HFHI Nepal hosts Shanghai American School GV Team in Itahari

HFHI Nepal organized a Global Village Program for Shanghai American School from March 22-March 29 2008. 17 students and 2 teachers participated in the program which was held in Itahari Municipality, Sunsari. The program was held in partnership with SOS Children’s Village.

Volunteers enjoying weaving bamboo wall
The team helped to build 3 houses in total. Local volunteers from SOS, the HFHI staffs and home partners worked together with the team and created a splendid team based environment to work in. These houses are made of bamboo wall, cement pillar, mud plaster and CGI tin roofs. The last day of house dedication was an emotional moment where the home partners and the volunteers shared their gratitude and experiences.

Team Leader, Jacqueline Meijar shared, “It was an incredible time for us to get knowledge on cutting and splitting bamboo as well as weaving wall with bamboo. We got the opportunity to learn about the culture, community and the life of the people. We are taking not only these learning but also the love and care of the people to whom we met.”

One of the home partners, Tek Narayan Chaudhary also expressed his happiness on the occasion. He said, “One day my daughter (she is 15 yrs old) told me, her friends used to take her in their houses but she couldn’t bring them in her house because she did not have a good house”, This was great challenge for me. SOS, Habitat and the global village team took part on carrying my burden of building a good house, now my daughter can bring her friends in her house without any hesitation”

Home Partners and team working together

Apart from the daily work, the team also got a chance of cultural exposure and sightseeing in some remarkable places in Kathmandu. The team also enjoyed interacting with the local students of SOS. It helped them learn about the Nepali community which was a complete new environment for them. It taught them a lot more than just building houses.

GV Team member Jonathan Kao reflected “It was a great trip, and I really became more aware of the issues in the world around me. Seeing the conditions others lived in helped me be thankful for the privileges I have that I normally take for granted.”

The program’s success was due to the efforts of many people, with special thanks to SOS Children’s Village for their organization and excellent support before and during the program.

The Team

This Global Village program has opened new doors to HFHI Nepal. With the help of such programs, HFHI Nepal gets new opportunities to build houses and improve lives. The organization is looking forward to more participation from teams from around the world.