Sponsoring a child through Plan: Meeting Sandhya in Nepal
Experiences shared by Plan's sponsor Tiphaine Texier from Norway who visited Sindhuli in this December to meet her sponsored child Sandhya and her families including the observations of programme activities run by community with support from Plan Nepal.
Tiphaine with school children and Plan staff in Sindhuli
"As
a sponsor through Plan, I give each month a small amount of money to support Sandhya,
a child living in Nepal, her family and her community. I got the opportunity to visit
her in her village… And the encounter went ways beyond my expectations.
Departing
from Kathmandu, the journey to reach her remote village is quite an adventure.
Well, yes, the journey took twice as long as I expected due to some amusing events.
But what an experience ! I will never forget the landscapes I have seen through
the window
of the local bus, neither the nice Nepali lady sitting just next to me and
feeding me
all the way.
I
arrive in the evening in Sindhuli, the main city of the district, and is
welcomed by
Shanta,
the local Plan coordinator. She
leads me to my hotel, and I take an early sleep, exhausted by the trip and so
looking forward
to the day to come…
The
sun comes up again in the sky, announcing a beautiful
and emotional day. Shanta pickes me up and
we go to shop for some kitchen equipment as a gift
to Sandhya’s family. For her and for the children of
the community, I brought some colorful juggling balls.
First,
we go to Plan’s office, located in Sindhuli. I meet some
of Shanta’s colleagues and her big boss. I get briefed
about the day to come : a lot to do, and probably
quite a short while with Sandhya… Will it be enough
?
Then
we drive to the main village, close to her place, and
are welcomed by the local youth club, a place for young
ladies to discuss and enjoy activities together. What
a nice initiative !
Now
it’s time to drive to Sandhya’s home ! She’s not going to school today, as I’m
visiting
her.
Her tiny village is located nearby the road. The houses are small, very modest
and
made
of clay. Here comes Sandhya’s house : a very tiny place, maybe 15 square meter, where
she lives
with her parents and her two brothers. She comes out and is very shy at first.
I
offer
her the juggling bowls and show to the mother the dishes I have bought for her,
totally
forgetting that the Nepali custom is not to open a gift in public, in case the
gift is
not
appreciated !
But of course, as I remember that, it is too late… Nice beginning
uh…
Very
soon, the whole village is surrounding us (well, they are not
that many, but still). Shanta is taking many pictures, her colleague
who is following us as well. It feels a bit weird
connecting
with Sandhya in such an un-intimate way. She seems
very happy but also very bad at ease being the center of
the attention (same for me !). To break a bit the situation’s
awkwardness,
I propose to visit her place. Inside the tiny house,
two wooden planks are playing the role of sitting places
during daytime and beds at night. One of the corners
is
dedicated to cooking, with a small fireplace set up on the ground.
The garden is a little bigger, and the family is hoping.
To
get help from Plan to learn how to grow their own vegetables. The idea is to
feed the
family,
and eventually to sell some to the local market and provide some extra money to
the
household. At the end of the garden, there is a pig. The family is used to buy
one, to
feed
it until it gets big enough, and to sell it again to make some
profit. Sandhya
tells me that she wants to become a doctor. I like to
see so much ambitions in her eyes, but I’m also
conscious
that this will be a very hard goal to reach. Being the
only girl and the first born, Sandhya will most probably be
married very young, so as to have her moving out to her
husband’s
family, following the Nepalese traditions. Which means,
for a modest family as hers, one mouth less to feed, one
person less to host in a very tiny space. I hope that my
support,
somehow, will prevent her from that, even if my action
margin is quite small ! Being a sponsor is not giving you
super powers, just the ability to develop a little bit the
community
in which your sponsor child is living.
Sandhya
does not speak that much but is literally glued to me,
which melts my heart. As the tight schedule of the day must be followed, it is decided
that she will stay with him until the end. We
drive a little while and stop next to a very
nice vegetables garden. Here, a woman
shows
us proudly her tomatoes, spinach, cauliflowers
and potatoes. An agricultural
engineer
from Plan helped her implementing
this garden, which is feeding
her
whole family and providing incomes by selling
the vegetables to the local market.
The
husband is at the market at the moment,
and the woman takes care of the
plants.
She seems so proud to be responsible for this piece of heaven !
Then
we drive to the local school, where we first take a detour through the library.
This
place
has been established by an association a few years ago and Plan has been
supporting
the purchase of books and posters to decorate the room. It is a modest
library,
run by older students in partnership with younger ones. They seem very
proud
of having this library, offering them a real opportunity to read and learn. It
is one
of
the rare ones in the area !
After
this small detour and many pictures taken, we visit each class one by one.
Children
are
waiting for us, very calm and disciplined. First, the kinder garden : the kids
sing and
dance
a little, then start playing all around with some of the juggling balls I
offered
them.
Then three other classes, in which I take part in the dancing and singing,
Sandhya
just
by my side. What a fun time ! In the meanwhile, Shanta emphasizes the work of
Plan
in
the school : the building of a comfortable and warm floor, very important as
the
students
sit directly onto the ground and the purchase of posters showing birds,
vegetables,
the English alphabet etc.
All
the kids seem very excited to see a sponsor in their school. Suprisingly, each
time
Shanta
asks "who has a sponsor among you
? ", many hands are raised. I get to
understand
how much we mean to these children and to the community : so much is
being
done with our money ! So much more hope for their future ! It
is already time to say good bye to Sandhya. The day went ways to quick, but at the same time, it has
been so
strong
! Sandhya ask me to come back soon. I will. I have to ! We represent so
much
for the young people here.
I
drive back to Sindhuli, the main city of the district, the head full of questions,
ready to
change
my life in better. Because experiencing that kind of thing won’t leave you the
same
: it helps putting perspectives into our spoiled lives.
So
if I had any advice, it would be to become a sponsor to give a child better chances in life
and to improve his/her community. And
if you already are one, then run to visit
him/her… They are waiting for us !"
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