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Happy Dashain
We're finishing up the biggest festival season of the year in Nepal. Over the past month, many of the children have returned to their village to visit with families, while others have remained to take part in our annual learning camp. During Dashain, several of our volunteers remain in Kathmandu Valley to teach art, music, dance, and math classes to our children. |
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Sirkka Returns to Nepal Sirkka with Juna Sirkka Turkki first came to Nepal in 2008 to volunteer with Papa's House. Sirkka, a well-known artist from Helsinki, Finland, has since spent six weeks every October with our children. Sirkka stays in the cottage on the grounds of Papa's House, where her open door sees the girls going in and out all day long to spend time with one of their favorite people. She teaches the girls crafts and is continuously sewing new skirts and mending clothes. Sirkka sent an update recently during her time in Nepal. "I had just written a long letter to update you all and then the electricity went out! Over these 5 years we have now devoured 534 meters fabric (material for clothes). Just a statistic which tells you we have not been lazy! Now we have made panholders, bags, something for the bathroom, knitting and crochet. But where are the fairies living who take all needles, knitting sticks and crochet hooks?? The girls all send their best regards!"
Poyntons in Nepal Just Keep Growing
Lou and Tori with some of the girls.
Lou Poynton is another long-time supporter of NOH. Having just wrapped up her third volunteering trip with us this year, Lou shares her story of how she found NOH and how she keeps bringing more and more family with her every year."I first heard about Nepal Orphans Home in 2010 from my yoga teacher Laurie Levine [For more about Laurie, see the "Thank You" section below]. She had been talking about NOH, its founder Michael Hess, and the children during our yoga classes. She said she was planning another visit, so I invited myself along! Laurie very kindly (and luckily) accepted the invitation and I've been hooked ever since. It was October 2010, Dashain time, when we first went. It was the perfect opportunity to spend time with the children and to get to know them. I very soon fell in love with each of them. This was cuddles heaven! The following year my son Wil interrupted his (so far) eight years of travelling to join me. Michael had introduced a "learning camp" to keep the children busy and entertained over Dashain, so Wil and I each took on teaching. These small classes gave us such a good chance to talk to and get to know the children a bit better. My daughter, Tori, was taken in by my stories of NOH from the start. She began to make pendants with the NOH logo and sell them to raise money and awareness about NOH. We often talked about her coming over to meet Michael and the children and this year she did! When she met the children and experienced their total 'gorgeousness', she understood very quickly why I keep coming back.  Lou at Skylark School None of this would have come about if not for Michael Hess and his decision to give up his life in the States to move to Nepal and rescue these children and love them like you would not believe."
Want to Support NOH? Throw a Holiday House Party!
If you have been looking for the perfect opportunity to support Nepal Orphans Home, we have just the idea.  Thank You! Four extraordinary young people who were traveling to Nepal to run a 100km ultra-marathon wrote to us in advance, asking to visit Papa's House. Carol, Benny, Leo and Jay from Hong Kong spent two days bringing laughter, joy, inspiration, and good companionship to the children. Before leaving they presented NOH with an envelope of significant value raised by passing the hat among their friends. In Michael's words, "These four remarkable young professionals leave me with confidence that the future is in compassionate and intelligent hands."
Ever since Laura Handy-Nimick and Justin Nimick volunteered in the summer 2011, they have been working hard to raise funds for our college-bound boys and girls. This past October, a check arrived at Nepal Orphans Home from their non-profit Life’s Handy Work which will cover tuition, registration and exam fees, books, uniforms, and even daily tiffin for four young people.
You first read about Laurie Levine earlier, as the yoga teacher and Nepal connection to supporter, Lou Poynton. Laurie has been an ardent voice for NOH and recently held a fundraiser on the Central Coast of Australia. Laurie sent us a description below. "Our fundraiser fete was a joint effort among our community of yoga students and the Positive Living Spiritual Centre group and friends. We had people selling homemade desserts, books, clothing, baby items, and bric-a-brac. We hired a coffee vendor who made wonderful coffee. Amazing items were donated for our raffle. We had a bbq of veggie burgers and sausages. Inside the hall we had three psychic readers who were very popular on the day and raised alot of money for NOH--as well as massage therapists, reiki healers, an orthobiotomy practitioner, and a kinesiolgy practitioner. Another friend, Tony, washed cars all day. I am very grateful for everyone coming together to help and that we could raise so much money for the children of Nepal Orphans Home!"
Shop and Do Good this Holiday Season Have you thought about giving a gift to NOH in honor of a friend or family this holiday season? Our updated wishlist includes much-needed items for our homes. Give a set of knitting needles for only $4, sports equipment for our athletes for $25, or even a solar panel to provide the gift of light during our (up to 18-hour) electricity black outs for $150. You can see the complete list and give directly on our wishlist webpage. We also encourage you to try Goodshop To-Go during your holiday shopping. Goodshop To-Go is a part of Goodsearch, which works with 2500 major internet vendors, and will automatically donate up to 20% of your purchase back to Nepal Orphans Home. Donate Nepal Orphans Home receives no government support and relies on the contributions of individuals sharing our mission to provide for the welfare of children in Nepal who are rescued from slavery, orphaned, abandoned, or otherwise not supported by their parents. Please help support our wonderful kids by making a donation in any amount at our website. A wish list is available for those who wish to make contributions for specific purposes. Alternatively, various gift packages and descriptions of current projects are available at Universal Giving. If you would like to make a stock donation, please contact Barbara Hess, Treasurer of NOH, Inc., at bhessnc@aol.com to obtain the routing number for our account. Contribute just by conducting internet searches using the Goodsearch search engine at www.goodsearch.com and designating 'Papas House' as the recipient of the funds raised by your searches. Goodsearch can also be used for online shopping, through which leading companies donate a portion of the sales to Nepal Orphans Home. |
