Scarlet Writes

Like every other year, this year too I thought of trying out my luck by applying for DV. And with the situation that our nation has been stuck in for so long, I was very sure I’d apply for DV this year. However, like every other year, I didn't try this year either.  I am almost certain I am not the only one who thinks of leaving everything behind and taking off in an airplane to a faraway land. Think of it; we have no safe drinking water running in our taps, let’s not even talk about fuel and cooking gas shortage. On top of it all, when the electricity went off at home for more than 12 hours yesterday, I was sure that this country is an uninhabitable country and I was applying for DV, the first thing today. Well, some of my plans never materialize. But this godforsaken country is such that you can’t even abandon it so easily. I really don’t know what I mean when I say country. Am I referring to the impotent, imbecile government which has failed us so many times or am I referr...

Divya came to see me this morning with her 1 st Term Examination Report Card. I had gone to collect the report card yesterday to her school. If you don’t remember Divya, here’s a quick flashback. She was studying in Teresa Academy and was struggling very hard to pass in every exam. She requested us to admit her in a Nepali medium school because she thought English was very difficult for her. So we admitted her in Grade VI this year at Baba Boarding School, a morning school located at Tilganga that’s run as a private school till Grade V and as a public since Grade VI.   So, she came this morning. She scored 64% and stood first in her class. When I was at her school yesterday, she also introduced me to her friend who stood second. Divya was super- duper excited and I am just so glad that we didn’t insist her on studying in an English medium school. There is another little girl we are supporting right now. She is way above the age for studying in Grade I but she comes to school...

We reached Dhading around 1p.m. yesterday and spent most of the afternoon talking to the officials of Nepal Police, Nepal Army, C.D.O. and other locals. We had planned to reach Kimtang Besi to hand over the materials, collected from FNCCI & purchased with the donations from a dear friend, Susie Hutchison, my sister Eliza Shrestha and the company she works for in Australia,  Schneider Electric .  The road to Kimtang Fedi had been destroyed by the landslide; however, all of us were hopeful that the road would be cleared by this morning which didn’t happen. So, we had to drop the idea of reaching Kimtang Fedi and handing over the goods to the victims directly. It is sad that despite our efforts we couldn’t meet the people affected in Kimtang Fedi. Nonetheless, something positive came out of this trip. I am writing this long post to share my team’s experience at Dhading. So here’s what I think about the relief distribution process at Dhading. 1. The Challenges: ...

I spent almost an hour this afternoon, out in the sun, at the school play ground; talking to Divya and Sarswoti about mundane everyday events in life. It started with an inquiry about how they were doing their exams and I asked if they were attempting all the questions or not. As I had feared, Divya hasn't been doing her exams well. After all, how can you expect someone who lives in a tiny shed in one of the busiest temples in Kathmandu with her alcoholic father and three young siblings to study well, without a candle? That's reality for Divya. Divya fears that she might have to leave school and she is afraid she will be forced to stay at home, taking care of her 1 year old sister while her mother goes to work and father goes to yet another alcohol binge. I am afraid for her too. She has to sleep in that shed in Pashupati ghat area fearing for her life as she can't even latch the door properly.  Sarswoti's story is a little different. Not any be...

When I was in school, I was insecure about a lot of things. I used to have a lot of pimples. Well, I still have a lot of them. My hair never looked right. My uniform was never of the right shade. The skirt was one shade lighter and shirts were always an inch or two shorter. I was always an average student. I never really participated in any extracurricular activities and/or sports. I was just an insecure, completely normal teenage girl, giggling all the time. At that point of time, I thought, I’d always be an insignificant, average, random girl in life. As I stand on my 27 th year of life, I look back at all my insecurities and wonder how and when it transformed into my strengths and when did I actually become so oblivious of my insecurities. Not that my pimples don’t bother me anymore! They do. They just don’t alter my life in anyway, anymore. With time and age, I have simply learnt to overcome my insecurities and accept my flaws and not be so harsh and mean on myself. So...

Earlier this week, I had to deal with four students of Grade VII, who were found cheating during their second terminal exams. Two of them were repeat offenders so it made the situation worse. Physical punishment is seen as a way to correct children's behavior. In this case, I knew it wasn’t going to work. In our society, the sight of a mother spanking her kid and teachers carrying a cane to the classroom isn’t such an uncommon sight. Ask a mother or a teacher who follows such practice, the answer will be that our kids need a spanking or a two to control their behavior. In my recent visit to a public school, I was bemused to see a teacher walking around the class with a stick long enough to hit the child sitting in the corner of a bench. In another school I visited, a child was expelled for failing to follow the norms of the school of speaking English. Many teachers and parents feel the need of controlling children’s behavior through various punishment mechanisms. The ...