“I came as a complete stranger and left as a respected friend” - longer post :)

My sponsored child lives in a small community in western Nepal. I flew to Nepalgunj in a one hour flight from Kathmandu, and I was picked up at the airport by plan staff.  I immediately liked the friendly and knowledgeable staff of the Plan Banke office, who spoke English well. I stayed at a nice hotel close by the office, and there were no problems at all. After a good night sleep, I was introduced to some more Plan staff members, all very friendly, and I was given some information about the area in which my sponsored child lives. The staff also answered all questions I had, and was knowledgeable about specific details concerning the community.
The drive to the village was smooth; I was lucky my sponsored child lived only about half an hour away from the office and there was an accessible road. I enjoyed the beautiful landscape of the Terai area. It is very green and almost looks like the savanna. When the car turned onto the rural road leading to the village I became very nervous. I had thought a lot about how this day would be, and I was anxious that my expectations were set too high. I also was not sure how to greet the family, and how to properly behave. I was scared that my 6-foot blond appearance would be too strange to them. But as it turned out all my worries were unjustified.

As soon as I got out of the car I saw the whole community gathered. Everyone greeted me with a friendly “Namaste” and a warm smile. I greeted back and smiled too. Sudip, my sponsored child, took my hand and led the way into the hut. There I was seated on the bed - the only available seating-accommodation - and about twenty relatives and neighbors squeezed inside the hut to see me. Sneh, my translator, introduced me to Sudip’s mother, grandmother, grandfather, aunt, and niece. After that I introduced myself in broken Nepali and I started handing over presents. For the relatives of Sudip I had brought some useful items such as toothbrushes, soaps, and toothpaste. I also had bracelets for the mother and grandmother. For Sudip I had brought colors and a coloring book. He took it and started working on a picture right away. I also gave candy to all the villagers, who really enjoyed that. But the highlight was a bag of balloons. Not only the children grabbed one each, but also the adults. Everyone enjoyed blowing them up and playing with them. Afterwards I showed all the kids how to play Memory. I had brought the game from Germany for the children and wanted to make sure they know how to play it properly. They were great learners and they played it several times in a row. The small initial tension had eased completely. There were only warm smiles, and grateful big eyes left. Everyone was enjoying the visit.

 I took the chance to start a conversation. With the help of Sneh, a great translator, I learned many things about Sudip and his family. His father, for example, was currently gone in India, as were almost all other male community members. Finding work in the Terai is difficult, so the men usually go to India for 6 to 9 months, work there, and periodically send money home. Sudip just turned six and he is going to a private school. Through Plan’s sponsorship he receives a book bag and other school materials. However, his family is working hard to afford the fee for the private school. They want Sudip to continue to study until he has at least a Bachelor’s degree. When I asked Sudip about his plans, he told me he prefers joining the army when older.

Right now Sudip and his mother live with his grandparents for safety reasons. When the father returns, the family will also return to their own home - a two-room hut with a thin thatched roof that leaks during heavy rainfalls. The house is built out of mud and clay and has no latrine. Thanks to Plan the mother is also involved in a vegetable farming group, which helps to give local women an opportunity to supplement their husbands’ income. The family and the community spoke openly and without any shyness. They told me about how Plan has helped the children gain an education, the mothers to be trained in vegetable production and sanitation, and the community to be organized to voice its concerns. They led me outside the hut to show me around. I saw the fields, the other houses, and some small shops. When we came back to the hut they showed interest in my life and started asking questions.

To help them understand the reason for why I came from so far away to see them, I showed them some of the letters I had gotten from Sudip. They understood and also confirmed that Sudip had gotten all his letters and presents. I told them that this sponsorship is special to me because I, as a 22 year old student, can help another family across the world with mother and father being the same age as myself. I went on to show them pictures of my family, our house, our town, my university, zoo animals and many more things on my computer. Everyone loved it. 25 people in front of one little laptop screen, but no one was bored. The children screamed with joy when they saw a picture of something they knew, like a lion or a dog. The community also explained me that they like sports so I showed them a video of me competing in a track and field meet. They cheered and laughed and gasped. Then they sang a Christian song for me – the family had recently converted. Everyone screamed with joy and eagerness to participate. I recorded it on my computer webcam so the children could see themselves singing. To further entertain the children I turned on a webcam feature which, through facial recognition, places hats and masks on one of the children’s faces. I am lacking the skills to describe just how much they enjoyed it. Everyone from the 4 years old neighbor kid to the 68 years old grandfather was laughing loudly every time the mask or the hat changed shape or positions. Now I am the proud owner of a five minutes long video that shows me just how little you need to bring joy into another person’s life.

After 2.5 hours it was finally time to leave, not because we were out of things to talk about, but because I had to catch a flight. The family thanked me for coming and I also thanked them for being so open and welcoming, for offering me snacks and tea, and for laughing and playing with me.  They told me I should visit again and that I should never stop writing. They said they would call me but I would not be able to understand them. I wanted to tell them so much, and I wanted them to know that I care about them and that I will never forget them but it was hard to control my emotions. The grandmother had tears running down her cheek. I told Sneh she should explain them that in Europe we give hugs as a good-bye, and before she was able to finish the translation the grandmother had come forward to give me a long big hug.

Sudip followed in a minute long hug, during which I was not sure whether he had started to cry. The mother hugged me too, and her sister and some other community members. Then out of a sudden, even the old grandfather hugged me. I was so surprised and moved, because usually man and woman keep a formal distance that I started tearing up completely. It was very hard for me to leave that day. I had come as a complete stranger, but I left as a respected friend. With this new found friendship however comes an increased responsibility. Before my visit, Sudip, his family, and the community were only some names on a paper. I knew I supported their community development but I did not have any further connection to them. When I left that day I had established such a connection. I feel very much responsible for them now. I know that these people, the very people I had talked to, laughed with, played with, need my help and that it is essential to their development. I won’t ever forget their faces, their smiles, and their waves, which means I won’t ever forget my responsibility towards helping others.

I tried really hard to make it as descriptive as possible, but no words will ever be able to capture my experience. However, I still hope you enjoyed reading this, slightly longer :), blog post.

Namaste and stay tuned for a report on my five day field visit to Makwanpur!

Annika