It’s February 6, 2012?! How did that happen? I can’t believe
it has been over 2 months since I last wrote in my blog. It’s not like there
hasn’t been anything to write about – the holidays were celebrated, the last of
the troops came home from Iraq, the year of the Dragon commenced, but the days
marched on whether there was something going on or not.
Over the last few days I have been laying low after
undergoing a minor surgical procedure. Even though it was ‘minor’, the night
before the procedure I thought to myself, “what if?”, "what if I don’t wake up
from it?" Okay, I know, that’s
pretty dramatic and morbid, but it was a matter of fact type of question, one
that didn't fill me with anxiety or dread for what was to come for I was quite
relaxed and confident in my surgeon’s ability to get the job done right. But
for those of you know who know me well, it’s not surprising that I asked myself the
question, “what if?”
All I could think of was what I had not done. The
uncompleted work at my day job, chores around the house, phone calls that were
not made, and all the things I ‘should’ be doing to help the kids in Nepal.
Well, fortunately, “what if” did not happen, and here I am ready to tackle
those things left undone. I’m 3 days post-op, slowly chipping away at the
chores and getting around to writing again, specifically about the happenings
at DHC NewLife Center (and hopefully about DRC again soon!!!).
So to jump right in, much has been happening at DHC NewLife
Center as a result of the generous contributions by friends and Amrit’s hard
work. Amrit reported that the kitchen enclosure project, funded by Harumi
Guiberson and Alycia Lee was completed. This helps the kids have a warmer area
to sit and eat during the chilly winters in Kathmandu. The photos still makes it
look like it's still cold, but they also have the help of a heater, provided
there is electricity. Yes, load shedding is still on-going in the city where
there are power outages lasting up to 16 hours! (See my previous posting about this topic).
 |
| Kitchen with new enclosure and curtains - Thanks Alycia and Harumi! |
Thanks to Gordon of Sedona and Beth of Seattle, medical needs were
addressed as well, with three of the kids sporting needed eyeglasses and one child
fitted with a new AFO (ankle foot orthosis) brace to help treat club foot.
 |
| B.BC with his new glasses! |
 |
| AFO in the making |
 |
| Testing out the new AFOs |
Thanks to Chris of Australia and Molly of Seattle, a library, complete with
books and shelves, tables and chairs, was completed. It’s a great place for the
kids to comfortably come together to read and study. And speaking of studying,
more recently, a tutor has been brought in to help the kids with their
schoolwork and to help them prepare for upcoming final examinations. This was
my Christmas gift to my close pal Sue Newman who has always been a great
supporter of my Nepal causes! Thanks, Sue!
 |
| New Library at home |
 |
| Tutoring time |
 |
| DHC NewLife tutor helping kids with their studies |
As you can see, education is high on the priority list for
DHC NewLife and this holiday season, past volunteer Mari Hirabayashi of the
Jolkona Foundation, partnered with us at TRIFC.org to launch a Jolkona holiday
campaign to benefit DHC NewLife. Yay, Mari!! The goal was to raise enough funds
to pay for tuition and fees for at least two of the 12 students at DHC NewLife. The campaign was a success and although it reached that goal, the
campaign is still open in case anyone wants to donate because there are still
10 students currently needing funding at approximately $422 per child. Amrit is
working hard to reach out to past and present volunteers around the globe to
help raise these funds and we are sure happy we can be a part of that effort,
too! If you’d like to help out, please visit
http://www.jolkona.org/projects/158
or submit a donation directly through TRIFC at
www.trifc.org
So despite feeling like there was a lot undone when I was
asking myself “what if?”, there was a lot that was done (although not by me, but via the hard work of Amrit and his staff!) and there will always
be a lot more to do (ok, that would be me - like finding $). I guess that’s what is so great about being alive –
there’s never a dull moment. Wanna join me in helping to get things done, especially
for the kids in Nepal? If so, come
join me, if not, that’s okay, because I’m sure there’s a cause near and dear to
your heart that you support and I’d sure love to hear about it!
Well, until the next blog post, hopefully sooner rather than
later, be well! Thanks for visiting and thanks to everyone for helping Amrit of DHC NewLife get things done!
Namaste,
