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March 2009 Newsletter

We (Barre and Julie) arrived back at the Talbot Centre on the 26th February to 17 beautiful smiling faces (the 10 children of the Talbot Centre, Pasang, Gyaljen and Laimi and the rest of the staff) all holding flowers and white scarves (khada’s) to welcome us. The kids were very shy to begin with and I only recognized a few faces from my last visit – Phurdiki, Achit and little Dipesh. After dropping our bags off in our room we went to the roof for a special meal of samosas and chips – instead of the usual Dal Bhat which the kids normally get twice a day.

This was a bit of a treat for the kids and they ate quietly as they shyly eyed up the two strangers. After lunch we took the kids downstairs and opened up the balloons and bubbles we brought with us, there were screams of delight from the kids as they blew up balloons and either they bounced them around or they burst off the ground. The younger kids preferred the bubbles as they didn’t give as much of a fright when they burst!!!

After the evening meal we all gathered in the sitting room – staff and children - for what would become a nightly ritual, and relaxed and got to know the children a bit better. By now the shyness had largely disappeared and we had kids crawling all over us and fighting for our attention. Electricity is currently only 4 hours a day so evenings are mostly spent under candle light which we feel adds to the atmosphere.

Arriving at The Talbot Centre	Buddha

Day out at the park
Santosh is the administrator at the TC but he is really great with the kids. Each Saturday he had begun taking the kids out on an adventure – which we call ‘Santosh’s day out’. This is the only time the kids really get to leave the TC apart from going to and from school. The week before we arrived Santosh took them all to the zoo. This week we went for a trek to the local Buddha statue (30 feet tall) on the hills overlooking the TC, then to the park for a picnic, kite-flying (the Rotary Club in the UK donated kites for all the kids) and football, followed by a trek back home through the Paddy fields and over hills and streams – a real adventure.

We had such a great day out and nobody wanted it to end. Even little Dipesh who is 3 and only 13kg, was in great smiling spirits singing and talking to himself all the way despite walking at least 5 miles. We later learned that Dipesh was used to walking long distances when he was with his family (they needed to walk over 2 miles to get to the nearest road to catch a bus to school).

Trek through paddy fields	Rotary Club kites

Phurdiki
On arrival at the TC the first face I really noticed was Phurdiki’s. The last time I saw her she had just arrived at the TC and she had a constant scowl on her face – when she wasn’t crying. Every time I went near her she would raise her hand to warn me to back off and if I came closer she would bawl, crying so loud that you would think that I was going to attack her. She was like this with all men and was a great deal of trouble when she first arrived. However as I look at her now she is beaming with a beautiful smile, and wearing bright, colourful clothes and often has a flower in her hair. She had gained weight and looked a different little girl. And on the first night she even came over to me and put her arms around me and sat on my lap. What a transformation! She is still very stubborn and hates schoolwork but it’s amazing the difference a few months in a safe and caring environment can make to a child.

Phurdiki on arrival at The Talbot Centre	A changed little girl after 3 months

Pasang's Birthday
The house manager’s (Gyaljen) son, Pasang had his 3rd birthday last week and we decided to set the kids a creative task to each make a birthday card for him. They were a little unsure at first (perhaps they didn’t know what birthday cards were) but with some encouragement they soon got the hang of it and all were drawing or painting some great (and some not so great) pictures. In the end some of the cards really stood out. Sunil’s painting of a rose was especially beautifully drawn and contained some amazing detail. Sunil is a very withdrawn boy and it was great to see how happy he was with the praise he got for his card.

When all the cards dried off we hung them in the TV room ready for the birthday party. Gyaljen had bought a cake and chocolate for everyone. After singing Happy Birthday (in English) and the candles were blown out, the kids tucked into their cake and chocolate. This was the quietest we had seen the kids, you could have heard a pin drop. They don’t get sweets very often. After cake, Gyaljen and Laimi prepared a traditional Sherpa meal of Sherpa breads, cheese in sauce and grapes and pineapple.

Tradition 'flower giving'	Party Time

To contact us please send an email to -

talbot@talbotcentre.o



Or to contact us by post:

In Nepal:

PO Box 8975

EPC 2791

Kathmandu

Nepal

In the UK:                                                                        

Phaedra Palfrey
Flat 25 Bethany House
St. Clement's Gardens
Bournemouth
BH1 4ED
Tel 01202 392776

All Talbot Centre Newsletters

February 2006	April 2006	May 2006	June 2006	April 2007	May-July 2007
Aug-Nov 2007	February 2009	March 2009	April 2009