Logging Into Logged On

  (please click on the article to read the entire piece)

                                   A Nepali farmer and his children prepare a field for planting


  Why would a poor, disadvantaged Nepali child need a laptop, when clean water and food are a daily goal?  Why even a school then in a village where people struggle to etch out a living that can provide enough protein for their families with a few crops left-over to sell or trade for other provisions, such as cooking oil?
  People like Mark Pinoli, the enthusiastic founder of the Australian Logged On foundation, and we at HANDS in Nepal, are often asked these questions. At one fundraiser, a man who had been in the Peace Corps putting in wells in villages in Africa so the villagers there could have drinking water, asked if our efforts and money were not better spent doing clean water projects. Another woman at a different occasion, after seeing my slides of beggar children and their parents before and after when the children were able to come to a school for a daily meal and teaching, asked how people in Nepal feel about me exploiting their children for money. This was a baffling question to me, as I was trying my best to show through pictures the struggles the very poor of Nepal endure, and why education can be such a hope for a better future for their children.
  Two different types of questions, difficult to sort out the intention behind each, and many more inquiries from those not familiar with Nepali culture or the extreme poverty there, from those who often have not traveled there or been in the villages.  Yet these penetrating questions are always on my mind. What is priority for a poor village in the Himalayas? Books or water? A bathroom next to the school so girls can attend, or seed money for the villagers so they can have crops? A generator so they can mill their grain into flour when no electricity is available or a computer lab so their children can get the exposure to the outside world that enables them to expand their horizons?
  Mark has a vision and so do we at HANDS. In meeting Mark, it has been refreshing to have someone who also walks our path and believes as much as we do about education, and literacy, being the key to a sustainable and bright future for children in impoverished countries.

Something seldom seen in Nepali villages-computers!

Inside Logged On's Computer lab in the village of Astam, outside Pokhara in the Nepali Annapurna Himalayan foothills

  One day, after trekking in Nepal, Mark, who had worked in the computer industry in Australia, had an idea. Seeing the poor condition of many of the schools and lack of supplies for school children, and especially the nonexistence of computers anywhere, he wondered, "what sort of world could be opened up to these children, and what type of educational opportunities could they have, if they were able to log onto the internet?" Imagining how it would open the world to them, as well as build bridges to educational programs and learning opportunities for these children in the Himalayas, Mark returned home to ask friends and business contacts how they felt about donating computer equipment to a village in Nepal where he found two requirements he was seeking-a willingness to try something modern, and electricity. 

  That village was Astam, where a tenuous strip of electrical cord ran up from the closest city, with promise of more to come. It was enough power to try his scheme out-and with loads of enthusiasm from both sides of the planet-the Himalayan village excited about having the ability to connect with the world this way, and Australians who were keenly interested in how to help by donating equipment, Mark was off to creating his Logged On Foundation and following his dream.

  I met Mark one day in Kathmandu at Himalayan Java in Thamel. He happened to be in the big city briefly before traveling on to Pokhara and Astam, but had enough  time to share a coffee with me. We found we shared many similarities between both our iNGO;s (international non-government organization) . Both Logged On and HANDS in Nepal feel strongly that education is the path out of poverty and by providing children of the next generation with learning tools, we can help them help themselves. 

We both also believe the programs have to be self-sustaining: villagers need to be engaged in the creation of these programs for themselves, not us coming in to dictate our cultural views or norms.

CHILDREN IN ASTAM ENJOYING THEIR BOOKS AT THE NEW HANDS IN NEPAL LIBRARY

So as to the questions of what is most important, computers and books, food or clean water, I take my answer from my Nepali friend Rajan. One day we were discussing the long list of Gods and Goddesses in the Hindu pantheon, and I asked Rajan, how do you ever learn about all of them? He is found of saying " Om Shiva" for just about anything, so I knew he had a special connection to the God Shiva. He did shrug though, and tell me, "Jan, there is no way you can know it all or do it all. You pick your God and that is your focus." Om Shiva.

So, I guess we pick education. As a small iNGO, with a budget under $10k a year, with no operating cost for an office stateside, and many reliances on volunteers and other who believe in education like us, we are able to do a lot of things in Nepal in this area. We have built two schools and two libraries, have supported orphans in their education, and have supplied about 8 sewing machines at last count to a women's sewing cooperative in Jorpati. This is also education-for those who are seeking a vocation. 

  Logged On is doing their part as well, with their speciality. If you go to Mark's home site, you will see their Mission Statement, neatly worded towards providing education through the internet to the outer world-and all the opportunities that will provide. 

Giving a hand to  some new friends in Astam

One more little saying that comes to mind, from one of my favorite teachers, the Buddha. "There is enough abundance in this Universe for all things". I do believe that-there's no shortage out there of money, energy, enthusiasm and ideas on how to help others. I choose education and libraries, Mark chooses education and technology-we all believe in the power of education and literacy to help those who need to learn how best to help themselves.

Women in the Sewing Cooperative give a hand to HANDS recent donations of sewing machines 

 However you choose, which ever path you find yourself on, I hope it brings you great happiness and satisfaction in doing something to make this world a better place, for that seems to be what it is all about. And we can all do it by helping and supporting each other towards that goal, whether it's your family, or a family in the Himalayan foothills asking for a hand.

Please check out our website as well at:

www.handsinnepal.org and you can email me at:

jansprague2@gmail.com

I am always happy to hear comments and ideas from blog readers!

Why Do Children Beg?

A young beggar with her baby on the streets of Kathmandu

(Please click on the photo to read the full blog)

When my friend Malla met me for tea yesterday, she was obviously distressed. Mala, a young middle-class Nepali woman who I met a year ago, had started a school for beggar children last year by gathering enough donations to rent a dilapidated, old building on the outskirts of the ghetto/slum neighborhood of Pashupati in Kathmandu. The children attending the school came from the riverbanks, where they lived under plastic sheeting or if lucky, on plywood hovels held off the wet ground by bricks. Their parents are the scarred, crippled, "dalite" (untouchable) beggars plying the streets for any rupee they can find. Often the children are forced into working in any way they can to keep the family at a survival level. I have seen children work as "rag pickers", haul heavy packages for shop keepers and work as tea wallahs delivering tea to businesses instead of going to school. Worst case scenario, they get picked up by child-traffickers and sold as slaves. This is an all-to-common reality in very poor countries like Nepal and India.

Why can't they go to the many government schools in the city, I asked my friend Rajendra, who was himself at one time a child of the streets. I have come to greatly admire Rajendra and all he has accomplished in his life. He has brought himself up from street urchin to University graduate, but it wasn't without some help from an American, Allan Aistrope, who gave Rajendra a chance at education. "The government schools won't take them," Rajendra told me, "they look like trash, they are dirty and dressed in rags. They don't want them in the schools with other kids." As horrible as it seemed, I thought about the same stigma we have in the States with homeless children not dressed in the latest styles being ostracized by other kids.
"Also, they are addicted to the streets," said Rajendra, who's wisdom and experience with Nepali culture I've come to trust. Mala agreed. The children have a certain freedom on the streets that they don't have in school-and some are literally addicted to glue, or huffing.
Mala decided to try and do something to help the street children of the worst slum area in Kathmandu because when she went to the temple at Pashpupati, she wondered what was the future for these poor children who would remain illiterate and in servitude to anyone willing to pay them for the rest of their lives. She gathered enough donations to rent a tall building and talked enough of her friends into volunteering as teachers to start up her school which she called "Bal Sarathi". She said at first she had to lure children to school with food. The promise of a hot meal of dahl bhat (lentils and rice) was enough for the parents to bring their children, whether the children wanted to go or not, to the school, because the parents wanted to kids to have at least one meal a day. The children were washed, clean clothes put on and food given, then the learning begins.

Mala Kharel

You can email her at:

Mala Kharel@gmail.com

and see her web site about her school at:

www.balsarathi.org.np

Now the children love to go to the school, Malla said, and their beggar parents wait patiently each morning for the school to open and their children are delivered before they go off for their day of begging. Like parents everywhere, they are happy their children have a school, are safe and getting some nutrition.
But Mala's funds have run dry. Her eyes overflowed with tears, and without meaning to sound too melodramatic, Mala and I held hands and comforted each other, knowing what this meant to the children, their parents and to her and her staff of volunteers.
I was able to give Mala enough money for a month's rent and rice from HANDS in Nepal, and a volunteer. Kelsey Clark, a young phd graduate from Stanford, who is currently traveling around Nepal, had been tagging around with me for the day, getting a glimpse into the life of NGO work in Kathmandu. She promised Mala she would spend time helping at the school, and with more people like her, I know we can come up with some solutions for Mala.
If any of you have any ideas, please contact me or HANDS in Nepal. This type of volunteer school is just want this country needs for the very poor and the very disadvantaged.
Namaste to you dear readers!
Jan

You can watch a documentary my friend Rajendra made about Mala's school by going to You Tube and typing in Bal Sarathi.

A Library in the Anapurnas-Part 2

To build a library and bring books to the Himalayas is a little more complicated than you might imagine. Since no one at HANDS lives in Nepal, we rely on a few very good friends who are a tremendous help, one being my Tibetan son, Kelsang Lodue. Kelsang has made many trip form Kathmandu to Pokhara in our interest, taking photos for us, sending us updates and communicating with the villagers at our project sites. He does all this for the cost of his travel expenses because that is about all we can afford with our small budget. Yet he is happy to do that for us

Having Tea With My Didis

. We also depend on reliable and trustworthy villagers who can clearly understand our expectations and the limits of what we can offer, since once again, we are not UNICEF or any such big NGO. For the villagers out here in the Himalayas, anyone from the West looks like a bank, so we carefully research and make an agreement before we commit to anything. We look for the villages that need the help the most (of which there are endless choices here in the Nepal outback!) but the final decision is often who can we trust and feel our money is helping the best. We work very hard to earn those donations, and some come from very compassionate families who give generously because they believe so much in education, especially in rural poverty-stricken Nepal, one of the poorest countries in the world. 

Kelsang is indispensable to us! 

Getting out to the villages is hard work, and often involves pushing our jeep, or dealing with overloaded buses

We offer so many thank you's and Namastes to all who give to our education programs, from our Board of Directors who volunteer for free, to those who put $5 or $10 in the envelope when weak for help, to bigger donors such as the Dworak family who have financed entire schools. We feel a huge responsibility to those who trust us with their donations, and so part of my time in Nepal is educating those here on how it all works, from our fundraiser dinners to other benefits we do. Believe me, the Nepali people are always deeply grateful for any help.

We feel very strongly that Bishwo and the villagers of Astam are the type of village we find great pleasure in helping. Their gratitude and help in our project with them makes me feel that is what HANDS is all about-not only bringing literacy to a village, but building cultural bridges across the seas, from our country to this tiny village in the Annapurnas. Because of that exchange, any one wanting to volunteer in Astam at the HANDS library, at the Logged On computer center or at the school is most welcome by the good people in Astam. That actually goes for any of the villages we have built in.

 Kelsang will be going back next week to purchase student workbooks as we actually had enough money left over to buy those for the school teacher.  We are so happy we can help some 200 children in this small way.  We aren't UNICEF or even Room To Read, another mega-giant NGO, but we can honestly tell you where every dollar you contribute is spent, and often put you directly in touch with those your money is helping.

                         It's all worth it when you see how much joy the books bring to the children!

Many Namastes!
Jan and the HANDS in Nepal crew

A Library In The Annapurnas-Part One

VILLAGE OF ASTAM WITH ANNAPURNAS IN THE BACKGROUND

Welcome to the Himalayas! It was about noon by the time we arrived in our rented jeep, the back full of our boxes of books and a few extra customers sharing the ride up the steep trail with us. The Annapurnas were temporarily hiding behind a build up of thunder clouds, but I was more excited at seeing the children of Astam village open their boxes of books. I was not disappointed either way-the children were waiting at the foot path to help haul up the boxes of books, and later the clouds parted to reveal the amazing backdrop of the Himalayan mountains.

 CHILDREN NAMASTE FOR THE CAMERA, CATCH THEIR BREATH AND THEN UP THE HILL WE GO WITH A BIG BOX OF BOOKS!

I was told it was the first day of holidays for the children, who would be spread out across the village area in their homes, so I wasn't expecting the usual welcoming committee, but Astam was very excited about their library and so children were lining the walk way with garlands of flowers and many Namastes. A sign hung over the door that said "Supported by HANDS in Nepal"-it was a beautiful sight to see!

 BISHWO, THE VILLAGER WHO HELPED US WITH THIS PROJECT, HIS MOTHER AND JAN AT THE DOORWAY TO THE HANDS LIBRARY IN ASTAM

Inside, we let the children open the boxes and pour over the books. I was amazed at how immediately they began reading aloud. The room was soon full of a rhythmic murmur as little voices in Nepali and English read from their new books (children here learn both languages), and some put their little siblings on their laps and read to them. It was a reading extravaganza!

 After a good hour of reading and looking over every book, the older kids began to organize the library on their own. It was great to see the enthusiasm and care they took to place the books in the new shelves, equipped with sliding glass doors to keep out dust. The solar lights we brought were also displayed inside a glass cupboard, but I did suggest they take them out for reading at night, or distribute to homes so children can do their homework.

Stay tuned for Part 2 and more information about this progressive village, which has started an Eco Village for volunteers to stay at. They even have a recycling program, which is great to see in Nepal.
Until then, many Namastes to our supporters who have made a library happen again in a Himalayan village! I hope you all get to visit and see for yourself how appreciated and grateful the children are for your help.