Practicalities of running the FHC Hostel

Posted on July 17, 2025 by Angus Mccoll - feature stories

Jonathan is one of FHC’s committee members from Cairns and he is very hands on with the running of the Hostel in Batase Village. He wants to make the hostel as self sufficient as possible. “The less money we spend on the every-day operations, the more we can spend on getting more needy children under FHC care.” I don’t want this story to be about Jonathan (because he would hate that) but about the functions of the Hostel.

Jonathan has been visiting Batase for many years, at least once a year, sometime twice. He’s well known in the village and he understands village life. He has just returned home after spending a month there overseeing operations. On arrival to Kathmandu he visits the markets to purchase supplies for FHC operations in the village – food for the kitchen, fertilizer for the crops, etc. He knows the value of things and what is a good price. He hates it when he sees a bag of potatoes with nice big potatoes on top but underneath all small ones. “It’s easy to check. Just turn the bag upside down.” He will look until he finds an honest deal.

In Batase village FHC has a volunteer team and paid staff (see Hostel kitchen story overpage). Anil volunteers his time as FHC’s President in the village. He came up through the Hostel and, typical of past residents, he wants to give back. He and Jonathan are in constant communication. During Jonathan’s recent visit they got together in a walk around to discuss the operations of the Hostel and how to improve facilities there.

Right now the wet season (monsoon) is approaching and the Hostel has to prepare its wood supply for the duration. This is standard practice in Nepal. A load of timber has been delivered and the older boys from the hostel (both present and past) chop the wood for the kitchen.

Our recently built animal house now has chickens, goats and buffalo in residence, and any spare space is given to vegetable growing. Tokmaya is incharge of the animals, collecting food daily for them, and Jonathan advises on the best and cheapest food supplements to buy. Tokmaya also manages the planting of vegetables and crops. Jonathan helps her with seed and fertilizer advice.

A concern at the moment is a reliable water supply to the Hostel. Some of the supply comes from seasonal springs and when they dry, we have to find water from elsewhere. This means our kitchen staff have to carry water from another source to cook with. To boost our water security at the Hostel, we need a new tank and a more efficient reticulation system. This is what we are working on now.