Cool News about Nepal Graduates!

All eight students with disability from DNC (Disabled Newlife Centre) who took their 'gateway' exam- the SLC (School Leaving Certificate) have passed in first division! Bishnu graduated with distinction! We are all so proud of this bright young group. Now, we need to find sponsors to help fund their higher education. Two are already sponsored, but we need to find sponsors for six more. The yearly cost is $650 per student which will cover their school fees and books. Please contact me if you are interested in helping. -Robert Rose
email- info@trifc.org

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Singing With An Inner Voice...

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Rabindra is a blind student in class 8 at the Sanjiwani School in Dhulikhel, Nepal. He has a keen sense of humor and a great attitude. We spent several afternoons with him and the other 13 blind/visually-impaired children at the school. On our last visit there all of the children sang a song for us. Many of the kids had very beautiful voices but Rabindra's was mesmerizing. After I heard the talent in those kids I decided to try to start up a music program for them. TRIFC.org is now funding a music teacher (who is also blind) to visit once a week and work with the kids on their music skills! These types of projects - small, but high-impact are made possible by our donors. Please consider contributing to our efforts at www.trifc.org

-Rob Rose

HRDC Children’s Orthopedic Hospital Visit

Quiet eyes follow us intently as we make our way through the surgical wards of HRDC Hospital in Kavre-Banepa, about a 45-minute drive from Kathmandu, Nepal.  The wards are lined on either side with children in their hospital beds, one or two parents sitting near their child’s bedside.

As I approached each child it was as if a switch had been turned on inside them, alighting a radiant smile.  Each of them has had to endure major surgery.  Many of them were in traction, back braces, leg splints and other post-surgical rehabilitation devices.  Some of them were barely able to move, but their smile was ever-present.  I was overwhelmed and overcome by my own emotions, my feelings for their plight and my hopes that the worst was over with brighter days to come.

We visited this hospital twice during our Nepal trip.  Through Rotary, we have an X-ray machine on the way and a new grant application which will bring a two-bed ICU unit to the hospital.  HRDC serves children from around Nepal as well as from other surrounding countries.  They do spinal surgeries that are not done anywhere else in the country.  Families pay what they are able for their children’s treatment and the hospital treats around 9,000 children per year (up to the age of 18).

The photographs tell their story… 

Meeting Ramesh

“Are you really the Nirmala Gyawali, from the Nepali TV and radio programs I’ve heard?”, asked a student at the Dharan School for the Blind in South-Eastern Nepal.  “I have always dreamed of meeting you!  My name is Ramesh.”

That was our first introduction to an extraordinary young man who lives and studies at one of the few schools in Nepal that have only children with blindness, not integrated, inclusive schools which most blind children attend.  This school has about eighty children living within the school compound and attending classes.  The school seemed to be a very nice environment for the children.  The school grounds were neat and well cared for and the classrooms weren’t fancy, but they were functional.

We were in this part of Nepal to meet three Rotary clubs with partner projects helping people with disability and also to visit the Purwanchal Deaf School where, the following day we were going to take the entire school of 55 kids out to a park for hiking, lunch and games.  Longtime friend, Ms. Nirmala Gyawali (a woman with blindness, who has been on many Nepali TV and Radio shows promoting disability awareness) and her sister Sita wanted to make a short visit to the school for the blind to see how it was running and how the children there were doing.

We met many children at the school that afternoon but the one who stood out for me was definitely Ramesh.  Born with a birth defect that kept his eyes from being formed, with only skin covering where the eyes would have been, his appearance was so different and, initially, a bit unsettling.   However, as is always the case, appearances are only skin-deep and within that young man is a sharp mind, an engaging personality and an inner-vision.

“Tell me about Seattle, Mr. Robert….what is it like there?”  asked Ramesh as we sat surrounded by other students in the boy’s dormitory. 

His English was polite and clear.  Ramesh asked many questions about my photography business, my family and what I looked like.

“What is your age, Mr. Robert?” he asked.

I replied that I was 52 years old.

“Oh, you don’t sound that old at all” he replied with a bit of a twinkle in his voice!

Our conversation went on for another 15 or 20 minutes and then I needed to catch-up with the rest of our group and head off to the hotel.  As I was led out of the dorm room by a number of kids with blindness, suddenly Ramesh asked, “Mr. Robert, how tall are you?”

“Check it out for yourself!” I told him. 

Then he and the other boys reached up and up until they got to the top of my head and “oooh’d” and “ahhh’d” at my comparative height (FYI….I’m 6’2”).  Another kid put his arms around my waist to see how big around I was.  It was an interesting and special experience for me as I thought to myself how curious I would be if I didn’t have sight and how much I would want to know a person’s physical shape to help me make a mental picture of them.

As we crossed the open field between the buildings I saw a boy kicking a soccer ball and then running after it.  The ball was wrapped in a noisy plastic bag that made a distinct ‘rustling’ sound every time it bounced on the ground.  He didn’t have vision, but his hearing was acute as he strongly kicked, then deftly ran precisely to where the ball landed and bounced to a stop.  Another new concept to me: what an ingenious, low-tech way to make an easy-to-find ball for the blind!

Ramesh had a final, difficult question for me. “Mr. Robert, what opportunities will there be for my further education after I finish my high school?”

That was a tough one…I though carefully about my response.  I didn’t want to promise anything I couldn’t deliver or to raise his hopes too high, but I also didn’t want to discourage this bright young man either.  I said, “study hard and do well on your final exams, then let’s see what is possible.  If you do well, I’m sure there will be opportunities for higher education.”

Many of the boys and girls gathered to say goodbye to us after our short but sweet visit.  I know we will return next year to see how they are all doing and how we might be able to provide help. 

Life is about investment and return.  This is true for ourselves and our personal lives, as well as in our financial lives.  We invest time, energy and sometimes money in ourselves, our family and our friends.  For example, we invest in golf lessons hoping that will ‘pay off’ in a better overall game.  If I was giving financial advice, I would say that making sure Ramesh gets a great education is an investment deal that can’t miss.

-Robert Rose

Basanta

March 11, 2011


Today was the day we were going to visit Basanta. He has been our sponsored student since he was in Class 1 back in 2004. Tina, my sister pays $50 a month for his school fees, uniform, hostel and schoolbooks. Every year Tina puts a care package together, picking out a few clothes, shoes, chocolates and little toys to send with wishes of Happiness and love!

We came to know about Basanta from Rotaractor Sanjeev Dahal who had a friend who taught at Suryodaya Secondary School. She mentioned there was an orphan boy who did not have much but was a good student and needed a sponsor to continue his studies. He would hide under his table because he was so ashamed about not having the requisite school uniform or materials everyone else had. The teacher would provide second hand clothes and materials but she would not be able to provide these on an on-going basis. He lost his Mother after his little brother was born and his father was so upset, he left the family and now Basanta has 2 aunts to care for him during festivals and school breaks. He still has his grandparents whom he loves very much.

“No problem”, Rob had immediately said, I am sure we can find a sponsor for him and that was that!

That was 7 years ago and yesterday we enjoyed a bright and enthusiastic 13 year old, now in 7th grade who is Vice President of the school’s Eco Club! He loves plants, shows us the club’s herbal garden which they had tended which boasts of mint, timor, basil, and all other herbal /medicinal native plants.

He is shy but opened up after an hour and was excited to tell us where his Eco Club activities has sent him; Godavari and other neighboring towns to look at plants and trees. He said he was so excited about our meeting, he could not sleep that night before and neither could he concentrate at class the day we were supposed to arrive. He’s a bright and confident boy now and on the verge of adolescence and despite the heartache of missing parents, he seemed content with the knowledge that somewhere halfway around the world, Tina, his adopted parent cares for him and loves him.

He wants to meet Tina! I hope that next year she can visit and finally meet the recipient of her love and care! Gotta make it happen! He’s smile is oh so worth it!

Fun-filled Day

It was the day scheduled to take all the sponsored children from the Naxal Deaf School to the zoo just like last year! Last minute confirmation required a change in plans to have a little party at the deaf hostel instead since they had to study for exams and the kids' parents could only allow 2 hours for the event.

So we stopped at Batt Bathini department store and loaded up on games and sports equipment so we could have fun playing at the hostel! Rob and Balram ordered snacks for lunch + drinks + oranges and we were in business!

All the other hostel kids had to wait until we videotaped the sponsored kids for their requisite video message to their sponsors. Then they all filed in to participate in all sorts of games we brought. It felt like carnival day at our kid's grade school minus the cake walk game =).

We had a soccer ball, table tennis, badminton, racket ball, cricket, golf, jump rope and hoola hoops! See the photos and it says it all! I didn't even need to learn sign language!

Sita came along with us as our guide and translator! Rakesh came along with us! He is the young adult who had been kept home due to his disability and who now lives at NDA and goes to school at class 5. He had suffered from brittle bone decease and is this tiny guy in a tiny wheel chair! He was overwhelmed and realized he was not alone.

Everyone got along! I was busy braiding the friendship bracelets that were in those beany baby give away baggies! I finally got to tie a square knot correctly!

Enjoy the pics when they get posted!

Getting it Right!

It’s been 2 years since 1000 hearing aids were distributed to children and adults with hearing impairment in hopes that this will help them progress in the world that prefers sound to function and communicate. A large hearing aid manufacturing foundation goes around the world providing hearing aids to Africa, South America, Asia and far flung countries were nutrition, lack of awareness about hearing disorders, decease and poor hygiene contribute to conductive or sensorineural hearing loss or both. Was it all a numbers game?

Did they bask in their glory when they drop millions of hearing aids to show their patrons and donors, government grants and individual contributors they had used the funds wisely? Alas, it is so short sighted to dispose of these hearing aids only to find out that without follow-up or monitoring, the results of such endeavor only reveal that a large percentage of these hearing aids have not been used at all.

A meeting with Rotaractors, a speech therapist and donors from Holland, Monique and Rolf, brings forth the comprehensive plan to do this right, to do this all over again. This time not with a large organization but with people and organizations that understand that sustainability comes from monitoring that ensures long term benefits make for meaningful change in a beneficiary's life.

Monique and Rolf are currently building a hostel for 25 impoverished deaf students at the Kavre School for the Hearing Impaired plus living quarters for the hostel administrator. This frees up classrooms so the school can continue to provide grades 1-10 + 2 courses to the deaf community in Banepa.

Trifc.org continues to sponsor deaf children out there and provided the deaf women's cooperative the marketing process for the embroidered note cards. With funds, new audiograms will be performed on the children to determine who will benefit from hearing aids. Dr Ruchie will donate her time to be part of the audiogram testing and will continue to monitor the development and adoption of the hearing aids for the children who will receive them.

We'll get it right this time, make the necessary changes to the program, elicit the help of the children's parents and together understand what exactly can and cannot be done for them. It takes a village to raise a child, it takes a several more to work together to combat ignorance, greed, short sightedness. We all need to listen to that voice inside of us when a louder voice seems to want to drown us out.