IT Tralee student, Alan Burns, is currently volunteering in Nepal. Alan is working with just-one and has been aided in his efforts by The Omprakash Foundation. Below are excerpts from Alan's online blog.
Sunday June 14th 2009
We started work on the Monday so we had the weekend to settle in, we saw some absolutely amazing countryside overlooking the valley around 40k outside Kathmandu, photographs couldn’t do this beautiful country justice.
On Monday we had a look around the offices and met the Just One team and the kids, there are six kids in the class and five of them staying in the Just One house. The numbers can go up and down from week to week. The kids are amazing, so happy and affectionate. The stories that led these street kids to Just One are horrific I wont say anymore than that in respect of their privacy. Its so hard to imagine these kids as street kids when you see them in clean clothes playing and laughing. I guess kids are kids, no matter what they have been through.
At Just-One things have been busy. It has been great seeing the work these guys do first hand, and seeing the work they have done. I’ve met quite a few kids whose lives have been completely turned around. From living on the streets with no options to attending school, living in a stable home and pursuing hobbies.
Sunday June 28th 2009
A few of the kids that had been with Just-One would quite often call into the offices to say hello. They are on school holidays soon and are going to give me a hand decorating a weekend playroom I’m working on at the moment, apparently they are quite the artists. They are around 16 now, the kids in Just-One at the moment would be between 8-12.
The last two weeks has really given me a different perspective. I had been told about the way the kids live when on the streets but these last two weeks has made it more real. I suppose when I met the happy kids who are already with Just-One it only told me half the story. When I saw new kids come in from the street and the amount of work it takes to convince the families and kids to let Just-One help them. It can be a long and stressful process, the team here has such a tough job. But when you see the success stories walk in the door laughing and joking talking about their new mountain bike you can see why they work so hard.
Two of the rooms Im working on are finished, just waiting on furniture and carpets now, so I should be moving into the apartment in a few days, so Ill be living at work! Ive posted a few pictures anyway.
