July 30th: A Sad Last Day on Site

Today was our last day on the work site. Despite expecting a short and easy work day, we ended up carrying bags of sand and gravel to the second floor of the UNAKO house to finish cementing. John and Curt were our two casualties for the day. After our lunch break, 12 of us boys hauled two 400 pound electrical panels up the stairs. We really could have used our two "big boys" for the panels, but nonetheless we finished the task pretty quickly.

We spent our last hour on the work site saying bye to all the workers, taking lots of group photos, and we even received a closing ceremony from the UNAKO mothers with Tika and flowers. The last day was very emotional for everyone including myself. We've had such an amazing time working here in Lamahi, and sadly most of us will never see these people again. Quite a few tears were shed when we made our way to the school to say goodbye to all the children. I'm sure the entire team will never forget the precious moments we shared with these children day in and day out.

The final bus ride home from work was no different than the others: bumpy and sweaty. After a quick stop at the doctor's, we made our way back to the hotel and within minutes almost our entire group was sound asleep. After a final group dinner, we all payed our tabs. Looking forward to a final weekend in Chitwan where we will get to go on a safari and ride elephants!

Luca Tresham

DWC Participant

Nepal, July 2014

July 29th: Nearing the End

Today started out pretty rough, with a few of us feeling "sick" due to the events of the previous night. As we all piled into the sardine can of a bus, we were informed that a tractor strike (you heard me) was occurring in our area and that we might have to walk a few kilometres in order to get to the work site. To avoid the possible roadblock of tractors, our bus driver decided to take the alternate route. Saying that the ride was a bumpy one is an understatement. This "road" had multiple bumps that would cause the bus to tip on a borderline 45 degree angle. In addition to the bus constantly being on the verge on tipping over, there was two 1-foot-deep ponds that the bus driver drove through like they were a puddle. Even the sound of 2011 Avril Lavigne that was playing on the bus radio wasn't enough to drown out the screams of the girls...and a couple of the guys.

When we finally arrived we immediately began to haul more bags of sand and gravel up to the second floor of the building. At the same time, a few of us started to hand the last 12 solar panels to Curt, Neil, Paris, Christine and Vanessa on the roof. Since it takes a while for the workers to mix the cement, we had quite a long break, during which I spent playing soccer with the local children. I was the only wearing shoes so I was constantly stepping on the kids' feet. Out of fear that I would start breaking their toes, I took off my shoes. After they were all done laughing at my sock tan, we resumed the game. Everyone's feet were accustomed to the insanely hot ground while my feet got singed and cut up.

We then finished spreading the cement across the second floor, which was our last big job of the day. It started to rain hard for the first time since we've been here. Since it has been the driest monsoon season in almost 20 years, locals were worried that their rice crops would soon die. 

Instead of taking the bumpy road home, the bus driver decided to try his luck at the usual route home. Within minutes we encountered an 8-tractor road block which forced us to make a detour over a pile a bricks and through a few people's yards. After asking directions multiple times, we found an alternate route back to our hotel in Lamahi. Tomorrow is our last day working on the Unako house. It'll be sad to say goodbye to the workers and locals (aka our new friends), but at the same time we are looking forward to what our weekend in Chitwan has in store for us.

Theoren Leveille
DWC Participant 

Nepal, July 2014

July 28th: Day 1 of Solar Panel Install

Today was day 1 of solar panel install. 

Once we showed at site, I made a quick phone call to Ben from Riverside Energy Systems to get a few final tips on how these panels would be installed. After a few tense moments on the roof, we FINALLY started the installation of the panels. The rails had turned out to be fairly challenging so it was nice to all be on the same page when the panels started coming up.

Today was the hottest day on the roof thus far. We had no wind, a blue roof and scorching sun. Most of the roof crew ( Christine (me), Curt, Neil, Paris and Vanessa) had some sort of sunburn at days end. All of our equipment ended up extremely hot, including the panels. I had to complete all the grounding wire connections before we started installing the panels. The Crew passed up panel after panel, with Curt and Neil walking the panels onto the rails from the scaffolding. We all had to use gloves to handle almost all of the metal components, everything was so hot. The five people on the roof crew all worked together to get the panels down. We alternated between attaching clamps and attaching wiring to the rails, while making sure to install grounding clips. :) I know a little geeky but that's what I came here for.

 

In total, we got 24 panels down and I was SOOO happy with our progress, even with my doubts first thing in the morning.

 

The remainder of the group did sand and gravel again with a little concrete chain line. I wasn't around much to see how their work went as I was on the roof, but we are getting pretty good at that stuff. Lunch as always was the same, but we had French fries at a hotel down the road for dinner. Everyone was stoked on fries. The things that you miss when you can't just go buy them, French fries!!!

The night of course ended in cards and laughter, this truly is a great group of people. I did teach Dinesh, Deepak, Jeewan and Nikesh the card game 'cheat' and that was also super awesome.

Christine Lowe

DWC Participant, Solar Engineer 

Nepal, July 2014

July 27th: A Day Unlike Any Other

The day started like any other. An early wake up call followed by an omelette and a bun for the 7th day in a row. Yet today was a day unlike any other. July 27th marked the day of no injuries, no hospital visits and overall good health. 

Upon arrival to the site we were greeted by a massive gravel pile. It didn't take long for the group to realize that the gravel pile had to be moved from point A to point B. For about 17 of the volunteers the day consisted of shovelling, lifting, grunting, sweating and carrying those 70lbs gravels sacks to the 2nd floor of the community centre.

Meanwhile, Industrial Scaffolders Curt and Neil and crew vigorously worked on top of the roof. One might say they ran into some problems with a shortage of supplies, but for these troopers they didn't let it get in the way. The group up on the roof were no quitters! They improvised, brainstormed and worked together to complete all 6 rails for the solar panels to be installed.

 

As the day came to an end we had a few more sand bags to pack, a room to cement and then it was time to pack our bus of dripping volunteers and journey our way back to our hotel where we would resume last night`s festivities from where we left off.

Tess Naylor 

DWC Participant 

Nepal, July 2014

July 26th: Solar Panel Installation

Today was day six at the job site. Having finally received and unloaded the shipping container we began working on installing the batteries and solar panels. John, Miles, Luca and Jake managed to get all 48 of the 130 lbs batteries put in place on the shelving we installed yesterday. Meanwhile the rest of us continued to work away at the remaining areas in need of concrete. We finished most of the ground floor entry area then took a break for another delicious lunch cooked by some of the UNAKO women. 

Having finished most of the ground floor we started carrying bags of sand upstairs to prepare concrete for the upper rooms. Curt and Neil spent their day on the roof installing a few of the railings that will be used to mount the solar panels. After we finished at the site we headed back to our hotels to clean up and prepare for dinner. We tried a new hotel for dinner where they served us chicken chow mien and, to our excitement, French fries. We finished the night with a few card games.

Madi Odegaard

DWC Participant 

Nepal, July 2014

July 25th: And the Hard Work Begins

The group leaders let everyone sleep in an extra hour today. This was much needed after all the travel and lack of sleep everyone experienced during the mini-vacay. Things got rolling as soon as we arrived at the worksite. The lock (which conveniently had no key) was quickly sawed off, which revealed the contents of the sea can. Messages from some family members (thanks guys!!) graced the inside of the sea can, and were a great surprise. What followed was 3 hours of intense work: unloading of the scaffolding, the 130lbs batteries, solar panels, 2x12x12 lumber, battery shelving unit, work gloves, tools, and all the necessary hardware to complete this solar panel project. A group of the girls tackled the shelving unit while the rest of the group emptied the sea can contents.

Next up was the scaffold set up to access the roof of Unako house. Neil and myself had been waiting for this and wasted no time getting up there. Everyone will access through the top floor window, to a safe working platform just a short climb away. The rest of the group was busy pouring cement, and will be construction site ready in no time! We left site a bit early, stopping in the village close to site and enjoying a cold soda and ice cream. Dinner time now so I should sign off. Until the next blog....

Dorian, Curt, and Neil on the roof of Unako House

Neil Doherty
DWC Participant and Scaffold Coordinator
Nepal, July 2014

July 24th: Buddha's Birthplace and Back to Dang

This morning came early. Everyone wanted to stay longer at Dreamland, but the dream had to end. Buffet breakfast was followed by a quick packing of things, and boarding the smallest bus in the history of man. Before we left Lumbini, we made a stop at the birth place of Buddha. For 500 Nepalese rupee, we were treated to a carriage ride by bike to the place he was born. The rain poured down and all of us were wet, but spirits remained high and laughter was bountiful.

Next was the 3 hour bus ride back to Dang. Once back in Dang, everyone went their separate ways, either to sleep or relax. Neil, Maddie A, Miles and myself went and met the sea can at the worksite. The 1.5 hour bus ride (following the truck and sea can through tiny back roads) was excruciating, but well worth it. What we witnessed was, as Neil and myself describe, "an absolute hippie show". First off, the truck carrying the sea can got stuck. Then the crane unloading the sea can got stuck. Throughout it all, the 14,000 lbs package was delivered, although not up to safety standards back home. It was late, and we all returned home ready to start work and unload the next day.

Curt Brown
DWC Participant and Scaffold Coordinator
Nepal, July 2014

July 23rd: Day of Rest at Dreamland Gold

Hey y'all!

Well, yesterday was one of the best days on the trip so far! It was our first day off and definitely needed. 

We took a very vibrant bus to Lumbini, which is a chaotic city about three hours away from Dang. Everyone needed some cash, so we stopped on the side of the highway in town. The most challenging part was trying to cross the highway because in Nepal there are no crosswalks and if there was, drivers would ignore them anyways. The driving here is probably the most shocking and scary part of Nepal. People use their horns as signals, and playing chicken with oncoming traffic is the norm. Needless to say I was running for my life to cross the highway. Dinesh tried to stop traffic which ended badly with him almost being taken out by a motorcycle.

Another interesting thing in the cities here is all the livestock roaming the streets. I saw a massive bull grazing on the meridian and another with a flip flop stuck around it's ankle. Anyways, I think everyone was very grateful to finally reach the hotel, mostly because of the cramped quarters and sore bums from the ride.

The hotel we stayed at was called Dreamland Gold Resort and the name suited it perfectly. It was such a relief to have a clean and fantastic smelling room with a toilet that actually flushed! The bed was also amazing because the mattress wasn't a lawn chair cushion which we have been used to. After settling into our rooms we headed downstairs for lunch. It was unreal! The setting was very fancy and everyone had pizza with French fries which was a huge treat. After lunch we all headed to the pool. The water was amazing, so cold and refreshing. 

The Nepalese boys particularly enjoyed it because it was only their second or third time ever swimming. Jordan and I were teaching Nikesh and Jeewan how to do the breast stroke and underwater hand stand. It was hilarious! After that we all decided it would be a good idea to see how many people we could hold on our shoulders in the pool. It was extremely difficult but we managed to hold 4 people. I was completely water logged and very sore. We also had several chicken fights which resulted in many sore necks the next morning. At one point I was beside Steven and Noah who looked at each other, grabbed my chair and tossed me in! Dinner was fantastic it was a huge outside buffet with cheese balls and everything. All in all it was a fantastic day and I look forward to the next week of hard work and seeing the kids again! 

Vanessa Leggett

DWC Participant 

Nepal, July 2014

July 22nd: Hard Work and a Dancing Setback

Sorry for the delay in posts, but the days have been long and the volunteers exhausted (yet continually in good spirits).

Two days ago, we continued and completed the pouring of the cement for the ground floor of UNAKO house. The work has been gruelling, as we have carried countless bags of cement mix, sand and gravel. We have a very efficient system now, where we pass buckets of cement down a human train, at the end of which, Jacob expertly pours the cement. Although we have sustained some serious war wounds, there is constant laughter as we pass the cement along the chain.

While all the other volunteers worked on the cement, I traveled with Dinesh, Madi and the hotel manager to the nearby headquarters of Dang. After a night of cards and dancing, Madi slipped as she was busting a move, and sprained her wrist. We went to the hospital in Dang's capital, where she was x-rated and bandaged. As she is unable to work for the next week or so, she will now be our full time photographer!

We found out that the container shipped from Kamloops several months ago will arrive earlier than planned, so we are moving our Lumbini trip forward to maximize the number of days that we can work with the crate's contents.

Now that the air conditioning is working in the hotel, we are all ready for a big night's sleep after a tough first week. Everyone is ready to kick back and relax at the dreamland resort tomorrow, and then get back to this incredible project!

Miles Marchand

DWC Team Leader 

Nepal, July 2014

July 20th: Scorching Heat and Stunning Scarves

Today was another scorching day, with the sun beating earlier than we've experienced thus far. Once on the bus to Banki, we completed our morning ritual of bumping our favourite Nepalese tunes to pump us up for the day ahead.

At the job site, we got right back into the grind of transferring gravel and sand into the building for concrete mixing and later pouring of the downstairs hallway. While the concrete was being mixed, I helped Kevin finish up hanging the bricks around the walls of the top floor and Maddie and Vanessa got to try out painting the trusses whilst maintaining their balance on wood planks placed high above the top floor! Meanwhile, Dorian, Madi and Jordan walked to and from the Women's Group meeting run by Unako Cooporative and sat in on a one hour discussion on micro credit and finance.

Just before lunch, Nura asked us if we wished to see the local school from the last build and we all agreed, three of us jumping on bicycles to get to the site and the rest loading onto our beloved "I Love My Nepal" bus. We were pleased to see how great the school turned out, complete with a bright turquoise exterior and plenty of functional classrooms. Unfortunately we couldn't peek in on any classes in session as the school is government run and therefore on summer vacation. As we were leaving the school for lunch, we grinned to skies above at the sight and feel of refreshing rain. 

Lunch at the site was delicious as per usual consisting of perfectly spiced potatoes, beans and sweet grains. After lunch, one more round of shovelling and transferring sand and gravel was completed for the remainder of the concrete to be poured tomorrow. We were able to have some time in the afternoon to play with the kids while they were out for a short break from school, starting up a game of soccer across the street . One of the best moments was watching Miles and Jordan chase the kids around the school, their little faces grinning and giggling the whole way through. 

We left the site a bit earlier than normal to make a stop at the Creating Possibilities Godwin Field Office in town. The women of Unako work hard to craft beautiful scarves, bags and headbands (to name a few) that are available for sale to Canadians through the website iwenunako.com. Trust us when we say their creations are amazing! We bought tons of goodies that we're all excited to share when we return home. After our shopping trip, we continued on our bus to the hotels to shower up, eat and reflect on our productive day. 

Can't wait to see what tomorrow has in store for us! 

Until next time, 

Jasmeen Dhaliwal

DWC Participant

Nepal, July 2014

July 20th: Laying Bricks and Visiting a local Women's Group

After a long sleep with no power or air conditioning we left for the site at 7:30 ready to work. The sun was out and hot today while we did a few batches of concrete. We also got to put up a lot of the donation bricks today which was awesome!

This afternoon Tess, Noah and I had the opportunity to go sit in on the women's group monthly meeting. We walked for 20 minutes through the country side with Surita, the leader of the meetings, to one of the woman's house where we were welcomed with many smiles and Namaste's. Their house was a shack with a dirt floor, mud plaster walls and a tin roof. Needless to say we were a little warm with about 30 women and their kids in there. At first they were laughing hysterically for a good 10 mins when they found out Noah wasn't a girl with his luscious locks, it was pretty funny. They started their meeting by going through their monthly money duties. Each woman gives 50 rupis per month for their personal savings if they ever need money in the future they will not have to take out a loan. 50 rupis is equivalent to 50 cents Canadian. Getting everyone's accounts sorted took awhile and then they moved on to the second part where each month one of the ladies goes to town to learn a skill and then teaches it to the group. Today it was learning about bacteria and cleanliness, how it makes you sick, and how to effectively wash your hands. They had soap and water and made a few people practice as examples to stress how important it is to wash before you eat. It was a pretty awesome experience for the three of us to get a closer encounter to their everyday life.

When we got back to UNAKO we had lunch again made by the women that was great and then played some soccer outside the site, Nepal vs Canada. After some great dives and dangles and Jacob stepping in dung barefoot and needing a sub, our goalie didn't hold up to our 1-0 loss, it was a Yak...we were playing in his territory.

Our night consisted of an awesome dinner, crazy monsoon rain and getting our air conditioning back!!!

Can't wait for another day tomorrow and more progress on the site!

Paris Sanesh
DWC Participant
Nepal, July 2014

July 19th: A Warm Welcome to the Job Site & an Amazing Day One!

Today was the first day at the work site, and it may have been the best day of our lives. We were welcomed to the Unako House by the mothers, who showered us with flowers on our way to the building. Once inside, we were greeted with tikkas, which are red or pink powder markings on the forehead to show their blessing. Our hosts then performed a variety of performances to show the significance of our project. The energy of the locals made the entire experience surreal.

We then went straight to work, making concrete for the floor. It was mix of sand from a local beach, gravel, and cement. It took the entire group to spread the concrete, as we made an assembly line from the mixing station to the rooms being spread. Everyone was engaged during the completion of the floor of two rooms.

When on break, we were occupied by the local children who were the most happy and energetic kids we've ever interacted with. These children truly made this an experience of a life time. Words cannot express this display of passion and happiness.

Overall this day involved hard work, energy, and passion for an unbelievably important cause. In conclusion, words cannot describe how amazing this day was and our whole team is extremely eager to begin tomorrow!

Jordan McDonell
DWC Volunteer Participant
Nepal, July 2014

July 18th: A Rollercoaster Ride to Lamahi

Yesterday was one for the books! We all woke up early to pack up our belongings and head to Lamahi, just a short 10-12 hour bus ride away from Kathmandu. We boarded the bus and began our journey. There is only one way out of the city so the road is unbelievably busy. Luckily for us we had one of the larger vehicles on the road so we typically had the right away. After stopping for gas picking up some locals and getting slightly out of traffic we were finally on our way.

The first hour is like being on a roller coaster. The turns are so sharp and you literally have a steep cliff on one side and a river or drop off on the other. Vehicles pass at any opportunity, even blind corners.

Once out of the mountains we drove for a couple more hours before stopping for lunch, traditional Nepali food; rice, dal, curry, and spinach. Some of the braver volunteers or those with the weaker bladders tried out the bathroom at the restaurant. The bathroom was located next to the chicken coop and the doors on the 3 stalls did not lock so they just swung open. There was a hole in the ground and a bucket of water to rinse. The amount of flies and the stench from the bathroom was interesting to say the least. An experience everyone will remember.

We boarded the bus and continued the ride through the beautiful countryside of Nepal. Observing the hardworking Nepalese, the foliage, the rice fields, the varieties of buildings, all of the wildlife wandering free. There were tons of goats and cows all over the street. We passed rapids and streams, we winded through the hillsides. As long as the journey was, there was always something to look at and see.

Finally, just over 10 hours (but only 440km) we arrived at the hotels. The group was split into two groups with the hotels being a one minute walk a part. We unloaded the bus and headed to our new home for the next week. As we opened the door to our room we were greeted by 4 lizards. It was terrifying! Jacob and Dinesh (CP employee) had a bucket and a broom trying to chase them out. The 3 CP boys working with us were laughing so hard because lizards are very common and all buildings in this area have them. It was quite the excitement for us Canadian folk.

Everyone then gathered in the dining area and we had Nepali food again paired with a wonderfully ice cold beer. Kevin (president of IWEN) joined us for dinner and gave us some good volunteer advice. 'When in Nepal do as Nepal'. Once the food was finished we all played card games for hours. Sharing games with our three CP boys. The power then cut out and we thought that as a sign for bed.

The one group returned to their hotel and we headed upstairs to our room. It took a while to fall asleep as you could hear the lizards. The beds are super hard as well. But everything is a part of the experience.

Maddie Adams 

DWC Team Leader 

Nepal, July 2014

July 17th: More of the Team Arrives

Today was another hectic yet amazing day.

We started with an early rise, still getting over the jet lag. After a beautiful buffet breakfast in the hotel, we showed the newcomers around the neighbourhood of Thamel. This downtown adventure was followed by a trip to a tourist destination called The Palace. This place was the old residency of the King and Queen of Nepal. After touring The Palace we decided to visit our favourite rooftop restaurant and indulge in some traditional Nepalese food. This restaurant, called tamburko, has become a favourite resting spot this trip because of its' beautiful view and ice cold beers. After lunch, our group visited a tourist-favourite place called, "The Monkey Temple." This Buddhist temple has an as abundant amount of monkeys and is a great tourist and religious destination that we all enjoyed very much.

Thrilled by the fact we were able to see so many monkeys, our excited group went to visit the Creating Possibilities center and learned more about our upcoming project. After a visually captivating PowerPoint our whole team felt inspired to be part of such an amazing cause. Then the CP folks were kind enough to take our team out for dinner and show us some traditional Nepalese dancing. Finally, after a wonderfully spicy dinner our team returned back to the hotel.

Day 3 was another great day and our whole team is very excited for the adventures that lay ahead!

Dirty Jacob and the Boys

DWC Participants

Nepal, July 2014

July 16th: Kings and Monks in Kathmandu

Another fabulous day in Kathmandu. We started the day with breakfast at the hotel as we waited for our new friends from Creating Possibilities (CP).

Once they arrived we hopped in a taxi and began our exploration. Our first stop was at Durbar Square. Durbar Square is one of the three palaces around the city in which the kings were crowned and ruled from. We spent a couple hours wondering around and admiring the traditional architecture and people watching.  

                                      

From there we took a taxi to Boudhanath, a Buddhist world heritage site. It was absolutely beautiful. There were thousands of colourful prayer flags. We were lucky to catch a small parade of monks walk around the temple with musical instruments. Noah even got a selfie with one of the monks!

Afterwards we headed back to Thamel and found a rooftop patio for lunch. The view was incredible and we had the whole place to ourself. We tried a Nepali treat called a Momo, which is a traditional dumpling peroge type dish. It was absolutely delicious.

Once lunch was finished we headed to the airport to pick up our first participant, Dorian. We toured around for a bit with him showing him our new found favourite city before going to dinner at OR2K. Which stands for a light to Kathmandu. We sat on cushions on the ground enjoying fantastic vegetarian cuisine. Once fed we headed back to the hotel to play cards and waited in anticipation of the next 9 new arrivals.

We have been so lucky with travel and everyone has been on schedule thus far. Their bus pulled up right on time and we welcomed them to the hotel. We had our mini orientation before calling it a night.

We can't wait to share the city and people with the new participants tomorrow.

Everyone in Nepal continues to be lovely and friendly. Everyone always seems to have a smile on their faces. We couldn't be happier. 

Maddie, Miles, Noah, Jacob and Dorian

DWC Team Leaders and Participants 

Nepal, July 2014

July 15th: First Day in Kathmandu - Vibrant Culture and Bustling City

We had an absolutely phenomenal day today. What a vibrant culture and bustling city we've found in Kathmandu!

After an early rise (I woke up at 5:30am, with the others not far behind), we set out for a walk around the Thamel district. We bought ourselves some funky shorts and wandered for a couple hours, constantly on the lookout for the wild motorcyclists that we had a few close calls with.

Afterwards, we headed to the CP head office, where we talked for hours with Kevin, Nura, Michelle, and Dinesh. We have learned so much about Nepalese history and the importance of the Unako project, and we all have become so invested in the cause!

Jacob, Noah and Miles then played street basketball with three students supported by CP. We pulled off a score of 100 for Team Canada to 70 for Team Nepal; we can't wait for game two of the series!

Then our new friend Rupus took us to a large Hindu temple where families cremate their deceased loved ones. It was quite an emotionally heavy experience, but one that really opened our eyes to Hindu culture.

We are now heading for dinner in the hotel, and then will spend the rest of the night playing cards and drinking a nice cold Everest beer.

Today was amazing. We have already met such motivated and inspirational people working for CP and IWEN, and feel so welcomed into this country by everyone we meet. Can't wait to see what tomorrow has in store.

Miles, Maddie, Jacob and Noah
DWC Participants
Nepal, July 2014