Cultural Exchange Programme (CEP)
Pokhara, Nepal
During my 2004 trip to Nepal, I became friends with Nyima Rinzin, a Tibetan man who runs a project for orphans in Pokhara. He organises visits for international students to come and help with this project, and in return promises a unique experience of travel and adventure in Nepal. The following pages on CEP are written by Nyima.Please note that I do not have personal experience of being on this project, but for more details you can contact Nyima at: nyima7@yahoo.co.in.
Introduction
Nepal is a country with a rich cultural and historical heritage. It is a land of ancient history, colourful cultures and different beliefs. The kingdom of Nepal is situated just beneath the central Himalaya and possesses spectacular views of some of the world's highest peaks.People from all over the world come here to experience the diverse beauty of the country's landscape, and to discover the unique culture of the Nepali and Tibetan people as Nepal is also a second home to thousands of Tibetan refugees. CEP offers its participants a complete taste of Nepal and it's breath-taking beauty. It aims to arise awareness of Nepali and Tibetan culture through experiential learning.
Background of CEP
Nyima Rinzin was planning to start such a programme several years ago, but the biggest problem was to find interested people from abroad. In March 2003, he was able to start the programme after a advertisement in the Swiss travel magazine "Globetrotter".Our basic intention is giving the possibility to experience Nepal and its people and to offer the opportunity to live and work in a foreign country. So far, CEP is not an official NGO (non governmental organisation), this programme is run privately by Mr. Nyima Rinzin.
Please be aware, that you cannot "change the world" by doing such exchange. Of course, your help is most welcome and appreciated but please understand, that the people of Nepal cannot be depending on volunteers. As most of the volunteers just finished school and do not have any special skills yet, we can not figure as an aid to developing countries. Our vision is to gain new friends of this wonderful and fascinating country Nepal; who knows, maybe you will return to Nepal in a few years as a doctor, ICRC delegate or an engineer?
Children's Scholarships
The second part of this project funds places for a number of parentless or disadvantaged children to stay with nominated families. It has always been one of Nyima's aims to support such children by providing or finding a suitable environment in which they can develop. From February 2004 to Summer 2005 this ambition was realised by setting up a small children's home in Pokhara, and enabling them to attend school. However, more recently, places with local families have been found for these children, and the project is fast developing into an effective partnership to ensure that children are supported and integrated back into family life.Currently six children are placed in families, and this number is expected to grow in the future. The costs of these placements are funded by the volunteers programme and by other donations.
It is also possible (but not necessary) for the volunteers to help with this aspect of the project. Also for your information: When you have old clothes, toys or writing material that you do not need anymore (and some space left in your backpack..!), you can bring these with you for the children, as they would be highly appreciated.
"I started a Shelter Centre on 5th of February 2004 with the aim of helping street children. I tried almost two weeks with street children and at the beginning there were are around 8 street children who came to the centre for lunch. They came for lunch for four days and after that I told them that they had to participate in one school lesson per day otherwise I could not give them lunch anymore. Unfortunately this did not work and the children did not come to class and also ran away for some time. Why street children don't want to stay is because they are living in the street where they get sweets like chocolate and money from tourists. It is sad but what should I do if they don't want to stay? I cannot keep them.
I realised that it is not possible for me at the moment to have street children at the centre so I decided to start with children from Pokhara's slums. I visited slum places where most of the people are from very low caste and are very poor. To see how these children live is really shocking as they are living in very bad conditions. But these children have a high spirit in learning and want to do something good in their future. So, I thought why don't I take them as if these children did not get help or guidance in right time, they end up in the streets, doing child labour and crime also. These children are living in very difficult conditions without proper nutrition, clothes, food and education. Most of these children are supported by only father or mother.
I have six children on the project now, including Bhuwan, 7 years old, Ajay, 10 years old, Usha, 7 years old and Anita, 13 years old. I am providing them free food, lodging, education and clothes and medical also. In future, we want to help Tibetan and Bhutanese refugee children too and we want to increase the number of children on the project. I hope that one day, we are able to have a "village for orphan and semi-orphan children"
No matter how big your contribution is, it can change and improve the life of many children here in Nepal."
Nyima Rinzin, March 2004