My project started on 3rd of March 2014 when I had landed on the Kathmandu International Airport. In the beginning my coordinator introduced me to his family. All of them for all the time I was staying in Nepal were like real family for me. I could always count of them. The same situation was with other volunteers. I was extremely lucky I met exactly this people. I was living with other volunteers (five of us) in the rented flat in Taukhel. Also with this we were very lucky – our flat has 2 separate rooms plus living room, kitchen, bathroom with hot water and the roof when we could rest in the evening with outstanding view of the mountains in our area. After few days I started to work at school as a volunteer teacher in the kindergarten classes. I was spending there 4 days per week on teaching children in nursery, LKG (Lower Kindergarten Grade) and UKG (Upper Kindergarten Grade) for 4 hours per day. This experience was extremely valuable especially because I am a student of special education and every moment I spent at school had learnt me a lot about teaching, about children development and about that how important is to use all the possibilities to make students creative. School had learned me also how to stay focused, how to prepare lessons according to the children’s age, skills and circumstances and what is the most important- school had learned me which kind of teacher I want to be in the future and this knowledge is priceless. In the middle of April I started to work in the second school, where I found even more of challenges and possibilities to learn.Since that time I was working 3 days per week for 5 hours each in KASES and 2 days for 3 hours each in SEDA. Except working as a teacher I was visiting seniors in the Old Home in Godavari. With other volunteers we were preparing exercises and entertainment for people living in this place. Effects were surprising even for us. From people who didn’t want to stand up they changed into people who dancing with real joy on their faces. We were exercising, talking, playing bowling; dancing, making art and music together and simply we were having fun. And I can’t compare anything to the smile on their faces when we were coming. Anything. Every day we were working in Moonlight Children’s Home. We were helping children doing their homework and playing when they had free time. During the holiday we were spending in MCH much more time than usual. With all the children and the family we were at the cinema, in botanical garden, we made short trekking in Godavari, we were on one Wedding, we were painting children’s faces, made a magic show, were playing football, cooking, celebrating my birthday (which was a big surprise for me and something I will remember for all my life because of the huge dose of positive energy and love I got in this day), celebrating birthday of the Girls from MCH. I will never forget the look of theirs faces, especially one- Sushita’s, the girl who arrived to MCH in the middle of April. At the beginning she was very closed, quiet, and shy. She didn’t want to eat, talk or play. She was suffering and it was clear for all of us. Improvement she made in two weeks was amazing. She changed like nobody could expect. With the day she went to school she started to smile and act like every other child. And in the day of their birthday she was dancing, smiling, jumping and laughing so hard like she was doing this for the first time in her life. This kind of moments was countless number and all of them I will save in my memory and in my heart because there is nothing in the world which taught me more about kindness, politeness, about love, affection, about value of the time and patience than the time I spent with those 17 girls in Nepal. And if there is something I can be sure about in my life now it is that I will come back to Nepal, to my second home, to my family which I love with all my heart.
Aleksandra Bańbuła
volunteer of Moonlight Children Home
March-June 2014
