Over the past five days or so, we’ve been working at the Himalayan Hope Home; lugging bricks up four flights of stairs, shoveling sand to make concrete, and getting to know the amazing girls who live there. These girls are orphans, mostly from Solukhumbu, and range in age from five to fifteen years old. We’ve gotten to talk to them, play with them, and help them with their English. They are all amazing, beautiful, girls, but I’m going to share about a few of these “Hope Girls” who have really made an impact on me so far.
Sangeeta is one of the oldest girls at the home, and you can tell that she takes care of the younger girls and that they look up to her. Whether it’s helping them understand what we’re saying in English, fixing their uniforms as they get ready for school, or even carrying some of the little girls when we all went hiking, Sangeeta is one of those people who helps everyone around her in a million small but important ways. This is why it’s even more sad when you notice that she walks with a slight limp, due to an injury inflicted on her by the relatives she lived with after her parents died and before she came to the Himalayan Hope Home. She doesn’t let it stop her though, and is just another testament to how strong she is.
Manisha became one of my first friends at the Girls Home. On the first day, this six year old was already climbing onto my lap, taking pictures with my camera, and trying to sneak up on me to tickle me. Not only is she so much fun to be around, she is a constant inspiration to have a positive outlook. She has already experienced way more tragedy than any six year old, but still has a smile and a laugh for every occasion.
Rita is one of the quieter girls, at least around us, but that makes it even more exciting when she finally opens up. When we all played Duck Duck Goose together she hung back at first, but was soon running around and laughing. She was a little sad when, along with some of the other girls, she got lice and had to get her head shaved, but smiled again when she got to wear my baseball hat. The hat definitely looks better on her than me.