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HANDING OVER THE BUILDING TO DNC

On 5th November 2011 in Kathmandu NCT had a ceremony to celebrate the handing over the key of the new building to DNC. Aside from the years and months of work designing and constructing the building there was also a great deal of last minute preparation for the day. We were so lucky to have such a large number of trustees, fund raisers and supporters from the UK who made the journey out to be with us. This made the day really special for us and we are grateful to everyone’s hard work on previous days cleaning floors, windows and bathrooms, planting flowers and getting the building into shape.
Cherry Bretten and Mary-Jane Cembrowicz Pam Raffety and Cherry Bretten Annette Crosby Boys and volunteers  Sunita Dangi, ex DNC
The staff were rushed off their feet trying to clean and organise the building amidst all the dirt and dust of the last minute building work, and the children were all incredibly excited. The evening before the opening everyone left the centre feeling tired and back in Kathmandu central we all gathered for a meal and some impromptu speeches along with several ex students of DNC who had come to Kathmandu for the opening.
 

The day’s programme began with Bhishma, an ex DNC student who left earlier this year, as master of ceremonies welcoming the guests and introducing the program in both Nepali and fluent English. He is a wonderful example of the confidence and maturity that has been instilled in many of the children who have left DNC .

 
From left to right:
RR Panday (Trifc), Fran McGowan (NCT), Michael McGowan (NCT), Janardan (President DNC), Meg Thomas (NCT), Rajesh Hamal (Film Star!), Shekhar Golchha (Patron DNC)
The honoured guests were invited to sit above the steps leading to the front door under the porch.
The honoured guests sat above the steps leading to the front door under a large porch and the guests sat beneath a fantastic tent/canopy of many colours.

 
The first item on the programme was a beautiful song by Puskar Magar who is the oldest boy at DNC. His song was incredibly poignant about a mother and daughter feeling sad because the son is unable to go home to celebrate the festivals. For those of us who know Puskar’s personal history and the fact that he hasn’t seen his mother for at least 7 years this was a deeply moving performance to listen to.
Fran then gave a speech thanking all the people who had helped us raise the money for the building, the staff and the DNC board and the people in Nepal who have supported me and Michael during our time here. I wanted everyone to know that it has always been the children themselves who have inspired us to help DNC – their charm, humour, courage and generosity of spirit – which has made such an impact on our lives. I then handed over the key of the building to the Janardan, president of DNC.
 
Janardan opened a large ceremonial lock to the front doors of the building to lots of applause and gave a speech of thanks to everyone from NCT
This was followed with a dance by 8 DNC students with different physical challenges and included Sabina in her wheel chair. They all wore traditional costume and looked wonderful. b
There were then speeches from

Shekar Golchha, Patron of DNC, who pledged continuing support for DNC from the trust set up by his late father

RR Panday, who has given considerable support to DNC through his own family trust and through Rotary.  He regularly visits the children, especially on festivals and is also sponsoring 5 children from NCT who are now in college.  He also pledged his continuing support, especially for medical costs.
Rajesh Hamal, guest of honour, who has a sister with disabilities, gave a heartfelt speech about his support for physically challenged children.

We were hugely grateful to him for coming to unveil the plaque and it made for an extremely special day for the children.  he spent a lot of time with them over lunch and posed patiently for endless photos.

Puste presented him with a pair of Waterford crystal glasses which Annette Morris bought out from the UK
RR Panday, Michael McGowan, Rajesh, Hamal Meg Thomas and Shekar Golchha after the unveiling of the plaque to commemorate the work of the Nepali Children's Trust in providing DNC with its own building.

When Fran first came to Kathmandu to help DNC, it was Meg who decided to help and without her dedication and skills in fund raising we would never have been able to have provide such a wonderful faclitity for DNC

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After a short speech from Prabhakar Rhapa, ex president and chairman of the bulding committee, the final item on the programme was a rousing rendition of the scout song Ging Gang Gooly by the children and UK guests, coached and conducted by Paul Davies, the husband of one of our trustees. The song went down brilliantly well and everyone sang their hearts out.

 
t was then time for photos and everyone wanted their picture taken with Rajesh Hamal who could not have been more patient or attentive with the children. We then went inside for a delicious lunch at which point the heavens opened and the rain came down in sheets!  In the afternoon there was a magic show for the children and NCT guests gave all the children gifts.

All the UK guests gathered again in the evening for a big dinner and a send off to the group of them who were going trekking in Annapurna.

This entire project has required a great deal of effort, faith and perseverance let alone time. However, I believe that engaging with something in life that you feel passionately about, which is worthwhile and meaningful, always requires you to go the extra mile, and always has its ups and downs in the process.

The NCT trustees in particular have sustained their commitment to the building process over a long period of time. Meg Thomas our vice chairman and chairman of the fund raising committee has not only hosted hundreds of meetings with delicious food and good wine thrown in, but brought together a fabulous team of people who have fund raised so successfully. Michael McGowan has spent a great deal of time in Nepal visiting 3 times a year and is totally committed to the children and staff and also hosts our website. Riki Kittel is our experienced and incredibly hard working treasurer and we have all been incredibly grateful for her accountancy skills and ability to turn out a spread sheet of figures at a moment’s notice. Maureen Whitmore is our long suffering secretary and I am very grateful to her for her endless note taking. Martin Sisman as a lawyer has always the voice of reason and logic when we get over excited and run away with our ideas and has worked hard making applications to grant making trusts. Tricia Urquhart with her experience of other charity work has always brought a thoughtful, intelligent and compassionate overview to our discussions. Nick Ponsford as our most recent trustee has brought with him new ideas and a fresh perspective to the group and has been very helpful with the grant making trusts. I am privileged to be the chair person of such a fantastic group.