Waking up to the fresh air and scenic landscape of the highland was indeed a first time for urban dwellers like us. Having rest sufficiently over the night, the participants were all ready to meet the local beneficiaries for the first time!
After our sumptuous breakfast, we travelled further down to Karve Deaf School situated only 15 minutes away from the resort. The school, supported by local government, accommodates 100 plus students and teaching staff in the day and acts as a hostel for some of the students at night. As it was a first time for the local operators to liaise Karve Deaf School with the deaf community from a foreign country, it was an eye opening experience for both us and them.
At 10.30am, the participants of Camp Outreach were treated with a glorious sight as the school conducts their morning assembly. Students ranging from toddlers to teenagers were lined up according to their height in rows of 3 as the student leaders stood in front and guided the morning exercises with drum beats.
To kick start the day, the student song signed to us their national anthem “Sayaun Thunga Phool Ka (सयौं थुँगा फूलका)” while we presented the Singapore national pledge using local sign language under the direction of our HI participants. Despite the impromptu demonstration, we were able to display our enthusiasm through our disorganized signing.
We then gathered around the parade square as the students and staff of Karve Deaf School threw us a welcome ceremony adhering to the Nepalese culture. We were presented with a khatak which is a ceremonial scarf made of silk and also blessed with a Tikka on our forehead. A prize award ceremony was held concurrently to reward the students for their outstanding performance over the academic year. We were glad to sit in the ceremony and witness the blooming faces of the students as they receive their reward.
After the welcoming ceremony, we began our first cultural exchange activity by sharing 10 simple sentences in the local sign languages of both Singapore and Nepal to our camp participants as well as the students from Karve. Though there are similarities between the individual words, there are significant differences in the grammatical structure and thus the overall signing between the 2 different languages. Nonetheless, we were all eager to learn more about each other’s sign language which helped to boost interaction with the students.
Following a warmly packed lunch by our operators, we were all geared up for the most important segment of our trip that is CIP!! There were 3 major tasks for us to fulfill at Kavre - painting of 2 classrooms, plastering of the wall at the parade square, as well as wall construction surrounding the perimeter of the school. Due to the short span of time we had to complete the tasks, different OGs were delegated different task to complete against a tight schedule. For the first day of our CIP, Oswald and Flip were tasked to transport bricks from the unloading site to the wall construction site, whereas Felix and Gertie were tasked to sketch out the image to be painted onto the classroom walls.
Though we are no strongman or painter, our participants managed to bring out their their strength and artistic flair to fulfill the task at hand. Check out the progress in our work at the end of the day.
After our sumptuous breakfast, we travelled further down to Karve Deaf School situated only 15 minutes away from the resort. The school, supported by local government, accommodates 100 plus students and teaching staff in the day and acts as a hostel for some of the students at night. As it was a first time for the local operators to liaise Karve Deaf School with the deaf community from a foreign country, it was an eye opening experience for both us and them.
Kavre Deaf School against the landscape of Banepa
Our Chairperson, Jiani, leading the Singapore pledge.
We then gathered around the parade square as the students and staff of Karve Deaf School threw us a welcome ceremony adhering to the Nepalese culture. We were presented with a khatak which is a ceremonial scarf made of silk and also blessed with a Tikka on our forehead. A prize award ceremony was held concurrently to reward the students for their outstanding performance over the academic year. We were glad to sit in the ceremony and witness the blooming faces of the students as they receive their reward.
The principal of Kavre Deaf School delivering her welcome speech.
The host presenting us with a khatak.
The participants blessed with a Tikka - the Hindu symbol of welcome.
Student of Kavre Deaf School receiving award for his outstanding performance.
After the welcoming ceremony, we began our first cultural exchange activity by sharing 10 simple sentences in the local sign languages of both Singapore and Nepal to our camp participants as well as the students from Karve. Though there are similarities between the individual words, there are significant differences in the grammatical structure and thus the overall signing between the 2 different languages. Nonetheless, we were all eager to learn more about each other’s sign language which helped to boost interaction with the students.
Huixian teaching short sentences in Singapore's local hand sign to the students of Kavre.
Following a warmly packed lunch by our operators, we were all geared up for the most important segment of our trip that is CIP!! There were 3 major tasks for us to fulfill at Kavre - painting of 2 classrooms, plastering of the wall at the parade square, as well as wall construction surrounding the perimeter of the school. Due to the short span of time we had to complete the tasks, different OGs were delegated different task to complete against a tight schedule. For the first day of our CIP, Oswald and Flip were tasked to transport bricks from the unloading site to the wall construction site, whereas Felix and Gertie were tasked to sketch out the image to be painted onto the classroom walls.
Yin King and Ariel sketching the outline of the wall mural.
Peiyu and Jiayi hard at work shifting the bricks to the construction site.
The students of Kavre Deaf School helping us with our efforts.
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