Experiences: Harka

* Projects > Asia > Nepal > Harka Orphanage

Kathleen Kehrt from US. volunteered at Harka in September 16th and She left October 25th. She writes of his experience below:

As the last days of summer drew closer I was soon surrounded by friends college dorm shopping, digging up old shirts and cramming their summer reading in. Meanwhile I was getting shots for typhoid, pills for Malaria and digging up used toys. I too was leaving home at the end of the summer but not for college. Instead, I was lugging all my stuff to Narayanghat, Nepal, where I would spend the next six weeks living in an orphanage.

Forty-eight hours later the plane, I was boarded, landed with a bump at Bharatpur Airport, a small airport just south of Narayanghat. I scrambled off the plane and breathed easily for the first time. I had made it to Nepal. I was on the complete opposite side of the world. I was greeted by Laxmi, the orphanage director, with a hug and a kiss. We grabbed my two enormous pieces of luggage and headed towards the parking lot. I looked around for a taxi, but the only thing that caught my eye was a rickshaw. As we neared it, I eyed it with uncertainty, but held my breath and climbed on after Laxmi. I held onto my bags tightly, amazed that one man could bike for two average size humans and two large pieces of luggage. After about twenty minutes of bouncing uncomfortably and trying to take in my surroundings, the rickshaw finally stopped. We had arrived in front of a small brick building with clothes hanging from every wire and thirteen little heads peering out of the doors and windows. I struggled with my suitcases to my room, feeling very self-conscious about the amount I had brought with me.

A half an hour later I was sat down by Laxmi, where she placed a steaming plate of daal bhaat, Nepal’s signature dish, in front of me. Daal bhaat consists of cooked rice, curried vegetables and cooked lentils. After devouring the dish, I headed straight to bed.
The next six weeks were filled with life changing experiences. Every morning I was woken up by the chattering of eager little kids. Breakfast was rice followed by the exciting process of getting ready for school. Uniforms were put on, hair was brushed down and faces were washed. I helped out every morning, where I could. Sometimes I buttoned shirts or straightened skirts. After all the excitement from that had died down, the kids held hands and walked off to school. As soon as the kids left for school, the orphanage became quiet and a nice place to relax. During the day I occupied myself by playing with the five little kids who were not old enough to go to school. I played simple games with them, bathed them, and just enjoyed their company. The end of the day came too quickly and before I knew it, the children would come thundering down the road, free at last and ready to play until dinnertime.
Nepal and Harka Orphanage changed my life. Seeing the way those people live compared to me really hit home. People these days do not realize how lucky they are. The children I met on my trip changed my view on life forever and I will never forget them.