On 10th December, COINS Mobile Support Analyst, Shirley Gurung, visited the Kailash Home in Kathmandu where their recently refurbished facilities include a dedicated study building.
The Kailash Home opened in 2007 and meets the needs of over 100 youngsters aged 7-17, providing them a home, education and medical care.
“It was a very exciting experience visiting the Kailash Home. From my research I’d learned it was an orphanage looking after orphans and less privileged children from the Himalayan region, but my expectation was that it would be similar to a hostel so I was worried that the kids might not be looked after.”
Any prior concerns about the care of children that may have existed before her visit, were quickly replaced by her awe at the size of the facilities that were accompanied with the happy faces of the students who reside there. It was evident to Shirley that the children have good relationships with the staff, who are also residential and look after them as their guardians as well as their teachers.
In addition to receiving a tour of the new facilities, Shirley was introduced to some of the students, including Bishwas and Ashmita, two orphans who were rescued from the side of a mountain where the bright sunshine was gradually making them go blind. Thanks to sponsorship and a place at the Kailash Home, their future became filled with hope and possibility and have since continued to excel in their studies, demonstrated perfectly by their excellent report cards. More importantly, Shirley described them as being very ‘joyful and lovable’ where Bishwas also performed a song to show his skills and confidence extended beyond books and classrooms. The visit culminated with Shirley presenting to the students about the state of the IT industry in Nepal as well as globally, before advising them about different course options for university and possible career paths. Shirley was particularly impressed that the organisation both offered and encouraged education for the students from high school to college level, with the ambitions to help them to reach their potential.
“The students were also interested in my current IT experience within COINS so after my presentation I did a Q&A session with them so that they had the opportunity to ask any questions they wanted to. It felt really good to be able to offer help to the children and they were also very excited about my visit.”
During the pandemic, those students who were able to, returned to their homes, so classes switched to online. With the recently updated IT equipment and the purchase of an extra tablet, the students all now have access, enabling them to continue to maintain the engagement of those students who are studying externally. The recent Medical Fund has enabled their staff to purchase all of the necessary materials for a comprehensive cleansing programme and to provide training for all the children and to date they are pleased to be able to report that no Covid-19 cases have been recorded.
“Speaking to Bishwas, Ashmita and Furba it was evident how happy they are living there as well as excelling in their studies. All of the children were very well behaved and are all assigned with an elder ‘brother’ or ‘sister’ accordingly, which encourages a homely and safe environment. It was a great experience and I hope I get the opportunity to visit again.”
