Unlike the dust here, I’m well settled back in Kathmandu!

Good things, they say, take time and this leaves me quite unsure as to what excuse I could actually offer here for whatever random words I’m now about to type, so apologies in advance to all you fantastically patient followers of all things just-one! Hours turn days into weeks and on into months and so much happens in the meantime that remains shamefully untold, that I’m constantly surprised that we have any supporters at all, not to mind the slowly growing army we’re actually managing to recruit despite these times of global austerity and all such things of political greed and corruption that currently plague our strangely troubled planet!

My unexpectedly extended trip back to Ireland finally came to an end at the beginning of January when, happy in knowledge that my mother would soon be discharged from hospital in good health, I was able to re-engage just-one‘s fund-raising gear and set course for a brief stop over in Dubai, en route to Kathmandu, to discover if schools there would perhaps be as enthusiastic to help fund our growing work in Nepal as schools in Ireland have been over the last number of years.

Students of Regent International School in Dubai learning of just-one.

Perhaps I shouldn’t have been as surprised as I was at the amazing response I received during what was initially supposed to be a mere fact-finding mission. Though initially daunted by the very thought of it, the somewhat impromptu presentation I ended up giving to a sports-hall full of students (450, I’m told, in all… Yikes! ;o) at Regent International School went as smoothly as any other I’ve given across Ireland since our early beginnings in the rolling hills of West Cork ‘way back in 2003!

This most recent gathering of multicultural young scholars I had the pleasure of speaking to in a warm and sunny Dubai (despite what those I met there were saying about it being Winter ;o) stand to prove that children, the world over and regardless of their respective backgrounds, are generally a caring and compassionate species who, given appropriate opportunities, are more than willing (not to mention able) to offer a helping hand to those less fortunate than themselves.

Like countless more of their Irish colleagues, over the months and years gone by, the students of RIS are but hours away from participating in their first fund-raiser in aid of just-one, and our well-serving model of ‘kids helping kids’ continues and brings much hope and promise to those our incredible team of local staff here in Kathmandu work tirelessly to serve. Aside from being most welcome and even more appreciated, the sea of colour and smiling faces their school is likely to be awash with tomorrow (when they enjoy the Valentines Day Fancy Dress fund-raiser which was their chosen form of support); it is also timely in that, after more than seven years, it has left me finally contemplating the absolute necessity of developing a section on this here generally dusty part of cyber-space, specifically to duly acknowledge and rightly applaud the numerous inspiring events organised by the equally inspirational young students in the growing number of far-flung schools which just-one is truly fortunate to count amongst our kind and supportive friends.

Good things, as I said to begin with, take time, but right now I’ve got a battery indicator light flashing on my task bar and reminding me that I’m back in a city plagued by up to 18 hours a day of scheduled power outages (currently only 16 hours though, so it’s all good ;o) and, ‘absolute necessities’ notwithstanding, the development of entirely new sections of this here web-site will simply have to stand in line and allow the imminent posting of these words take precedence before they’re forever lost! ;o)

2 Responses to “Unlike the dust here, I’m well settled back in Kathmandu!”

• Pam Smith
  February 14th, 2012 10:48
  1

  Glad your mother is OK..mine was 91 yesterday and has been fighting pneumonia but is good as I leave today for Kathmandu. All of us in the same boat trying to help in small ways..thank you for the work you do..

• claire
  March 3rd, 2012 17:52
  2

  thanks for the article, great to read about just-one’s connection with Dubai. well done to the children of RIS!!
  to think we complain if we have the smallest of power cuts, not sure what would happen if we only had electricity for six hours in the day…. take care

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