At the children’s home the day begins really early.

At around half past 5 the boys start to wake up and get ready to go to school. They freshen up, put on their school uniforms, eat breakfast and brush their hair in front of the mirror, the one and only mirror, behind the entrace.

At 6am, it’s time to line up and when everyone is ready, Sujman takes the boys to school. At first, I thought that I would find it hard to wake up so early, but after I went with the boys and their “didi” to school, I loved it so much that I kept going every day. 

The journey to school takes a 20 minutes on foot each way, and it’s beautiful.

The sun rises in the sky while we walk in a tight path between rice fields. On the way we meet country men and woman wearing traditional clothes  (I love saris so much!) and working the land. 

Then we arrive to a small town, where I see the Nepali countryside life for the first time. Mud houses and people wearing no shoes, basically doing everything in the open-air: washing clothes, cleaning their body or teeth, napping… There’s also horses, cows, buffaloes, ducks and goats everywhere. It’s funny because everybody seems surprise to see me, so I get a lot of looks. Sometimes they stare at me, surprised, others smile, say ‘namaste’ or even a few words in English.

As we get closer and closer to the school, more boys and girls with the same uniform join us and we all arrive to the Modern English School.

There, every day starts with the same routine, the “welcome assembly”. They line up, listen to some speeches by teacher and other students, do some exercises and sing the national anthem. I try to go unnoticed while I observe this, but clearly I fail in my attempt. My presence is a distraction. However, the curious and friendly looks I receive from the kids are very funny.

Overall, it’s a very beautiful experience and the reason why, while being there, I keep waking up at 5:30, day after day. 

*Article published on the website of Our Sansar, a british NGO helping street children in Nepal.