Letter to the Esquimalt Outreach Program

To the City of Esquimalt Outreach Program:

I have just returned from 3 months in Nepal.  I spent two months staying at the SBCH orphanage and wanted to update you on their progress.  Thank you for the recent donation of $1050 which was sent to Nepal today.

SBCH now has a total of 18 children ranging in age from 18 months to 14 years.  There are two babies and the rest are all school age.  The one baby though is Kamal and Samjhana's own child, this is the couple that run the orphanage. 

I started the children in a good school called, Sampurna, two years ago and at that time the principal told me that in two years they would be speaking English and he was right.  It is not perfect but they certainly have a good grasp of the language and will only improve.  Also they are all doing extremely well in school with one girl, Madhu, having the top marks in the whole school this year.  This is a great achievement for her as when she came to the home three years ago she was very troubled. I think part of the reason for the children's success at school is the fact that Kamal works with them both early morning and evening so they spend a lot of time studying at home. 

The home is very family-orientated; it really is like one big family. I love being there because of the great atmosphere. The children are all happy and well adjusted too. There are four people working in the home which includes Kamal and Samjhana, Sima who has been there since it was founded three years ago and Radika who does most of the cooking. Often Kamal's mother is there and she loves to look after the babies and she is a wonderful lady and a very motherly figure.

The sewing program which we started last year has been a huge success with the girls now able to make saris and coutas (punjabi suit) and they are now learning to use silky fabrics. These children will always be able to make a living with this skill. They are also now learning to embroider on items with the machine bought with your money last time.  Embroidered tee-shirts are a big tourist item in Nepal so this is a useful skill.

There are a lot of problems in Nepal not only politically but also with huge shortages of petrol, cooking gas, kerosene, water and electricity. The electricity is out for eight hours per day. This is called load shedding. Petrol line ups can last up to ten hours for a three litre allowance. Because of the water shortage the home is having to buy water by the tanker load twice per week. They also cook a lot of meals on a fire outside. Because of the gas shortage prices have risen dramatically. Food prices, like everywhere have risen and especially rice which is the main food staple. It has gone from 650 for a 30 kg bag to over 900 this year. For poor people this is dramatic. 

They are in a nice rented house but how long this will last we do not know. House owners are very likely to want the home back and this happens often. Hopefully they will be able to stay for awhile.

Your contribution is very much appreciated especially in this time of rising prices. Your money will go toward paying for water, food, rent and medical costs. With that many children always someone needs to see a doctor or have medicine. All this has to be paid for in Nepal. Nothing in this country is free. They also need some dental care which they have not been getting.

I am attaching some photos for you of the children.

Thank you so much again for your very generous support of SBCH.  If any of you ever visit Nepal you are more than welcome to visit here and meet the children that you have been helping.

Yours very sincerely,
Susan Marshall


To visit Susan's blog click here.