News from Nepal: Conversation with Yubaraj
Om and I had the chance to talk with Yubaraj over the weekend, our first conversation since I was in Kathmandu in March.
It was *fantastic* to hear the confidence in Yubaraj's voice as he talked about school. He sincerely thanked us for making it possible for him to be in school again and seems to really thrive in the classroom. He said he's doing well in math and science, and is getting good support from the teachers when he asks questions in class. English seems to be the most difficult subject and he asked whether he could attend extra English language classes during a 2-week vacation that begins towards the end of June. That sounds like a good idea to us and with Sudhir's help we're looking for those options for him. Yubaraj told us that according to his teachers, if his English improves he'll be doing well enough in all of his classes to be a "First Division" student. This is similar to being considered an "A" student in the U.S., and we could hear in Yubaraj's voice that he wanted this distinction very badly.
We also talked about whether we had set an appropriate amount (1,000 rupees) for Yubaraj to send home to his family each month, and he admitted that he wished it were slightly higher. When we asked what kinds of expenses this would cover he described the need to purchase two bags of fertilizer within the next month (at 600-700 rupees each) to guarantee a good harvest later in the year. He noted school expenses, too, for his younger brother and sisters. When we asked what would take the worry away he asked for 1,500. This is in line with what he was sending home when he was working last year, and with some budget-crunching we can make it work, so we said that would be OK.
We imagine that at his age, it's difficult for Yubaraj to see too far into the future, but we wanted to know whether his goals had changed now that he was back in school. Settled into a good apartment and knowing his family was OK, did he picture staying there through the "10+2" level (in which case he graduates 7 years from now) or was he taking this arrangement six months or one year at a time? He answered that in that situation he would very much like to stay through graduation, and he repeated that even as we encouraged him to be completely truthful if his feelings had changed.
Those of you who have children -- especially teenage children away at school -- know how difficult it is to truly gauge how they're doing. It was clear Yubaraj was on his "best behavior," but Om and I both got the sense that he's settling into this life very well, and that he'll continue to work hard at school and that he really appreciates what everyone has done for him.
We're looking forward to talking with him again regularly -- he mentioned that he's stopping into the Mountain Fund office on most Fridays, and we'll be able to arrange a phone call there from time to time -- and to sharing more news as it arrives!
Christine
It was *fantastic* to hear the confidence in Yubaraj's voice as he talked about school. He sincerely thanked us for making it possible for him to be in school again and seems to really thrive in the classroom. He said he's doing well in math and science, and is getting good support from the teachers when he asks questions in class. English seems to be the most difficult subject and he asked whether he could attend extra English language classes during a 2-week vacation that begins towards the end of June. That sounds like a good idea to us and with Sudhir's help we're looking for those options for him. Yubaraj told us that according to his teachers, if his English improves he'll be doing well enough in all of his classes to be a "First Division" student. This is similar to being considered an "A" student in the U.S., and we could hear in Yubaraj's voice that he wanted this distinction very badly.
We also talked about whether we had set an appropriate amount (1,000 rupees) for Yubaraj to send home to his family each month, and he admitted that he wished it were slightly higher. When we asked what kinds of expenses this would cover he described the need to purchase two bags of fertilizer within the next month (at 600-700 rupees each) to guarantee a good harvest later in the year. He noted school expenses, too, for his younger brother and sisters. When we asked what would take the worry away he asked for 1,500. This is in line with what he was sending home when he was working last year, and with some budget-crunching we can make it work, so we said that would be OK.
We imagine that at his age, it's difficult for Yubaraj to see too far into the future, but we wanted to know whether his goals had changed now that he was back in school. Settled into a good apartment and knowing his family was OK, did he picture staying there through the "10+2" level (in which case he graduates 7 years from now) or was he taking this arrangement six months or one year at a time? He answered that in that situation he would very much like to stay through graduation, and he repeated that even as we encouraged him to be completely truthful if his feelings had changed.
Those of you who have children -- especially teenage children away at school -- know how difficult it is to truly gauge how they're doing. It was clear Yubaraj was on his "best behavior," but Om and I both got the sense that he's settling into this life very well, and that he'll continue to work hard at school and that he really appreciates what everyone has done for him.
We're looking forward to talking with him again regularly -- he mentioned that he's stopping into the Mountain Fund office on most Fridays, and we'll be able to arrange a phone call there from time to time -- and to sharing more news as it arrives!
Christine
posted by Christine Egger at 9:26 AM
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