Len and Penny's arrival in photos

Hey everyone,

Penny LeGate from KIRO TV has arrived today, as has Len Davis, a cameraman she will be partnering with while she's here working on a story about my dad's disability awareness campaign. At my dad's request, I snapped a few photos on their arrival. Len is quite the character. Enjoy!

Len and Penny's Arrival

As for other news, my dad met this morning with representatives from an organization called Equal Access Nepal, which produces a radio program titled (as translated to English) "Chatting with my best friend." The show has a following of six million listeners each week between the ages of 15 and 30. On this program, they discuss matters that young people may be too embarressed to ask their families or peers about, or matters that are frowned upon by the elder members of the population. These matters include use of condoms, HIV/AIDS awareness, disability awareness, and so forth, and thus would make a wonderful partner to help out my dad's cause. Many of the issues are taken from letters that individuals write to the show. Also, the listener base has formed many listening 'clubs' all over Nepal, and these clubs are so dedicated to the show that they even go out into the rural areas where even radio may not reach, and teach what is learned on the show to those who would otherwise be left in the dark, so to speak.

When the program started out, many people complaigned and said that the station owner that was airing the show was allowing outright vulgarity to permeate the airwaves. Blessedly, the station owner recognized the need for such a show. Until the show began, talk of sexual matters was largely taboo in Nepali society, and thus many young people had nothing more to go on but rumors and hearsay regarding these and other matters.

Additionally, the organization puts out monthly pamphlets for various regions in Nepal as well as one quarterly unified pamphlet / magazine that highlights many of the issues, which helps the program reach those with hearing impairment, so that they, too, may benefit from this program's wonderful service.

Also, an acknowledgement to my photojournalism professor, John Harris, and some of his most useful advice that I didn't follow this evening and was kicking myself for. Always carry your camera. I had accidentally left the camera in the car and, in the midst of a Rotary meeting, Penny pointed out the red/orange moonrise out the window, which also offered a wonderful view of much of the city of Kathmandu, which was still bathed in just enough sunlight as to be visible with the moon. It would have made for a fantastic picture, even through a window. Sigh.