Ever since this summer, when Ti Uncle and the boys created a new Ama Ghar oven, everyone has been excited to use it for pizzas, cookies and even to keep the house warm! But because we believe in recycling, and also because burning wood for fuel is very expensive, the kids took matters into their own hands and learned to …
Ama Ghar Celebrates the Festival of Lights
The Festival of Lights, known as Tihar in the Kathmandu Valley, was happily celebrated last week by the Ama Ghar kids, their aunties and uncles and visitors. The most beautiful ceremony of the entire festival is the Newari tradition of Mha Puja, or celebration of the self. At this event, intricate and beautiful designs are drawn on the floor where …
Planet Freddo Raises Ama Ghar Funds with Artful Ties!
On November 7 and 8, Ama Foundation Board Member Fred Doar hosted a showing of his art ties and gentleman’s accessories in Mill Valley, California, with all profits donated to support Ama Ghar. The event was a great success, with over 50 people attending each night and sales of 20 ties, 12 scarves and 6 micro paintings, resulting in …
Dashain Tika Day
On the fourth day of the Dashain holiday, the younger members of a Nepali family are blessed by their elders, who give them “tika” – the combination of red powder and rice that’s applied to their foreheads as a blessing. At Ama Ghar it’s especially important, as the aunties and uncles on the staff carry out this traditional this family …
We’re Proud of Pabita!
So many of our older Ama Ghar children are doing wonderful things that we’re going to start providing profiles of them and their activities. As donors and members of our Ama Ghar family, you should feel proud at the accomplishments of Pabita, who was recently selected to take part in an organization called Women LEAD. This organization teaches young women …
Ti’s Excellent Ama Ghar Adventure
Here’s a wonderful note we got from Titus Ellison, our Uncle Ti’s son, who visited Ama Ghar this summer… we love this! “Ama Ghar was one of the best places I’ve ever been. Although the rest of Kathmandu was crowded and noisy, it was very peaceful in Godavari village. I had so much fun and I liked the simplicity. In …
Cookies from our Ama Ghar oven!
The boys’ summer project with Ti Uncle was to build us an oven so we could bake cookies. Ti’s summer visit was prefaced by a year-long discussion of location and type of oven, which culminated in the creation of a Russian Pech, which is an oven that will also lend heat to the room. So with his team of three – Akshaya,Subash and …
Unika at Home
We know many of you are concerned about the progress of Unika, our house father’s daughter who had brain surgery two months ago. The good news is that thanks to the efforts of our Ama Ghar family around the world, she is home and healing very well. When we visited her recently, we found her playing “Pick Up Sticks” with …
Gai Jathra Celebration!
Last week was the week of Gai Jathra, a very special celebration in Nepal. The festival of “Gai Jatra”, the procession of cows, is generally celebrated in the Nepalese month of Bhadra (August-September). The festival of cows is one of the most popular festivals of Nepal. According to tradition, every family who has lost one relative during the past year …
A Monsoon Week at Ama Ghar
Life at Ama Ghar during the monsoon takes on a very special rhythm. It’s sunny and dry in the morning, so we do our chores, hang our laundry out to dry, and take walks in the incredibly lush foliage around the villages and Botanical Gardens at the end of our road. On weekdays, the kids go to school in …