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We help adults as well as children. Most of our support
staff are uneducated, but we give extra training whenever
possible. Training such as literacy, numeracy, language
(English and Nepali) and, in one case, an introduction
to Montessori method (for our senior auntie, Maya).
We provide three meals a day, clothing, medical, dental
and emergency support for allour staff.
Front Row- Left to Right
Dil Kumari (3rd from left)
My name is Dil Kumari. I was born in Kathmandu 40
years ago and I lived here for 12 years until my father
got out of the army, then we returned to our village
in Taplejung district. Life in the village is not
easy. I was married to a man from my village when
I was 16. Harka Bahadur and I lived in our village
for some years but eventually came to Kathmandu to
try to better our lives. Luckily my husband got a
job at the school as the day watchman. After 8 years
I came to work here too. Now I'm working as an "auntie",
helping with the small kids, and I'm happy to do it.
Maya (4th from left)
I'm Maya Gurung, 27 years old. I'm from Tarai, the
southern jungles of Nepal, where my parents are farmers.
I went to Class Three in school and married a boy
from the village when I was 16. I moved to Kathmandu
and started work in a carpet factory where he was
already working. After some years he went to Malaysia
to earn more to keep our two boys' future bright.
(Suman B309 and Sajak B345a) I kept
on working at the carpet factory. He was working illegally
and was put in jail so no word and no money came.
Life was hard. My older boy got TB. Then my sons got
sponsored at Thrangu Rinpoche's school, and about
2 years ago I got a job here as an "auntie"
so I live here too. My husband came back to Nepal
this spring and he is alright, but he will again go
overseas to find work. I'm worried about that.
Sanumaya (5th from left)
My name is Sanumaya Tamang. I work as an "auntie"
at SMD. I do most of the heavy cleaning in the school.
I have four kids, all of them live with me here at
school and three of them are students. I'm 26 now,
but I came to work in Kathmandu in a carpet factory
when I was 11. I married a man who worked in the same
factory when I was 15. When the carpet industry collapsed,
we were both out of work so we sent the two older
boys Raju D373 and Roshan D374 to live
with my parents in our village. My husband and I didn't
have enough money to feed them. They didn't go to
school in the village for the same reason.
A little more than two years ago, I came to SMD and
begged for help. They gave me the job of cleaning
all the school toilets and they took Raju and Roshan
as day students. After some time, they let me move
in with my two smaller boys. Now I'm working fulltime
and I am happy that my children and I have a place
to live and enough to eat. My husband and I want our
kids to learn how to read and write, so they will
have better live than we do. Note: Sanumaya's
parent's house was destroyed in one of the monsoon
landslides. Miraculously, no one was hurt, but they
lost everything.
Junu (6th from left)
Namaste! My name is Junu Gurung. I'm stepping up to
16. I was born in Dhading district, which is a remote
place, very poor. I had to quit school when I was
in Class 8, because there wasn't enough money to continue,
so I moved to Kathmandu with some friends in the hopes
of finding work. For a long time, I couldn't find
any work. My cousin helped me a lot and finally I
got a job as an "auntie" at SMD, where I
am now. I'm really satisfied with my job.
Back Row- Left to Right
Mr Pandey (1st from left)
I'm Dal Bahadur Pandey, 58 years old. I was born in
Dolkha district to a poor family. I lived in my village
and worked at farming when I was a child. At the age
of 15 I was married to a lady from my village and
then all our family members migrated to different
places in the hopes of finding better conditions and
some peace. But it never happened as I wished. Until
I was 33, we had to move keep moving, always looking
for a place where there was enough to eat. By that
time I had two children, a boy (Jai Chandra B177)
and a girl (Radhika B303. Finally we settled
in Nuwakot district, where my wife died of TB.
We had no land and I had to feed my children, so I
became a kamaiya (an indentured slave). Fortunately
one day, my son Jai Chandra ran away from me (see
story in Success Stories) when he was 7. Luckily
he got a chance to stay in SMD and slowly he pulled
my daughter and then me. Now we are all together at
the school and I'm happy to work here, helping in
the kitchen.
Dorje Tsering (2nd)
Tashi Delek! I'm called Dorje Tsering. I'm a Tibetan
guy although I was born in Nepal. I went up to class
8 but I had to quit because my father died when I
was a kid. My mother remarried and my stepfather would
not continue to pay for schooling, so it was hard
to find my own way. Luckily for me I got a job as
cook at Thrangu Rinpoche's school, so now I'm independent
and quite happy.
Pemba (4th)
Resham ( 5th)
Hello, I'm Resham Tamang. I'm 17 years old and come
from Kavre district. (Where the retreat center Namo
Buddha is.) I was born into a poor family. I had 3
older sisters and 3 older brothers. Unfortunately
all my sisters died. I studied up to Class 6 but I
couldn't continue my studies because my of my country's
poor condition. At the age of 13, I started to work
as a carpenter. Now I'm working as a cook here at
SMD and I like it.
Bhola Ram (6th)
Hello, I'm Bhola Ram from Kavre district. (Namo Buddha).
I'm 44 years old. I had 4 brothers and 2 sisters,
but lost 2 brothers and a sister. I spent half my
life in the village, but as the oldest boy in the
family it was my
responsibility to look after my parents, my brothers
and sisters and to pay off loans against our land,
so I came to Kathmandu to work as a day labourer when
I was 24. In 1985, when I was 27, I got a job as a
labourer on the construction of this school. As time
passed, I got married to a lady from my village and
brought her to live in Kathmandu too. We now have
2 children, Sirijana B312 and Sujan D347.
Both of them are going to school here.
Missing from photo: Karma Tendar
Tashi Delek! It's me, Karma Tendar. I'm from Tibet.
My life was simple in Tibet. My family are nomads.
I came to Nepal a couple of years ago because we Tibetans
are persecuted there. I had a hard time walking out.
It took 20 days. I almost died. Then I went to meet
HH the Dalai Lama and ended up in Kathmandu. I had
no food and no money. One of the monks brought me
to SMD and I started working as night guard. I'm satisfied
with my job but sometimes worry about my family back
in Tibet.
Additional pictures and stories of some support staff
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