Christmas at the orphanage

Dipendra. The boy I have sponsored for the last two years. He is an ace in school and very polite. He got a new pair of shoes this Christmas!

Peace.

Prince (his real name) being a doll face.

The best Christmas card. Ever.

Wherthers and dark chocolate. Nothing but the best for these kids!

Susan getting after her Wherthers Original.

My little soul mate. She played Mary in the play last year. With her new cap.

Lining up for presents.

The church. People were playing musical chairs. Joy.

Christmas in Nepal takes on a whole new meaning...or as the last blog post pointed out, the opposite meaning! But, in the two Christmases I have spend in Nepal, I have never been more aware of the "feeling" of the holiday. The last two years I have attended a Christmas programme at an Orphanage in the Kathmandu Valley. The kids dress up in the full nativity garb- add a little Nepali make-up, hair and dance- and recreate the birth of Jesus on a stage before a village of 200 people. This year, Mary and Joseph were played by two of the youngest children (done up with rosy cheeks and lipstick) and baby Jesus was played by a tattered "white" doll with a few strands of hair and one eye. It was precious. For them it is not an expression of faith or religion, it is chance for them to dress up and be a part of something.

Each child from the orphanage, there are 21, gets a present from the church pastor. This year it was a mix of stocking caps and homework notebooks. The kids are ecstatic to get anything and most just carry around the present still in the wrapping- they don't need to tear into it to be satisfied. Each get a small bar of chocolate- Cadbury- a treat. And although they couldn't wait to tear into it, they still wanted to share it with me. 

Santa might not live in Nepal, but "Christmas spirit" certainly does.

Last year my grandmother graciously donated money for me to purchase sweatsuits for all the kids at the orphanage. They range in age from 4-11 and most a very small for their age. With her donation I went with their teacher to the market and picked out a mix/match of warm clothes for each of them. When I arrived at the orphanage on Christmas day to present them with the clothes, I was greeted with wide smiles and a collection of Christmas cards from the kids. They were very appreciative and so grateful for Erin's grandmama.

This year when I went back to donate more clothes and visit the children on Christmas, I found some of the kids still wearing the sweat suits! A few torn and tattered sleeves, a few dal bhat stains, but overall, in tact and still keeping little kiddies warm. A few of the kids had gotten so big I didn't even recognize them! Just in one year they grew so lean and tall. They rushed towards me with smiles and hugs, remembering that I was the girl who brought clothes last year. It was great to see their little faces on a day when I was so far away from my own family.

Some of the children do not have families, or have been abandoned by them. Little Maina, who has come out of her shell so much this year, was abandon by her mother after she gave birth to her. Her mother has no feeling in her legs and can not walk properly. She was raped during the war and became pregnant with Maina. The shame and pain caused her to give Maina away. When you look into this girls eyes you want to erase it all and rewind time. But the best thing to do is give her a big squeeze and tell her she is beautiful and loved. Her story is the most painful at the orphanage, but the other children's stories are also tragic in their way as well.

The kids made me cards this year, most starting out with "Dear Erin Madam."

I think this is so cute, but it ages me so much!! They have these great little drawings and depictions of a chunky Santa on a roof or a big fluffy bow on a small square present. One child, Santamaan, drew a picture of an island with a coconut tree and a boat in the sea. I asked him if he had ever seen a place like that before, a sea or a coconut tree in Nepal. He said that he had seen it before...In his dreams. 

Love these kids.

Like my grandmother last year, friends and customers of Global Daughter donated graciously to giving the children clothes this Christmas. Thank you to our dear friend Suzanne and her two boys, Christian and Josiah, and to our sister, Brianna and her three children, Eve, Isaac, and Elijah for growing out of some fabulous winter clothes! And thanks to our big brother, Tony, who carried all the stuff in his suitcase from America! 

Merry Christmas from Nepal. Merry Christmas from Global Daughter. Enjoy each other.