Sunday, November 20, 2011

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





4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Sounds like a great thing to be part of! Take care! Chris from Germany

Lisa Beliveau said...

Sounds wonderful, Jackie! Good luck, and I look forward to hearing more.

All the best!
Lisa

Jackie's Nepal Blog said...

Thank-you, Chris! Thank-you, Lisa! I really cannot believe how many years it has been since I was there volunteering. It sure is wonderful to have been a small part of their lives over the years. - Namaste, Jackie

jennifer Bennett said...

I think it is wonderful that you are serving on the Rose Intl. Fund board, Jackie! It is great that you can work together to support the organizations you care so much about. That Scrabble game looked pretty intense!
jennifer