Op 22 april 2019 hebben John Lindsay en zijn familie (Australie) een bezoek gebracht aan de kinderen van de Annapurna Primary School in Pokhara. John is sinds lange tijd sponsor van Laxmi Support. Tijdens zijn reis naar Nepal met zijn familie wilde hij graag een project van Laxmi Support bezoeken en aangezien John een trekking vanuit Pokhara ging maken, was een bezoek aan de school de beste optie. Laxmi Support heeft het bezoek geregeld met de leraren van de school en wat een geweldige ervaring dat is geworden voor zowel de kinderen als de familie Lindsay.

Lees hieronder het uitgebreide verslag van John en zijn kleinkinderen Rosie en Chloe. Namens de Annapurna Primary School willen wij graag John en zijn familie hartelijk danken voor hun tijd, inzet en enthousiasme.

‘Visit to the Annapurna Primary School, 22 April 2019:

My family and I were fortunate to be able to trek in Nepal in April and afterwards stayed a couple of days in Pokhara, where we had the opportunity to visit the Annapurna Primary School.

It happened to be the first day of the new school year, after a month’s holiday, and the children, from Grades 1 to 3, were obviously happy to be back. As a former teacher, I was impressed by their very good behaviour, cooperation, and pride in their work and uniforms. Tika, one of the teachers, fortunately spoke very good English and she and the others made us so welcome.

We took some drawing materials, mainly crayons and paper, and the children had great fun with their creativity. So did my son, Andrew, partner Nicole and their daughters Rosie and Chloe.

Chloe (11) wrote of the visit:

As we stepped through the brightly coloured front gate (already setting a nice, welcoming mood) we were greeted by a warm, smiling teacher handing us small but gorgeous bouquets of hand-picked flowers. The building was quite old but showed no resemblance to an abandoned building; quite the opposite! Then we were asked to take our shoes off and come into the classroom. As each of us walked in we were welcomed with a chorus of “Namastes” from the small children. Finally, after a few songs, we sat down with the students who held the crayons we brought and we helped them draw all sorts of animals and objects, each showing pride in their colourful artworks. Overall, I had a great experience and really enjoyed watching and talking to these wonderful, smart, grateful, happy, kind and welcoming students who taught me that you don’t need everything in the world to be happy!

Rosie (14) described her morning as:

It was a wonderful experience to meet the children and teachers of the school. It was particularly special as it was their first day back. The children were very bright and happy as you could see on their faces. The children taught me many lessons, some of which include: you don’t have to be rich to have a rich life; and kindness and happiness are far more valuable than any wealth, and a great way to make people feel safe, loved and comfortable.

Post script: my wife and I met Samantha, Alex and their children a few years ago when we stayed at their gorgeous BnB and heard about the Laxmi Support Foundation. We had first trekked in Nepal in 1986 and fell in love with the country and the people and we have supported Laxmi since we knew of it as best we can.

When this trip eventuated, I wanted, for my sake and my family’s, to visit one of the schools supported by Laxmi. This proved surprisingly easy to do in Pokhara. Our visit was fairly brief but the warmth and enthusiasm we received will not be forgotten by any of us for a very long time. It was a real highlight for my trip and I thank Tika, the other teachers and the children for that wonderfully enriching experience.’