"I feel young, needed and accepted."
Retired teacher Brigitte Knor talks about her life as a volunteer in Nepal(VOLUNTARIS association)
Brigitte Knor, 68, a former teacher and long-time housewife, moved to Nepal, near the capital Kathmandu, last February. There she is working on a local development project where families of brick factory workers receive education and health care. She is supported by the Viennese organization VOLUNTARIS.
My skills are pedagogical in nature. Here I can finally stand in the classroom and teach again after 31 years! On Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, I march to the next village to my "government school", a public school that is only attended by children whose parents cannot afford a private school. I teach English to a 7th grade class of 36 children and a 9th grade class of 55.
Although government schools do not charge school fees, parents have to pay for school uniforms, books and exercise books. Many people, such as brick factory workers, cannot afford this. Their children do not attend school. That's why I also teach at the day center for the brick children.
The children of the brick factory workers are muddy, have torn clothes and lice. The older children are dragging their younger siblings. Some are still shy, but most of them run towards me as soon as they spot me. In the morning, I play school roll call with them, as is customary in all schools here. We do gymnastics, sing and recite rhymes. It's great fun for all of us and the Nepalese supervisors also join in enthusiastically. Then I teach the older children. Later we have a simple lunch. We finish at around four o'clock. We accompany the younger children a little further towards their huts.
From my room window, I can see smoking chimneys seven days and nights a week. There are hundreds, probably thousands of brickworks around Kathmandu and Bhaktapur in southern Nepal. Everywhere, countless families toil for a pittance. There are no trade unions for the brick workers; they have no social insurance, no pension scheme.
I am aware that my work in Nepal cannot change anything significant. But bringing joy to some children and contributing to their education is also something. As a paying guest, my presence alone helps the project partners. And living in a foreign country for five months, immersing myself in a completely different culture, getting to know the country and its people in a non-touristy way - "slow tourism?" - is simply fantastic!
I observe and marvel, I hear and experience interesting things, I learn new things every day. I feel young, needed and accepted. The world is still open to volunteers - including senior citizens!
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Further information:
Brigitte received project placement and preparation for her adventure from the Vienna-based association VOLUNTARIS. VOLUNTARIS organizes worldwide volunteer services for people with life and work experience.
The aim of the association, which is supported by the Austrian Development Cooperation and the Federal Ministry of Labor, Social Affairs and Consumer Protection, is to promote the worldwide exchange of experience in development projects through volunteer services.
