During this period of team rotation in Nepal, when 2 members of the first group returned to the US last weekend and as the second team assembles in Kathmandu, please join us in thanking Anju, Deneen, Jennifer and Jonah for their stamina, dedication, efforts and attentiveness to the many children, their teachers and caregivers with whom they interacted during their time together in Nepal. Some of the locations were quite remote requiring several hours of various means of transportation and walking at high altitude to reach their destinations, and then, once arrived, have the strength, nerve and compassion to play vigorously with children to evoke the desired laughter, facial expressions, noises and movement for emotional release and healing.

Note that all over Nepal, regardless of the type of school (public or private), children dress in a uniform. For some, the uniform may be their only clothes. Just because most of the children photographed have uniforms doesn’t mean that they’re in privileged schools. The first Second Response team visited a variety of schools and orphanages depending on schedules, requests and arrangements made by local Nepalese organizations such as the Chaudhary Group, Childreach Nepal, Common Youth Stand Up and Act4Quake, a part of AYON (Association of Youth Organizations Nepal).