As Editor-in-Chief of Harbingers’ Magazine, I was honoured to have the experience of visiting the Mountain Children Home in Kathmandu, Nepal. Since 2023, some of the Home’s 40 children have been working hard as Harbingers’ Nepali Newsroom, producing numerous articles on a wide range of topics.

This summer, every day for about two weeks, I would call a taxi from my hotel in the middle of the Kathmandu Valley and begin my hour-long journey from the bustling city up through winding roads and forests to the Home. Before I could even open the car door, I would hear dozens of people say “Namaste” with bright, cheery smiles, despite it being just seven in the morning.

Jefferson He, Harbingers’ previous Editor-in-Chief, had visited the Home two years ago, and I sought to maintain our relationship and offer lessons in essay writing, so that the project continues to thrive. I came in knowing that I wanted to help the kids there, but I left with new experiences that I will never forget.

When I set off for Kathmandu, my two main goals were to help about 20 of the children (aged 9 to 18) with their English and writing skills. Some of the children, who had been at the Home for years, could read and write in English to a significant extent. Others had recently joined and needed more help.

After days of working hard on writing essays, I could sense that the children were feeling tired, just as I do with my friends in school. The fact is that writing analytical essays is difficult and time-consuming.

I decided to teach them something that was more exciting, so that they would continue to do it even after I left, and which would help them practice their English. I landed on the haiku, a Japanese poem consisting of three lines in a 5-7-5 syllable pattern and often pertaining to the subject of the natural world.

One of the poems the children collectively wrote was:

“We began our walk / There are so many leeches / Noah grows afraid!”

Donations needed

From trekking the foothills of the Himalayas and getting stung by caterpillars and bitten by leeches, to showing the children that everyone can be a poet, I am very grateful for my time at the Mountain Children Home.

They welcomed me with open arms since the very first day when they took my hand and toured me around their wonderful home, continuing to greet me with a bright smile every day, until the very end of my visit.

However, I understand that they are in great need of funds. Recently, they lost a primary food donor, and their current vehicle is old and cannot carry nearly enough of the children, meaning that they have a long, mountainous walk to and from school.

I have seen first-hand how transformative this institution has been for these children, so I would like to direct attention towards the fundraising campaign that Harbingers’ Magazine has been doing.