Strength TogetHER 34: My Small Happiness

My Small Happiness

Lokopakar in collaboration with NIRI Nepal conducted a donation drive a few months ago to conduct 10 sessions of Strength TogetHER at 10 public schools in Kathmandu. NIRI (Nexus Institute for Research and Innovation) is an independent and not for profit sharing institution in Nepal with a vision to promote quality research and innovation across the nation and beyond. 

Strength TogetHER is a safe space to share personal stories and experiences which bring change in attitude and lives. Girls get to explore and express themselves which helps to unburden themselves and create new meaning. Lokopakar completed the sessions in 3 schools, Nandi Secondary School, Padmodaya School, and Shaheed Shukra School. The another school, where Strength TogetHER is being conducted is Siddi Ganesh School. 

Kanya Mandir Higher Secondary School is a public school located at Chhetrapati, Kathmandu. On 4th Nov, 2022 we conducted the introduction session with 24 girls. It was an interactive and fun session where we played ice breaker games and got an opportunity to get to know each other. 

Our first participant shared that she once found money while walking on the road. It was an exciting and a happy moment for her. Another participant shared a similar story, “I was walking on the road, when I saw money scattered on the road. There were many thousand rupee notes. I picked it up quickly. An uncle saw me and told me that I was having a lucky day. I counted the money, it was NPR 3500 in total. With that much money, I felt like I could buy many things. I gave one thousand rupees to my mother and spent the rest of the money. I was happy to find the money.” She shared another small happiness, “These days after school we have tuition classes. I get very hungry when I reach home. But, as soon as I reach home, my mother feeds me the warm cooked meal that she prepared. I get happy everyday because of that. I am thankful to my mother for making me good food.”

“I got separated from my close friends when I went to my village for a month. When I came back, she called me everyday to ask when I would come back to the school. I always answered, tomorrow, tomorrow. But, it had been 3 days since I said tomorrow. After that I thought of giving her a surprise. I got dressed in the morning and came downstairs only to find my friend waiting downstairs. I was completely shocked, in a good way. We then hugged each other. Everyone on the road looked at us. It was funny. But, I was the happiest at that time”, shared our other participant. 

Another participant shared that she was happy when she got the best player trophy when I played volleyball for the 1st time with her team members. She had only started to learn but had participated in the competition. They got the third position trophy as a team. She remembers it and becomes happy. 

“In my previous school, the teachers used to joke with us. And, one day I put a long piece of paper behind the teacher like a tail. He walked around the classroom like that. All my friends laughed. And, I felt happy seeing my friends laugh and have fun”, shared another participant. 

Another participant shared that she was happy when she met her best friend from another school. And, another participant shared that she along with her friends participated in a dance competition. She looked at all the other participant’s performances. They were all dancing well. So, she thought her group had low chances of winning. But, when the winners were announced, they got third position. She was extremely happy to win along with her friends. She added that they have been invited to perform the same dance in other schools.

“When I was in class 3, I got first position in a relay race so I was happy.” Another participant shared, “I and my brother had saved NPR. 2000. And, We went to another movie. When returning, we saw an elder lady in need of money. We had some money left. We decided to give it to her. She thanked us a lot for helping her. I was happy to be able to help her.” 

“When I was in class 3, My friends and I were playing on the football ground. My friend was hanging on the goalpost. I along with my other friend saw that, and decided to pull her pants down. We did so, and my friend began to cry. When the teacher asked her, I was very scared thinking she would say my name. But, she only gave the name of the other friend. I was happy since she didn’t tell my name to the teacher”, shared another participant. 

“I had saved NPR. 5000. My mother didn’t have any money once. So, I gave my money to her. I was happy to be able to help”. 

Another participant shared that she was happy when she got a silver locket which she had been wanting for a very long time. Another participant shared that on her brother’s “Bratabandha” her friends got chocolate but she didn’t. But, at the end of the day, she was given a silver ring by her family so she was very happy. 

“I was happy when I met my sister in Dashain after 5 years”, shared one participant. While another participant shared that she was happy to meet her uncle after 4 and a half years. Likewise, another participant shared that she was happy to meet her grandfather after 7 years. Another participant shared that she gets happy while eating “dal-bhat”. “My mother went to my maternal uncle’s home in Dashain, and returned after a few days without informing us. It was a surprise. I was happy to see her all of a sudden”, shared another participant. 

Another participant shared that she came to this school 5 years ago, leaving her best friend in the previous school. And, this year, her best friend from previous school came to this school. She was happy to finally meet her. 

“I went to my village during Dashain, and got dengue.  I was severely sick, so my mother was extremely worried and was thinking of bringing me back to Kathmandu. But, after taking a few medications and resting, I got better. I was happy to be better”, shared another participant. 

“During the lockdown, my father was in the process of going to Japan, but he couldn’t. But, after the lockdown, he got all the processing done and went to Japan. I was happy when he could go after trying so hard,” shared another participant. “I went to my village and met my teacher who used to teach me Nepali in grade 4 and 5. I didn’t think she would recognize me but she did and talked to me. I was happy when she recognized me,” shared another participant. 

“I am happy when my mother cares for me when I get sick”. 

“My friend was about to leave school. And, on her last day of attending, we went to her home and ate dal-bhat with meat. I was happy to make memories with her.”

“I was never allowed to stay out late with my friends. But, during Tihar, my parents allowed me to go out with my friends to play Bhailo. We stayed up till 12 or 1 that day. I was happy to go out with my friends.”

“When I was in class 4, we had our last exam a day before dashain vacation. All my friends were going to their village. But, we had decided not to go. I was sad about it. But, when I reached home, my father had done all the packing and bought tickets to go to the village. So, I was very happy.”

“My mother had told me she would buy a thing that I liked the most. When I went home, she had bought a cycle for me. I was thrilled to get a cycle.”

Another participant shared a recent event when she got happy. She shared that she gets happy when Team Lokopakar comes to have a session in between the busy day they have from morning to evening. And, this story made us, Lokopakar, team happy as well. 

We all discussed why it was important to think and talk about small happiness, and asked them to tell why they think we talked about, “My Small Happiness”. They answered that it might be to know other’s small happiness, to open up, to build confidence in speaking and sharing stories, to be comfortable, to recall past events, and to learn about friends. It was all this plus getting to learn to appreciate small happiness and not waiting for a big happiness to come by. 

 

After everyone shared their stories, we asked a few questions like: How many of you were scared to share your story? 20 out of 29 raised their hands. We also found that 10 out of 20 who raised their hands were willing to share their stories next time. We are glad to know that they are willing to open up to sharing their stories and we look forward to seeing them next time!!