Even though the children of Ama Ghar have come from very difficult circumstances, they are still taught how important it is to help others less fortunate. They do community service work in the village where Ama Ghar is located, and they do some field trips as well, like a visit to the Orthopedic Hospital that they made last week. Children …
Vijaya Dashami!
Dashain is the most important holiday in Nepal, and the biggest festival of the year. The 15 days of celebration, which are devoted to worship of the goddess Durga, end on the full moon. In preparation for the holiday, every home in Nepal is cleaned and decorated (including Ama Ghar). The first nine days of the holiday, called Nawa Watri, …
A Festival Honoring Girls and Women
Every year during late summer (in Nepal, it’s just before the first day of Ganesh Chaturthi, which usually falls in August or September) there is a festival for women. Dedicated to the Goddess Parvati, commemorating her union with Lord Shiva, the festival is a celebration of marital bliss where married women pray for the good health of their husbands and children, and …
Snakes and Earthquakes – Oh My!
Here’s a note from Bonnie about the weekend’s excitement at Ama Ghar: “This past weekend has been very eventful at Ama Ghar. Saturday morning, we gathered with anticipation to harvest the balance of our corn crop. While we were in the corn field, a very large snake made itself known – and pandemonium ensued! Surely the snake was as frightened …
Hugs Around the World
Although we often post about special events like SLC celebrations and holidays, daily life for the Ama Ghar children is much like that of children everywhere – time is spent on school, homework, sports and play. One way in which the Ama Ghar kids are especially lucky, though, is that they have visitors who join them from around …
A Scholarly Celebration
What a joyful celebration we had to honor our seven excellent students who passed their national exams (SLC) with distinction! We invited friends and family from around the Kathmandu Valley, and were joined by visitors from Head-Royce School in California. Everyone shared delicious local food like momos and dal baht, and there was singing, dancing, and lots of fun. We …
A Happy Reunion!
One of our Ama Ghar children, Kalpana Thapa, remembered that she had a sister, who was separated from her years ago when their family could no longer care for them. Kalpana always dreamed of her little sister and the day when the two of them might be reunited…. and a couple of years ago, her prayers were answered. Her sister …
Ten Years of Transformation…
“Never doubt that a small group of committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” — Margaret Mead On August 1, we celebrated the 10th anniversary of the founding of Ama Ghar, and …
A Cultural Connection
Renita Thapa lives in the U.S., but she has visited Nepal, the country of her family’s origin, several times. The first time she came to Nepal, in 2002, she and her mother and father visited Ama Ghar, where she made many friends. She has kept in touch over the last nine years, and asked her parents if she could come …
An Original Video by Ashok
Our talented Ama Ghar brother, Ashok, made this video to commemorate the visit of some European volunteers – his video brings alive some of the fun activities the kids did with the visiting girls, and makes it crystal clear how much the volunteers bonded with both children and staff. I especially love the sequence at the end when Antonia says …