What I learned after Meeting Richard

Newly painted home

Richard Ivy and his three team members came from US, Arizona here in Madhavpur, Chitwan for about a week. It was a week's stay in which they have finished painting the Nabin Children’s Home in a week’s time. This kind of fast act and work is almost unthinkable for average Nepali, unless; it's the work of ginie.

In his team there was one not too old couple, Robert and Debbie, who looked in their mid fifties, and a college student Rene Chavez. Rene helped painting the house while Robert and Debbie Kiel was busy praying whole week. When I sat down with them over a lunch on the last day, Robert said, during this time he had seen some miracles of people being cured from disease that seemed unrepeatable. Robert made it more easier for me to understand it; saying they were ‘emotionally healed’. I believe in healing that takes place in church or under tent organized by Christians. I believe you too will believe in emotional healing, if you are familiar with the term psychosomatic disorder.

Research shows 80% people who are in hospitals, are there; because they think - all the time - they are sick. More you think about your sickness, more it gets you. This is called psychosomatic.

When all the other People were excited about the new paint in the house, Richard was thinking beyond the new look and paint for the house. His prime focus was to treat the roof first, He had observed that it leaks during rainy seasons. He knew water seepage, spoils ceiling, decays the house faster than its time. He wanted to stop it all.  He also wanted to treat the roof for the accumulated moulds from years which he thought was absorbing heat so much from sunlight that was making the children home hotter in part of the country like Chitwan.

He went to the market looking for a chemical called borack [?]. When we did not find that chemical in small city like Narayanghat, he managed to get it done by vinegar. The workers poured about 20 liters of vinegar on the rooftop, once it was scrubbed properly with steel wire to get rid from the moulds. Vinegar, will stop moulds reappearing anytime soon. After that they painted white weather coating to stop the leakage and also to reflect the sunlight to stop absorption of heat. I asked the store owner how much temperature it reduces ? He said about 5 degree Celsius.

His focus was not just the paint that our eyes see instantly  but to protect the home from future seepage, heat  and decay also. I have not heard Sukdev talking about all this not even for his new home.

How come you know so much about painting ? I asked him. Because I have made mistakes many times while painting my house that's why I know all this, was his prompt response.

Project was Under budget : at the last day of project, he said he is under budget now, when there was plenty of work to be done.  First, time when he went to the market he realised he had sufficient money with him, as he had got the quotation on highest side.  But, once the work started he was surprised that people add so much water on paint and they go for double coating, instead of single like in US. There was no plan to paint doors and windows but new paint on the wall automatically demanded the fresh paint on doors and windows. And the  kitchen counter needed properly tiled to protect the newly painted wall.

without paint

Another reason for this under budget is use of nonprofessionals to paint the house instead of   professionals who were needed to do this work on time.

Richard did not like the color my  brother choose to paint the house. He went three shade darker than the color I do not like. Richard and I seemed to go for the softer color whereas Sukdev preferred  darker color mainly for exterior look.  Here the Richard’s take on it helped me to get things a lot better than being control freak for things that is not going as you wish.

Its his house, let him have it; his way, he said. My response was it's not his house its children’s home [ it was his home before they shifted to new home about seven years ago].

There were so many things that was not going as it was expected before. Even then the house   painting was almost done and it looked beautiful.

I asked him looking at what you have in front of you are you happy now ?  Yes, I am happy; his response was fast. Do you think it's worth coming here and doing all things ? he said, yes with a big smile on his face and a twinkle in his eyes.

Back in his homeland Richard is a very successful architecture. He runs his consulting company  with the help of a dozen team members. At 70 year his physical frame may look frail but he is as active as a man in his thirty and his brain runs faster than a computer when  it comes to seeing a big dream for this children home my brother runs here in Madhavpur Chitan. He is scared at times. Maybe, just maybe; he might lose the race against time when it comes to doing all the things he wants to do here for this children home before he dies. He says there is a lot to do. His fear may have something to do with his mother, who died just a week before he landed in Nepal. He has a father who is 93 year old and lives in Virginia. When he returns to US, he has to go back to virginia to see his father and then take back four days road trip to be in his hometown in Arizona. Before, he left for Nepal, his hectic time schedule kept him busy almost breaking his back.

He goes to Two Rivers Church in Arizona where around four hundred people visit  in a week. It was his church who had help him to raise funds for this painting and then sent him here as a leader of the team.  

The Team from US & Richard is with Red T-shirt

Where you put your focus makes the whole difference in life, in short term as well as in long term. His focus on roof was beyond the new painting on the wall that our eye can see instantly, it was much more than that.  Let it go. The marigold painted house of somebody you know is not something we should take seriously and personally. Losing someone you love so much doesn't mean you waste time crying for the loved one. He was too busy working for others who were less fortunate than him in so many ways and all  he was thinking how can he make it better.  This is living in true sense.

Now, I know a lot about painting a house and to care rooftops. I rarely meet a man who is warm, wise, knowledgeable and kind hearted  at the same time. I truly admire the man like Richard.