Schools, Strikes and a wedding.

I spent the 25^th deep in cutting and laminating more resources for the schools. I had sets of sounds, fruit and veg and opposites printed for each school so laminating and cutting them up was a big task. Saran and I went to Mahachap on the 26^th for a meeting to discuss what their village can contribute to the new school buildings. We were warmly welcomed by the teachers, and the children were happy to see us as ever. The meeting was very positive and I was then able to report to the UK what Mahachap and Dumre had said that they could contribute. The trustees in the UK can then draw up an agreement which will be translated into Nepali and signed by the head of the school, the heads of the village and school committee and a representative from Manisha UK.

On the 27^th I had a short meeting with Saran and Sargar to discuss registering in Nepal to have an NGO status. I relayed the information back to the UK which was similar to what Dan found out when he was here. Which is always reassuring as normally in Nepal you ask the same question to three people and get three completely different answers.

I then spent Saturday the 28^th again making more resources. I’ve turned my bedroom into a make shift factory. Saran and I were planning on going to Okaldunga on the Sunday for a night but I got a phone call from Saran on the Saturday evening saying that there was a traffic strike and that we couldn’t go. From what I could understand this was one political parties reaction to what is happening in the Terrai. As we couldn’t get hold of anyone from Okaldunga on Monday we have had to delay our trip there.

Saran and I went to Pipaldanda on Monday and I spent the day observing teachers lessons. I was so impressed with the amount of effort the teachers are putting into their lessons. In particular the head teacher. During a Science lesson with class 2 she brought in two different plants and the children were able to talk about the different parts of the plant; which parts were above and below the ground and what colours they were. The children were enthusiastic about learning and were able to answer her questions. I also saw a great maths lesson in which the children started by reciting times tables (that can be boring wherever you are in the world). But, instead of chanting them the children sang them, which I thought was good. The teacher then used laminated numbers to do different activities with the children, who were all clearly enjoying themselves and learning in the process.

Tuesday the 1^st I spent in Tansen in the office and going to print more resources and order some posters to be made, but frustratingly, the pixel count wasn’t high enough so I’m going to have to redesign them. I also had a short meeting with Saran as I had some questions for him about ordering some new shelves for classrooms and Mahachaps twin school has made a generous offer too. Saran also invited me to his cousin’s wedding the following day in Butwal which was really lovely.

I got the bus down to Bhalebas on Wednesday and then Saran picked me up on his bike and we went to Butwal for the wedding party. Although we didn’t spend very long there only about 3 hours the reception area looked really great, loads of decoration and wonderfully flavoured food. The bride and groom looked spectacular and the vibrant and rich colours of a Nepali wedding put ours to shame. After the wedding we got back on the bike and rode to Bhairawa where Saran’s other cousin lived. Saran then ventured towards the border with his cousin in search of fuel and I devoured the last third of yet another book. They came back with 30L of fuel to get us home and to another few school visits.

The next day we travelled back to Tansen. I didn’t sleep very well so I had a very relaxed afternoon; hadsome lunch and then a nap. Due to all the dust driving through Butwal, my eyes swelled massively and I could barely see. After a couple of days the swelling went down and they were back to normal. A guest called Maria also arrived from Pokhara, she is from Germany and is on her way to the Indian border.