Bits ‘n’ Pieces: Nepal orphanage focus of Washougal family’s efforts

When 12-year-old Maya Tuell of Washougal heard about the April earthquake in Nepal, her immediate concern was for the safety of her brother.

Suwas Bhandari isn’t Maya’s biological brother, but when Maya was 4 months old, she was left in a bus station in Nepal and eventually brought to the Destitute and Orphan Children Safeguarding, or DOCS, Foundation Nepal, which is run by Bhandari’s father, Liladhar Bhandari. Suwas Bhandari returned to his father’s orphanage in the weeks leading up to the earthquake after going abroad to attend medical school and become a doctor. For a few days after the earthquake, Maya and her mother, Michelle Tuell, heard nothing.

“I couldn’t sleep for two days,” Michelle Tuell said. “I was so nervous something happened to them.”

About three days after the earthquake, Tuell and her daughter got in touch with the orphanage, and saw some of the devastation in Nepal through postings on Facebook. Both Suwas and his father were fine, as were the approximately 65 orphans they look after.

Tuell and Maya wanted to help, so they decided to raise money to be donated directly to the orphanage. They’re doing this through the website for Tuell’s book “Our Angel From Nepal.” The self-published book follows Tuell and her family through the process of adopting Maya from Nepal a little more than 11 years ago. It also has tips for anyone looking to adopt, including where to look for tax credits. The book also features illustrations by Michelle Tuell’s father, Richard Lasley, who worked on storyboard art for numerous movies, including “Back to the Future,” “City Slickers” and “Blankman.”

“I was working on the book for eight years,” Tuell said. “I just couldn’t finish it, and then as soon as I finish it, the earthquake hits. It just honestly felt like this was what I was supposed to do. I’m supposed to try and help these people.”

On Tuell’s site, www.ourangelfromnepal.com, under the “Book” tab there is a button where people can click to donate to DOCS Foundation.

“It’s a small country,” Tuell said. “They’re losing a lot of history.”

It was that history that Maya found interesting when reading her mother’s book.

“It was cool to read the book and learn everything,” Maya said. “There was a lot about the culture I didn’t know.”

Tuell and her family brought Maya home on April 26, 2004, when she was 1, so Maya doesn’t remember life in Nepal. She hasn’t been back to visit yet, but she hopes to at some point. Tuell didn’t know much about Nepal, either, before going there to adopt Maya. In fact, she had never been outside the country. When they started the adoption process, Tuell and her husband, Chuck Tuell, were in their 40s, and they had three sons together. Chuck Tuell also had two children, one son and one daughter, from a previous marriage, who were both grown by that point.

“I just always wanted a daughter,” said Michelle Tuell, 62.

As soon as everyone in the Tuell family met Maya, they loved her instantly, which was appropriate, as “Maya” means “love” in Nepali. Maya said she feels lucky to be a part of the family, and that she likes swimming and climbing trees, and roughhousing with her older brothers, who range in age from 20-27.

Maya recently gave her mother’s book to a friend to read and donated a few copies to school libraries.

“It’s really heartwarming to read about how much they went through to bring me here,” Maya said.

“Hopefully we can help out the kids still over there.”

— Adam Littman

Bits ‘n’ Pieces appears Fridays and Saturdays. If you have a story you’d like to share, email bits@columbian.com