Spring is our best time of year – full of hope and life… especially this year, now that kids are going back to school and we begin to loosen up our lockdown, little by little. Thanks to our Ama Ghar family for being with us throughout the COVID year – and best wishes for an end to it very soon… …
A Vacation Full of Activities!
Once their final exams were over, the Ama Ghar kids went into vacation mode! They are headed back to school in late February, so they were trying to pack as much fun as possible into the last days of lockdown. We have a new soccer net, so the boys are delighted and are scheduling daily soccer matches. We’re also doing …
Learning to Climb with Anish
We are so lucky to have a professional guide and mountain climber, Anish Lama, among our alumni. He is a trekking guide and also teaches emergency medical training to first responders. Luckily for us, Anish arranged for three days of climbing for all Ama Ghar residents. Each day a different group of 10 or 11 children went to climb in …
Our Intrepid Trekkers
Our grownup Ama Ghar girls Samjhana and Akriti had a big adventure recently! They were invited to join a trek to the Kapuche Glacier Lake – a gorgeous spot in the Annapurnas not too far from Pokhara. At 8,681 feet, Kapuche is the lowest altitude of the virgin glacier lakes. Not hard to get to – and the scenery is …
Can You Guess These Characters?
The Ama Ghar staff is endlessly creative in putting together learning opportunities that are also a lot of fun! In December 2020 the children were asked to research someone in history that they admired and then to use the materials in our costume bag and storage closet to create their “wax museum” figure. The Museum was then visited by Ama …
Blessings to Ourselves and Our Brothers
The last two celebrations of Tihar are the most beautiful: Mha Puja, the celebration of the self and Bhai Tika, the blessing of our brothers. At Mha Puja, each of us is seated before a beautiful place setting of fruit, flowers, treats and candles as we say prayers to purify and empower our souls for the coming year and share …
Bringing in the Light
Any holiday that celebrates good over evil and light over darkness is certainly welcome in our 2020 world… at Ama Ghar, we are celebrating the Festival of Light, called Tihar in Nepal, with many special rituals. We have created a path of candles for the goddess Laxmi, goddess of luck and prosperity, to come into our home, and we have …
Exciting Preparations for a Beautiful Tihar
Now that Dashain is over, it’s time for Tihar, the Newari version of Diwali, the Festival of Lights. At Ama Ghar everyone pitches in to clean and then create Laxmi’s path, so that the goddess Laxmi can come to our home and bring us luck for the New Year. Once everything is squeaky clean, the fun begins… designing the beautiful …
Dashain 2077
Our favorite time of year has arrived at Ama Ghar, and we are so excited! Our celebration is a little subdued this year because of the pandemic but it’s still the same – all traditions are upheld and everyone is happy and having fun – flying kites, playing cards, making a new art installation for the garden and getting tika …
A Guardian Angel
Last month we heard from our partner, friend and amazing member of our Ama Ghar family, Kathleen Moldovan. She was heartbroken because Katherine Nemeth (Kay), who had been a champion of Moldovan Academy, Kathleen’s school in the San Francisco Bay Area, had passed away. Kathleen asked to work with us to find a very special way to honor Kay. Read …