shabaley

I haven't known what to write. It's been a month now since the earthquake, and though the kids and their families are alive and safe, they have lost so much. For most of them, their homes, and entire villages are gone. The school is so badly damaged, with 120 kids still living under a tarp, sleeping on the ground. With the monsoon season upon them, I don't know how they will cope. Aftershocks have become too many to count, and just when they feel the ground has finally stopped shaking, it begins again. I cannot imagine their fear, their anxiety.



Tsering Lama told me that something in his back was broken after that wall fell on him, but he assures me that he feels much better, and now he plans to trek to what is left of his village. Tsewang found out that Pemba Tsering is in his village and unharmed, and Pemba Gyaltsen managed to contact me to tell me he's ok too. The only one we still have no word on is Phurbu Nyima. I keep hoping that his phone just ran out of battery and he's safe with his loved ones, but how I worry...



These snapshots are from our week-long SMD After School Artists reunion this February. We dined on shabaley and momos, and I added some Turkish helva to the mix. Pedro sketched Tsewang, and Kiran drew a cup of tea on a square of tissue, which I then slipped between the pages of my sketchbook.

There go my eyes again. They keep getting all watery!



Please donate to the Himalayan Children's Fund if you can. The funds go directly to Shree Mangal Dvip School if you write "SMD School" in the designation box— any little bit helps!

hope

Sangita is one of the original Shree Mangal Dvip After School Artists. She was about thirteen when we first met, intensely staring at me with huge eyes from the back corner of a tiny, dark classroom. You could have heard a pin drop in the silence of the room, though it was full of kids. Over the years, she has grown out of her shyness into a bold, intelligent, and confident young woman with a fantastic sense of humour. I would never describe her as quiet now— hers is a voice that is always heard, a voice of support and kindness, a voice that stands up for the people who need it most.

Sketch of Boudhanath Stupa, by Sangita

When Sangita completed her 10th and final year at SMD, she was awarded a full scholarship to complete high school at International School of Asia, Karuizawa (ISAK), in Japan. I was so proud, so impressed with the little girl with the ponytail, who became my model of perseverance. Being a person who needs to get things done, she and the other Nepali students at ISAK, Karma and Himanshu, banded together and began a crowdfunding campaign to raise money for the rural areas of Nepal devastated by the earthquake. With the students and staff of ISAK rallying behind them, and the help of Sherab Dolma Sherpa in Canada, these clever and compassionate students have created ISAK's ProjectNEPAL, where you can easily donate money to help. Please visit ISAK's ProjectNepal's GoFundMe page for more information.

the moments that change your life

It was in this dark little room that my life changed, five years ago. I remember that first art class as though it were yesterday— the room full of shy kids eager to draw, who scarcely uttered a word for the first few days. We had copier paper and pencils, the erasers were cut into four pieces so everyone could have their own, and we drew whatever was around— ink bottles, keys, each other.

It's funny how you never know what moment will change your life until time has settled in. I never knew that the kids in front of me would become so dear to me that they would be my family, and that I would return to Nepal year after year.



Our group grew larger, and we moved to the cafeteria balcony. Some students got scholarships to study abroad, some returned to their villages to do service, some went to college, and some got jobs. Pedro and I got married. It's amazing, all the things that can happen in five years.



It's amazing how kids turn into young adults when you're not looking!