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I volunteered in Nirmal Pokhari from March 20th 2009 to April 15th 2009.
 
I volunteered with Teri for one week during this period, and Krista towards the end but was for the majority of time the only volunteer in Maidan.  I agree with previous comments that there should definitely be an overlap of volunteers in order to ensure continuity for the children who attend the library.  Also, having two volunteers is much more productive than just the one volunteer.  Teri and I found that it was most efficient to split the morning and afternoon library sessions between us.  I would teach in the morning whilst Teri made the word wall, library system etc. and Teri would teach in the afternoon where I would continue/finish what Teri had started.  This way, while one volunteer is teaching the other can overlook the lesson and help to control the class leading to a much more productive lesson.
 
The class size varied tremendously during my stay.  I arrived at the beginning of the school holidays so there were at least 15 children at the library on most days and fluctuated to its highest to above 30 children when Teri arrived.  Many of the children were guests to the village so only here for a week or so.  Regarding exercise books I recommend that when they arrive, new volunteers should go through all of the exercise books and rip out the old pages and make new labels for the children who are regularly attending the library.  For the guests, I simply handed out paper from old exercise books.  With such large numbers, it can be difficult to utilise the space in the library so what I found worked out best was to establish a routine so they would sit still, continued the rules on the whiteboard and on Teri's last day we played games outside which helped let off steam.  Otherwise, the library would get too crammed.  I think anything like colouring pencils, coloured card, stickers, books and colouring sheets would be very useful for the children.  I would often end a lesson with 10 minutes of colouring which they enjoyed a lot, but the sheets soon ran out so more colouring sheets would be useful.  I felt that sweets and stickers were best as an incentive for good work.  In hindsight, I think it would be good to split the class between the older children whose English is relatively good to the younger children who would rather just play and colour.
 
Teri mentioned the library system which unfortunately I was unable to see how it turned out due to an unexpected few days in hospital towards the end of my placement.  However, although it was a good plan, I felt that some children did not understand to bring the books back, so if it did work I think it could only work for the older children who regularly attended the library.  I feel that another explanation to the family in the library would help the system as well.
 
I helped at the childcare centre frequently during the day time as the school was off on holiday.  As Teri said, it was a very sad environment for the children and could do with some coloured paint on the walls, for example, maybe a coloured rainbow, coloured alphabets painted onto the walls.  However, they did thrive with games and one to one attention.  Volunteers could bring soft toys, games, balls, picture books etc. for the children.
 
I can't express how grateful I am to have had the opportunity to volunteer in Nirmal Pokhari and stay with Laxman and Sita.  As previously stated, Laxman and Sita and the rest of the family are wonderful and will help you with any problems you may have.   It's great to give a little back in return for their kindness, I would take cigarettes (for Laxman), vegetables, fruit etc. back at the weekends to Laxman and Sita.  I will never forget my experiences, Laxman and Sita and the children at the library and hope that future volunteers will continue to enjoy their experiences in Nirmal Pokhari.
 
Jen McPherson (aged 18 years old, UK).

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