Monday, March 14, 2011

Trip to Basantapur Durbar Square with children of Marybert.

by Jyoti Young
                           

The children of Marybert School and Orphanage were all set for a trip down memory lane on Friday when  MySmallHelp organised a day trip to the museum at Durbar Square, Kathmandu. Excitement and much giggling surrounded the outing as 16 children and MSH squeezed onto the local bus. However, load shedding (power cuts) meant that our best laid plans were challenged; the museum was closed because there was no electricity.

Disappointed faces were soon replaced by smiles as we sat in the warming sun with sketch pads and pencils and drew pictures of the beautiful temples all around. Some of the children took control of the MSH camera and put their artistic talents to good use (and some of us now have around 300 images to edit!). The children were treated to samosa and snacks before we were shoehorned back into local tuk tuks and returned to Marybert School and Orphanage for jam and bread.




Although we could taste the disappointment at the closure of the museum it was heartening to see just how easily the children adapted to the new plan to draw the temples. They took comfort at being in the company of their friends and people who cared for them. They were quick to pose for lively photographs and experiment with different camera angles, and it was another enjoyable opportunity for them to bond more with MSH and enjoy the company of staff and volunteers.


For me (Jo Young, volunteer) the highlight of my day was when the children told me that I am in their daily devotional prayers, and finding a continuous stream of little hands entwined with mine (like human spaghetti) as we walked the chaotic streets back to the tuk tuk station avoiding cars and motorbikes, cycles, portable scales weighted down with vegetables, groups of tourists, meandering high school students, and local people who were keen to see why there was a group of 16 primary school children out in force.
So, although memory lane was closed on this occasion, we made memories of our own that will be cherished in our hearts and photo albums.


In other news, MSH has relocated to a new office where there is running water and bathroom facilities. The new space also accommodates the Mysmalldesign team so that we can strengthen our working relationship and enjoy working on the different strands as one larger team.
Mysmalldesign is a team of web and IT professionals who will create websites for international clients whilst donating 10% of all profits back to Mysmallhelp. It’s an idea that’s been circulating for a while but this year sees it come to fruition, after all you can throw a seed on the ground in the wrong season and get nothing, but in the right environment it will flourish.



No comments: