Five days here at Child Haven Kathmandu

Wednesday, May 5, 2010 and the headline is "Maoists to up the ante a notch or two .... human chains ring Valley Ring Road ..."
Strikes affect us here at CH Kathmandu, no buses, no post office, most shops shut... cant send off Arran's 25th birthday present... no swimming. But, CH dont lose a beat. The younger children are playing happily outside, the older ones are helping Carol wash the volunteer/teenagers kitchen/living room in preparation for painting when the paint can be bought. Manager/Coordinator Arjun asked me to join him or them at a Maoist rally this morning.... I chose the line of least resistance and am here at CH, can do more good here, I hope and it will be safer! I had a little english lesson with Hari, the Asst. Mgr. here when I arrived here earlier. We meet every evening at 6 pm for an hour's lesson.

We have made up a timetable for the strike time. I am teaching computer(!) english in the computer room 3 times a week at the Green Tara CH school across the field. The first two sessons were fun, and successful. The grade 10 students have finished their first application for job letter. We will print each out for them along with my mock up one. On Saturday we will tackle our resume. We will learn/ practice Excel and Powerpoint, and later on, web searching for jobs. Idea is to help the grade 10 folks to be more ready to face the world independently when they leave CH; always a concern for both staff and kids. I feel so good that hopefully in some small way I can help them. On Fridays I will assist in reading etc. in library. On Saturdays we will have teenagers discussions with Hari and I covering different themes. On Sundays and Wednesdays, when possible, I go with Carole to help with the swimming.

Thats all for now. Look forward to hearing from you, hugs, Dyane