By Freema Davis | Executive Director
Festivities in Nepal: What if... you have no family to celebrate with?
October is extremely exciting for the children in Bungamati, Nepal. It is almost a month of no school, festivals, and visiting and celebrating with family and community! Tihar (see Italics below) is a grand celebration of life and family! But, what if you don’t have any family to celebrate with? This year, Nabin, age ten watched as one-by-one his peers left the orphanage, for a week with their extended families. No one came for him..... But luckily for Nabin the unique child-care environment created by Global Family Village helps to bridge this gap, for Nabin and others in his situation. With nurturing, caring staff, volunteers and especially community, Nabin’s holiday was full and meaningful! Nabin participated in all the programs and enjoyed all the usual holiday rituals, decorating the House with bright colorful lights, going to all the traditional programs, and daily worship throughout the festival. Nabin also received gifts and traditional meals celebrating with local families who invited him to come join in the festivities.
GFV helps to create a strong family environment, with community friendship, support and inclusion for children in need. Nabin feels that this is his community, where he feels he is cared for, accepted and belongs. This sets this orphanage apart from the hundreds of orphanages in Nepal, where children are isolated from community or neglected or taken from their families.
As the holidays in Nepal are just finishing and just beginning in the west, we thank all the friends and supporters. Your continued support is always appreciated as we strive to sustain this program in Bungamati and begin replication in other areas of Nepal.
Global Family Village (GFV) Teacher Training in Bungamati
There is an on-going series of Teacher Training programs conducted by GFV's Early Childhood experts. The main objective of the training program is to promote basic knowledge on the appropriate methods of supporting children’s learning in ECD centers in Nepal.
In September, an Early Childhood Development teacher-training program was conducted in Bungamati for 13 teachers from different schools. The purpose of the workshop was to provide the teachers with some hands-on experiences in the preparation and use of children’s learning materials. A follow-up workshop to further support the teachers is planned for December.
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Tihar is a festival for brothers and sisters, but What if you are a brother without a sister or a sister without a brother. Well, you can make one by accepting someone close to you in your relatives. If nothing works, you find one among your friends and neighbors, it becomes almost as if it was real. Whom ever you made your sister or brother remains so for life, and each year this festival makes your bond stronger. Tihar is a festival of sisters wishing a long life to their brothers, and Tihar is the most popular festival in Nepal. So hold on to your topi (hat), loads of excitement and fun are coming at you now!
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