Staff Galleries

NEPAL - Janella

NEPAL

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ELI volunteer house: the comfortable dining/hang-out room, and a popular place for ELIers to gather. The tables are hand-painted by local artisans.
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Janella and Anish, ELI's in-country coordinator, friend, advisor-in-chief, problem-solver and all around good guy.
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Dorota and the kids at Aruni school in Kathmandu, a popular teaching placement. Notice the sweet uniforms.
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An ELI celebration at Newa Civilization Restaurant, Kirtipur, a medieval village outside Kathmandu. This place had it all: a historic setting, traditional cuisine, great rice wine, wonderful mountains views -- and fabulous company!
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Some of the treats offered at Newa Civilization Restaurant, Kirtipur
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Left to right - ELI staffer, Santosh; a Buddhist monk; Dorota and Janella,outside a Buddhist temple in the foothills above Kathmandu. ELIers teach English to young monks here. This place is guaranteed to take your breath away, and it's one of ELI's most popular teaching placements in Kathmandu.
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The dog rescue placement: once they've been fed and treated, healthy dogs relax on the rescue's grounds and its surrounding garden. The organization's ambulance is in the background.
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The monkeys at Swayambhunath Temple, aka "The Monkey Temple." All ELI volunteers will get a guided tour of this iconic, holy site as part of their experience.
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Prayer wheels at Swayambhunath Temple.
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Swayambhunath Temple
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Swayambhunath Temple
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Swayambhunath Temple
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Swayambhunath Temple
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Janella and Anish. There are probably more motorcycles on Kathmandu's streets than cars. As Janella said, "Once you realize that there's too much traffic to go fast, it's not so scary."
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One of the Women's Projects that partners with ELI.
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The kitchen where ELIers can give cooking lessons, Women's Project. Don't cook? That's only a small part of the activities here.
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Women's Project. The sign says it all!
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Kathmandu: 20th century technology meets an ancient work style. This is a frequent sight in the city, and especially out in the country. Recovery from the earthquake will take years.
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Street scene, central Kathmandu. Notice the old-style architecture right next to new construction and the chic Nepali woman on her cell phone.
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Market day, Kathmandu. Colors everywhere.
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Prayers, Kathmandu. Buddhism and Hinduism coexist peacefully in this country.
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A cow in the middle of a busy square in Kathmandu. They and goats are not an unusual sight in Nepalese cities.
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Village life, foothills above Kathmandu. One of ELI's rural locations.
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ELI volunteers helped build this school computer lab in a tiny village in the foothills above Kathmandu. A generous ELIer sent money to purchase 12 computers. Today, they are used to teach, entertain, and connect this tiny village to the rest of the world. Yes, they have internet!
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Janella and local school kids, at the ELI-built and equipped school computer lab.
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Outside the computer lab, with Janella and some of the many children who use it every day.
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Village life, foothills above Kathmandu.
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The gorgeous Durbar Square of Bhaktapur. This is a can't-miss site, located about 40 minutes outside of Kathmandu. It wasn't as badly damaged by the earthquake as Kathmandu, but the effects are still very evident.
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Bhaktapur. ELI's in-country coordinator, Anish, and his staffer Pradip, are both from Bhaktapur, and can offer you invaluable insights into this magical medieval city.
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Bhaktapur. A weird sight (for tourists, that is.) These are Chinese models in wedding dresses, striking poses outside the iconic 5-story pagoda. Apparently, the Chinese love these exotic settings for their ads and fashion catalogs.
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Sunrise over the Himalayas, seen from Nagarkot, a small village known for its magnificent views, about an hour and a half from Kathmandu. Pictured is the Langtang Range, with clouds below!

Nepal - Reconstruction

NEPAL - RECONSTRUCTION

Vietnam - Kenton

We're rebuilding our galleries. They should be done in a few days.

Cambodia

Cambodia

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Flying into Cambodia from Bangkok is inexpensive. The trip is about an hour to either Phnom Penh or Siem Riap. Air Asia is a popular discount airline. That's my flight at the bottom. Siem Riap is the city that serves the famous ruins of Angkor Wat.
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Siem Riap (which means "Siam Conquered", is a big town/small city with a nice feel. Plenty of buildings from the French colonial era are still standing.
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This walking bridge over the river is in the historic center of town. It's touristy, but not in a resort way. Travelers from all over the world flock here as a must see destination.
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The neon at the top says "Pub Street". I don't think any further explanation is necessary.
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If you're on the road long enough, you might just want to try this for a taste of home. As for me, I stuck to Khmer cuisine.
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Ok. Now begins the tour of the ruins. Don't worry. This will just be a sampling!
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Having a sit and reading up on this amazing site. It's not hard to find a quiet corner even with the thousands of visitors.
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Join the masses who flock to see sunrise over Angkor Wat. If nothing else, it helps you get an early start.
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Angkor Wat is the largest religious structure in the world. All the temples here are Hindu. Cambodia is now 95% Buddhist.
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Climbing the ruins is not for the faint of heart. You also need to be reasonably fit and have comfortable shoes. There's a lot of walking and climbing.
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Many of the ruins have been overtaken by trees. You'll no doubt be told that Angelina Jolie was here to film Tomb Raiders. True.
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If you do a program in Phnom Penh, you'll stay in the Tattoo Guest House.
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Tattoo has a nice open restaurant area. Meals here are included in the program.
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Your first glimpse of Buddhist monks will seem exotic. You'll see plenty more.
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Moving on. Here are a few glimpses of available projects. Urban Poor Women Development is a great empowerment and legal aid organization.
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We think this orphanage is a great place to help orphans and at-risk local youth. The spirit of the place will amaze you.
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We might call this "Study Hall" in the US. There aren't enough teachers to go around, so the kids spend some of their time unsupervised. Here they're doing homework.
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The Joy Day Care takes care of the children of rag pickers. They keep the children out of the dumps, feed them, clean their clothes daily, and give them pre-school style instruction.
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Here are some of the day care center's children. Sorry for the bad quality photo!
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Here, orphans learn classical and traditional Cambodian dance. Keeping traditions alive.
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The school's director spent 3 years in a work camp under the Khmer Rouge. Her story is in our director's blog, under the "Experiences" tab on the menu.
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The Royal Palace is worth a visit.
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The National Museum has an excellent collection of sculptures. Here's the courtyard.
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The Royal Palace

Uganda - Overview

We're rebuilding our galleries. They should be done in a few days.

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