At the end of September, Nepal celebrates Dashain, the most important holiday of the year. Although a religious festival, Dashain also includes a great deal of family fun, great food, and the importance of cleanliness and updating oneself and one’s surroundings afresh. In accordance with this tradition, Signature students decided to conduct a street clean up in the neighborhood surrounding Khushi Ghar, our youth home in Kathmandu. Students were able to have fun together working on a community project, while also giving back to the community on a local level.
After informing the neighbors that students would be out en masse to clean the neighborhood, the students, armed with gloves, brooms, and dustpans, set to work cleaning the neighborhood for the holidays. Weeds were pulled, wrappers and cigarette butts were correctly disposed of, and a neighborhood plan was made to more regularly dispose of refuse in local garbage bins around the community. Neighbors were invited to join the Khushi Ghar community in future local events, cementing students’ relationship with their community on a local level. Regular events designed to give back to the community allow students to develop confidence in their ability to design and execute community projects, cultivate camaraderie with their fellow community members and develop leadership skills. Students had so much fun and can’t wait to continue with more community projects in the future!
