Improvements Coming to Robyn's Nest

Thanks to a generous donation by the Manly family, we are able to make some improvements to the Robyn's Nest extensions to the school.

The outside of Robyn's nest is perfect, but some work still needs to be done inside including:

  • Interior walls plastered
  • A solid concrete floor
  • A ceiling
  • Some new doors

This work has started and is well underway!  Stay tuned for more updates.

New Solar System at Robyn's Nest

The Manly family recently had a volleyball tournament to raise money for the School for Andy and and the Mason McPherson Foundation.

Thanks to their generosity we have now lit up the Robyn's Nest extension in Uganda with a solar system.

The solar system includes:

  • Solar Lights
  • A solar torch
  • A solar FM radio

Thanks to everyone who helped with this project!

Check out more pictures form the system below.

 

 

Nepal Graduates

Namaste Everyone!

This beautiful journey going to end very soon, with this little beautiful kids. After being members as the preschool students of #SchoolForAndyNepal for one & half year they moving to the regular schools for their further education next month.

We (Anu Teacher & I ) gone miss you all a lot and your each & every lovely childish activities.

Be happy & smile always!

Here we are sharing some of theirs beautiful moments at school.

Written by Hema Gurung

Playground in Uganda Complete

The new playground at our school in Uganda is complete!

Check out all the pics below.

The donation was made possible through the generous donation of Anne and Doris Eichmeyer in honor of Doris' grandchildren Asher and Jory.

Many of the children didn't know what a "swing" or "see-saw" was, let only played on one.

Now they have the opportunity to experience and get some good time in just being kids!

Article 24 of the Declaration of Human Rights states that:

Everyone has the right to rest and leisure

We feel this extends to children's right to play, so we couldn't be happier that this playground is up!

Check out a video of the playground below.

Puja Ceremony in Nepal

We had a blessing/cleansing ritual (Puja) today, by very respected High Monk Palten Pals Ten & his team from Jangchub Choeling Monastery at our preschool in Nepal, for prosperity of all our Meaningful Volunteer Family, School For Andy Family & all our kind supporters. 

Thank you High Lama for giving us your precious time!

Check out pictures from the ceremony below.

Playground Completed in Nepal

Our new playground in Nepal is finally complete and the children have been given the right to play!

We are so grateful that this project has finally come to completion! The children are beyond happy that they have there new playground.

Check out all the pictures below!

An extra special thank you to Hema for being the project manager and the Manley family for their generous donation. 

If I Look at the Mass


This is a guest post by Jimalee Sowell - a former Meaningful Volunteer who is sponsoring Pauline.
If I Look at the Mass

Pauline.jpg

Mother Theresa said, “If I look at the mass, I will never act. If I look at one, I will” (quoted in Slovic, 2007). 

My first trip to Africa, I worked as a volunteer English teacher with Meaningful Volunteer in Uganda. It was there that I met Pauline. She was the niece of Mary, the cook who works for Meaningful Volunteer. Mary took me to church one Sunday, and Pauline joined us. Pauline was a quiet girl with a mild manner. She would politely sneek glances at me during the service. Pauline was interested in my differences, my foreignness, but she showed that without words—with a differential smile and kind expression. For a nine-year- old, she had a certain seriousness and maturity about her. I loved her name—Pauline Gift. 

Not long after leaving Uganda, I got a message from Mary. Pauline could no longer go to school because her mother (Pauline’s grandmother) had so many obligations to take care of that even with all the scrimping and sacrifices, there still wasn’t enough money. A once happy child, Pauline had become depressed and distant, spending her days roaming the village with nothing to do. Mary wanted to help her, but she was already using her salary to support herself and other family members, and no amount of stretching came to enough to send Pauline to school. Mary contacted me out of desperation. I know that she didn’t want to ask for my help. Mary is a proud and independent woman who wanted to take care of Pauline herself, but there just wasn’t enough money. 

Truthfully, it was not the easiest time for me to think about giving more than I was already giving. I had left paid teaching to serve as a volunteer teacher for a year and a half, and my savings was dwindling much more quickly than I had expected. There was a part of me that wanted to say no, that I was already stretched financially myself. But, at that moment, I had to think very seriously about money and how I used it, and how even in my leanest financial times I still lived richly compared to billions living in moderate to severe poverty around the world. As a child, I had never faced the threat of not going to school. It was a privilege that I always had. For forty dollars a month, the price of a moderately-priced pair of shoes or a dinner out, I could send a child to school. Could I have one less dinner out every month, and still be okay? Could I live with fewer pairs of shoes? Certainly. Was it ever a sacrifice that kept me from living a full life? Never. 

But, it has made a tremendous difference in the life of an intelligent and hardworking young woman. Shortly after Pauline started going to school again, Mary emailed me and told me that Pauline was again happy and engaged in life. Pauline is now thriving. She is now a young woman who loves her school and gets top grades. She has passed her exams to enter high school. But, think of how different it could have been had I decided that I could not afford the 40 dollars a month to pay Pauline’s tuition. The money I give to pay for Pauline to go to school is a relatively small amount of money for me, but it has changed her life. We must help the one(s) we can help. 

Slovic, Paul. (2007). If I Look at the Mass I will Never Act: Psychic Numbing and Genocide, Judgement and Decision Making. 2:2. pp. 79-95.BC