Very cold morning at Patale. We had an early school program so not many kids or teachers at the school when we got there at 9am. Four of the older kids and four of the younger kids danced for us and a group of students and a teacher sang. We had a tour of the school to look at the skylights, books and toilet block. The toilet block is all finished and looks great but just needs painting on the outside. It has 3 rooms – boys, girls & staff. The school had no toilets before this and everyone used the surrounding bush so will make a big difference to their daily life at school.
We couldn’t stay very long at the school unfortunately as we had to leave Patale to get to Dorkarka. When we tried to leave we got absolutely mobbed by the students and community and had kata’s and flowers up to our eyeballs. They were all so appreciative for the help and our visit. It was so much fun. We eventually got away with a big group following us up the path. I saw one man threatening everyone with sticks to get them to stop following us J … local crowd controller!!
Had a quick lunch back at Dawa’s place and then said our goodbyes to the family. I got upset when I said goodbye to Gulmu … have become very attached to this little girl and feel very sad for her situation.
At Dorkarka, I was really looking forward to seeing the other little girl that I fell in love with in February. She was only about 3 or 4 and so cute. When we got there Phurba found out from the grandfather that she had died about a month ago from heart problems and that she had been really sick before she died. Made me so sad and especially sad for the family as they have had quite a bit of grief in their lives. I had to hide in my tent for a couple of hours to get myself together.
Living at Dorkarka is also a young boy with Down syndrome … he seemed to be alot calmer then when we saw him in February which was great. We spent a bit of time with him. After dinner we made an impromptu drum set with all the things on the dinner table which he loved. We got a few smiles from him.
Not such a good day today … too much unnecessary hardship in this country … makes me even more determined to help where I can.
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