Juju Dhau + Mala +Dhaka Topi +Khada + Tikka = Surprise Nepali Party

Today is the last immediate disaster relief distribution! We distributed a total of 189 army style tents to the residents of Maheswari Camp! This is where Tzu Chi started their first relief distribution and it is just as appropriate that we end our last immediate relief distribution here! And boy did we get a huge surprise from the residents!!!!!

I took some time to gather my thoughts! It was really quite nice to just sit on a couple of bricks and just ponder on everything that was happening in front of me. There were a lot of noises, but everything got quiet and slowed down when I started to write! It's been three weeks since I've stepped foot in Nepal. Oh how fast the time has passed by! 9 distributions later, here we are! The people here know my name, know where I come from, know how long I am staying,  and know that I love and care about them like my own family! What a blessing! I feel overwhelmed with gratefulness! 

Helping the residents carry their tents! 

The residents gave us the surprise of our lives! It was so touching how much effort and planning was spent in preparing this super special surprise ceremony for us! They wanted to thank us for everything we have done for them over the last two months and everything they prepared for us were with the greatest honor and respect in the Nepali culture. 

They made us flower necklaces (Mala)! So thoughtful! Each flower and leaf was specifically hand tied with the string. Every single detail about today's ceremony touched my heart deeply. 

The management team there prepared hand-sown Dhaka Topis for us!!! How incredibly honored we are! That must have taken them forever to prepare ahead of time. You can really see just how thoughtful and how much heart went into all of today's surprise ceremony. 

The women at the camp also prepared traditional Nepali yogurt, called Juju Dhau, which literally means "King of Yogurt" in Newari. This is one of the most famous specialities from Bhaktapur area. Juju Dhau is a sweetened custard-like yogurt that is a very important part of all festivities and celebrations, because many Nepalese people believe that yogurt brings good luck. That is why you can always find a fresh container of yogurt ready to be consumed for any important events all around Nepal. Normally, cow's milk is used to make regular yogurt, but in traditionally methods, fresh buffalo milk (bhaisi) is used for the Juju Dhau. This gives it a richer taste and texture. 

The actual process in making the Juju Dhau: boil milk, add sugar, mix in culture, and pour the mixture into a natural red clay pot (maato ko kataaro). It is then placed in a warm area on a bed of paddy husks (the papery covering of rice grains) and covered with another red clay pot on top. Afterwards, it is wrapped in several thick cotton blankets to maintain the warm temperature as the yogurt sets. Due to the porous nature of the clay pots, the excess liquid from the yogurt will slowly evaporate and the end result is a delicious, textured and creamy yogurt. 

In Nepal, for many festivities and celebrations, the tikka is widely used. Tikka is a mixture of abir, a red powder, yoghurt, and grains of rice. It becomes like a thick red powder that is applied with the thumb, in a single upward stroke, in the middle forehead region. This is also a sign of respect and thanks from the Nepalese people. 

All tikka-tastic!!!!!!!

Thank you so much for lunch Ravi! You are the best and your wife is the best cook ever! I have been getting my daily dosage of Dal Bhat Tarkari (Cooked Lentil Soup + Rice + Mixed Vegetables) thanks to Ravi!!!! I am one of the luckiest girls ever! In Nepal, they eat with their hands for meals, and it totally made me feel right at home! Eating with my hands brings me back to my days in Ethiopia! It really is incredible how everything in life comes full circle! There are no words to describe the emotions that have been happening within my heart throughout this trip. The people that I have met and the relationships that I have built! It has been insane! Every little detail about every moment is precious to me, I am cherishing everything! Absolutely everything! Thank you world! 

Green = Regular garbage can in Nepal

Red = Recyclable goods in Nepal

Red + Green = ??????

Dr. Nirdesh and I were fooling around! Some lighthearted moments! He is such a goof ball! So grateful that a few of us got to know the "real" Dr. Nirdesh! haha. You crack me up so much! Thank you so much for always being there for a good laugh! Laughter therapy works wonders! 

Surprise Nepali Party.......CHECKED! 

A Mother's Last Embrace

Today was the last set of school distributions! 

~ Adarsha HSS, Sanothimi ~ 

These two boys were a lot of help with crowd control! Every time the drums rang, all the students started to respond with different hand and feet movements. It was all synchronized! Super impressive. After all of these school distributions, we have noticed that at each school there is always a super military style PE teacher that does drills with the students. It is the most effective way to control the chaos that we have seen so far! It was really quite a sight! Thank you drummer boys!

These children are so cute! Super dynamic and loved to participate in all of our planned activities! Every child wanted to know what my name was, where I came from, and if I could sign their HANDS????!!!??? haha, yes you heard it right! All the children rushed up to us after the ceremony, asking for our autographs! It was insane! I was afraid that I was going to hurt their hands and arms with the pen, but they were all super happy about it! The simple pleasures in life! Thank you children for making me feel like a giant superstar today!!! When really, you guys are the bright shining superstars!!!! Love you all! <3

In the afternoon, we all went to visit 10 new Bagiswori cases. We split into four different groups to be able to visit all the cases at the same time. We were all on foot this time, which was an awesome opportunity to go and explore the surroundings! We ended up walking in the fields and completely were immersed in farm land.  There were lots of rice fields and many people at work. It was really a serene feeling. Just walking on the dirt road with no worries at all! Such a nice feeling!  

One of the case visits was of 14 year old *Titi! All of these educational cases were referred to us by their school teacher. The teacher is someone who is very compassionate about helping others and especially his students. After the earthquake, many students lost their family members and close friends, so the teacher really wanted to help them walk out of the dark shadows. This was especially true in the case of *Titi. During the earthquake, *Titi's whole family was caught under the rubble of the massive earthquake, but everyone escaped with only slight injuries. Everyone except her mother. She lost her mother in the earthquake and has ever since been unable to come out of the dark shadows of her immense sorrow. You can clearly see it in her eyes, her facial expressions and her posture. Everything about this girl screamed sadness and in pain. When I saw her, my heart was aching for her loss. When she spoke to us, she didn't look at us, she just looked at the floor the whole entire time. When asked about what had happened on the day of the earthquake, she would go quiet, and then stare out into the distance. The teacher told us that he found *Titi, not so long after the earthquake had happened, completely on her knees in the rubble, crying her eyes out and calling out for her mother. She was inconsolably sobbing and just in complete shock of what had happened. She has three older brothers and her father was a teacher, but now has retired due to illness. So due to her mother's passing, she is now the motherly figure of the household and also the main cook and cleaning person. She goes to school during the day and cooks all three meals for her entire family. 

Life is not easy when you are living in a half-way abandoned building and noise is a huge problem. Although they are not in a tent camp, they are still living in a very cramped up space with multiple families all around them. The only partitions that exist between residents are blankets and plastic tarps. She was telling me how she loves math and science in school, but ever since their house collapsed, she has not had the time nor the energy to concentrate on her studies. She says that there are too many children in this open area, running and screaming all the time, she cannot really read and write well. My heart was hurting. This little girl was so mature for her age and even through heart ache, she was still fulfilling her duties as a daughter, sister, and a student to the best of her knowledge. When so many children around the world are complaining about how their parents aren't buying things they want for them, picky about the food they are eating, wanting the latest electronics, wanting to go on vacation to a resort, and always taking the chance at education for granted. All *Titi wanted was to be able to have a safe and quiet place to study, so that she will have a chance at a better future. She wants to be a nurse in the future and help more people in need. After an hour of talking to *Titi, she opened up more and more. It was as if I was seeing an onion being peeled layer by layer as the time ticked on. I held her hands and looked straight into her eyes. I told her that I know losing her mother is an unimaginable pain and that if she wanted to cry and feel sad, it was okay. It is normal to feel that way. But I told her, after crying for a while, she needs to come out of that sorrow, because her mother wouldn't want to see her stay that way. That her mother would want to see her smiling and keep on living happily. I told her that even though her mother is no longer with us, she is looking over her and will always be in her heart. That she will always be her mother's daughter, no one can ever change that. At this point, she gave me one of the biggest smiles ever and said, "I know, I can feel her with me everyday." 

I gave her the biggest hug in the world and told her that she is never alone. There are many people in this world that care and love her. That even though she lost her mother, but now she has gained an older sister! I told her just how incredibly proud I am of her and that she needs to stay strong and keep her head up. She is such a brave little girl and I can see her doing many great things. She is very intelligent and I truly believe she will come out of this even stronger. She fell into my arms and I could feel all of her being just collapsed into me. It was as if her soul was trying so hard to merge with my soul. It was an indescribable feeling. No words. Only pure emotions. I didn't need to look at her. I could feel her heart smiling, and it was a smile from deep within. Her heart opened finally for the first time in a long time and I was very grateful that I could be there to help her through this tough phase in her life. She told me that she hasn't hugged anyone in a really long time, the last person being her mother. I held her in my arms for a long while and I told her that she just take all the time that she needed. I was going to be there for her. Even though I cannot fill that emptiness in her heart where her mother once was, but I can patch it up with other positive things to heal her wound. I promised that I would come back and visit and this is a promise that I will keep. 

STAY STRONG MY DEAR *TITI! YOU ARE NEVER ALONE! 

Semi-Permanant Classroom Handover Ceremony (2 Months Tzu Chi Nepal Disaster Relief): Bagiswori, Sarraswoti LSS, Janapremi LSS

Today marks two months since Tzu Chi has been in Nepal for the April 25th, 2015 earthquake disaster relief. Time has flown by and progress can be clearly seen all around Nepal. Tzu Chi came to help out only 3 days after the earthquake hit and has never left. There has been 9 disaster relief teams with multiple rotations.

A quick summary:

9 teams of disaster relief volunteers (276 people)

Donations from 38 countries

Cash-For-Work Program: 2,473 people

Hot Meals: 78,850 people

Free Clinics: 11,366 people

Tents/Temporary Shelters Distributions: 7,000 people

Solar Energy Kits: 10

Total Relief Goods Distributions: 78,983 people

I was correcting the english version of our handover ceremony's brochure for the reporters. 

I was in charge of the VIP section of the ceremony. I explained to many different reporters about who we are and what does Tzu Chi do all over the world. They were all very impressed and eager to learn more about how they can get involved in the volunteer work Tzu Chi is doing in Nepal. 

Public school teachers are in pink uniforms and private secondary teachers are in turquoise uniforms.

We conducted a tea ceremony to let the students show their utter most respect for their teachers and the principal. I was very touched by the students's patience and efforts, because the day before, they practiced over and over again to get every single detail just right. Thank you guys so much for making today so special for everyone involved! 

The teachers were all very touched by their student's gestures and all commented that this type of way to pay respect is really good, as well. Normally in Nepal, the traditional way of paying respect to elders is giving someone a Khada or for the highest level of respect is by kneeling down and touching that person's feet. 

Traditional Newari dance! They clothed themselves in black and red patterned costumes complete with the traditional accessories: a red flower, macasi earrings, thick hollowed-silver ankle bracelets and a gold headpiece.  This dance told a story, had a philosophy, and every gesture, stance and glance had the deep meaning and knowledge of our true being behind it. This is a type of dance that mirrored the deep religious and cultural aspects of Nepal. 

Traditional Nepali dance. The girls wore traditional Nepali costumes,  Gunyu (Saree) Choli (Blouse) Patuki (Cloth Pouch) to perform for us.   

Ribbon cutting handover ceremony time!

The principal was so kind to have asked us to stay for some snacks. PB&J sandwich, Nepali yoguart, a hard boiled egg and some fruit. What a treat!

~ Sarraswoti LSS ~

It has been a long while since I've last seen these things (A Melodica)! How adorable. The pink and blue combo really reminds me of my childhood! Oh jeeze! What a mixture of colors huh?

I've asked the children to pick up all the trash in the court yard. The incentive? CANDY! When every child heard the word CANDY (they say "Chocolat" here) they ran like crazy! Going to every single corner to pick up garbage! It was quite a sight! I told them that the whole ground needs to be completely cleaned before anyone gets any candy. And on top of all of that, I informed them that I DID NOT want to see ANY candy wrappers on the ground afterwards either!

What an amazing job and what a huge difference ten bags less of trash can make to a school ground!!!! It was as if the school was reborn again. I made sure to teach the children to always remember to put the trash into the big trashcan they have at the school. It always seems a lot worse when the trash gets accumulated over time, and much harder to clean. It was for the great good of everyone. It is also a great way to let the children bring this kind of education back to their homes and neighborhoods. The children did a wonderful job and I hope that the principal and teachers will continue this kind of education once we leave. Keep up the good work kiddos! 

We had the teachers pass out the candy to each of their class. It worked out really well.

I talked to the children about the Bamboo Bank spirit and how these uniforms and textbooks came about. We wanted them to know that over 38 countries have donated their love to Nepal and that this accumulation of Great Love is eternally in their hearts. To always remember that many people love and care about them, so they do not ever need to feel alone. We hope that they will cherish their uniforms and textbooks and to pass on their own love to others who are in need, as well. 

I am so grateful that I get to be here in Nepal to witness all of these positive changes and be a part of the cycle of Great Love.