By Joe Lee
I want to share about someone that I admire greatly. He is Shanta Bhandari from Nepal.
I first met Shanta when I visited Nepal in 2005. My initial impression of him was very positive. He was responsible, mature, and smart. For career, he was a manager of a successful restaurant owned by a Singaporean businessmen. For ministry, he was the leader of a church and the one to give messages during meetings. And for family, he was a husband and also a father to a one year old son. I was impressed at how much he could achieve despite the limited opportunities available in Nepal. He could even speak English fluently when a lot of his peers were still struggling with the language.
Because of his life experiences and maturity, I thought that he was at least 10 years older than me. In contrast, I was still halfway through my undergraduate studies back then and had very little life experiences (I probably hadn’t worked a day in my life yet). Later, I was surprised to discover that he was just around 4 or 5 years older than me. That meant he was only in his mid-twenties.
In that trip, I also learned that there were many orphans in Nepal due to poverty and 10 years of civil war. The needs of the country were very great. Meanwhile, most of the wealthiest and most educated people in Nepal chose to leave the country in search for a better place to settle down. Some popular destinations to migrant to were UK, Australia, and the United States. It was tragic that the people who could yield the greatest power and influence to help the poor and needy in Nepal chose to leave their country instead.
If Shanta desired, he could also leave. Because of his career, he had good connections with foreigners such as his boss in Singapore. Also with his good english, he shouldn’t have any problem applying for immigration to another country. After all, it was perfectly normal for a man to seek a more comfortable future for himself and for his family.
However, Shanta did not choose to leave his country. In exchange for a comfortable life, he seek a much more meaningful life; a life that would eventually become a great blessing to many children. Thus in 2006, he made the important decision to help start the Children’s Home in Nepal.
This decision to stay and look after the Children’s Home came with heavy responsibilities. Before, he and his wife only needed to take care of one child. To many of us, taking care of only one child is already a challenging feat. Now try to comprehend what it is like for this couple to take care of over 35 children. It is beyond my comprehension. It is certainly a lot more demanding than a regular full-time job like what I have. To me, I think taking care of so many children at once would be the equivalent of 4 full-time jobs. He was their dedicated driver, counsellor, tutor, playmate, and of course, father and more.
Some people may appreciate me for what I have done, like designing graphics for Light and Love Home or designing a new building for the orphanage in Nepal. But if you really want to appreciate someone, you need to appreciate Shanta and others who are serving at the front line of the charity work. How hard is my work? I just sit in front of the computer and click on the mouse. Sometimes, I would take my vacation days to visit the children in Nepal for a week or two at the most. I spent some time playing with the children, and take some videos and photos.
I put smiles on these children's faces for brief moments. But it was Shanta who put smiles on these children's faces for a lifetime. Without Shanta and others serving at the front line, no amount of fundraising can make this Children's Home possible.
(For more information about how you can support the Children's Nepal, please visit http://nepal.lightandlovehome.org)
Celebrating Shanta's 25th birthday with his wife Hannah. Nepal, 2005.
Shanta, his wife Hannah, and his son Shahas. Nepal, 2012.
Shanta and the children in the rear yard of the Children's Home. Nepal, 2012.
The children enjoy playing with their "Papa". Nepal, 2012.
Making children smile one at a time. Nepal, 2012.