During the period of November 10th to November 18th, we visited Nepal to continue our support activities in the country.
This trip, our main activities included performing thermotherapy on locals, donating educational supplies to schools and children’s facilities, organizing recreational activities for the local children, and helping the children make Christmas cards.
This time, our team was comprised of three staff members and two volunteers. The first volunteer has ample experience in Nepal, having visited the country six times. The other volunteer is a former classmate of one of our staff.

Our area of activities included Namo Buddha, a village in Kavrepalanchok District where the Buddha is said to have given his arm to feed a starving tigress in his previous life as a prince. We visited two schools and three facilities in the Kathmandu District, as well as one public school in Namo Buddha Village.

 

① Themotherapy
As with our previous visit, we enlisted the help of three local college students trained as thermotherapists. It is thanks to their help that we were able to conduct so many different operations. Once again, we distributed pamphlets with information about simple physical exercises to ease back pain. As many of the locals we worked with were suffering from chronic pain in their backs and shoulders, we hoped these pamphlets would help them find ways to deal with their pain in their daily lives. This time, we were able to perform thermotherapy on over 400 people, with some of them being individuals we had helped during our previous trip. Participants told us they would be happy to receive thermotherapy treatment every month, or even every day! We hope to keep doing what we can to meet everyone’s needs.

Our three local assistant thermotherapists
 

 

 

 

Lakshmi                                                  Meena

Arisha

 

 

 

 

 

② Donating educational supplies
・Radha Krishna Community Center (Kathmandu): 1 laptop computer / 12 plastic files / 1 picture book about Christmas
・Rising Lotus Children’s Village (Kathmandu): 1 laptop computer / 36 plastic files / 1 picture book about Christmas
・Shree Hanuman Public School (Namo Buddha Village): 220 pencils / 228 highlighter markers
・Hem Sheela Private School (Kathmandu): 156 pencils / 152 highlighter markers

Nepal is a country that places a high emphasis on school achievements, meaning that a student’s grades are a vital part of deciding their future. However, due to the uneven living standards, there are many regions that lack the infrastructure necessary for ensuring a good education. While schools include computers in their curriculum, their expensive price often makes it difficult to replace or repair computers that malfunction.

We were able to provide the above supplies using the funds from your donations. Thank you for your generous contributions!

 

 

 

 

 

 

(Left) Hem Sheela Private School: The children with their new pencils
(Right) Radha Krishna Community Center: Testing out the new computer

 

 

 

 

 

(Left) Rising Lotus Children’s Village: Children with their plastic files
(Right) Radha Krishna Community Center: Holding their new picture book

 

③ Recreational activities
As dodgeball was a popular activity during our last visit, we held another dodgeball session at Shree Hanuman Public School. Although dodgeball was a new game for these students, they learned the rules quickly and seemed to enjoy themselves! However, they had trouble throwing the dodgeball with just one hand, suggesting the children didn’t have many opportunities for regular exercise, or that physical education wasn’t a priority at the school.

One new project we engaged in was the fitness tests held at the two facilities we support through the CheFuKo Foster Project. These tests was modelled after the standardized fitness test  “Shin-Tairyoku Test” conducted at Japanese schools. Through these tests, the children were able to measure their own fitness levels and compare them with their peers. These levels were low compared to the Japanese average, although the children excelled in some areas. The tests we didn’t have the time to conduct during this trip will be conducted during our next trip. We hope to continue holding these fitness tests to measure the children’s growth, sharing the subsequent results with the heads of the facilities and our donors.

 

 

 

 

 

(Left) Shree Hanuman Public School: A student throwing the ball with both hands
(Right) Shree Hanuman Public School: A volunteer joining the game

 

 

 

 

 

(Left) Radha Krishna Community Center: Standing long jump test
(Right) Rising Lotus Children’s Village: Flexibility test

 

④ Christmas cards
Every year, we hold the Christmas Card Exchange Program to deliver Christmas cards between the children of Ukraine, Fukushima, and Nepal. This time, we asked the children at three different facilities to make their own Christmas cards to share with the world.

This year, we read a Christmas-themed picture book to the children before they made their cards. Since the majority of the Nepali population are Hindu, they aren’t very familiar with the symbology surrounding Christmas and often ended up drawing pictures of houses and buildings on their cards. We found that reading a book was an effective way of communicating the history and ideas behind Christmas so that all the children could have a shared idea of the holiday.

The children ended up making colorful cards with pictures of Santa Claus, reindeer, and presents! We look forward to delivering these cards to the children of Ukraine and Fukushima.

 

 

 

 

(Left) Radha Krishna Community Center: Reading the picture book out loud
(Right) Shree Hanuman Public School: A student using the picture book for reference

 

 

 

 

 

(Left) Rising Lotus Children’s Village: Busy making Christmas cards
(Right) Radha Krishna Community Center: Holding the finished cards

 

Rising Lotus Children’s Village: The children proudly displaying their cards

 

 

Our next trip to Nepal is scheduled for April 2019.

Read about the field research we conducted during our visit here!