Occasionally, we ask those who have served on a team to Nepal to reflect on their experience. Here is a taste of what a Service Team is like.
In February 2013, we travelled to a remote village in the flat lands of Nepal, two hours or so outside the town of Dhangadhi, where we stayed on our first night. For these two days we were very well looked after by our main contact in that area and his wife. There we had the great privilege, along with Marian, Suzie, and Chrissie to officially open the new, brightly painted Kichahi Primary School with the beautiful Himalayan mountains in the background.
We were overwhelmed with the wonderful greeting we received from the teachers and children as they lined the pathway leading to the school entrance. There were over one hundred children, plus teachers and parents who had patiently waited in the warm sunshine to present us with garlands and posies of flowers. After revealing the plaque and cutting the red ribbons on the boundary gates we were treated to a two hour ceremony where the precious children sang and danced for us. We had the opportunity to express our thanks and to meet the teachers and those who had helped in the construction of the school.
The second part of our trip was spent in Tikapur where our hosts took great care of us. We stayed in the recently completed guest house.
While we were in Tikapur, we spent time visiting the Grace School, and the PremNagar School. We had the joy of being involved with the opening of the new Grace Secondary School. Again, the reception was very moving and the children presented songs, modern and traditional dance along with a comical skit. We were made to feel very welcome as honored guests.
During our visit there, we spent time observing the teachers in these schools as they were teaching English to their students and we helped in their lessons. The week before our visit, Carla had visited and spent many hours with the teachers helping them with phonics. Over the next two days we continued with this course of instruction with the teachers from all the schools, reviewing phonics through the use of ten Dr. Seuss books which they were each required to be able to read and pronounce proficiently. We are pleased to report that all of the teachers that attended over those two days achieved Level One and were proudly presented with a certificate and a bonus by Marian and Suzie. Mission accomplished!
We have so many great memories of the trip, and we are still trying to absorb all the impressive achievements that are being realized in Nepal. It would be remiss of us to not honor Marian for being obedient to the call to free the Kamaiya families from slavery many years ago but also for continuing over past years to help and support the work in Nepal. He has not limited the work to just establishing the schools, but has also funded families, children's homes, and helped small business start-ups. This of course is enabled by the on-going support of our companies and employees around the world. It is wonderful to see.