Are you bored already?

Guess what I did this past Friday night? No, I didn't go out Bollywood dancing - that's usually held on Saturday nights. No, I didn't go on a date with my husband, he was out with a friend (hmmm... he was out on a Friday night just a few weeks ago without me!). No, I didn't sit on the couch watching TV.  Okay, I won't keep you in suspense - I attended a board meeting. Yes, I've heard all the usual questions when I tell folks I attended a board meeting - "were you 'bored'?"or "Oh, you were in the 'bored' room". I must admit that it doesn't sound like a fun thing to do on a Friday night, but it was, trust me, it was!

It was the first meeting I attended as a board member for The Rose International Fund for Children. If you've read my blog before, you're already familiar with the organization. If not, we are an organization whose primary mission is to improve the lives of children in Nepal, particularly those with disabilities.  I must say, it felt like being home with long-time friends. We met at our Executive Director's home, had a wonderful Nepali meal, and got down to business. We even had our board members from Nepal on Skype with us! For the last few years, I have been working towards finding an organization to become sponsors of my Nepal projects. When I found TRIFC, I knew they were it! After over a year of working closely with Rob and Gina Rose, I get to be a part of their organization and I am deeply honored. What a great bunch of people!

So what's it mean to be on a board? In general, it means that you collectively make decisions on how the organization runs, what programs to fund, how you will fundraise and you also monitor progress of your programs. Okay, perhaps that doesn't sound too exciting, but I must say, when you are surrounded by people who are passionate about the organization and its mission, you can't help but feel excited about doing the work, and believe me, it is work! Rob currently spends a large number of volunteer hours each week running TRIFC, in addition to running his business. His wife Gina is also tireless in her efforts. I'm not sure I'll be able to keep up with them, but I'll try!

Now here's something else to get excited about - below are some recent photos taken by my colleague Alycia and her cousin Harumi, of the kids at DHC New Life! They and the children at DRC are what keeps me going! I promised you last time that I will blog about DHC New Life's field trip with Alycia and Harumi. I still plan on doing that, so stay tuned.  Enjoy the photos! There will be more to come!

Enjoying a game of Scrabble - a gift from my colleague Alycia on her recent trip to Nepal.

A fun game of basketball!

Harumi with the girls as they jam to some iPod tunes

Playing a word memory game that Alycia created

Namaste,
Jackie

"Early to bed, Early to rise...

...makes a man or woman miss out on the nightlife."  That's some of the lyrics sung by the band Morphine who I just finished listening to on our stereo.  I chuckled to myself thinking "I didn't go to bed early and I'm still missing out on the nightlife", but am I really? Maybe a little since I'm not out with Doug and his pal, but I'm home, comfortable, and warm. What could I possibly missing out on? Then it got me thinking about the kids I spent time with in Nepal, especially as I read emails tonight from friends supporting various causes which benefit children and young women in Nepal. It made me wonder if the kids feel like they are missing out on something regardless of the time of day. 

When I was there in 2006, I never got that feeling from them. Some of the children were disabled and had some difficulty getting around, yet it didn't seem they felt that way save for one of them who could not go to school because of her disability. Imagine that, missing out on school was a major bummer to those who could not attend! I don't ever remember being too sad about not being able to go to school. Can you? But perhaps my time with them was too brief to know for sure, or perhaps that concept of 'missing out' was not yet in their young minds, despite having every reason to believe that they may be missing out on something.

Over the years, I've remained in touch with them via Amrit. He'd tell me about the various outings that volunteers would treat them to and I realized that because of their circumstances whether physical or economic, they did sort of miss out on what others without these limitations were experiencing.  Again, I don't know if they saw it that way, but one thing for sure, they loved being out and about! They enjoyed the moment.  They treasured it! And being at their care homes, the kids do have the opportunity to experience outings, experience going to school, experience friendships. How great is that!

So, stay tuned, as one of my work colleagues has just returned from a trip to Nepal where she and her cousin volunteered at DHC New Life Centre for a few days and treated the kids to a wonderful outing! I'll fill you in on the details and hopefully will have photos to share as well!!! One thing for sure, I know I missed out on that one!


Thanks for the visit and hanging out!
-Jackie