Garage Opening Ceremony
The ambulance and new garage
Signing our names in the wet cement
Rene at the thank-you ceremony
Kathy at the thank-you ceremony
As we awoke to the sounds of early morning in a small Nepali town we were sad that we did not have a chance to stay in the village of Rupakot this year, but were excited to have a chance to visit our friends away from the activities of the past few days at the health camp. We said good-bye to Elsie and Ramesh as they headed back to Kathmandu and headed off to Rupakot. On our way to the Garage Opening Ceremony we made a stop at the Namuna Community Hospital in Sundar Bazaar and were happy to see Dr. Dev Kumar Neupane and Prakash Paudel, from CapitalFM 92.4, who were also visiting the hospital. Prakash wanted to schedule a time for a radio interview with Rene & Elsie so we set it up for Tuesday at noon. The villagers of Rupakot were all happy to see us and were working hard on the garage for the ambulance. When we saw the wet cement being poured for the driveway we took the opportunity to sign our names. The villagers outlined our signatures in red tika. The Jana-jyoti NGO committee has decided to make a room behind the garage that will be the new Information Center for Rupakot. This room will have at least 1 computer with internet that the kids can use to connect with children in the US and learn important skills. They also want to put a library and have literacy classes for the local women. After the good-bye ceremony we were treated to a meal of roti, made by Shree’s mother, and curried vegetables. Saying good-bye to our friends was hard, and through their tears they asked us to please not forget them. How could I forget them? Their strength inspires me every day.