Stichting Veldwerk
Postbus 163
1850 AD Heiloo
The Netherlands
veldwerk@gmail.com
IBAN nr. NL51ABNA0543703266
Attn. Stichting Veldwerk,
p/a Egmond Binnen
Bank: ABN-Amro 543703266
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Secretariat: Stichting Veldwerk Postbus 163 1850 AD Heiloo The Netherlands |
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Tel:+31 (0)72-5339585 veldwerk@gmail.com IBAN nr. NL51ABNA0543703266 Attn. Stichting Veldwerk, p/a Egmond Binnen Bank: ABN-Amro 543703266 |
Barhabise is a small town close to the Tibetan border located on the wild Bhote Khosi River. I have been active there since 1999 and I know this town and the rough mountain area above it. People know me there personally and now they also know Foundation Field Work. This fact is not always so handy, since the needs there are as high as the mounts, there is immense poverty!
Rene ji, tapaaile hamro ketaaketi shayog garnuhunchha?
From local society this question has been asked many times; to do something for the orphans and unwanted children. Because children, especially orphans from rural mountain areas, are pushed to go to cities for hard manual labour or worse, being sold to India to do al kinds of dirty work. Working in the circus, or prostitution in downtown New Delhi, Calcutta and Bombay. This is common practice and of course there is a lot of money to be made by the brokers'
From a small peaceful town nearby the Tibetan border, while the water continues to flow and the kids are coloring some more before it is bedtime,
Namaste
Rene Veldt
Sir,
Ooohhhh............... my heart bleeds........
But I will again do my utmost...., 
In the meantime Foundation Field Work is sponsoring projects in which women of the low castes receive vocational training. Because our philosophy is; if you help the mothers to an income, you help her children automatically. They can continue to take care of them themselves. And it is important that poor children or orphan children do not come to the large city, because then they will become street or worse
Like many places in Nepal, there are still a large number of poor children who suffer bad conditions around Barhabise.
Rene buddy, can you help our children here
For children it is the end of their childhood, first loosing their parents due to death or being abandoned because a new lover showed up and than by force having to do these dirty jobs, (without any further care for the kids). If the kid decides not to cooperate it will receive a hard beating instead of diner. The moral of the kid is broken and it succumbs under this terror. After a while it has no choice but to cooperate.
With all this suffering in the back of the head, the demand from the local organization FIFON and a visit from our sponsor Will Mosk from Armas Europe to Barhabise, it was decided to take action. Because we will do whatever we can in our capacity to improve the live of these children: ”Not just Words but Action !”
After some preparation we got started. A house was rented and renovated in the town center and through posters all around our initiative was publicized. It explained the way a child was to apply and which conditions had to be met to qualify.
In no time we had 45 applications from kids from the surrounding mountain areas, but our house can only fit 15 children. After investigating and selecting the neediest, we asked their caretakers to bring them to us. We quickly had to prepare everything for the ”grand opening”.
On that day 8 children were there, a little bewildered by all the new impressions and changes. But from the start they were welcomed with love by the two”didi's” and Marlies (one of our visitors who came over to help) who let the kids draw and play.
The big day was Saturday the 28th of April. The teachers from the neighbor school got up early to prepare the feast. Moving benches, arrange the music and the microphone. Despite the burning sun the whole town seemed to have come to join the fun. And it was great to see that these first eight kids bonded like a tight group and welcomed the remaining children arriving later that day.
Our new children will enter the nearby school already this week on the other side of the playground. This is great because it is still in the beginning of the Nepalese school year. The opening date was planned in such a way that we could meet this. The children of this school prepared a welcome dance. After a speech and flowers the big moment was there; the curtain was taken away ! Mero Niwas became a fact ! The translation of Mero Niwas is ”My House” !
At night while eating Dhal Bhat the children wanted to enjoy the new view. All lined up with their plates of rice and lintels in their hands. Between two bites the smallest one whispered: ”sir, this is my home now?” and after I indicated it was: ”I like it sir, I don't want to leave from here!”
This was something I could imagine, a cozy place like this, a nice bedroom with a clean little bed, all these new brothers and sisters to play with and two darlings of ”didi's” to take care of you. But I couldn't help but stare at the distant mountains and think that there are at least 30 more possible little brothers and sisters with empty stomachs. So” Action speaks louder then words,” we came a bit closer but there is a long way ahead of us.
I wish you Namaste !
Today (1st of May 2007) while finishing this piece a Sherpa guide comes walking into our office in Kathmandu;
on my way up to the high mountains, I found this poor children…
There father become crazy and he is disapeared more then one year; nobody know's where he is, either where he live's, maybe he is dead!
His wife, and mother of this 5 children is deaf and dumb, and she can not take care of those children anymore. The oldest girl is now 13, the youngest baby just 1 ½ year, there house is damaged and leacking. This mother now is begging arround there trying to get some food!
It is very bad conditions and coold there sir,
Can you help them sir???
I'm almost crying, what to do now? No more space left over.........!
You never know what possible, miracles still occurrence!
Rene Veldt
Stichting Veldwerk (Foundation Field Work, Action speak louder then Words)
Kathmandu-Nepal.