School Distributions: Lokhanthali LSS, Janak Siddhikali SS, Bal Premi HSS, Bode HSS

Today was another full day of school distributions.

This school was in the outskirts of town, in a very remote area! The students at the school were very poor and hygiene was one of the main priorities. We went and distributed uniforms and textbooks/school supplies. All the children were very happy! 

I sat in the corner with the children and I noticed that many of the children were malnourished, which caused them to have a delayed reaction time to everything going on around them. Many had blank stares throughout the actual ceremony. I also noticed that many of the children had lice problems, which is so easily spread throughout this environment. These children are living in very harsh environments and staying focused in school and absorb new knowledge is quite a challenge for them. We hope that our love and care can bring some happiness and peace into their little hearts. 

I held many of them in my arms and after many different types of stimulation, I finally got some heartfelt smiles. These moments might not seem like much to the ordinary eye, but to me, it meant the world of a difference for that child's development. There is still hope, and I saw that hope in the children's smiles today! 

~ Maheswari Camp - Case Visits ~

Teaching a stroke patient various stroke rehabilitation exercises. 

One of the father of our local volunteer, living in the tent area, is suffering from bone cancer. He is unable to walk by himself and his son is the main caretaker for him. He goes to school during the day and all the rest of the responsibilities of home care falls on his shoulders, as well. He is a very active local volunteer for Tzu Chi and today, our volunteers went to help clean up their tent and to also set up the multi-purpose bed for his father. 

Upon lifting his father onto the multi-purpose bed, we soon discovered that his pants were covered in feces and the army stretcher bed had over a day old fecal matter in a large area, as well. We quickly removed the stretcher to be washed on the side.  After proper cleaning and disinfecting, we all helped move his father and the new bed into the cleaned tent. We hope that will ease, at least some stress from our dedicated volunteer's daily life. We also stayed for a while to sing to the father! 

~ Bal Premi Higher Secondary School ~

This is one of the most famous temples in the Thimi area. Many people come here to wish for love, child bearing, good health and fortune. The people will stand in front of the temple to make their wishes and then you must ring the bell in order to complete your wishes. So, naturally, I made a wish for humanity! I really hope it comes true! Fingers crossed! 

Apparently, each stripe hanging on the roof is full of child bearing wishes, while using real gold sections! That is why the temple is locked at night time, in order to protect its gold sections. 

This is the Nepalese tractor! 

Cute little school girls!

These were some of the students that attended one of our school distributions the other day. They were so eager to show me the sign languages they learned. "Tzu Chi" she proudly displayed for me. Super proud! 

Many elders like to meet at different temple resting areas throughout the day! Aren't they all just so adorable in their Dhaka Topi (National Hat)?

Many different size mirrors can be seen all over various temples and shrines in Nepal. Their meaning is actually quite deep and related to Buddhism teachings. The locals tell me that the mirrors are hung when someone has passed away. It is there to remind the person suffering that whenever we die, we die alone. The mirror serves as a way to look at your own reflection while praying. It is the message that, we should let go of our pain, because death is just a part of the cycle of life. When we die, we cannot take anything with us, except our own sense of self, so there is nothing to be sad about when someone else dies. It is all just a natural process of life itself. It really is quite an interesting method for dealing with the grieving process. 

The children at the school were lined up to greet us with their sweetest "Namaste" !!!!!!

This is their Ping-Pong table! How creative and super efficient! 

The program room was jammed packed with all the students, with the younger students sitting on the carpet in the very front to the oldest children standing in a row in the back. 

This student representative was SUPER nervous speaking on stage. He was shaking so bad that the words were barely coming out of his mouth. I quickly went up on stage and started to sooth his back with my hand to calm him down. He was very brave to stand in front of his whole school and talk about just how much the earthquake has affected the Nepalese people. 

We were so honored that the students prepared a dance and two songs for us. They wanted to thank Tzu Chi for their kindness and were very grateful for all the love and support we brought to them.

I was so very touched by their gift to Tzu Chi, because there was so much heart that was put into each performance. The first one was a traditional Nepali dance where the lyrics talks about just how important education and cultural preservation was to a country. The second one was an original song written by three higher grade students on how they felt about the earthquake and just how devastating seeing friends and families pass away due to the huge disaster. The last one was also an original song written by two higher grade students on how beautiful Nepal is: the people, the culture, the sites. The line that touched me the most was "the earthquake is like a giant black shadow casting over Nepal, but the Nepalese people are like sunshine that can quickly brighten up the environment again."

Thank you lovely children for your unselfish giving and never ending kind-heartedness! Please stay this way forever! <3