About the House:
We are living in a house owned by Abroaderview and other similar volunteer organizations. In addition, there is another house about a 10 minute walk away owned by some other organizations. There are currently 6 Nepali girls, an American program director, and 12 volunteers from around the world between the two houses. The majority of the other volunteers are also American college students, however there are also some other older and younger volunteers as well. A hot topic back at home must be the state of our bathrooms. The house is in a very wealthy area of Kathmandu, and many Nepali politicians live in this area. That being said, the bathrooms are very nice, and there are plenty of water filters for our safety. The largest department store in the city is literally just around the corner, so we have access to any Nepali or Western (toilet paper) essentials.
About Koseli: http://nepalkoseli.blogspot.com/
Yesterday was when I started to feel ill. I went into the main office with my eyes on some Advil. As I waited for the miracle drug to kick in I got the chance to talk to Renu Bagari, the owner and founder of Koseli. Our informal interview ended up lasting over an hour. At some point later in the trip, I would like to have a more structured discussion and record it to show the world. I have been having a lot of journalism and "sharing this with the world" moments, possibly because Alan and I watched Blood Diamond on the plane right before we landed in Nepal. Highly recommended.
Renu worked as a General Manager at some company. She seemed to be on track for the "typical path" for many Americans: grow up, go to college, get a job, retire, purchase a yacht. But she kept telling me about personal satisfaction; money is nice, but what is the bigger picture? While working, she had always been donating whatever extra money she had earned to sponsor foreign kids. This was truly amazing, but she had bigger plans on her mind. With the little money that she hadn't donated from earlier in her life, she came to Nepal with essentially nothing. She had seen other similar schools, but the campus and buildings were as run down as the slums. Her vision was to make a clean, safe, and mature place for children to learn.
Koseli was founded in April 2010. By luck of the draw, she met the future co-owner named Chrishna, who had similar intentions. With whatever donations their friends and family could provide, they were able to have a single classroom with a capacity of twenty students. A few months ago, they expanded to a larger location, employed a few more teachers, and are now able to educate 150 students. Renu closed the conversation with "only now have I found satisfaction", then I went out to go out and run around with the kids.
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| These kids are probably already better than me. All those years of rec soccer for nothin'. |
Koseli Daily Schedule, Sunday through Friday:
- 8:30 AM: Kids arrive at Koseli, and complete their morning hygiene routine. This consists of bathing, changing into uniforms, brushing teeth, etc. Some of them walk 4 or 5 kilometers to get to the school. Some students do not want to go to school, in which case the staff will attempt to go to their homes and bring them to school. Renu fears that if students cannot find motivation for school at this age, they will inevitably end up going down the "wrong road". She told me that she never wants to give up on a student, but when neither the guardian nor the child are receptive there is little she can do. She reminded me that there is an extensive wait list for Koseli, so some kids do end up being dismissed to make room for another child.
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| One of my students, Sajan, in uniform. |
- 9:30 AM: Assembly. The primary religion of this region is Hindu, but the staff and students are open to all views. Assembly is more about thanking the Goddess of Knowledge and exhibiting pride in Nepali culture.
- 10 AM: Homework time. The kids do not take their books home with them after the previous day, so their homework is done the following morning.
- 11 AM: Lunch time begins. The dining room is essentially a 15 x 15 foot room with some rugs on the floor for the kids to sit on. Lunch times are staggered by grade, and in the mean time kids have some extra time to wrap up their homework. If everything else is done, students are allowed to get goofy and play.
- 12 PM: Classes. All students (grades 1 through 7) learn the same five subjects: English, Nepali, Social Studies, Science, and Math. With the execption of Nepali class, courses are taught exclusively in English. Renu remarked that although it is harder to explain concepts in English than Nepali, the students will benefit in the long term to learn and think in English. However, if a student is really struggeling to understand a word or concept, the teachers will tell them the Nepali equivalent.
- 4:30 PM: Clean up/dress down, tea, and biscuits. Nepali tea is soooooooooo good. Usually Alan, the two other volunteers at Koseli, and I will stick around to try and get our hands on some. The kids go home after everyone has had their afternoon snack, which might be their last meal of the day. The kids come from many different slums in all directions, so the limited staff is only able to walk a few groups of students home.
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| Helping one of the kids traverse the muddy and unstable expedition back home. After all, it is monsoon season in Nepal. |
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| Many of the slums are located along a nearby river for easy access to water. These rivers also serve as a dump for many Nepali people and even tourists. |
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| For these kids, this is "home sweet home". |
Now, its about 3pm; the other guys are still out. I don't feel so hot, especially after reliving those images again.
Back to bed,
Mike Jagger
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