The day before the opening, the 14th of June, the party seemed to go down the toilet, because it was raining cats and dogs on our side of the hill. The notorious monsoon started in Nepal and we found out! What I predicted in the past happened. The part of our terrain where the school is got completely flooded by a huge wave, because the higher situated drain couldn't contain the water anymore. The preparations for the opening which we already made around the school got destroyed, including the nice "welcome-gate" and the new drinking water pipe. This pipe was a temporary one, but with only one day it was even more temporary than expected.

But fortunately, during the construction I insisted on making the ground floors half a meter above the higher situated land of the neighbors. The costs were a lot higher, because the walls are half a meter thick and that is a lot of bricks and cement. I thought that with a flood our feet would stay dry. This turned out to be true, even the toilets which are situated outside the building were above water level. This prevents a lot of panic, mess, frustration and extra work to get everything fixed, clean and dry.
That afternoon during the rain we inspected the situation higher on the hill and now we are planning to talk to local government to enlarge the drain. Besides, our fence needs to go deep into the ground, to be water proof and we need a good water draining system through the gardens. Otherwise we and/or the children will fall into the churning river. This holy river, the Sali-Nadie which flows 6 meters deep behind our land, 1 kilometer down flooded more than 500 meters of land. All villagers went outside to see this violence of nature. It was fascinating to see, but very scary also and all houses in this area flooded.

Yesterday's loss is tomorrow's gain.

The 15^th of June was the day of the opening. The mess of the day before was cleaned up, a truckload of new and clean pebbles was strewn around the building to cover the mud. Just in case of new rain we covered the floor with old carpets and put a big plastic tarp in the air. The staff decorated everything beautifully with big colorful balloons. We were ready!
Until one hour before, when we received a phone call from the chief guest from the Nepali ministry that he was not able to come and open the building. There was a crisis at the ministry and he couldn't leave

“What to do in Kathmandu?”
Fortunately we quickly found a good replacement: Yaburaj Sangroula, who had already been invited as a guest. He is one of Nepal's most famous lawyers. He is mostly involved with social issues concerning poverty, the injustice of the rather humiliating caste system, and he fights against the oppression and for the rights of women and children. The right man for us and the audience applauded loudly during his excellent speech.
He triggered the audience by saying that escaping from poverty is only possible through education. "And if René comes from a country far away to help you guys by building a school for your children, next year when I come back I expect you to have taken the initiative to build a school for higher education for these poor children." The audience answered with loud applause, but are they indeed going to take this initiative? I doubt it.
Yubaraj left quickly, because one hour later he had to sit around a table with Jimmy Carter who was visiting Nepal as a special UN representative. My thanks goes to Yubaraj for his contribution to this great opening day.

Of course I also had to give a speech, which is not one of my best qualities, but it turned out alright. The new teachers of our school, all three very qualified and sincere, sang a song with the children: Father Jacob, but then in Nepali

The children of our home were very excited to dance; they can get rid of their energy and get good spirit from dancing. They looked beautiful in their traditional dance costumes and they danced fantastically! There was tea, coffee and a lunch box for everyone and a special word of thanks to Bart and Thijs, who supervised the construction as an internship for their study at the Hogeschool van Utrecht. Also a word of thanks to our two girls from Pokhara, Manju and Radhika, who did their internship at the construction site as plummer and electrician. In the meantime they got their diploma and this week they are going back to Pokhara, their work is finished!

The smiles on the faces of the children who were not able to go to school before. Wearing a nice uniform blouse, playing with a ball, Lego, singing and drawing. And especially for this occasion, the poor mothers and fathers, most of them of the lowest caste, untouchables and dressed in old clothes. But with big smiles on their faces. The look of these sweet children and their parents gives me and my colleagues and board members of Stichting Veldwerk the spirit to continue. Against all bureaucracy and sometimes sickening opposition this is the encouraging result of hard work!

For the poor mothers who are workless and landless we are going to start a job training program within the Hamro Gaun project. Because job training is also education and the key to income and a more respectable living. Yesterday, on the 15th of June, Part One of our Women Training Program also started.
Women who are illiterate, have never seen a school from the inside, get a job training here. For example, making clothes, a goat farm, and an organic farm will be future parts of the project. And besides this the women will also get some basic education. Also there will be a computer class for the children of our home and the young mothers from the surroundings who had to leave their schools early. Because also in Nepal computer knowledge is a prerequisite nowadays

In summary,
Hamro Gaun, a large project for the poorest children and women in Nepal, started on the 15th of June 2007. A great day, with many thanks to our volunteers here in Nepal and in the Netherlands who worked very hard. My special thanks goes to our donors, sponsors, several companies, large and small schools, and the many women's groups who supported us through the whole process.
The sponsor page of our website will be updated very soon, but I already want to mention some of the initiatives: The ladies from Innerwheel in Arnhem-Velp, Terese from the Attekum-Foundation, Stichting Maha Mata Nederland. But also the big help and contribution of Wilde Ganzen, the NCDO, Armas Europe-Australian Gold, the Lionsclub Bergen Alkmaar, and all other sponsors; on behalf of the children and women of Nepal, thanks for your great contribution.

Now I can come home with a satisfied and happy feeling. The Netherlands, here I come.
Because Saturday afternoon the 7th of July Stichting Veldwerk will give a presentation day in the Mirrorcentrum, which is situated in/under/between the two platforms of the Muiderpoort Railway Station in Amsterdam.

I will be there together with our board members.