It is 8pm Nepali time on New Year's Eve and we are ready for bed. We sure have been painting the town red! The other volunteers have headed off to Thamel to see what they can find in terms of celebrations, but in a country that doesn't celebrate New Year's Eve, it might be slim pickings. We understand that the countdown was completed at 6:30 pm and all bars, pubs and other establishments will be closed at 11, so I don't think we are going to have any hungover volunteers in the morning.
Tonight I would like to introduce you to 2 more gorgeous poppets.
The first is Hari Salami. On our arrival, we discovered he had just made the decision to change his name to "Hari Nepali". The reason being that Salami is the surname of a low caste and he was tired of being teased and bullied. He discovered that many lower caste people have adopted the last name "Nepali", which is not associated with any caste.I asked Vinod (the house dad) if it was OK to let Hari know that one of my favourite foods was salami and he said "No ma'am, then he will want to change his name back!"
There is a part of me that just cannot conceptualise the impact of the caste system on someone as young as 8. I have been told that the caste system is not as strict in Nepal as it is in India, even so, it just breaks my heart. But I am proud of strong souls like Hari who is taking his life into his own hands, and even at his tender age is making positive changes in his life. Maybe one day, he will help change his world.
Hari is a ham. He has the funniest faces every time he delivers a line. He pauses and waits for the room the laugh. It is very rare to see anything but the most genuine of smiles plastered to his face. Recently, he has been in a race with the older boys to get to the gate to unlock and lock behind us.
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This is Sita. She is a fairly recent addition to the family here at Papa's House. Sita makes my heart squeeze with desolation every time I see her. She was dropped off a few months ago with her paperwork. She arrived with her hair shaved (probably due to lice) and it is so lovely to see that her gorgeous locks are growing back in.
On the nights and the mornings I get to spend a few moments hugging her, I get the sense she has so much to say, so much to tell but just hasn't quite got the vocabulary to express herself. So we sit or stand there in each others arms and I just hold her tight and tell her I love her and that she is now safe. There were days when I was almost certain she was never going to let go, but she will snuggle into my neck, squeeze a little tighter and then let go and go play with her sisters and brothers.
It is going to be very tough to say goodbye on Saturday morning.
Much love,
Fi
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