On this visit, we took along a treat for the students!
Kumar Sir and I were accompanied by Doug and Devika Grant of The Tennis Trekker with some tennis gear–rackets, sponge balls and a portable net–to hold a Tennis Camp for the students! Apparently, having been informed about the visit days before, the students had been anxiously waiting for our arrival! Over the course of the Grants’ two-day visit, they held two sessions for the students of Raithane School on the recently completed foundation for the multi-purpose court.
The girls had theirs the afternoon of August 27 and the boys the next morning. Both sessions lasted over three hours! The Grants had prizes of tennis balls for those that displayed natural talent for the sport. Those with exceptional skills, received two balls!! The students thoroughly enjoyed the camp. When the court is complete, the students will be able to play tennis, in addition to a few other sports!
At the end of the session on the 28th, the Grants handed over donations of tennis rackets and soft sponge balls to Ram Sir, the headmaster of Raithane School. Following that, the afternoon of August 28, the Grants held a session for the student of Taltuleshwory Primary School before they departed for Kathmandu.
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The extra day I spent in Thangpalkot, I inquired about the progress of COMMITTED-sponsored students, made my rounds of our ongoing projects–notably, the fishery ponds and constructions addressing WASH issues–and also had a look at the Kiwifruit plants!
With funding from a local bank, COMMITTED recently sought to address part of the WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) issue the school faced. Work on it is almost complete as you can see below!
Recently COMMITTED assisted five villagers acquire and plant a pair each–a male and female–of the fruit as a test to see how they would fair in Thangpalkot. Two had died. Of the three that had survived, one appeared to be coming along really well while one seemed to be doing all right, while the third, due to lack of attention, was not faring too well!
Apart from that, this time around, I was able to witness a Friday afternoon activities tradition at Raithane School. This time it was General Knowledge Quiz competition between the different Houses (School Teams).
COMMITTED, in bringing such programs as the Tennis Camp, is making an effort to bring the world to the children of Thangpalkot, and, in the process, fire their imagination about what is out there and is possible. Along with that, we also hope to inspire them to try to reach for greater heights! The Tennis Camp might inspire a few, and the next such camp (basketball for instance) might inspire another group!
One can hope!
