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Enjoy an essay by the young, bright Dolmi from the Himalayan Hope Home!

Myself

by Dolmi

It’s me Dolmi. I am in grade 4. I am 10 years old. I feel very happy and lucky in this new home because I am very safe and free here. When I lived in my village, I had to work very hard. I had to wake up early in the morning, and go to cut the grass, and feed grass to our cow and grain to our hens. I lived with my grandmother and two uncles. I love my grandmother very much, and I know she also loves me. 

One day, surprisingly, she told me that I was going to Kathmandu to study. I didn’t want to leave my grandmother but she told me that, “your studies are very important, so you have to go.” I came to Kathmandu and met new friends. It was difficult to adjust to the new place in the beginning, but I got lots of love from everyone.

Now I am in grade 4 and I am doing very well in school. I like to participate in different programs. Last week I participated in a dance competition and I got first place. I won the prize, and I felt very happy. I have a goal, which is to be a good dancer.

We are learning to help other people in our life at Hope Home. I would like to work to improve life for poor people when I finish my studies. Thank you.  

by Sally Wier

Namaste and autumn greetings from Salleri, Nepal! I am currently doing a 2.5 week trip in the Solukhumbu to visit current and future project sites for The Small World USA and our partnership with Nepal NGO, The Small World. I am writing from Salleri, the district capitol of Solukhumbu at the Girls’ Higher Education hostel. Internet was set up here for the first time about 3 months ago, so I am able to send this from the villages. The girls are doing well and are a pleasure to be with. They are practicing English with me, and I practice my Nepali with them. Many thanks to our supporters for keeping this wonderful program afloat!

Over the past week I had the pleasure to travel along with 12 volunteers from Sweden and Norway to one of our project sites in the Solukhumbu. We trekked to the remote, rural village of Mukli and helped with labor to construct a new earth-quake resistant school building with three classrooms. We worked for four days and spent the nights with two different local host families in order to allow the volunteers to experience the true Nepal. We were joined all along the way by several staff from The Small World including Chhyamba Sherpa, Sonam Sherpa, Dawa Sherpa and Ram Gurung. It was a meaningful trip that allowed this school to receive badly needed support and the volunteers found that what they gave came back to them in far greater quantity. The end of the 4 days of work culminated with a farewell program with the school principal, Dil Kumar Rai, other teachers and students in attendance. Volunteers were thanked with speeches and blessed with the gift of golden khatas (scarves), marigold flower leis and tikka (red paint on the forehead). Local students perform traditional dances for the volunteers and everyone joined in dancing together at the end of the program.

The next morning we traveled back to the town of Phaplu by jeep. The volunteers are now enjoying a Himalayan trek for several days while I visit a number of project sites and make plans for future work on the ground.

Being here in person is a powerful and very tangible reminder of the room for aid in this beautiful country. The souls and hearts of the people are so incredibly big, despite them having few material resources. But as I told all the girls at the hostel today, and the children in Mukli, if you study hard and make education a priority, you can have dreams as big as you wish. With hard study and a positive attitude you can be anything you want. I know these children can dream big. And we can help support them as we dream.

Namaste!

 

 

 

 

 

Namaste!

Happy autumn. In this time of seasonal change, we have a change as an organization as well. We’ve moved and have a new address. Please note this change for your records or if you intend to donate by sending us a check in the mail. We are now at:

The Small World USA

2600 S County Road 5 E

Monte Vista, CO 81144

USA

Blessings!

Please enjoy October’s essay by “Hope girl” Krishma about a trip for the Himalayan Hope Home girls to another part of Nepal!

Review of My First Trip

by Krishma

I will always remember the wonderful day when we went on our first long trip out of Kathmandu valley for two days, to the Sindupalchok district.

After a five hour drive we arrived at a home like our home. We were very happy to meet with new people. We were welcomed by tea, biscuits and lots of other local fruits. The place was almost the same as our Solukhumbu home, but we have been in the city area for six years, so we were very excited to enjoy the fresh air and the beautiful environment.

Students of that home became our friends very quickly. Their lifestyle was totally different from ours. They grow vegetables, and raise buffalo and goats. Their vegetables were very fresh and organic. We all were very interested to see their local life.

We spent our first day at their home, talking with new friends and enjoying time with them. On the second day, they took us for a hike and we climbed a hill. It was a very happy moment. We climbed up for two hours to reach the top. The fresh air, beautiful views and the big rivers were very interesting. We enjoyed it very much.

We ate local food there, enjoyed their company, and promised to meet them again. While we were getting ready to return home, we all were very sad because we were leaving our new friends. We promised to call them often and hugged everyone, and took the bus back to Kathmandu.

This is the first time I went out for so long with my sisters to a new place, and it was very wonderful. I will remember those days forever.

 

Please enjoy August’s essay by “Hope girl” Pasang about her goal to become a doctor. Thank you for sharing your hope to help those in your village and all of Nepal through medicine, Pasang, as well as sharing your experiences of the challenges the people of Nepal face due to impacts from the recent earthquakes. We support your dreams!

MY GOAL IN LIFE

By Pasang

I am in 7^th grade, and it’s time to think about my goal. I have heard that people without goals are like monkeys without a tail. So, I have a goal in my life, and my goal is to be a doctor.  When I was in grade 5, I didn’t think much about my goal, I just used to enjoy myself and read my book. I didn’t worry about the future, only the present.  My teacher used to ask me, “what is your goal?”   I used to reply, “I want to be a pilot. I used to think about flying high in the sky in an airplane. But I was wrong, because it wasn’t my goal, just something I’d heard about from others.

I know that being a pilot is not a greater or lesser goal than being a doctor. They are equal, but I just want to do something that will be beneficial for my village and my villagers.  I think I can better serve my village by being a doctor.  They don’t know that they need an airplane for transportation. If they need to leave their villages, they go by walking, whether it is a journey of one minute or two hours. But I have seen many people die due to lack of a good doctor. So, I plan to become a doctor and go to my villages and help my people. Not only my village, but the whole nation. I want to be a good doctor and I’m working hard to achieve my goal.

I knew I want to be a doctor when the earthquake occurred in 2016 and many people died due to the lack of doctors. Thousands of peoples’ lives were ruined due to lack of medical treatment. At that time, we were not able to do anything to help. We just watched the news and prayed for them. Everyone was saying they wished they could do something to save them. We saw that it took the armies a week to rescue people in very remote areas.  Many people died of their injuries.

At that time, I was thinking that if I was a doctor, I would be able to save many people who were dying due to lack of simple treatment of their wounds. People were crying and searching for food, clothes and shelter. Many people were donating needed items, but they were not able to minimize their pain of losing relatives. From the day I saw the dire situation I was inspired to be doctor, and one day I will be doctor. So, I am focusing a lot on science and math in school.

I am grateful to everyone who is supporting me to achieve my goal.

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Learn more about Pasang’s support systems at the Himalayan Hope Home.

You can help her and other girls we work with by donating today!

Join us to work on improving medical facilities in the rural village of Phuleli in November! Learn more…

Please enjoy July’s essay by “Hope girl” Phurba. Thank you for sharing your hope to give back to your own people through being a nurse, Phurba!

My Aim in Life

Phurba

Class: 6

Different people have different aims in life. In the same way, I have also an aim. I have wanted to be a nurse since I was very young. In our country there are so many people who are not getting proper health treatment, and they die in their early age. My mom passed away because of not getting good health care in our village when I was just seven.

I faced so many problems in my life after my mom left us. My father remarried. Life was not easy, but fortunately I got a chance to stay in Himalayan Hope Home and the opportunity for a good education.

I don’t want to see any people die in their early age and their family suffer through big grief. I want to help people in those remote areas and save them. I know I have to work very hard to make my dream come true.

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You can learn more about the opportunities provided to Phurba and her “sisters” at the Himalayan Hope Home here.

You too can help contribute to the betterment of medical services in rural areas like where Phurba is from by traveling with us in November to the village of Phuleli! We will be working together with community members to construct a new health post and community center. Learn more. 

Please enjoy June’s essay by “Hope girl” Samjana. Thank you for sharing your experience of sisterhood at Himalayan Hope Home, Samjana!

My Life in Himalayan Hope Home

Samjana

It’s me, Samjana. I am 14 years old now; I was nine when I came to Himalayan Hope Home. I am very happy here because I got a chance to go to school. I enjoy my friends here. We call each other sister here, which makes us feel as if we are sisters from same mother.

We share our things, knowledge, and food, too. We care for each other. I feel like heaven here because we got lots of great chances like: visiting new places, going out for dinner, celebrating all the festivals, reading new books, watching movies, going on picnics, getting gifts on different occasions, and the most wonderful is getting love from everyone.

In school we Hope girls get appreciation from every one. I heard them talking about our sisterhood. Most of our needs are fulfilled here. I know that there are so many people like us who are not getting an opportunity for study, good food, and good health. And they are also not getting love. I pray for all those people to get love, education and food.

 

Please enjoy this essay about the life of Paratina, one of our resident girls at the Himalayan Hope Home.  Thank you, Paratina, for sharing your life story with us in your own words!

My Self

By: Paratina, Grade 6

My name is Paratina and I live in Kapan, Kathmandu. I am 13 years old and I am from Solukhumbu. I study in grade 6 at Silver Shrine School in Kapan. My younger sister Sabina is also living with me at Hope Home. I love her very much. She is 8 years old and in grade 4. My favorite book is Harry Potter and the A to Z Mysteries, which I began reading after coming here to Hope Home. My favorite movie is Barbie. My hobbies are to read books, watch movies, and go for long trips. My goal is to be an airhostess.

When I was in my village, I was unable to go to school, and at that time I didn’t have any goals. My dad left us when I was just four and my sister was two. My mom struggled to raise us. We used to live with mess and dirty clothes. We were unable to get new clothes. My mom had to work very hard to feed us, and my granny was very old. I had to work very hard, I used to go to find the grazing cattle, and bring water from the tap, which is a one-hour walk from my home. We had a small house and four of us lived there. Now I am at Hope Home and I don’t have any problems. I miss my mom and granny sometimes, but we often call them so there are no worries. I feel very lucky to be in my new home and meet such wonderful people who love me a lot. I would like to thank Uncle Karma, Aunt Sonam, and all the supportive people for giving me this happiness.

 

Please enjoy this month’s window into the life of Pasang, one of our resident girls at the Himalayan Hope Home.  Thank you, Pasang, for sharing your life story and your experiences with all of us!

Me and My Life Story

Pasang, Class 7

I was just 10 years old when my father and mother passed away. I was very young so I did not know what was right and what was wrong. I was too young to do anything. I didn’t even know what our problems were and how we could solve them. I faced lots of sadness after my parents left this world. People said bad things about us and treated us badly. They believed we were orphans because of our sin; that we were responsible for the accident. My elder brother had just finished his Class Ten, and I remember now how he was hardly able to feed us. I used to cry a lot after I realized our parents had left us and would not be back.

After few years, one of our uncles came to our village from Kathmandu and talked about taking my brother and me to Kathmandu for study. He arranged school for my younger brother at Salleri, which is the school for our district, although it is two days away. So only my uncle and I came to Kathmandu. I felt very very bad when I left my younger brother alone there.

In Kathmandu my uncle took me to Kapan HIMALAYAN HOPE HOME where I am living now. I was nervous because the place and people were very new to me. I was seeing so many new things, and I was still sad. After few days with my new family, I learned that all the friends living in Hope Home had almost the same story as mine. I became happy again with the company of friends and the love of the new parents here. I am getting a very great opportunity to build my future and to do something better for my society.

I used to miss my village and my old home, but now I am very happy here in Hope Home. I promised myself I will go back to my village only after I become an independent person.