Catching up on two weeks past

Me and Rupa and Tiya (Rupa's baby girl) going to pick up fabric for mattress covers for the OCRC orphans. We had to burn their mattresses and bedding b/c of lice and scabies! Fun! So... no car seat requirements in Nepal.


A "junior doctor" removing stitches from one of our orphans. He's using a razor blade, and the boy is sitting on the playground slide.

First of all I apologize for not blogging for a week or more. Access to the internet has been tough, and I’m busy anyway. Right now there is no petrol in the country. Apparently Nepal has a poor credit history with India, so gas and oil are not being offered or sold. The petrol lines are miles and miles long. Few buses are running (if any), and therefore life changes. Teachers and students can’t get to their schools. We have difficulty getting to the orphanages, etc. Fortunately all the women in my class can walk, but my instructor takes the bus. There is also a political issue or two that is playing into the transportation drama. We are here at a very historic time: the country elected its first president last week. Prior to this, Nepal has been a monarchy – a dysfunctional monarchy. Well this past week, elections were held and despite the fact that the Maoists have the largest political representation, a moderate (non-Maoist) was elected. It was a pleasant surprise to everyone. They had put his name on the ballot as sort of a filler, with no expectation for him to win… and he did. The vice president and prime minister were also elected. It took a few days for the election because no one was winning the majority, but now we have a leadership. I am excited for the future changes. It will be crazy still, but different still and not communist. The following pics are of the landless community

We went to the landless community to find more women for my class. Not much has changed, but there are more buildings. Our clinic is still going strong. Because of the rain, the conditions are even grosser than before. I trudged through cow dung and manure filled puddles to my knees to get access to some to the huts. Alberto and Katie went with me, and stood back in some of the areas I traversed. There has been a lot of contention in the community because of the volunteer influence. Everyone needs help and everyone wants help, so they question our methods of choosing projects and people to assist. Because of this we couldn’t go to the community leaders. Instead I was asking random people… “Do you know any widows?” I met with a few of the women that I taught last year. Dilmaya is in the picture. She has one of the nicer huts in the community (notice the wallpaper). She wanted to come to my class, but unfortunately she was ineligible because she has a husband. Husband = duel income. We were surprisingly unsuccessful. I was quite frustrated with my helpers/interpreters. I felt like they were not making an effort. So I went back and found my interviews from last year. I found the picture and interview notes from Chandra Kumari Giri. She was the women who had 5 children. Her story is basically as follows:

She fled to Kathmandu seven years ago during the onset of the Maoist insurrection. Carrying bamboo sticks and guns, Maoist rebels raided Udipur, her small village in southeastern Nepal. Her young children watched as Maoists murdered the neighbors and pillaged their home. Two months earlier, her husband married a second wife abandoning his young family. She was then a single mom with five children ages 2 to 10. She is now 42 years old and does heavy labor.

The class is progressing quickly. The women have now taken over the whole orphan pajama project. Initially our instructor told us it would take a couple months for them to learn, but they are rocking out. Katie and I also help with the class. We use a lot of sign language.

Because these women are illiterate, we are now spending an hour each morning teaching basic literacy and math to them Shrijanna is a little frustrated, but I told her that I am here for uneducated women exclusively.

So here are a few more bios… I got cut off last time I started. In addition to Chandra (the landless widow) there are two more.

Muna Khadka. She is 21 and was married and 17. Her husband left her after a few months of marriage. She has no children and has never worked. She’s been living with her sister. Her sister was in my knitting group last year. We found Muna because of that connection. I told Sugandha to ask Radhika Didi who the women who the widows were. It’s all about self initiative here.

Sapana – Her husband went abroad when she was pregnant with their first child. Her daughter is now 6 years old. She never heard from him since he left. She was also married at 16. She is now 24. She heard about our class and begged to be a part of it. In the past, she has worked for a tailor doing menial labor like sweeping, etc.

The women are so great and so excited. Their lives are changing drastically…it’s so great!

Last night I went up to Gottathar to see all my children and women from last year. They were so excited to see me. Some were shy, but most were just cute and stoked. Ramilla’s mom came running from the field. Her hands were covered in what looked like mud. I said – “what’s on you hands?” She said, “cow dung!” and started laughing hysterically. Tonight we are having a dancing and singing party. I’m bringing the group…

Below, Katie and I are doing Yoga with the neighbor girls. The other is of all the volunteers I live with.