Lessons from Nepal #4: Bed bugs bite.

So it's been a couple days since my last post and as my mother pointed out I don't think I ever explained the "how to run from a rhino" comment. When we were in CHitwan we went on a guided walk through the jungle. As we were starting off the guide gave us the usual instructions of keep quite, follow me, etc etc. He then proceded to stop, turn around, and explain with actions, what to do if we are chased by a rhino. All of us volunteers sorta exchanged looks of "....does this happen often"?. We were told not to worry, and that if a rhino charges us we're simply supposed to a) climb a tree or b) if we suck a climbing trees to run in a zig zag pattern. Thankfully, we were not chased by a rhino but I was secretely practicing my zig zag running in the back of the line.

Today is saturday, the kids only day off school. Yesterday we went shopping with Mahesh (the owner) for new shoes and socks for the kids in the orphanage. THANK YOU TO ALL OF THE PEOPLE WHO DONATED MONEY! Part of your money went towards new school shoes and socks :). Yesterday we were also informed that Monday is Rabins birthday. CHarlottes and I were quite sad that we would be missing this birthday so we decided that we would use saturday (their day off school) to celebrate! Using some of the donation money, we went out to the store to buy all sorts of things. We're doing a bob for apples station, pass the parcel, and then we're making "gingerbread" houses using wafercookies & nutella!! We think the kids are going to love it, but i'll keep you posted :)

Charlotte and I were given some interesting news last night. The two older girls came into our room to warn us not to give money to the orphanage owners because they just use the money for themselves. Throughout our time here Charlotte and I have always sort of had our guards up because the people who run the orphanage seem a little off. For example, we are constantly finding the toys and games we brought for the kids upstairs in the owners room. We ask the children, "where are the cards?" and they point up and say "auntie took them". It's all very strange. Of course, I usually march right up there and take them back...but who is going to do that when we leave tomorrow? It makes us not want to leave toys here and it's very sad. THe other day, the second oldest boy complained to charlotte that his eyes were hurting, and through his broken english charlotte figured out that this boy "copied notes from his friends" at school because looking at the board hurt his head. we both put two and two together and realized that this boy needed to see an eye doctor for glasses. I let him try mine on and he said he could see better. BUT, last night the girls came into our room and told us that while we were talking to this boy, the owners (who were in the room at the time) were speaking in Nepali to him and TELLING him to tell us his eye hurt!! The girls say the owners do this so that we'll give them money to get his eyes checked but then they'll just pocket the money. We feel so betrayed because just yesterday I had an intense conversation with the owner about what he does with the money he is given, and he told me it all goes to the children. These girls also say that when volunteers are here, they make Saugot (the same boy with the eye "problem
) wear ripped shoes so that we will go out and buy him shoes. This Saugot character is actually RELATED to the owners - he is not an orphan, he's essentially a pawn in this game. Charlotte and I have already bought new shoes for some of the children who really need them, and we also bought new shoes for Saugot but we aren't going to give them to him.

From the start we knew that the girls did much more work that the average child. Not only do they cook the food, they do ALL the washing and ALL of the cleaning. We realize this isn't exactly how children should live, but we understand that they are being fed, clothed, and sent to school by these people so perhaps doing the cooking and cleaning is how the owners can afford to get by. BUT, the deception and crookery (is that a word?) that they do it in is both shocking and horrifying. The girls also claim that when there are no volunteers around, they are constantly beaten and shouted at. We don't really know what to make of this claim because we have never witnessed it nor have we ever suspected it. THe kids are usually smiling and laughing, and never once have we enountered any sort of bruised, bump or scrape. So that part, we're not really sure. We are sure that the toys we give the kids go missing, and that we sure as hell aren't leaving the owners any money.
We have thought about the fact that the girls might also be making up this story because they see us as a ticket to Canada. But we don't think this is the case for one main reason. Mainly, the girls never once asked anything like "does this happen in Canada" or "we would be better off in Canada". What they did say, is that they are countingdown the days, 365 in fact, until when the oldest boy, Rajindra, turns 18 and he can open up a new orphanage where they all can live.

Who would make up a story like that?
We're very sad because we have one day left with these kids. We don't know what to do. At home, we'd go to Childrens Aid....but do they even have that here? We're going to talk to RCDP about the volunteer deception. We don't think we have the proof to mention the abuse or hitting, because after all, hitting and beating is how children are punished here.

I should go, we have to go buy apples for our bobbing for apples station!
We're off to Everest on Tuesday so I'm hoping I can post some pictures from the party before then!

Love,
J & C