Sonisha!!! I have watched this girl grow into a beautiful young lady! She is 20 years old now and in her third year of bachelors study in management. She has been an ENG scholarship girls since age thirteen and she wants to be a bank manager.so proud of this girl! We had lunch with her family at her home with her mother, grandmother, and brother. So special to see her again! 

Fuel is very hard to come by in Chitwan. A coke bottle full will get us to our school! 

Negotiating with school officials, government officials and builders is hard work… We treated ourselves to lunch at the river and watched a Rhino lounge as we ate. 

Let’s just leave it that the meeting with Nepali gov officials was an adventure all its own. Babi did a great job with the presentation. We need to keep our eye on the goal… The children and how we can best help them. 

There are moments with these children that I feel joy running through my veins! They are so precious. 

Our school visit today was to Bichhauli school. The safe learning space priority project they prioritized was a developmental class room for their youngest students. We can help! NSU student organizations have raised money for this school. So we can provide learning resources and improve the environment. Currently the little ones are on dirty carpet on a cement floor with only a handful of old and broken puzzles and a few old dolls. This school also has library needs that are beyond our budget. If anyone can help please let me know. I will post a photo of the current “library” also. There is just so little here and so much need. 

We rode through villages in the jungle area to get to our school today. VERY dusty but so amazing, the sites along the way take my breath away. Another world for certain! We are definitely not in Kansas Toto! We dodged, bikes, goats, pedestrians, large trucks, cows, and elephants along the way!

We made it to Chitwan and had just enough time to drop our things before heading out for a meeting with government official. We have been asked to present ENG at a gathering of officials tomorrow afternoon. We spent the rest of the day at Naya Kiran in a planning meeting for Safe Learning Space and gathering information on our scholarship girls. The school leaders and teachers agreed that a safe play area for the children was their biggest desire. Currently it is a dust filled yard that they feel is a health risk to the kids. We will help them build a better environment. The children were so precious and were thrilled to talk and play!  Favorite moment today: in a dust filled classroom brimming with excited little ones I started drawing objects on the board and they would call out the name of the object and then spell it in English. They kept moving from their desk closer and closer until they were surrounding me with big brown eyes, excited voices, and huge smiles. I drew a car, a cat, a house, and then a heart ❤️ and in unison all the little voices screamed out L. o. v. e. —-LOVE!!! Yes it is!  

Washing clothes today in preparation to leave for Chitwan tomorrow! Getting ready to travel from Kathmandu for first region and school visits.  

I walked the city all day long. Farmers market, tea. Thamel, tea. Groceries, coffee. I found Diet Coke… It’s like finding gold! I bought a case and then started walking the 5 miles home with back pack, market purchases, and cokes. I look like a pack horse or a yak! Got caught in the rain-cold rain. I thought a warm shower would be just the thing. No warm water when I returned. So I dried off and just finished my Diet Coke. Worth it!!’

A few early morning views from my two hour walk to the ex pat farmers market this morning. Bought fresh cheese, cream, eggs, and bread!!!!