 years old, and come from Canada, although I was actually born here in Kathmandu, Nepal. I finished high school in 2015, and have been working and traveling since. We both just traveled here from our last destination, New Zealand, a month ago.

What was your first impression of Nepal in three words?

I - Smiles, dust, crowded.
R - Colorful, noisy ...dusty ha-ha.

How did you find out about NECO, and why did you decide to come volunteer here?

I - Robyn told me about the home, so I looked up the website, and really liked what I saw.
R - I was told about NECO through a Canadian friend of Bishow and John’s, and came for a short visit in March. Same as Ilkay, I liked what I saw, and the values held here were resonant with my own, so I decided I wanted to come back for a longer time.

What are your main duties around the home, and with the children?

I and R - We have the same duties here, mainly helping the children to complete their homework in the evenings, as well as giving a hand at mealtimes and when they are getting ready for school. We help them practice and perfect their English skills,             sometimes do lessons and presentations with them in their spare time and just do our best to be positive role models in their daily lives. Robyn also helps out with keeping the social media aspect of things updated.

Tell us about your most memorable moment so far, here at NECO?

I - I remember noticing in the first days here how well the older children get along with the younger ones, and everything here is shared so amicably.
R - Hearing a few of the children’s stories and realizing how much they’ve been through, yet also seeing how joyful and determined they are,is both heart breaking and incredibly inspiring at the same time.

You’ve been here for a month now, do you know the names of all the children yet?

I - Mostly, yes, but I still struggle with the right pronunciation of some of the names.
R - I’m confident that I know all of their names, but I agree with Ilkay that getting the right pronunciation is definitely difficult.

What are you looking forward to in your next months here?

I and R - Right now, we look forward to spending some closer time(and maybe do some Kathmandu adventuring) with the older children, as they are on a short holiday. Over the next weeks, we aim to work with the younger students to help them learn to rely more on each other and to work together for studying, rather than asking for adult help.

We also hope to work more closely with the staff to learn more about NECO’s ongoing projects, and to learn where our help is most needed. Overall,we are looking forward to learning everything we can about the Nepali culture from the kids. They’ve already taught us tons of Nepali words! We hope that we can also teach them some more about the western cultures that we come from.

Lastly, what is your favorite Nepali food that you’ve tasted so far in your travels?

I - Momos, but I'm in love with the chow mein I’ve encountered here as well. R - Everyone says dahl baht is boring, but even though we eat it twice a day,everyday, I still love it every single time. As Indira Aunt would say: “Meto cha
!”

CHILD OF THE MONTH

Anusha Rijal is one of the ambitious, self motivated and hard-working children in NECO Home. She studies in grade 8 and is highly motivated to be a successful photographer in the future. Here are some of the words that we've picked up from her letter.

Hi, My name is Anusha Rijal from Dhading Chhraudhi. I came to stay in NECO Home in 2010 A. D. which is like a heaven.

As you all  knew that NECO Home is a  beautiful and a wonderful place surrounded by green plants and varieties  of beautiful flowers. Really NECO Home have beautiful scenario with a number of staffs and aunts. They all are doing their duties by fulfilling and providing us the facilities which are not being provided to others by their  parents and families. All the teachers were  very frank to us. We are having a  great opportunity to get such type of facilities because before coming here I used to cut grasses  for my goats and woods for firewood. There was no any time to complete my homework and other works too. I have to cook food for my Grandma and Grandfather who were old . But after my father died I came to NECO. Then after  to till now, here I am very happy because I am getting time to finished my homework. We are not forced by others to do such type  of hard work, I am getting here many facilities which are not provided by royal family to their children. So, I am getting golden opportunity to live here.

At last I want to say  thanks for  all of our supporters who used to help us in our difficulties.

I look forward  to hearing from you shortly.

Thanks
Anusha Rijal

BIRTHDAYS OF THE MONTH

This month,we had the fortune of celebrating 5 wonderful birthdays here at NECO -Nirmala, Bina, Aayush, Durga and Surakshya. Much delicious cake was enjoyed, well wishes exchanged, and of course lots of singing! Wishing a very Happy Birthday to you all.  We are blessed to have each and every one of you here, in our home!

L-R: Nirmala - now 16, Bina - now 14, Aayush - now 7,  Durga - now 19, and Surakshya - now 9

As well, we would like to note the birthdays of Eloise Lund, one of our long time, dedicated and loving supporters, and Kalpana Kandel, our ever amazing NECO President, as well as our new volunteer Ms. Robyn.

MEETING JONI ANWAR

In mid-November, the children had the wonderful opportunity of meeting Thai actor and pop-singer, Joni Anwar. We spent the afternoon sharing music, as well as talking with Joni about his early career, and how he built his road to success. For the event, Joni brought along his trusty Go-Pro, and not only used it to document his time with the children, but he also gave them a chance to try some film-making themselves. At the end of his visit, Joni gave us a  surprise sneak peek at some ideas behind an upcoming project of his, a TV show titled “Trekking,” taking place here in Nepal. And an even greater surprise - he intends to involve NECO in part of the process! Although our afternoon with Joni was shorter than we would have liked, we look forward to seeing him again when he returns in the spring to begin filming for his project.

MAINTENANCE  UPDATE

Dining Hall Tables and Benches repaired.

The Herman Unity Room's Building Repaired.

The New Bathroom and Toilet Painted.

Made New Blankets.

Desktop and Heater Repaired.

QUICK GLIMPSE INTO OUR MONTH 

Senior girls, studious as always; Big smiles after receiving our second term exam results; Ilkay Brother, serving breakfast; Prayer before meal time; Namaste!; Study buddies