Tahara Nepal

I'm sure you have been wondering, "What has Nathalie been doing these past two weeks? We're absolutely dying to know." Well, let me tell you. I am currently in Pokhara at a boys' orphanage called Tahara Nepal (check out their website; link on the right), run by a fabulous couple, Manoj and Sarmila. Manoj was a social worker before he and his wife Sarmila decided to start a home for orphaned/at-risk boys four years ago. The oldest is 16 and the youngest is 6, but most of the 11 boys are around 10 years old. It's a very well-run place, modern and comfortable and organized, with a constant stream of volunteers from all over the world playing with the boys, helping a bit around the house, and giving Manoj and Sarmila a break.

It's hard to imagine how Manoj and Sarmila do it. They must act as parents to 11 boys with different and often difficult pasts, run a functioning and stable household for them, and help support the volunteers. I'm not sure where they find the time and energy to go to work, let alone have a moment to themselves. But however they manage, they've really created a family. The boys love each other and look out for each other (as much as any brothers can be expected to). They do well in school, are clean and healthy and well-fed and happy.

Our daily schedule looks like this:
4.30-5 am: Wake up, have tea.
5-8 am: Either take the boys to their karate lesson, or go on a long walk to cultural site with Manoj (more about these later).
8 am: Chores - sweeping the house, carrying water, doing dishes or laundry with the didi Sarita.
8.30 am: Breakfast of dal bhat.
9 am: Walk the kids to the bus stop down the road, and see them off to school.
9.30 am-4 pm: Free time. Walk to Mahendrapul to use the internet or get some food, visit a cultural site, hang out.
4.15 pm: Tea with the boys.
4.30-5.30 pm: Help the boys with their homework (which for me usually means helping the youngest, Shiva, with his multiplication tables and his English spelling).
5.30 pm: More chores.
6-7 pm: Play football or other outside games,or if it is raining play Monopoly, limbo, or a simplified version of Mafia.
7.30pm: Dinner of dal bhat.
8.30 pm: Bed time.

The boys are very friendly and outgoing, and because of the volunteers, they have an amazing understanding of foreign geography and culture. They love to play Bingo, which we do every Saturday and on every volunteers' last day, and they want the us to be involved in every part of their daily life - doing chores with them, walking with them, sitting with them to watch a movie, helping them with homework. Sometimes it gets to the point that they fight over who can hold our hands!