On Friday, our last day in Kathmandu, Rick and I typed up the updated bio's of the children, packed our suitcases and said our goodbye's.  Looking back on our two weeks in Nepal, we felt good about all that we have accomplished:  taking videos and photos of the children, updating their bio's, delivering sponsor letters, visiting the Contact Center, shopping for the upcoming bazaar at Trivia Night, providing trainings for the students and meeting with the BSF staff to discuss policies, current challenges, and future plans.  Phew!  We were busy!  But it was wonderful to see the children and to work collaboratively with the BSF staff who showed us such kindness and hospitality.

Today Rick and I continued doing interviews with the kids who attend Vibhuti Vidya Mandir School or who live at home and are able to walk to a good private school nearby.  I am impressed at how the BSF staff here in Nepal are able to individually plan for each student and choose the living situation and school which best suits the child's needs.  Such individualization, however, creates a tremendous challenge for the staff who must either travel distances to visit the children or arrange transportation to bring the children to the BSF office.

On Sunday Rick and I traveled by van about 90 minutes outside of Kathmandu to the small town of Dhulikhel.  Our purpose was two-fold:  to escape the Kathmandu pollution and breathe some fresher air, and to see Rabina, one of our nursing students attending a medical college there.

Yesterday we celebrated freedom of various kinds.  We began the afternoon by visiting the Children's Model Higher Secondary School where nine of our Mitrata students attend.  They had just completed their last exams that morning, and were looking forward to their summer vacation.  When asked, "How do you feel?" the most common answer was "Free!" And later that evening we celebrated a Passover meal, commemorating the Jews' passage from slavery into freedom.

As the old adage goes, "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure."  Today the BSF staff participated in an all-day training which focused on ways to build resiliency in our kids.  Research shows that the greater number of adverse childhood experiences, the more at-risk the child is for unhealthy behaviors, such as the misuse of drugs and alcohol.  However, research also shows that certain factors can provide some measure of protection and increase the likelihood of healthy life choices, despite the adverse childhood experiences.