Day 5 – last day: pictures and goodbyes
It is now finally time for an account of day five of our training for trainers seminar. It feels strange to write this as I now am back in cold Denmark. But there’s a story to be told!
Most of the day was spent with the participants working on their presentations in groups of five. They discussed their action plans, ideas for debates and the actual debates ahead. After lunch in the sun on the hotel’s lawn it was time for the very last part of the seminar: evaluation and goodbyes. We handed out a questionnaire that will be used as a part of our final status report. The questionnaire was followed by an oral evaluation in Nepali. Once again we found ourselves in the peculiar situation of being able to understand the many English words that Nepali youth mix into their own language but not being able to understand the entire meaning of their sentences. But the evaluation seemed positive and high-spirited to me. It will be very interesting to have a closer look at the evaluations in the days to come!
After the evaluation came the sad part of the seminar: the closing ceremony. It was an emotional moment for me since this seminar really has been an experience for life. I have learned so much about Nepali politics, culture and Nepali people. Especially I have learned from the endless number of interesting conversations I have had with the participants. They all have so much to offer. I want to really let them know, that they have truly impressed us all. Their willingness to learn, listen and discuss had been great to experience. I cannot help but think that despite all the wrongdoings and problems in Nepal the country will be facing a bright future with young people like these. This also stresses the importance of the task that lies ahead for the participants. Not very many young Nepalese have the kind of opportunities that this group of participants have. It is now up to them to spread the word about involvement in society to those who are less fortunate.
Following the closing ceremony and the handing out of diplomas and t-shirts we had the mandatory photo session. I think more than a hundred pictures were taken within ten minutes. There will we plenty of pictures to look at while reminiscing the good times in Nepal. After the last picture had been taken we waited for a while before piling into the bus that drove us back to Kathmandu.
I have just one more thing to say – Dhanyabad to you all!
