Kathmandone! - Zoe (UK)

So this will be my last posting for the Sapana blog.  I leave Kathmandu tomorrow to go back to London.  I am very sad to go, especially since I didn’t get to see all of the kids and say goodbye to them before I left.  This week there have only been five attending the training sessions as the rest have gone back to their respective villages to get their identity cards in order to be issued passports.  But, this is obviously a very important step to go to Dubai in October.

Last week we received Ivan (from Australia) and Eluned (from the UK), the two newest circus volunteers.  Ivan will be staying with us for three months but potentially for up to five months, and Eluned will be here just over one month.  Ivan trained at NICA and although he is a trained juggler/manipulator he also knows quite a lot of acrobatics, hand-to-hand and corde lisse.  Eluned originally trained at Circomedia and has since gone on to complete a dance degree.  We’re all really excited to have both of their skill sets and the Sapana group has already been very kind and welcoming to them.

In my last days in Nepal I have been handing-over my work to Ivan and Eluned (no I didn't go on holiday in the end), brainstorming lesson plans and ideas for shows and just generally filling them in on the ins and outs of how everything works here in Kathmandu.  We finally bought a lock-box for the equipment in the gym and we visited the British Embassy on Tuesday where we are hoping to stage a fundraising show in September.

On Wednesday, Tristan (who is sponsoring the show in Dubai) came along to training and was able to visit a bit with the kids.  They were all really pleased to see him again, and as he speaks Nepali it’s obviously very easy for him to communicate!

Handstand class with Ivan and Eluned



Sheetal having a rest after running her silks routine

Tristan trying out some hula-hoop moves

The entire Sapana group is advancing in their various disciplines but the crunch time will be in the next few months leading up to the Dubai trip.  Tensions will run high, stress will creep in, and managing circus and school will become more complicated.  I will be watching their progress from abroad, rooting them on and wishing them the best of luck for October.  I have every confidence in them and I know they will be fantastic.

I have enjoyed this project so much and in a way that I never expected.  This group of young people is so fantastically talented and they are such great kids, I will miss them immensely.

I’m not leaving! (Trying to hide out in the newly purchased lock box...)

I now hand this blog over into the capable hands of Ivan who will carry on the updates for the next few months.

Zoe x