The Kids are Alright

Let’s get just straight to the point and talk about the best part of our day, a special shout out to Larry Mermelstein and Shirley Blair for creating the causes of this experience. Today something extremely special happened. As a group, we visited Shree Mangal DVIP School here in Boudha, Nepal, which offers education for the forgotten children of the Himalayas. This has been the most inspiring and fulfilling experience we have had here in Nepal. The video that all of us watched before arriving left tears in the eyes of some, and left a sinking feeling in everyone. These children come from one of the poorest and least hospitable regions in the world, so much so that many of the people left to Afghanistan or Iraq to find work. Let that fact sink in for a minute, they exchanged their home villages to find work in what we consider to be some of the most dangerous and poorest places on Earth.

              At the school, you could find none of that expected damages of poverty, the kids seemed healthy, were most definitely happy, we walked into the schoolyard when a small class of what seemed to be first graders playing on the playground. They were apprehensive at first, but after we joined them in their playtime they began to exhibit all the outward signs of children. Laughter, smiles and plenty of running around. The playground that they had would never have lived up to American school standards and would have probably attracted a lawsuit back in the states, but the kids did not care and ran, screamed, and jumped all around and on it as they should.

              After our time in the yard, we were shown around the school by a couple of administrators, some of us touring the yards and the different facilities while many other visiting different classrooms and talking to the children. The younger students were doing many of the activities that we remember doing in school, coloring, dancing and learning their abc’s, yes abc’s, English lessons started very young. It was an absolute blessing to have a chance to interact with them during that time, though many were apprehensive of us at first, when one joined in they all clamored for our attention, everyone wanted a chance to say hello or to high five!

Once the kids were done with class, it was tea time. A few of us stuck around to join them. As tea was being prepared, we were excited for the unexpected interactions to come. The first girl to sit with us was the cutest 10 year old girl in pink Hello Kitty shirt and a flower crown headband. Although she was shy in the most adorable way, she was brave to sit with a couple of Westerners by herself that she had never met before. Soon her friends followed. The girl who first sat at the table, asked us to sing our national anthem. We couldn’t say no. . . so embarrassingly we belted out the Star Spangled Banner as they giggled at our horrible voices. Since we had to endure the embarrassment, we asked them to sing their national anthem in return. It was a beautiful exchange.