Mallory OT

Prior to moving to Nepal, our Early Childhood Development Fellow, Mallory was a pediatric occupational therapist working for children with learning disabilities in an elementary school in NYC.  In the weeks leading up to her arrival, the other fellows called her Mallory Ot, thinking that Ot was her last name.  It wasn't until a day before she got here that I realized her last name was Grundstein and OT stood for occupational therapist.  But Mallory OT stuck for good. 

We've been so fortunate to have her here with us for the past 6 months and will miss her tremendously now that her time has come to an end.  I can't even begin to express how valuable having her expertise around here has been and the ability to constantly bounce ideas off of a trained expert.  She was kind of a genius when it came to figuring out what issues were holding our kids back and finding really practical ways to work with them to become better learners.  Mallory described her job as solving a mystery or cracking a code with her students and she is incredibly gifted at this.  She worked hard in the classroom along side our teachers, conducted trainings, and gave special attention and focus to our students who needed extra attention, one on one, and in smaller groups in the resource center.  She also put in endless hours sorting through administrative work, (my least favorite job in the universe) filing systems, and scheduling at our school.   Mallory implemented a "Sounds in Motion" curriculum with our nursery, kindergarten, and first grade students that has worked incredibly well for us.

In her own words...

One big difference between Nepal and the USA is the education system.  In Nepal, they teach using a rote memorization method.  When learning how to spell, the children will memorize C-A-T = "cat".  Although the children can very easily spell words they were taught, they lack the phonics skills to sound out new and unfamiliar words.  After meeting with fellows Kelly and Nena, we decided to introduce a phonics program utilizing whole body movements and phonics games.  The program teaches individual movements associated with each sound and sound combinations.  The kids first learn how to identify the sound associated with each letter and then begin to string sounds together to read novel and difficult words.  We've been able to implement this program in nursery, kindergarten, first and second grade with an added focus on training the teachers to continue phonics every year with all the Kopila kids.  I am thrilled with the progress these students and teachers have made!  Every day they come running up to me acting out the new sounds they've learned and are so excited to participate in the class.  I am so amazed by these kids' thirst for knowledge and education.   

Mallory has been such a gift; hardworking, incredible with kids, quick to laugh, and compassionate.  We scored big time having her by our side.  Mallory, on behalf of all of us, I would like to thank you for being a part of our family this year and giving it your all here.  Things would not have been the same without you. You've left your mark on these kids forever. We love you and can't wait for your next visit!

Kopila women! woot woot

We had our first meeting for Kopila Women's Center yesterday and we were so happy with the turn out.  64 women between the ages of 15-60, all of whom signed up for health, literacy, sewing and business classes. Our sewing machines have arrived (with big thanks to Mia Amicas Globally and our wonderful friends in Atlanta!) Classes begin this week!!! I am so excited for what's in store and all the potential these strong women will bring to our project. They were standing up yesterday, talking, participating, and sharing their ideas like I've never seen before. They seemed so willing, eager and excited do everything they can to provide for their children and lift their families out of poverty.  

The ladies were all coming up to me after the meeting with smiles on their faces and sharing what particular skills they thought they could bring to the group and what their interests were. We were all so fired up. One woman said she wanted to learn how to cook different kinds of foods and make momos. Another woman said she's always dreamed of learning to read and write. Another young woman told me she can't wait to sit behind a sewing machine and help make the kids uniforms and bags. Our big dream is to have our own local store with things that our women make and sell and obviously sustain our school with the clothes and local materials we need.  

Right now we've got about a million ideas running through our heads. We are looking forward to sitting down with our women, breaking them into smaller support groups and having them lead us forward based on what their DREAMS are.  The dreaming phase of every project is so much fun.

How sweet does our center look?  It's coming along!!!

Special thanks to ALL OF YOU for your support and enthusiasm of this project! Please share (in the comments below) any ideas you have and or let us know about other women's empowerment projects you think we could learn from. Women for Women International seems to be leading the way—we are eager to learn more about their programming and other groups with similar goals models and curriculums.

Also, this may seem frivolous but it's about 107 degrees in the women's center because it's on the top story and absorbing a ton of heat.  I sit in there for one minute and my skin is sticking to itself.  I really want to splurge and surprise the women with an air conditioning unit so they have a comfortable place to work!  If anyone would be interested in funding or investing in this, please let us know.

Check out Mia Amicas fair trade market place—a percentage of the proceeds of their sales support our women's center! Donate directly to our project right here. Gifts made in support of the Kopila Women's Center will go towards:

• Knitting needles, yarn, thread, fabrics, and additional sewing machines to get us started. (All purchased locally)
• Reading, literacy and basic math workbooks and curriculum
• Jewelry making materials
• Stipend salaries to support our trainers/teachers

Okay, I could go on and on but REALLY thank you!!!!  #awesome #excited #wahooooo #KopilaWomen #MothersUnite

xoxo  Maggie

Field Day!

Hi everyone, this is John guest blogging for Maggie once again!  We’ve had some exciting things going on here at Kopila Vall, including our first Annual Kopila Field Day.  Field Day kicked off our Inter-House competition between Sun, Moon, Star, and Sky house and this year the stakes have been raised.  In addition to competing for the house trophy, we’ve also promised the winning house a year end MoMo party.  For those of you who were not following last year, the inter-house competition is a year round event, with points awarded for excellent behavior and achievements.  As for Field Day, the morning started off with lots of energy, and the enthusiasm lasted throughout the day.  Whether it was the Sun House and their award winning house cheer, or the oldest kids rooting for the nursery and KG students the day surpassed even our most optimistic expectations.  Some highlights were the Donut eating challenge, which involved seeing which student could eat a donut hanging from the ceiling the fastest, an epic tug of war tournament, a nursery fruit & vegetable themed relay race, and last but certainly not least a Sari wrapping competition, where 4 Sr. Boys dressed up their house teachers.  When all was said and done the Star house emerged victorious, and the day concluded with a school wide dance party up on stage.  Next up for the inter-house competition is art month, which kicks off this Friday!  Enjoy Ben's Photos.

family photo

Ben took an updated family photo of all the kids and me on the front porch before school last week.  It was the morning I was all in a flurry leaving for the states and somehow we got everyone together.  When the picture flashed up on the big screen behind me at the Forbes Women's Summit, I could just make out the reflection in the corner of my eye.  I kept telling myself in my head, "don't look, don't look, don't look!" because I knew I would just burst out into tears on stage.  I really really lucked out with this bunch and it's just amazing to me how much love a heart can hold.

Thank you all for your sweet Mother's Day wishes.  I got to spend Mother's Day Weekend with my mom, sister, and grandmother for the first time in years.  It was perfect.    

I am on the road again but just wanted to say hi and remind everyone that today is the last official day to apply to our fellows program!!!  Our team is really looking forward to reading through applications this week.  Thanks to everyone who applied so far.

xo Maggie

Maggie speaks at Forbes Women's Summit!

Hi Friends! Thanks to twitter we have some live photos of Maggie's speach at the FORBES WOMEN’S SUMMIT! The theme of the conference is: "Power redefined—Generations Unite To Change The World"

Forbes surprised Maggie with the Forbes Excellence In Education Award! Word is that she inspired a standing ovation. Thank you all for being such a big part of the Kopila and BlinkNow story! Video to come!

“We don’t need make-overs. We need to make the world better!” - Maggie Doyne forbes.com/sites/meghanca… #redefinepower

— Forbes Woman (@ForbesWoman) May 9, 2013