Going up, up, up

Today was the day after an innocent man was beaten to death by Nepalese police. Who knows why? I think because the new prime minister has been elected, that the police are trying to send a message to anyone who deviates from the law. This man failed to stop at the police line (maybe 3-4 feet further, the newspaper said) and the police didn't stop beating him until he was dead and they transported him to Patan Hospital- where medical staff denied treatement stating the patient was already dead. Anyways, that is not a so-nice story but wanted to give you the reason for today. Because of this incident, the Kathmandu Valley was closed. That meant that we couldn't take Manisha to the doctor (she has a urinary infection) because all of the taxis and buses were on strike. It also meant that school was closed and the children could enjoy a Holy Day. I had been thinking for a while that before I left I wanted to take ALL of the children up to the Temple because of the whirlwinded success of taking them up on the terrace.
I went to the market and on a whim bought a handful of apples and bananas for the children to enjoy as a snack. I never really see them eating fruit so I thought it would be a nice treat. And, they loved eating the cut-up pieces of fruit. They even were polite to each other and only took one piece at a time, passing the plate to their brother or sister next to them. We mentioned a couple of the older children that we were going to take EVERYONE up to the Temple, but not until later in the afternoon. Well, word traveled fast and before I knew it I had children grabbing my legs, hugging me from behind and jumping up and down in front of me as if to say "Oh my goodness, we are going UP! Let's go NOW!!!!!" Well, how could we say no to all of this excitement? It is the most energy I have seen in these kids since I have been here.
We got Kamal, Anjana and Manisha ready and braced ourselves for what we were about to experience. Promod grabbed the back of Kamal's chair, and Galchan took hold of Manisha and Anjana. (They can share one wheelchair because Anjana is so tiny) We started with our normal Morning Walk Route. I could sense the enthusiasm coming out of Kamal's bright whites. He was in heaven thinking about what he could see. There are many ways to go up to the temple. 99% of the ways are via steps. There was no way we could carry these children and their wheelchairs up 365 steps, so luckily Galchan knew a side road. We ventured up this road, continually dodging motorbikes and pot-holes. Kamal's wheel came off of his wheelchair 8 times during our trip, holding us back about 15 minutes total. But that was okay. I was so impressed with the shear strength that Promod and Galchan took to push these kids up this steep road- all for a common goal. The kids wanted to see Kamal, Anjana and Manisha go up to the temple just as much as they did on their own. It was so cute to see the kids checking on K, A, and M throughout the journey. I tell you, it was amazing. When we finally reached the top, we stopped at the World Peace Pond. And the view of the valley was priceless. We all relaxed a bit and enjoyed seeing the kids finally able to SEE what all the others can see every day.
I am so thankful for this memory and really hope these kids can hold this day in their heart for a long time.