March forth

We lost a little girl who was very special to us exactly four years ago today. Her name was Juntara. I called her Moonstar here on the blog, the literal Nepali translation of her name.  It's kind of unbelievable how much I still think about her, how much I use her strength to carry me through times of loss and despair.  I still very much feel her presence and remember her voice. I try to picture what she would say to me during certain difficult situations.  She always gives the wisest advice. The thought of her always makes me smile and then occasionally break out into tears. I miss her a lot.

The idea for the school came when I was sitting with her in the I.C.U. I told her all about it. I pictured her coming to visit some day and wrote the grant application for the Do Something awards while she slept and recovered from her surgery. I was so devastated when she died, I barely had it in me to hit the submit button on the application. But I did and just a few months after she passed, I found out that we won the $100,000 to build our school. I still think she had a lot to do with that.

We posted a poem by E.E. Cummings the day she died.  I still read it every day on March 4th.

Love you J.  Thanks for being our guardian angel up there.

[i carry your heart with me(i carry it in]
BY E. E. CUMMINGS

i carry your heart with me(i carry it in
my heart)i am never without it(anywhere
i go you go,my dear;and whatever is done
by only me is your doing,my darling)
                                                      i fear
no fate(for you are my fate,my sweet)i want
no world(for beautiful you are my world,my true)
and it’s you are whatever a moon has always meant
and whatever a sun will always sing is you

here is the deepest secret nobody knows
(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud
and the sky of the sky of a tree called life;which grows
higher than soul can hope or mind can hide)
and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart

i carry your heart(i carry it in my heart)

where you live

My Kopila Fellows took this picture while they were dropping off one of our girls from school the other day.  I don't post frequently about the kids' home lives or what obstacles they face at home.  You always see them smiling, hair combed and parted, faces clean and fresh, with their sharp looking uniforms on.  I'm really strict about the little Kopilas coming to school clean and tidy, in proper uniform.  Mainly because I want them to feel the pride and get in the habit of putting a tie on, brushing their teeth, tucking their shirts in and coming to school each day. 

But this is the reality of where they come from.  These tiny dark rented rooms and little mud huts with no electricity or running water, no doors or windows, toilets, heating or plumbing.  Their cheeks and lips were all so chapped from the cold this winter that we'd have to coat them in vaseline every day in the clinic.

Still, they do their homework.  They share everything they have, look out for one another and never ever complain.  When I say they don't complain, I really mean it, they don't complain... about anything.  They laugh and smile and love and learn.

One of my students didn't come to school for a couple of days because her entire uniform was chewed up by rats infested in her home.  I met her at our house (the children's home) one morning during school hours when I went back to get something I needed for my office.  She was asking one of the aunties if we had any old used uniforms laying around that no one was wearing.  When she saw me, she hid her uniform with the holes in it behind her back, ashamed to tell me what had happened, probably worried that I would give her a hard time for being out of school.  She had spent an entire day trying to sew up the rat bites, but her uniform was beyond repair.  It really opened my eyes.  I wondered how many times I'd given the kids a hard time about something that was entirely out of their control.  Sometimes when I get frustrated with the kids uniforms looking a little dirty or with buttons missing I have to remind myself that they don't have soap or water, that most of them are washing their clothes in the sewer or on a rock in a stream.  Sometimes it's just so tempting to take all 300 of them and move them in with me.  I guess that's how I ended up with 40 children all living in one house and most nights 2 or 3 children sleeping on a mattress on my floor.  

There is so much work to do in the world.  There is so little time for complaining about things that don't matter, for holding grudges, for wasting time, for getting caught up with all the distracting silly little things that there are to get distracted with.  Not to get preachy but life could be a whole lot simpler than we're making it these days.  Eat healthy food, stay warm, work hard, smile and be nice.  That's my advice.  That's all I've got. 

These kids inspire me each and every single day.  When I grow up, I want to be more like them.

Sunita, grade 1

Kopila English Teaching Fellow Benjamin Heiber creates The Book Fund for Kopilla Valley

On his own, our wonderfully inspiring Kopila English Teaching Fellow Benjamin Heiber created The Book Fund for Kopila Valley!

In Ben's words—

Growing up, I remember when the new “Harry Potter” books would come out. I would rush to my room to find a copy lying on my bed – a gift from my wonderful mother. I would read it straight through, breaking only for sleep, meals and school. Only now, at 23 do I realize how fortunate I was. Many children in Nepal never get to experience the joy of reading.

Kopila Valley is working to CHANGE that. But, we need your help to buy books to fill our libraries and classrooms.

After graduating from Elon University in 2011, a thirst to she the world brought me to Nepal. I’ve been living here in a house of 40 children, teaching English at the Kopila Primary School down the road. We live in our own little world. Things are simple. It’s like a fairy tale. I sometimes forget I am living in a foreign land. But, outside the school and the home, the real Nepal continues to exist.

I want to share Maggie Doyne’s story with you – it’s the reason I packed my bags for this unknown adventure. At the age of 18 Maggie travelled to northeastern India where she worked in an orphanage housing refugees from a war ravaged Nepal. As the war was coming to a close, she decided to make a trip across the border that would change her life forever.

What she saw there inspired her to make a difference. With seed money earned from babysitting, Maggie built a children’s home that now houses 40 children in one of the poorest regions of the world.

Her story didn’t end there. After sending the children to attend a local school and having them come back with bruises from the teachers beating them, Maggie decided she was going to build her own school. Today, the Kopila Valley Primary School enrolls around 300 children from varying destitute situations and is in the process of expanding its scope to include a nearby high school.

After hearing her story, the way I looked at my own life changed. I began reading her blog through smiles and tears, hoping one day to see this place with my own eyes…

I was given the opportunity to work as a teacher at the school under a new fellowship program. I love it here. It’s a place full of smiles and laughter. Sometimes I’ll find myself in awe, sitting with a book on one of the balconies, just soaking it all in: the uncles are in the kitchen, making fresh roti for dinner, Safira (the Home Fellow) is helping the little ones with their homework, the kids are playing out near the gate, and birds are flying overhead as the sun sets behind the hills. It’s a beautiful place.

All this wouldn’t be possible without donor support. Let’s help them bloom into the beautiful flowers they are meant to be.

Being the English teacher at Kopila has given me a glimpse at what these kids are capable of. Students who didn’t know any English 1 or 2 years ago are now reading Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nimh. Sagar – one of the my 5th grade students who lives at the children’s home – cheers when he sees that we will be reading in class and has told me on a number of occasions that he wishes I would assign more reading for homework! Or there’s Kalpana – in 8th grade – who wants to be a teacher and just finished reading Great Expectations by Charles Dickens. These kids DEVOUR books. They ARE the future of Nepal: they will be doctors, teachers, entrepreneurs and change makers. I know it.

My goal is to raise $10,000 to buy new books for Kopila Valley Primary School and the planned high school. Any help is appreciated even if you can’t afford a donation. Share on Facebook or Twitter: http://bit.ly/ZFpyor. Tell your family, friends and colleagues.

All proceeds will go to the purchase of books: textbooks, library books and class sets. If you have any suggestions or childhood favorites that you think the kids would enjoy, please post a comment. I’ll add them to our list and we’ll do our best to buy them.

Your kindness makes the world smile.

Benjamin Heiber
Kopila English Teaching Fellow

Ben with Kopila reading champs, Ramita and Kabita from 1st grade

Smart Girls of The World episode features Kalpana, Kopila Valley School!

Amy Poehler's Smart Girls visited us at Kopila Valley! This week's Smart Girls of The World episode features our very own Kalpana in 8 class Kopila Valley School! Watch Kalpana absolutely shine in the video below!

Smart Girls At The Party's motto is: CHANGE THE WORLD BY BEING YOURSELF! They also believe that "Caring is cool!" Awesome. More of that, please! 

Check out the Smart Girls site!

Some words from coach John

For those of you who don’t know me, my name is John Christopher and I’m the current Extra-Curricular Fellow at Kopila Valley! Over the past 6 months, I’ve been working with several of the other volunteers in an attempt to provide access to safe and supportive extracurricular activities to Kopila Valley Students.

As you might guess 1 person supervising 300 kids became an impossible task, so two other amazing fellows (Nena & Kelly) have taken on the huge task coaching the 32 girls on the volleyball team.  I have been inspired by their progress with the girls, and they will be writing about their experience with volleyball in the near future. 

In addition to the girls, the boys have also made huge strides and I will use this space to focus on our progress with the boys’ soccer program.  Like the girls, the boys have also been an inspiration and a joy to watch and coach.  When I first arrived here the affinity, and love for soccer at Kopila Valley (and in Nepal) was palpable.  I would walk on to the field every day and see the boys out there playing in the school yard.  That said, while the passion for the sport was undeniable, the organization and structure was suspect at best.  After school sports was a bit of a free for all, with no real rhyme or reason.  After conferring with Nena & Kelly, we decided to set up seasons for the boys and girls sports.  On January first, we announced a new system where the boy’s would play soccer for three months, while the girls played volleyball.  Practices are now held six days a week, for an hour and a half a day after school.  In addition to providing some much needed structure, it also helps out the girls tremendously by ensuring they have time on the field, and will not be ousted by the boys.

At the end of each “season”, our goal has been to set up games between our school and other local schools.  On Saturday, February 16^th, we had our first match against Bulbule Academy!   The process of organizing games can be described as glacial.  In Nepal, schools do not take the decision to participate lightly, for fear of the shame that would accompany a loss.  As a result of that mentality, it took some time and energy in order to set up our first game…but it finally happened!  Our boys came to school bright and early, and the field was marked and ready to go.  Due to resource constraints, we don’t have uniforms quite yet, however, we purchased matching socks for all the boys, and they all wore their Kopila Valley polo shirts.  After our warm-up, the opponent showed up equipped in their orange and yellow uniforms.  The initial intimidation was easy to read on our boy’s faces, however, I did my best to settle their nerves before the game.  I think this anxiety took center stage in the first half, and Bulbule got out to an early 1-0 lead.  Trailing at the half, myself and Ian (assistant coach), made some adjustments…and the boys came out on FIRE in the second half.  Despite a damp overcast day, we had lots of supports and the energy level was through the roof.  Not until we scored 4 unanswered goals was Bulbule able to get back on the board.  In addition to winning the match 4-2, we were also able to incorporate all 22 boys into the lineup to reward all of their hard work.  Needless to say it was a wonderful day for our boy’s, teachers, volunteers, and fans and I can’t wait for our next game against the Advanced School on Saturday.

Thank you everyone for your support.  Your positive energy is definitely appreciated, and I feel truly blessed to be over here with Maggie, Tope, the Kopila Fellows, Facultly and Staff, and of course all of the kids!  I’ll be sure to have Maggie update everyone on future games!

—John

*check out lots more wonderful photos of the match in IAN's post!