Amazing Namasté News

12 years ago, friendly hunting founded the Amazing Namasté children's home in Kathmandu, and it touches us to see how our little flock has grown together into a solid community.

In the following interview, Christian Goldmann talks about his recent trip to Nepal in March 2023.

Christian, how was your arrival? What did you experience together?

It was very emotional, joyful and exciting for everyone involved. The plan was to visit and learn about one of the royal sites Bhaktapur (about 20 kilometers from Kathmandu) together as a Namasté family. The children were to prepare for this in advance. Sabita had the task of working out a small guided tour of the city for us. My wish was to spend time together, have fun, eat together, experience something, laugh and tell each other stories.

What was planned like this?

Sujan, our supervisor at the orphanage (more about him in one of our following newsletters), prepared a kind of scavenger hunt. The children/young people did this as small teams and thus got to know the city. They were allowed to fulfill tasks and proudly present their solutions and results to us at the end.

What impressions do you take away from this day?

We had very nice, intense experiences. I liked observing how much the young people had developed. Each one has his or her own particular strengths, which we want to continue to recognize and promote in their uniqueness. I was particularly struck by how socially minded and respectful of one another they were. Items that needed to be organized were treated with care and put back in place when the scavenger hunt was over. It was an all-around successful day for everyone involved, which Jenney and Sujan, our permanent educators at the orphanage, also reflected to me in emails days later.

Now back to everyday life. There have been some personnel changes at the orphanage - how did that work out?

Unfortunately, Devi, who was the on-site pedagogical support and thus the companion in all life situations for our children since 2019, has left us. She provided stability and appreciative encouragement for the members in our Namasté family. Based on this good experience, we decided to hire two pedagogically trained caregivers, Jenney and Sujan, to live with the children. Devi was there to advise and help us in this search - connected from the USA , where she is studying. We were able to find two very suitable and well-educated young adults, whom I got to know at length during my visit in March.

Whatwere the months of March and April like for the children?

In Nepal there are many festivities and in March the festival of colors is celebrated. Also, the birthday of Balkrishna was celebrated. A big focus in March is on school activities. Some of the young people are about to graduate from school, while others have many exams to pass in order to advance to the next level. I would like to proudly note here that indeed almost all of them are excellent students with a lot of ambition. Each and every one of them could achieve an honor or medal. Looking ahead, it is now very important for us as those responsible to open up further opportunities for the school leavers in particular, so that they have a future that they can shape themselves. Education is also the key to a self-determined life in Nepal. Pratima, who is an excellent student, we were able to fulfill her heart's desire and organize an internship with a medical doctor - I am curious to hear what she will report.

Three young people are or will be 18 years old, what are their plans for the future?

Yes, they are adults on paper, but of course they are not yet able to stand on their own two feet. Our promise to our protégés is that we will accompany and support them on this path. They can continue to live in the orphanage, in a separate area, like a granny apartment. We are in the process of finding affordable good secondary schools and universities or placing them in educational activities that match their abilities. Of course, there are additional costs for learning materials, laptop, school fees and clothing that we have to generate from the donations.

What are the emerging costs right now?

Pratima, who is very interested in medicine and science, needs a laptop. All of the children would need new swimwear as we are resuming weekly swimming, which had to be eliminated due to Corona. This was always a highlight for the children in their free time. We also want to start paying out a small amount of pocket money, depending on the age of the children, in order to teach them how to deal with money in a sensible way. There will also be costs for college and secondary schools. These are extras in addition to the everyday costs.

Yes, there is that saying "Little children, little worries - big children ..."

There is still a lot to accompany and care for. I am very confident that we will be able to give the adolescents a start into an independent life, especially because of the good contacts we have been able to build up through our many years of professional work in Nepal.

Thank you, Christian, for the description of your last visit.