Photography Workshop

Stephanie Roberts is a familiar and a very welcome sight at Koseli. From April 13th to April 19th, she was busy teaching what she is best at doing - photography. Stephanie conducted the photography workshop for the children of Koseli.

Stephanie is a documentary photographer and author by profession. Her work was recently featured on Forbes.com and LIFE.com and she recently published a new book, "The Art of iPhoneography: A Guide to Mobile Creativity." Stephanie runs a non-profit organization called Lens on Life, through which she conducts photography workshops for

underprivileged children in different countries. 

The idea behind the workshop was to expose the children to photography as a career option. We plan to conduct workshops in various fields. So when they grow up, they will know which field suits them best. And the photography workshop was the first in this series.

Almost 20 children were initially introduced to photography and finally 8 of them were selected for more in depth instruction. These children then, under Stephanie’s guidance, each shot and processed hundreds of photographs using iPhone cameras and apps in a variety of settings, in the days that followed. Each day was a better day, each idea was a better idea, and each shot was a better shot. 

The children developed keen interest in the subject and they absorbed every word that was said during the 7-day workshop. They were quick to understand and precise in following the directions. Soon they were scouting clues like lines and light in the subjects they shot. Looking at the final results, it was difficult to imagine that the photographers are 13-14 year-old kids.

The beauty of the whole workshop was that the workshop didn’t end there as their teacher thought that they needed more practice and further refinement in their art. Thus it was concluded with the “to be continued” approach.

Stephanie will now e-mail them their monthly assignments and towards the end of the month she will scrutinize their photographs and share comments with them online. Through Lens on Life, the children's photography will soon be shared with viewers around the world.

However, Koseli doesn’t yet have an internet connection, but hopefully we will have it soon and then resume our photography workshop.

For more details on the workshop, please visit www.lensonlife.org

JHULE TREK

Jhule

It was late noon and after having walked uphill constantly for 2 hours, I was very exhausted. 

Kids walking up the hills

I placed my last step on top of the hill, thanking God and feeling like I had conquered the Everest , only to realize that I had only reached the base camp. Just to clarify…. in Nepal most elevations are called hills unless they are covered with snow. And I guess this is not an understatement in the land of the Himalayas. After all, Jhule stands only at ~1900m above the sea level as against the 8848m scaled by  Mt. Everest. 

Fun time

The day was turning out to be more adventurous than expected. When we reached Sankhu, a small sleepy town, on the outskirts of Kathmandu valley we were told the hike to Jhule Resort was about an hour and it was an easy hike. Our American guests took the word “easy” at face value. But, what the organizer actually meant was that it was easy for a Nepali.

One hour had turned into three hours uphill trek. When I thought I had reached the top, I finally looked up only to see the children running effortlessly on top of the next hill.  I took a deep breath and started walking again …. I had a long way to go before reaching the promised land. We finally saw a small resort looming on the horizon of the adjoining hill. The surrounding view from the resort was breath taking. Every step taken to reach the destination was worth the effort.

The event was organized by Hriday Group in association with the Padyatris for the children of Koseli.  So in addition to 30 children we had 30 more people who were at the resort on that beautiful, clear and sunny day. For the kids it was just a cakewalk, they breezed through the hike effortlessly. They picked berries on the way, ran back and forth the hills to catch up with their friends and sometimes even came back to get us when we trailed far behind.

Sumptuous Lunch

It was heart warming to see the children enjoying the outing and their lunch too. There were no traces of the sumptuous breakfast left in their tummies which they had at Timur in the morning. 


The children enjoyed the games. They sang and danced. After all singing and dancing runs in their blood. The surprise package of the day was Upendra, a shy 12 year old boy from Terai (plains), now living in the slums of Kathmandu. After being coaxed for a while he broke into a Bhojpuri song in a loud and clear voice, the meaning of which he was only too shy to explain.

All of us

We would like to thank the Hriday Group, Timur Restaurant and Padyatris from the bottom of our hearts for gifting the Koseli kids with such a beautiful day. It surely was a day filled with adventure and excitement. For most of the kids it was a day to be happy and enjoy the countryside and breathe a sigh of fresh air atop the picturesque Jhule Resort from the daily runt and grunt of the city slums. As for me it was an opportunity to enjoy the moment and be with my kids and be happy in their happiness. 

Punam

Punam

Our hike to Jhule was special for two reasons; one, it was the first time we were hiking on that trail and second, because Punam was with us.  Until this time, she had missed all activities organized by the school on a Saturday. 
Punam is one of the most complex children we have at school. She was born in an extremely poor family and was later adopted by her aunt and uncle who are pastors in a local church. 
Punam has had a very mutilated education- in her 8 years of schooling she has been to 7 different schools. Why? Because her schooling was based on grants provided by people visiting the church, who decided the school and its duration. Punam landed up in Koseli, as that year no one came forward with a grant. This constant uprooting has made her academically very weak. She was admitted in class 6 in Koseli and failed the exam. 
Her background and upbringing has also resulted in her being emotionally disturbed. 
She was the first child at Koseli who showed signs of being a rebel. She cut her school trousers to make them look more fashionable, loitered on the streets and came late to school, lied to her parents and us.  She got into arguments with her peers and teachers because of which none of her classmates were really fond of her.
At home too, it seemed that she didn’t have much support. Her parents found her a burden. We were almost sure that instead of becoming a pastor at the local church, she would end up on the streets if we didn’t take any corrective steps. We were seriously contemplating of taking her to a psychiatrist. 
And then one day a miracle happened. Her parents came to school accusing her of being a robber. It was too severe an accusation and she was trying to negate the whole thing vehemently, but then who had ever listened to her that they would this time. I overheard the conversation and intervened with the intention of ending the whole argument. All I said was ‘Punam I believe you’.  She was surprised and asked me to repeat what I had just said.
That one sentence changed everything. For the first time she had found someone who listened to her and was on her side. There was somebody who believed in her and that was a big deal.
Punam, then on started coming to school in time, paying more attention to her studies and other activities in school. 
However when was life smooth? After the hike,  Punam didn’t come to the school for 3 days. On speaking to her parents we found out that she had been once again offered a grant to go to some other school for a year. This time around we convinced the parents that it is not a great idea to keep changing schools for such short periods. What she needs in her life the most is a sense of continuity and belonging.
The good news is that she is back to Koseli and we hope that she will not change any more homes and schools and eventually mature into a confident adult. She has a long way to go but the journey has begun with a good start.