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News
September 2007
A month ago I returned back in Nepal and straightaway felt
at home and familiar again. In the mean time my mother, a
good friend and a friend of her’s have visited and seen Swarga
and it has been a satisfying experience. In any case I always
feel good about showing people what it we are actually doing
here. A live visit is a lot more revealing and interesting
than simply photographs and/or stories. So I invite everybody
who decides to go and pay a visit to Nepal in the future,
to come and see how we live our everyday life here.
It
is funny though to experience how the small the world indeed
is. Recently I was having a drink on the terrace of the Heart
of Bhaktapur when someone enters and asks for Joyce. This
person turned out to be a travel guide of Sawadee, who got
my name and address from a friend of my cousin. She lives
in Etten-Leur (when she is off duty), now isn’t that a coincidence?
We have shown Swarga to her and she too is now very enthousiastic.
From
a political point of view the last two weeks haven been very
turbulent and this has an immediate effect on tourism. The
revival did not last long. The Maoists have declared to leave
the government and start organizing protests again. They want
the republic, characterized by an equal delegation of numerous
sections of the population, to be proclaimed before the elections
of 22 November. I am very curious about the outcome of these
developments. Furthermore there is a great lack of fuel and
a similar lack of gaz is expected in the next months.
Next
month the festival of Dashain will take place, it is the greatest
and most important Hindu festival. It lasts approximately
ten days during which many buffaloes, goats and chickens are
sacrificed. It is a genuine family festival, a reason for
us to let our children return home. We will be closed then,
which offers a great opportunity to clean Swarga thoroughly
and paint wherever it is needed. Gitta de Groot and three
of her friends will come and help us.
`Swarga`
In Swarga life continues as planned. The children go to school,
carry out their practices and make homework. Generally speaking
there is not a lot of news at the moment, which is quite good
actually, because it means that everything is peaceful and
well. There is one thing I want to tell you about. Some time
ago we entered a dance competition together with the children.
Many schools participate in this competition, which is a yearly
recurring event. Our children danced and sang their Swarga
song. Are you aware of the fact that we have a song? Well,
now you know. Originally it has been composed by Tulasha,
our didie, prior to when she came to Swarga. The text is an
appeal to people not to call us handicapped, but to acknowledge
that we are able to be self-reliant. It is a beautiful song
and the children sing it lustily. Taking part in the competition
was very exciting. Normally Nepalese children take part in
many competitions, such as spelling, drawing and so on. Our
children on the other hand are not used to this phenomena
and therefore initially quite tense. But they have enjoyed
it very much and to such an extend that Asmita is willing
to give up swimming lessons next week in order to compete
again.
We
have also payed a visit to Deepa, an eleven-year-old spastic
girl who is very cheerful. Deepa will spending a period with
us, after the Dashain holiday. We will be observing her a
while to find out if she fits in. If not, we hope to find
her another home somewhere else.
Volunteers
Happy to let you know that our two Nepalese volunteers, Yugal
and Lata have successfully completed their studies to become
physiotherapists. So we are going to offer one of the two
a job at Swarga. Via a friend of Krishna we have also met
Aline Chartier, who is French. She has helped us to prepare
for the dance competition.
Activities
in Holland
Dutch activities In August “Lekker Etten-Leur” took
place. It has resulted in a nice amount of money thanks to
a large attendance. We want to thank Juniorkamer Etten-Leur
and all those who have visited the event. In Oktober the 27th
“Nepali Bazaar” will take place at the Stijbeekseweg 14 in
Ulvenhout (furniture shop “de Eiken Schuur”). Starting at
10 o’clock you can buy all sorts of things from both Nepal
and the Netherlands.
Nice to mention
Support from inside Nepal: Travel agency AsianHeritage Nepal
(already known to some of you) has announced to continue their
support to our goal. So if you want to book a trip in Nepal,
check www.asianheritagetreks.com
or write to info@asianheritagetreks.com. Ask for Nilam and
mention our names.
Until next time,
Joyce and Krishna
Recent photographs are to be found at the photo
gallery at www.suvadra.com
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