After a short night's sleep (heat, power outage, smell in the rooms), Arbind came to pick us up to get to work. At his home during breakfast, we went over a program for the coming days. First, we visited the Shree Sharwan Janta School. The students were actually still off due to the 14-day Dashain festival, but nevertheless, we were greeted by a large group with flowers and singing. I learned that now, two years after its opening, the school is not actually a secondary school, but a pre-secondary, with three years of study before students move on to a real secondary school. It all looks neat, but there is still work to be done to make it fully to my liking. Interactive whiteboards and a computer room are really necessary here. Additionally, I had an in-depth conversation about the library. It’s absolutely not being used as it should be. We drew up an action list and improvement was promised.
Next, we visited the maternity clinic. With a subsidy from Wilde Ganzen, we were able to renovate the parking lot and provide the entire building with beautiful floor tiles. It’s now much more accessible and a lot more hygienic. There are still many desires to further modernize this building, but for now, the budget is lacking.
What really made us happy was our visit to the chicken and goat sheds. Two very neat buildings where chickens and goats are being bred. The income from this already supports three Dalit families, and if the goats keep reproducing, we will have 40 to 50 goats in a few months instead of 20. However, we had to take a moment to compose ourselves when we visited the small Dalit community. Such poverty and misery...
From Foreco Houtconstructies, we received a bag full of football gear. We were able to hand this over to a former Nepalese international, who is now the coach of a local football team. A very nice donation that found a good home.
To end the day, we attended a concert/dance performance by a famous dancer named Priti Paswan. My blonde daughter Rebecca was quite the attraction at the festival grounds (as she is throughout Nepal, really). To escape all the selfie hunters, Arbind took us to a spot next to the stage. When the tall white people were spotted, we were immediately asked to come up on stage, and to the great amusement of the audience, Rebecca had to dance with Priti Paswan right away. In front of about 6,000-7,000 Nepalis! A very special event and a beautiful way to end the day.
