Limgha

Limgha

MCWFN recently acquired a new school in the Gulmee District in Limgha village. It is quite a distance and takes about half a day to get there. It was the first visit the charity had done to the area so there were seven of us that went, including a photographer, which is why I don’t have that many photographs as he took so many and they are being sent on a memory card to here soon.

About half the school and village

The welcome and the level of attention and care given to us was huge. Everyone in the village was there for everything. There was a small welcome ceremony when we got there, a huge one at the school the next day and a huge one when we left both lasting about almost four hours. I even had to cut a ribbon when I entered the village, you know like when someone opens a new building. It was all very fun. Also no matter where we went they had a seven piece band, complete with dancers to escort us along the pathways, with most of the children and villagers following too. That was quite strange, especially when I went for a short walk and the band started-up, I had to tell them to calm down and that I didn’t need an entourage for a walk around the village. I know it was all to make me feel welcome, I am the first person to ever visit the village who is not from Nepal. I got so many people wanting to talk to me and make sure I was OK. Especially in the food department. There was constant eating, every meal had a starter but it was more food than I would eat in entire day. Then the even bigger main course with at least one refill then desert. All very nice food though, just too much. At one point when we got there, everyone was having huge plates of different meat from a BBQ, but as I don’t eat meat I got offered a salad. I took them up on the offer right away as there is not much chance for a salad here. It turns out they only had onions, I’m not sure how much they thought I was going to eat but there was  at least 2kgs of onion on the plate. Strangely later on in the evening they gave us tomatoes, cucumber and chillies, I don’t know where all this was when I was chomping my way through most of an onion.  Shortly after the salad fiasco they found out I eat eggs, a lot of people assume that you don’t eat eggs if you don’t eat meat in Nepal. So I got an omelette which was really tasty, if a little on the large size (about five eggs based on my cooking). However, as soon as I ate it a new one appeared which I really struggled to eat, half way through that one a third arrived. I didn’t eat that one.

The national band, Pache dunga, i need to check that name though.

Due to all the partying and eating and speeches and slow walking processions, I only had two hours to teach, but I managed to get around all the classes doing just 20mins in each as all the children wanted me to visit. Hopefully, I will get another chance to go back because it was a very good school, in terms of children and teachers. The building is a bad way. Year 1 and 2 have to be taught in a nearby home due to lack of classrooms, the rest of the children have to work in classrooms so dark that from the front I could hardly see the children at the back and these are small classrooms. They started to build new classrooms but ran out of money after the foundations. I suggested just knocking a big hole in the walls, as I would definitely be better than nothing.

On the way there in our people carrier we turned a corner on the mountainside and the back axel snapped in half and a support for it shot out the back through the rear bumper. They sent another car to get us, but it just shows that the two-wheel drive cars that use for the mountain pathways are just not suitable. However, two days later the car was fixed and taking us home.

Time for a rest

Don’t forget you can donate money on the ManishaUK website that will go towards a Land Rover for the charity, which will make journeys to the villages’ easier, four-wheel drive not two-wheel, and massively cut down on transportation costs.