What we have done in October

Here we are already at the last week of October. It has passed in the blink of an eye. Work never seems to slow down. I spent the first 2 weeks of October writing a proposal to submit for funding for our physical rehabilitation project. It has been running for 4 years and we think we need another 3 years to hand the running of the centres over to the partners completely. The partners already do a good job managing the day-to-day operations but it isn't easy to find the money to cover the cost of prosthetic or orthotic devices and physiotherapy services, not to mention the cost of running a mobile camp in order to reach more remote areas. So we plan to spend the next 3 years helping each partner (there are 8) identify financial sustainability strategies that will work for them and gradually fund less of the costs while the partners assume greater financial responsibility. We are also doing a midterm review of the HI Nepal Programme strategy, which is a worthwhile and interesting exercise but does take some time.

So that's what I have been doing this month. Toby and Noa have been pretty busy too. We have a couple of new children in our circle and the four have become quite attached to eachother. Well, let's be honest, their didis like to get out of their respective houses and meet eachother too! On Mondays it is playgroup with the whole crowd; Tuesdays is playground and library with the whole crowd; Wednesdays is Sonny's house; Thursdays is our house and Fridays is Mica's house. Mica turned 1 last week and had a birthday party on Saturday, for which Toby and Noa were suitably dressed - at least to start the afternoon. We stayed for 4 hours, playing on the bouncy castle, riding toys, having faces painted and eating cake. I ran out of diapers, so Noa went home commando and Toby went home with wet pants.


We are navigating our way through the terrible 2s I think. Toby likes things just so and if I do one thing wrong, he cries, pinches, and is generally grumpy for an hour. Noa is only slightly more forgiving and is much more stubborn. She can cry 'uppy' (she wants to be carried) for 15 minutes straight in a very whiney voice, attracting stares from everyone around as we walk quickly home. One woman even asked me,' What is wrong with your child?' I answered, 'She's 2.'

Of course their are good milestones too, though. As of today, Noa can say 'Toby' rather than 'Boby.' And earlier in the week her own name was more recognisable too. And man is she a climber. Toby has an amazing memory. He loves to watch Thomas the Tank Engine DVDs and now recites the preamble along with the narrator. Both like to sing and Noa dances too.



















Last weekend was the Tihar (Deepavali) festival here. One of the days is special for dogs so we gave Kusi a tikka and a malla. She turns 1 this week! Any excuse to make a Happy Birthday cake...


Love
C T N