Saturday, November 12 was the happiest day yet in the history of Ama Ghar – the Grand Opening party for our beautiful new home in Godavari. We are very proud of our new home, built through the generosity of our donors with sustainable power and waste systems and traditional Nepali design. On Saturday, we welcomed over 400 people to a …
Ang Maya's New Home
Our new little Ang Maya Rai is a miracle – and a testament to the resilience of children and of life itself… Ang Maya was found by trekkers on a trail high in the Himalayas – apparently abandoned by her family, probably for lack of food. She was taken in for a time by a Sherpa family (she still calls …
Ang Maya’s New Home
Our new little Ang Maya Rai is a miracle – and a testament to the resilience of children and of life itself… Ang Maya was found by trekkers on a trail high in the Himalayas – apparently abandoned by her family, probably for lack of food. She was taken in for a time by a Sherpa family (she still calls …
Family Time at Dashain
As promised in our last post about Dashain, here’s a new post about the end of the festival. At the date of this posting, we’re actually celebrating yet another festival – Tihar and Diwali – so we’ll write more about that in future blogs! By the way, both photos in this post were taken by the children – they’re getting …
Helping Others Less Fortunate…
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 …