A special guest blog post by Lisa Marshall, teacher extraordinaire
Saturday, July 14, 2012 at 10:12AM Hi Friends! Please enjoy this special guest blog post from Lisa Marshall who is visiting Kopila this summer. Lisa is a wonderful teacher and beautiful friend. xo
Bishal (2010)
From Lisa:
Hello everyone!
I'm so happy to be back at Kopila Valley and wanted to let you know what we've been up to for the last week or so.
But first off - THE CHANGES! Kopila has changed so much since I was here just over a year ago. Everywhere I look I can see the hard work and dedication that Maggie, Tope, Jeff, Libby, Lexie, Emily, and all the aunties and uncles have put into the classrooms, the school, the curriculum, the house - it really is blooming just as a kopila should.
And there are so many more teachers! It's fantastic!! I've been working side by side with them each day at the school, and teaching English also. We're carrying on in Libby's tradition - reading novels, working on writing skills, learning LOTS of vocabulary, and generally having an awesome time.
Monsoon has made everything lush and green. It's beautiful in pictures but in person it's absolutely gorgeous. The mountaintops disappear in mist, night jasmine and hibiscus are blooming, and we have absolutely delicious tomatoes, cucumbers, and saat (spinach) growing all around us.
Another big change is how tall everyone is. I just can't get over how grown up everyone is looking and acting. At the school I'm relearning names because after a year of growing I hardly recognize anyone, and at the house I'm still doing double takes - is that really Kalpana? When did Birendra turn into such a handsome young man? And Big Naveen - guys - he's REALLY big, and has the voice of a world-class baritone to match!
As for the week's happenings - things started off pretty calm and quiet, and then Bishal brought the house down with a dramatic "rain dance" on Wednesday. He was on the roof with the other boys playing an illicit game of tag (Tope has made it clear they aren't to be up there in the rain). I wasn't there, so I can't say exactly what happened, but just before satsung a mob of wet children stampeded into my room. Bishal was being carried along with them - a mildly stunned look on his face, hair matted down with rain water, and completely naked. Boys will be boys.
Bindu was at the head of the pack, excitedly telling me Bishal's head was bleeding, that it had been cut. I was worried - but also confused - why wasn't he crying? I figured it was nothing and that the kids were just hyped up because of the rain. But as Bishal turned around I saw a sizeable gash smack dab at the back of his head! Of course then I was freaking out, wrapping him in a towel, running him to the medicine cabinet, and calling for Tope. Long story short - he needed three stitches, was back from the clinic in less than two hours, and never shed a single tear!!! It's healing up just fine, and he has managed to give the gauze wrapped around his head a Rambo-esque flair.
Other than that we've all been skating along, reading stories before bed, enjoying milk tea in the morning, and loving life.
I am so happy to see everything that makes Kopila 'Kopila' flourish. And I'm so grateful to be a little part of it... Maggie Miss - you've come a long way from that first dusty day of school. Namaste.
Lisa and Maya (2010)
Reader Comments (9)
Beautiful post, thanks for the update and have a great time and give the Aunties a big hug from me.
Yes boys will be boys...the one in my house made me descover my Goddess Durga...
But I have to say that I missed you a lot, thanks Lisa for giving news.
Great post - - would you consider also posting a wish list so those of us who are pretty much past traveling could have some concrete way of contributing. I'm sure cash is always welcome, but I'd feel even better if I could donate a virtual gift of something specific - - two school uniforms, three reams of paper, six dozen pads and pencils, or whatever. Thanks a bunch.
Hi Kit,
Great idea! I will talk with Maggie about wishlists we have both made and how we can break those down into donation amounts.
Lisa
I love that idea! I try to involve my son in all of my charitable giving and much of the time it is very abstract for him. But his sunday school class raised money to donate 5 ducks to a family in Banglades, and that he very much understood and got excited about. I think most people can understand the value of thier gift a little better when they see it attached to something concrete.
Wonderful post, Lisa, and great to know everything is in such capable hands at Kopila Valley.
@Kit K re: concrete things the money would buy,
From Steve Doyne, Maggie's Dad:
My Grandfather's Blog, the blog of Steve Doyne
http://mygrandfathersblog.blogspot.com/
Had a post of what it costs to run the school and children's home, and some ideas on what level to donate, which I think is the type of info you're looking for:
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"The Numbers Speak...." (Tuesday, May 8, 2012)
http://mygrandfathersblog.blogspot.com/2012/05/numbers-speak.html
a small excerpt (but read the whole post for complete info, including how many of their donations are very small, but they add up):
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The entire project runs on about $ 420 a day. Think about that, a home for 52 people, 40 of them children who eat $$$ half the daily budget for the home, plus a school for 280 children, who all receive a full course hot meal everyday, medical and dental care, all their school uniforms, shoes, and books, supplies, a staff of 32, teacher and support staff salaries, you name it. $ 420 a day. [....]
Some funding ideas:
Fund the home and School for a day at $ 420 ($ 35 per month).
It is still $ 300 a year to support a child in our project ($ 25 per month).
25 cents to feed a child a full course meal at school.
Feed the whole school for a day at $ 70.
Feed a child for a year at $ 90.
Provide a full uniform, 2 shirts, 2 pants, sweater, hat, socks & shoes for $ 40.
Provide a full set of textbooks for a year for $ 15.
Provide a school backpack with a set of supplies for $ 10.
Provide a child's medical and dental needs for a year for $ 25.
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and some stat's about Nepal as a whole, to show just how much need there is in the whole country:
Statistics that boggle the mind (Tuesday, May 29, 2012)
http://mygrandfathersblog.blogspot.com/2012/05/statistics-that-boggle-mind.html
--sgl
Wow, thanks!
What a beautiful letter. Thank you for sharing! :)