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