Experiences: Harka

* Projects > Asia > Nepal > Harka Orphanage

Warren Twisleton, from New Zealand, volunteered at Harka Orphanage at the end of 2005. He writes of his experience below:

Harka Self Sustaining Orphanage is a small self-funding home for underprivileged children, nestled in the lush plains of South Nepal, just an hour or so from the world renowned Chitwan National Park.

Surrounded by rice fields and quant Nepalese villages, the setting is probably how you would imagine life was hundreds of years before. With limited exposure to foreigners, any visitor is looked upon with inquisitive eyes, and cheeky smiles.

I arrived in a busy town centre by bus. Bus rides in Nepal are quite the experience - non-existent suspension, Nepalese folk music blaring through rackety old speakers, corners taken a little too fast for comfort, the constant stopping and starting to pick up all types of commuters, the young and old, some with two legs, some with four, some with feathers!

Upon arrival I was greeted with open arms by Laxmi, the founder of the orphanage, a mother to 13 Nepalese boys and girls.

To escape the chaos of the busy transport hub we jumped in a taxi and hurtled down narrow side streets to the babbling of Laxmis broken english, and then down bumpy dirt roads that wound their way into the lush green rice paddys of the surrounding countryside, with the snow capped Himilayas gleaming in the distance as a stunning backdrop.

Pulling into the orphanage there was a collage of little faces looking through a window. Out of the tiny two bedroom hut, like a stampede of buffalos, came 13 children hurtling towards me at a great rate of knots. Some were downright confident, others a little more standoffish, each one already starting to show their unique personality, which I would get to see more and more as the days progressed.

Baby at Harka Orphanage The orphanage itself was pretty small considering it housed fifteen. In one bedroom slept Laxmi and her helper, Thorusa, two babies and 11 kids. As a guest I had my own room, which I felt was a little unjust, but they insisted, and in the end this haven came in quite handy as to get away from the chaos for some piece and quiet every now and then. Although, after a few minutes of disappearing there would always be a couple of inquisitive little faces looking through the window of my bedroom and giggling…which was enough to draw you back out!

After settling in we all gathered in the kitchen for my first meal – “Dhal bhat” – rice, lentils and vegetable curry! Laxmi was a great cook, and the food always delicious, but try not to expect too much variety. Dhal bhat is the standard in Nepal, so learn to love it! You will also get spoiled with fried fresh catfish quite often. The only catch (no pun intended) is that you’ll have to wander down to the fields, dig around in the mud for some small frogs (this is quite an art, trust me!) and then impale them on a hook, connected to some nylon, tied to a bamboo stick. Then you’re in charge of catching the dinner for 16, from the orphanages ‘pond’, where they breed catfish to feed the children. I tell you what, the fish is delicious, and tastes even better because you have gone to so much trouble to get it in the pan!

Cooking The kitchen itself was like something out of Snow White and the 13 Dwarves – an open fireplace for cooking, a contraption to make butter, and 13 little stools against the wall, which formed a circle around the fireplace 3 times a day, when everyone sat down and tucked into their rice and curry, for breakfast, lunch and dinner!

After my first dinner it was time to offload the giant bag of toys and books I had been carting around Nepal for 3 weeks. I took great pleasure in wrapping up 13 individual packs and playing Santa Claus for these kids. You can’t imagine the smiles on their faces as they ripped into their presents and discovered what was in side! Thats a sight I definately wont forget in a hurry, and I hope to be able to send over some more bits and pieces this year.

Mornings always started with voices and the rustle of feet past my window, so I’d get up to help out where I could. It was quite the frenzy as everyone rushed around, had breakfast, brushed teeth, did homework, got in their school uniforms, all before setting off through the fields to the school. My morning routine would generally be to get up, milk the buffalo (with a little help from the ladies, who are experts and could probably fill about 8 buckets in the time it took me to fill one), feed the babies, have some breakfast, help out with homework, locate various parts of the school uniform which had disappeared in different parts of the room and help dress the kids. They seem to have it all down to a fine art though, with the older kids helping the younger ones when they try to put their overalls on backwards, or can’t seem to get their hair quite right. And then it was time to walk them through the fields to school, or just wave goodbye as they all held hands and waddled off down the road.

During the day it was nice to just take in the location, gazing out from the stables, where you would sit rocking the babies in their ‘rice bag’ hammocks you would string up between poles, surrounded by goats and calves and buffalos, fetching a bottle of hot buffalo milk every now and then when the wailing started. It was like a scene straight from Jerusalem! Then you could do some fishing and catch dinner if you were lucky, go for a wander through the villages and take photos, go into the town with Laxmi to the markets, bringing back food to feed the masses. I even helped harvest rice with the villagers one day! Its pretty demoralising to see 60yr old men working all day, only to put in an hours work and then dismiss yourself to pass out for a ‘siesta’, completely exhausted!

Come 3pm you’ll have the kids running around the corner – school is over for the day and they have a couple of hours to play before dinner time and then, begrudgingly, homework time.

Your duties while you are there are whatever you feel comfortable with. It’s a relaxed set up, with limited structure, so you’re best just to blend in to the orphanage life and give as much love as possible to the kids while you’re there. Help them with homework, let them practice their English, play games with them, look after the babies, dress them for school, milk the buffalo, fish, help with the cooking, cleaning…nothing is forced upon you, its just up to you to jump in and help when you want.

Its not all fun and games. Your comfort zones and boundaries will be pushed from time to time, and your patience tested. At times it was extremely challenging to express yourself with the limited English spoken, and having 13 children to look after can be exhausting. When I was there one of the babies was very sick. They had found her abandoned in a gutter a few months before I arrived, covered in flies. When I arrived I wasn’t sure if the baby was going to survive, but with some tender loving care and much needed money for medication, I saw her grow stronger and healthier each day, and that was an extremely rewarding experience in itself. All in all, it was an amazing time, one where the positives far outweighed the negatives.

The time I spent at Harka was one of the most memorable experiences of my travels. The beauty of the children left an impression that will last many, many years. I recommend it highly to anyone, you will get sooo much out of the experience. I say GO FOR IT!.