Introduction

Three months ago we received an urgent request for cooperation from Kapince-Nepal, a nonprofit group based in Kapilvastu, the hometown of Buddha. 2,500 years after the birth of its most famous son, Kapilvastu is now one of the poorest places in the world, beset by political instability and meagre resources.
Kapince, which is a very active organization working in the fields of public information, education, and human rights, wanted us to assist them by teaching the children in their care about "peace and happiness." The dilemma for us is, how do you teach kids under the poverty line about happiness?

But we didn't want to disappoint. So we dispatched three resourceful volunteers for a site visit, to find out if something could be done. On finding out about the visit, Curt Tucker of Artotems Co. offered to build Kapince their own website to enable the organization to promote its efforts and hopefully attract assistance. Before we could blink, the team at Microsoft Office Live, by a request from Curt, offered to donate a hosting package (worth a fortune in Nepal) for the website. We very much hope that through this site Kapince can attract international attention to Kapilvastu's struggles. And one day, hopefully soon, we can send volunteers to their classrooms, and textbooks too. As you will notice from the slide show and report below, this story had a happy beginning and we look forward to a happy ending as well.

Reflection & Transcript of Visit to KAPINCE Nepal
Emily Gayong Setton
(Photos by Aanya Chugh, and Video by Ayesha Chugh) 

When we got to the entrance, we saw dozens of kids in school uniforms, lined up, waiting. They stepped down to greet the three of us, one by one, with bunches of wild flowers. 

Soon enough, we had so many flowers, we couldn’t even hold them; even our photographer Aanya was immobilized. After meeting the school’s principal, the teachers led us around the school, showing us all the different classrooms, one for each grade. The rooms were quite dark, with Spartan furniture—old wooden tables and benches. Only one room was filled with kids—we found out that, actually, they were on vacation, but yet they had been eagerly waiting for hours just to meet us. We asked them to introduce themselves one by one by name, grade, favorite subject, and future aspirations. The kids (mostly boys, but several girls also) ranged from around six to fifteen years of age. Almost all of them named science or math as their favorite subject, and as for what they wanted to be: doctors, engineers, and teachers made up the vast majority. We were amazed at their grand plans and the pride they seemed to have for their school, despite its humble facilities. 

After a half-an hour conversation with the KAPINCE staff (detailed in the transcript), we were off to the Child Club Network. We drove for more than half an hour on a dirt road in the countryside. On the way there, Ram Yadav, the Executive Director, told us that even two years ago, we wouldn’t be able to drive on this road without being stopped by the Maoist rebels. Throughout the visit, the staff emphasized that the political instability in Nepal over the past decade had made it all the more necessary to incorporate peace and happiness education into the curriculum. We finally made it to the tiny rural village with thatched roofs, not quite knowing what to expect, and there we met the Community Social Mobilizer and a few kids from the Child Club Network. Sitting around in a circle on plastic chairs outside the small building, Mr. Yadav described what the Child Club project was. The kids meet one to four times a month to receive training, and then use this knowledge to educate their peers as well as adults in the community on issues including drinking water, sanitation, health care, gender discrimination, and how to stop child marriage (please see transcript below for more). By far the highlight of the visit was talking to Bopendra, the 15-year old team leader. We were incredibly surprised to find that, in this tiny village, this boy would have such excellent English! He told us all about his experiences being a part of the Child Club, and how much it had changed his life (see below). It was inspiring to see how empowered and full of hope he was.

Our last official stop was the KAPINCE-Nepal office, one room with one main desk and a little radio studio. They gave us written materials, a DVD documentary they had made on their work, and as a gift, handmade “Lumbini” bags, with Buddha’s eyes stitched on the front. Afterwards, Mr. Yadav invited us to his home, to meet his wife and two daughters. His wife spoke Hindi, and we talked to her about her own NGO, which she directs, and she showed us their wedding pictures. We exchanged email addresses, and Mr. Yadav gave us some spiritual books (on Zen and Krishnamurti), and we said we’ be back soon.