Visit to NRSD and KTC-Teaching for Disabled and English

LDSC provides assistance to the people of Nepal in many ways. Most of the people live in rural villages with limited access to clean water. Many of the people are disabled and have great needs for wheelchairs and training that will help them become more self reliant. English is important for those who want to be government social workers or work for large international corporations. We partner with several NGOs in Nepal. One of the oldest and most successful has been our partnering with the Nepal Rehabilitation Society for the Disabled (NRSD). The champion and founder of this organization is Rakesh Hamal who was introduced in the first blog. He operates a training center in Kathmandu for training blind and other disabled persons to use the computer and for disabled women to learn sewing skills. These classes give individual attention by keeping their numbers small (6 to 10). Most classes last six months. LDSC has donated computers and sewing machines to the Center. Graduates of the sewing classes are assisted in finding employment or setting up their own shops. NSRD also supervises a wheelchair program, with 750 chairs donated each year to the disabled in need. See a later blog for pictures taken at a wheelchair distribution in Pokhara, a city west of Kathmandu.
Our couple missionaries also help the people of Nepal by teaching English to young Social Workers who go out into the village after attending the Kathmandu Training Center (KTC) where they learn not only English, but computer skills at the school where most students board. Elder and Sister Borland and Elder and Sister Earl each teach a class of about 25 students three days a week for one and a half hours. LDSC provides the manuals and the teachers. The students are between the ages of 16 and 26. The course lasts eight months. We were able to visit both facilities while in Nepal, and were able to observe the training in person


Rakesh stands in front of the Disabled Training Center in Kathmandu
One of the instructors who is disabled himself. The blind students learn to use the computer through a verbal software system known as JAWS. The Earls are sponsored and thus receive their visa in Nepal through this program. See video below that demonstrates the verbal coaching going on for the students. The students use headphones to hear their training. Most of these students in the video are sight impaired.

The detailed records for all assistance to the disabled is maintained by this young woman.

Disabled women are learning to use a sewing machine. The machines are all treadle because of the frequent power outages in Nepal. When the women graduate, they can purchase the machines from their increased earnings. New machine are purchased by the Center from the sale.

These graduates have set up their own shop. They take orders to make clothing from people in the area.The people bring the cloth and they measure and sew it. The woman on the right has only part of her right hand, but still has learned to make beautiful clothing.

These two women are also making towels for the hygiene kits that will be distributed in the village where water projects are in process.

We were invited by Rakesh and his wife to their home for dinner on our last day. They have two chilidren, both with big brown eyes and mischievous personalities. We watched them run with boundless energy.

I wonder what he is thinking about as I snap this picture!

We met with the KTC staff before we attended the English classes. They not only presented us with beautiful leis, but also a Nepal craft bed cover and a table spread. Some of these teach the students computer skills as well as supplemental English training.

Each day a student gives a report about himself in English. The students are nicely dressed and very responsive to the missionaries' instructions. They also have fun with many games and songs that teach English words. (See video clips at the end of the blog). We could see that the students really love these native English speaking missionary couples.

We got to introduce ourselves as well. You should have heard the oo's and ah's as she told them about our family and its size? Indian families are traditionally larger than Chinese. For this reason, many forecast that before long, India will have a larger population than China. (Now China, 1.2 billion; India 1 billion)

Elder and Sister Borlands group. Several were absent because they were taking national exams.

Elder and Sister Earl's class. We spent about 45 minutes in each group. They have just received new manuals (blue books) for the second half of the course. Notice how nicely dressed the women are.

The following videos show both classes singing for us their national anthem.

Borland's Class


Earl's class