TRIFC Volunteer Projects

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2012-01-21T18:51:00.001-08:00

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Nepali Snow-Person!

2012-01-18T19:29:00.001-08:00

We had a special visitor come to our home on this snowy day....a Nepali snowman!

Arms extended waiting for a hug!

Whose glasses are those, anyway?

Wrapped up for the cold...brrrr!!!

'Send Girls to School' Sponsors Sima!

2012-01-16T21:08:00.001-08:00

'Send Girls to School (SGS)' - http://www.sendgirlstoschool.org/ has volunteered to help sponsor Sima Tamang attend a new school this coming spring! SGS supports education for girls in the developing world. TRIFC is excited to have SGS partnering with us to help girls with disability in Nepal. Sima is bright, engaging and has a good sense of humor. She is also blind. Thank you, SGS!

Sima Tamang

Kasthamandap Rotaractors Deliver!

2012-01-09T22:57:00.001-08:00

Rotaractors from the Kasthamandap (Kathmandu) Club delivered 50 Braille books to the Namuna Machindra School for use by the Blind/Visually-Impaired students at the school. These books were packaged and shipped to Nepal by TRIFC volunteers. 1,800 boxes of Braille books were sent over to our Braille Library in Kathmandu, Nepal in 2010. The Kasthamandap Rotaract Club has agreed to help sort and distribute some of the books to school libraries throughout Nepal! Thank you, Rotaractors and Club President- Binayak Dahal!

Braille books being delivered to the resource teacher for the blind

Rotaractor sorting books

Rotaractor in action!

See the full gallery on Posterous

TRIFC and Dhulikhel Rotaract Working Together

2012-01-08T21:14:00.001-08:00

For the past eight months, TRIFC has been partnering with the Rotaract Club of Dhulikhel to provide nutritional support to 14 blind/visually-impaired children at the Sanjiwani School in Nepal. Rotaract is a Rotary sponsored international service organization comprised of young people between the ages of 18-30.

Being able to partner with such a high-quality group of young adults on this project is like finding a rare jewel! The Rotaractors visit the school twice a month and bring enough bread so that it can be served daily, over 80 eggs a month, chicken, fruits, beans and juice drinks.

The young man pictured in the photo (light shirt and blue sweater) handing out food is the past-president of the Rotaract Club- Subash Shrestha.

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Education Funds Raised for Children With Disabiity!

2012-01-08T20:41:00.001-08:00

Thanks to the stellar efforts of Mari and the entire Jolkona.org team, $900 in school-fee funding was raised to support the children living at DHC Newlife Center in Kathmandu, Nepal. DHC Newlife Center "is a non-profit and non-government organisation established in 2010, with the mission and vision to provide a caring home environment with education, healthcare and the development of the lifeskills necessary to assist children who are disabled and/or without any means of support to become self reliant and independent adults." TRIFC is proud to be associated with this wonderful organization!

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Gift of Music for the Blind/Visually-Impaired!

2012-01-04T21:31:00.001-08:00

Thanks to funding received from our TRIFC supporters we were able to provide a variety of new musical instruments for Blind/Visually-Impaired (BVI) children at Laboratory School in Kathmandu. Ms. Sita Gyawali is our volunteer project coordinator for our blind programs. Sita (who is BVI) teaches computer skills to BVI children at Laboratory School. The children were very excited and happy to get these new instruments!

See the full gallery on Posterous

Letter From Bindu To Her Sponsor

2011-12-03T10:31:00.001-08:00

The following letter is from Bindu, who is a young woman with blindness. It arrived today via email and I thought I'd share it with our supporters...

<<Dear Brad Sir,

Thank you so much for helping me in my study. If you wouldn’t have helped me through rob Sir, I would have been living at home doing nothing.

I’ve already given the exam of class eleven and have started to study in twelve. The result hasn’t published yet. I’ll inform you after it will come out.

You may like to know some more about me and my family. We’re all together five members in my family. My parents, one younger sister, one younger brother and myself. It is very sad to say that my father is mentally retired and brother also blind. Sister studies in class 8 and brother is also learning Braille in the same school from where I passed SLC as well as studying plus two. Mother works at home and goes to work other’s field and so on to feed us. Father has to take medicine everyday and my uncle provides that medicine for him. Our life is moving in this way.

I’m studying with the help of teachers, friends and my sister. They dictate me, I listen, write and also record sometime. I’m trying to do the best as much as I can.

Please write me about you and your family. Somehow I’ll get to know about it.

With the best regards,

Bindu Neupane

From Gulmi.>>

'Chess Sets for the Blind' at Eastshore Unitarian Church Alternative Gift Fair

2011-11-13T18:22:00.001-08:00

We had a wonderful time today at Eastshore Unitarian Church's Alternative Gift Fair, raising almost $400 to purchase Chess and Checkers sets for Blind/Visually-Impaired (BVI) Children in Nepal. At $20 per set we will be able to donate 20 sets to BVI children in Nepal where this kind of extracurricular activity isn't usually available. There are few games for these children to play and this is a great 'strategy' game which is both entertaining and educational.

The concept behind an 'alternative' gift fair is that rather than buying the usual holiday gifts which may or may not be wanted/needed you can buy a chess set for the blind, donate an animal from Heifer Int'l or choose from one of a dozen other great non-profit organizations to give a gift from! This is really one gift that will have a positive impact on the world (and one size fits all!).

We had many interested people come by our booth and try out the chess and checkers sets. Black and white playing pieces are defined with the white ones having a little 'knobby' bit at the top of each piece. The black squares are raised so that you can tell how many squares you are moving. Several children came up and tried it, quickly catching on to the different shapes for the different playing pieces and how the game is played if you can't see.

Thanks to Eastshore Unitarian for hosting this important and fun event. Also, thank you to all of the donors who contributed to the success of our BVI Chess and Checkers games sets!

-Rob Rose

Close your eyes and try to play...

Gina gives instruction...

Chess & Checkers Sets for the Blind

Our Booth Design

Nepali Wedding Couples Stand Guard!

Sheltered children with disability get their own home | Metro | :: The Kathmandu Post ::

2011-11-07T08:01:00.000-08:00

Sheltered children with disability get their own home | Metro | :: The Kathmandu Post ::

NEW Disabled New Life Centre Building Inaugurated!

2011-11-07T07:58:00.001-08:00

After much hard work and fundraising from our partner organization- the Nepali Children's Trust in the UK, Disabled Newlife Centre (DNC) inaugurated their new building on Saturday, November 5th in Kathmandu, Nepal. This building is one of the few true disability-accessable buildings in the country and will be the new home for 30 wonderful children with disability.

Nepali superstar, Rajesh Hamal was the chief guest and gave a moving speech about his involvement with the Rotary Nepal Disability Awareness Campaign. The DNC kids were overjoyed to get to meet Rajesh Hamal whom they have been asking about every time Gina and I would visit DNC - "When is Rajesh Hamal coming to visit us?"

My Rotary Club - Bellevue Rotary has partnered with the Rotary Club of Kopundol to provide many new items for the centre such as beds, physiotherapy equipment and much more. The Rotary International grant total for this matching grant is almost $20,000!

Check out this web-address to read a story about the grant event in the Kathmandu Post:

http://tinyurl.com/766gwl8

TRIFC at Microsoft Giving Fair 2011!

2011-10-20T17:49:00.001-07:00

On October 4th, TRIFC participated in a wonderful event put on by the Sammamish Microsoft Group called their "Giving Fair". Microsoft employees and contractors have an opportunity to visit with many local non-profit agencies to help plan their donations. The best part is that Microsoft matches donations at 100%! How can you beat that? Thank you, Microsoft and participating employees!

Zafar at Microsoft Giving Fair

Showcasing Braille Slate and Crazy Nepali Hat!

Our Microsoft Crew...Thanks!!!

TRIFC Nepal Dinner Event Success!

2011-09-23T22:18:00.001-07:00

We had a very successful dinner event to support children and adults with disability in Nepal this past Thursday, September 15th. We had a fundraising goal of $10,000 for our event and we blew past that amount and have raised in excess of $12,000. This gives us the ability to continue the support of our Braille Book Library, our empowerment program for deaf women and our support of blind students with nutritional (food) support. These are just a few of our critical programs that enhance, empower and improve the lives of people with disability in Nepal.

Our gratitude goes out to all of our wonderful volunteers who helped us with the dinner this year. Without their help, we couldn't have done it!

During my presentation, I looked out at the 90+ TRIFC/Nepal supporters in attendance and couldn't help but feel honored to be a part of such an empowering group of people. This helps drive me to continue my efforts to improve the lives of people with disability in Nepal. Thank you!

Warmly,

-Rob Rose

President

Our lovely venue.....thank you, Marilyn and Rich!

Happy Guests!

Rob with Jackie, Hilarie and Keith.

Danner, Alex, Terry and JJ enjoying the wine provided by Chateau Ste. Michelle!

Janet, Gary and Leo sharing a toast

Leo introducing Rob for the evening's presentation

Some volunteers!

What a great group!

Harry Potter Travels To Nepal (in Braille-Book form)!!!

2011-09-04T10:43:00.001-07:00

Yesterday I shipped off about 10 boxes of Braille Books bound for our TRIFC/NAWB Braille Book Library in Nepal, including Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban! -Rob Rose

One of four volumes to complete this Harry Potter book (all are enclosed so no one will miss out on any 'action').

Tools of the Braille-Shipping trade: Tape, scale (boxes not to exceed 15 lbs.), custom forms and labels.

This box is ready to roll!

Harry Potter Travels To Nepal (in Braille-Book form)!!!

2011-09-04T09:53:00.001-07:00

Yesterday I shipped off about 10 boxes of Braille Books bound for our TRIFC/NAWB Braille Book Library in Nepal, including Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban! Check out the short video I have attached and see what type of books are 'winging' their way over.

-Rob Rose

TRIFC.org at Phinneywood Art Walk on Friday, August 12th!

2011-08-11T21:07:00.001-07:00

See Rob's photos from Nepal displayed and also our very cool and empowering embroidered greeting cards from Nepal made by our TRIFC.org deaf women's empowerment group.... Thank you, Rockwell Realty!

Visit us at the Art Walk on Friday, August 12th from 6-9pm at Rockwell Realty -

8315 Greenwood Ave N

(between 83rd St & 84th St)
Seattle, WA 98103

Rockwell Realty in Greenwood

Stephanie hard at work!

Deaf Women's Empowerment Group

Stephanie and Rockwell Realty owner, Jim Rockwell

Tsering using his artistic talents to arrange the artwork!

Our custom embroidered Note Cards

See the full gallery on Posterous

Twenty-One Nepali Students with Blindness Receive Backpacks

2011-07-07T21:11:00.001-07:00

Thanks to generous TRIFC donors, twenty-one backpacks have just been distributed to students with blindness in Nepal! Each sturdy backpack contains a folding white cane, a Braille Slate and Stylus, a Braille watch, Braille math kit, Braille ruler and abacus. These are the basics needed for any student with blindness to be successful in his or her studies. Sadly, many of the BVI (blind/visually-impaired) children in Nepal don't have these critical items. What an opportunity to be able to give the gift of education and empowerment to these kids!

-Rob Rose

Executive Director, TRIFC.org

Namuna Machchindra Residential Higher Secondary School, Lagankhel, Lalitpur (1) Sangam Thapa (2) Suman Devkota

Adarsha Saul Yubak Higher Secondary School, Bungmati, Lalitpur (1) Keshav Badi (2) Dhan Raj Mahataro

Sanjiwani Numuna Higher Secondary School, Dhulikhel, Kavre (1) Seema Tamang

Laboratory Higher Secondary School, Kirtipur, Kathmandu (1) Manisha Rai (2) Purnima Sherpa (3) Suna Gharani

Cool News about Nepal Graduates!

2011-06-20T23:01:00.001-07:00

All eight students with disability from DNC (Disabled Newlife Centre) who took their 'gateway' exam- the SLC (School Leaving Certificate) have passed in first division! Bishnu graduated with distinction! We are all so proud of this bright young group. Now, we need to find sponsors to help fund their higher education. Two are already sponsored, but we need to find sponsors for six more. The yearly cost is $650 per student which will cover their school fees and books. Please contact me if you are interested in helping. -Robert Rose
email- info@trifc.org

See the full gallery on Posterous

Singing With An Inner Voice...

2011-06-06T15:25:00.001-07:00

Rabindra.m4v Watch on Posterous

Rabindra is a blind student in class 8 at the Sanjiwani School in Dhulikhel, Nepal. He has a keen sense of humor and a great attitude. We spent several afternoons with him and the other 13 blind/visually-impaired children at the school. On our last visit there all of the children sang a song for us. Many of the kids had very beautiful voices but Rabindra's was mesmerizing. After I heard the talent in those kids I decided to try to start up a music program for them. TRIFC.org is now funding a music teacher (who is also blind) to visit once a week and work with the kids on their music skills! These types of projects - small, but high-impact are made possible by our donors. Please consider contributing to our efforts at www.trifc.org

-Rob Rose

HRDC Children’s Orthopedic Hospital Visit

2011-03-23T21:25:00.000-07:00

Quiet eyes follow us intently as we make our way through the surgical wards of HRDC Hospital in Kavre-Banepa, about a 45-minute drive from Kathmandu, Nepal. The wards are lined on either side with children in their hospital beds, one or two parents sitting near their child’s bedside.

As I approached each child it was as if a switch had been turned on inside them, alighting a radiant smile. Each of them has had to endure major surgery. Many of them were in traction, back braces, leg splints and other post-surgical rehabilitation devices. Some of them were barely able to move, but their smile was ever-present. I was overwhelmed and overcome by my own emotions, my feelings for their plight and my hopes that the worst was over with brighter days to come.

We visited this hospital twice during our Nepal trip. Through Rotary, we have an X-ray machine on the way and a new grant application which will bring a two-bed ICU unit to the hospital. HRDC serves children from around Nepal as well as from other surrounding countries. They do spinal surgeries that are not done anywhere else in the country. Families pay what they are able for their children’s treatment and the hospital treats around 9,000 children per year (up to the age of 18).

The photographs tell their story…

Meeting Ramesh

2011-03-19T09:13:00.000-07:00

“Are you really the Nirmala Gyawali, from the Nepali TV and radio programs I’ve heard?”, asked a student at the Dharan School for the Blind in South-Eastern Nepal. “I have always dreamed of meeting you! My name is Ramesh.”

That was our first introduction to an extraordinary young man who lives and studies at one of the few schools in Nepal that have only children with blindness, not integrated, inclusive schools which most blind children attend. This school has about eighty children living within the school compound and attending classes. The school seemed to be a very nice environment for the children. The school grounds were neat and well cared for and the classrooms weren’t fancy, but they were functional.

We were in this part of Nepal to meet three Rotary clubs with partner projects helping people with disability and also to visit the Purwanchal Deaf School where, the following day we were going to take the entire school of 55 kids out to a park for hiking, lunch and games. Longtime friend, Ms. Nirmala Gyawali (a woman with blindness, who has been on many Nepali TV and Radio shows promoting disability awareness) and her sister Sita wanted to make a short visit to the school for the blind to see how it was running and how the children there were doing.

We met many children at the school that afternoon but the one who stood out for me was definitely Ramesh. Born with a birth defect that kept his eyes from being formed, with only skin covering where the eyes would have been, his appearance was so different and, initially, a bit unsettling. However, as is always the case, appearances are only skin-deep and within that young man is a sharp mind, an engaging personality and an inner-vision.

“Tell me about Seattle, Mr. Robert….what is it like there?” asked Ramesh as we sat surrounded by other students in the boy’s dormitory.

His English was polite and clear. Ramesh asked many questions about my photography business, my family and what I looked like.

“What is your age, Mr. Robert?” he asked.

I replied that I was 52 years old.

“Oh, you don’t sound that old at all” he replied with a bit of a twinkle in his voice!

Our conversation went on for another 15 or 20 minutes and then I needed to catch-up with the rest of our group and head off to the hotel. As I was led out of the dorm room by a number of kids with blindness, suddenly Ramesh asked, “Mr. Robert, how tall are you?”

“Check it out for yourself!” I told him.

Then he and the other boys reached up and up until they got to the top of my head and “oooh’d” and “ahhh’d” at my comparative height (FYI….I’m 6’2”). Another kid put his arms around my waist to see how big around I was. It was an interesting and special experience for me as I thought to myself how curious I would be if I didn’t have sight and how much I would want to know a person’s physical shape to help me make a mental picture of them.

As we crossed the open field between the buildings I saw a boy kicking a soccer ball and then running after it. The ball was wrapped in a noisy plastic bag that made a distinct ‘rustling’ sound every time it bounced on the ground. He didn’t have vision, but his hearing was acute as he strongly kicked, then deftly ran precisely to where the ball landed and bounced to a stop. Another new concept to me: what an ingenious, low-tech way to make an easy-to-find ball for the blind!

Ramesh had a final, difficult question for me. “Mr. Robert, what opportunities will there be for my further education after I finish my high school?”

That was a tough one…I though carefully about my response. I didn’t want to promise anything I couldn’t deliver or to raise his hopes too high, but I also didn’t want to discourage this bright young man either. I said, “study hard and do well on your final exams, then let’s see what is possible. If you do well, I’m sure there will be opportunities for higher education.”

Many of the boys and girls gathered to say goodbye to us after our short but sweet visit. I know we will return next year to see how they are all doing and how we might be able to provide help.

Life is about investment and return. This is true for ourselves and our personal lives, as well as in our financial lives. We invest time, energy and sometimes money in ourselves, our family and our friends. For example, we invest in golf lessons hoping that will ‘pay off’ in a better overall game. If I was giving financial advice, I would say that making sure Ramesh gets a great education is an investment deal that can’t miss.

-Robert Rose

Basanta

2011-03-17T22:38:00.000-07:00

March 11, 2011

Today was the day we were going to visit Basanta. He has been our sponsored student since he was in Class 1 back in 2004. Tina, my sister pays $50 a month for his school fees, uniform, hostel and schoolbooks. Every year Tina puts a care package together, picking out a few clothes, shoes, chocolates and little toys to send with wishes of Happiness and love!

We came to know about Basanta from Rotaractor Sanjeev Dahal who had a friend who taught at Suryodaya Secondary School. She mentioned there was an orphan boy who did not have much but was a good student and needed a sponsor to continue his studies. He would hide under his table because he was so ashamed about not having the requisite school uniform or materials everyone else had. The teacher would provide second hand clothes and materials but she would not be able to provide these on an on-going basis. He lost his Mother after his little brother was born and his father was so upset, he left the family and now Basanta has 2 aunts to care for him during festivals and school breaks. He still has his grandparents whom he loves very much.

“No problem”, Rob had immediately said, I am sure we can find a sponsor for him and that was that!

That was 7 years ago and yesterday we enjoyed a bright and enthusiastic 13 year old, now in 7th grade who is Vice President of the school’s Eco Club! He loves plants, shows us the club’s herbal garden which they had tended which boasts of mint, timor, basil, and all other herbal /medicinal native plants.

He is shy but opened up after an hour and was excited to tell us where his Eco Club activities has sent him; Godavari and other neighboring towns to look at plants and trees. He said he was so excited about our meeting, he could not sleep that night before and neither could he concentrate at class the day we were supposed to arrive. He’s a bright and confident boy now and on the verge of adolescence and despite the heartache of missing parents, he seemed content with the knowledge that somewhere halfway around the world, Tina, his adopted parent cares for him and loves him.

He wants to meet Tina! I hope that next year she can visit and finally meet the recipient of her love and care! Gotta make it happen! He’s smile is oh so worth it!

Fun-filled Day

2011-03-12T08:52:00.000-08:00

It was the day scheduled to take all the sponsored children from the Naxal Deaf School to the zoo just like last year! Last minute confirmation required a change in plans to have a little party at the deaf hostel instead since they had to study for exams and the kids' parents could only allow 2 hours for the event.

So we stopped at Batt Bathini department store and loaded up on games and sports equipment so we could have fun playing at the hostel! Rob and Balram ordered snacks for lunch + drinks + oranges and we were in business!

All the other hostel kids had to wait until we videotaped the sponsored kids for their requisite video message to their sponsors. Then they all filed in to participate in all sorts of games we brought. It felt like carnival day at our kid's grade school minus the cake walk game =).

We had a soccer ball, table tennis, badminton, racket ball, cricket, golf, jump rope and hoola hoops! See the photos and it says it all! I didn't even need to learn sign language!

Sita came along with us as our guide and translator! Rakesh came along with us! He is the young adult who had been kept home due to his disability and who now lives at NDA and goes to school at class 5. He had suffered from brittle bone decease and is this tiny guy in a tiny wheel chair! He was overwhelmed and realized he was not alone.

Everyone got along! I was busy braiding the friendship bracelets that were in those beany baby give away baggies! I finally got to tie a square knot correctly!

Enjoy the pics when they get posted!

Getting it Right!

2011-03-10T23:26:00.000-08:00

It’s been 2 years since 1000 hearing aids were distributed to children and adults with hearing impairment in hopes that this will help them progress in the world that prefers sound to function and communicate. A large hearing aid manufacturing foundation goes around the world providing hearing aids to Africa, South America, Asia and far flung countries were nutrition, lack of awareness about hearing disorders, decease and poor hygiene contribute to conductive or sensorineural hearing loss or both. Was it all a numbers game?

Did they bask in their glory when they drop millions of hearing aids to show their patrons and donors, government grants and individual contributors they had used the funds wisely? Alas, it is so short sighted to dispose of these hearing aids only to find out that without follow-up or monitoring, the results of such endeavor only reveal that a large percentage of these hearing aids have not been used at all.

A meeting with Rotaractors, a speech therapist and donors from Holland, Monique and Rolf, brings forth the comprehensive plan to do this right, to do this all over again. This time not with a large organization but with people and organizations that understand that sustainability comes from monitoring that ensures long term benefits make for meaningful change in a beneficiary's life.

Monique and Rolf are currently building a hostel for 25 impoverished deaf students at the Kavre School for the Hearing Impaired plus living quarters for the hostel administrator. This frees up classrooms so the school can continue to provide grades 1-10 + 2 courses to the deaf community in Banepa.

Trifc.org continues to sponsor deaf children out there and provided the deaf women's cooperative the marketing process for the embroidered note cards. With funds, new audiograms will be performed on the children to determine who will benefit from hearing aids. Dr Ruchie will donate her time to be part of the audiogram testing and will continue to monitor the development and adoption of the hearing aids for the children who will receive them.

We'll get it right this time, make the necessary changes to the program, elicit the help of the children's parents and together understand what exactly can and cannot be done for them. It takes a village to raise a child, it takes a several more to work together to combat ignorance, greed, short sightedness. We all need to listen to that voice inside of us when a louder voice seems to want to drown us out.

Embroidered notecards empower women

2011-03-09T19:16:00.000-08:00

Rose Stevens has began the revolution of empowering women with the set up of the Kavre Deaf Women's Development Coop in Banepa, Nepal. Here 15 women had undergone a a 15 day training program to produce export quality note cards embroidered with colorful floral patterns.

The women would not have any other source of livelihood or supplemental income for their families on account of their handicap and the limited opportunities in this society.

They socialize and teach each other new ideas and gain support for their issues and rejoice in their good fortunes as well. Its a coming together of women who have since time held the family unit together and is the driving force for progress!

See their work and their expressions - words cannot convey!

Wish Fulfilling Goddess – Manakamana Temple

2011-03-08T19:03:00.000-08:00

February 28, 2011

On the way to Pokhara, we stopped at the Manakamana Temple on top of a hill 1300 meters above sea level just north-east of the town of Mugling. You can hike up foot trails to worship and offer your best chickens or goats but that can take up to 3 -4 hours. After such offerings, the sacrificial creature is dressed and blessed and taken back home for a blessed feast! Or you can board a cable car completed in 1998 by the Swiss government and the pride of Nepal’s tourism board!

We opted to ride up the cable car and spend 10- 15 minutes admiring the little hillside farms and terraced plots as the breeze cooled our heads and kept us in a perpetual dream state!

We enter the turnabout where we hopped off the cable car. We hiked through small alley ways filled with merchants on either side peddling offerings for the Goddess, flowers, strings, coconuts, fruits etc. in little wicker or metal trays.

After about 15 minutes, we stepped a square where the temple has stood for decades when a King of Gorkha had his wish fulfilled and as promised built a temple to Manakamana for all other Hindus to worship and honor.

The temple, built in the 17Th century looked worn out, covered with wax and soot from the millions of butter candles lit and left to burn in all its natural glory for the more smoke that reaches its rafters, equals the passion of its devotees! Rice litters the square as visitors feed the hundreds of pigeons that have made the temple their home - living room plus toilet as well! We made sure not to stand along the electrical cables above us where the pigeons perched happily! Bells surrounded the temple which is rang as the devotees prayed and circled 3 times to make sure the wish has reached the Goddess’ ears.

The lines snaked around and behind the temple, the visitors waiting patiently their turn to enter the temple and get a blessing from the priest inside! They reappear happy, joyful and pleased they had made the pleasing sacrifice to Manakamana!

I must say it is true, your wishes do come true!

Of Suspension Bridges

2011-03-08T18:40:00.000-08:00

02/28/2011

It was the last leg of the Volunteer’s Tour and we were on our way to Pokhara, the restful lakeside town made popular by the trekkers to the Annapurna Circuit and where many other trailheads begin.

While Sita, a visually challenged woman who was the first blind Nepali to complete her Masters Degree accompanied the group to Dhulikhel, Jayanti, the program officer of the Rotary Disability Awareness Campaign accompanied the group this time.

Jayanti’s story is one of sheer commitment to one’s desire to make something of oneself in a society that excludes the disabled. Her disability occurred at 2 years of age. She contracted polio and was sent to live at an SOS orphanage for children with disabilities and never saw her mother until she turned 20 and was released. Her family became the children and guardians at SOS Children’s Center at Djorpati. She has then reconnected with her family which lives in Danghadi, a district in the Western part of Nepal that requires a 15 hour bus ride and ½ hour rickshaw ride. She gets to spend the festivals with her family and currently lives with her sister Kalpana. Today she also attends the University and will complete her Masters in Mass Communications in the next 2 years.

The Disability Awareness Campaign precludes the employment of disabled personnel in every possible segment of this program. In the duration of this campaign, we have seen the people with disability (PWD) build wheelchairs, bookshelves, coordinate the activities of the awareness campaign, pose as models for all our media and advertising materials, write articles and commentaries in all Nepali news publications, participate in sports days and become beneficiaries of 25 projects that were developed by the Nepali Rotary Clubs partnered with District 5030 and other US Rotary clubs totaling an amount of over $250,000.00.

The trip to Pokhara included a short walk through a tiny village carved into a mountainside and connected to the main highway via a steel cable suspension bridge. Such an analogy of what people can do for each other, how a single construction enables a community to thrive and gain services for their health, education, medical, nutrition and opportunity to earn and participate in nation building. Everybody needs a connection, everybody needs to contribute and everybody can because we are all able!
Building Community, Bridging Continents!

Rotary can provide that connection, District to District, Club to Club, Rotarian to Rotarian! Building bridges and connecting communities!

Response to a Heartache

2011-03-08T06:46:00.000-08:00

For the most part the sighted children are willing and able to help the challenged ones and they seem to be well assimilated. Subodh, one of our sponsored kids, placed 1st in a class of 185 8th graders and last year he placed 4th. He understands that education is his ticket to opportunity despite his blindness. He knows his strengths and has harnessed it to excel. He won 3 awards this year: one in speech, the second in poetry and a third in quiz competition. He has won cash prizes and medals and trophies to prove his achievements. The sad part is that these awards seem to have disappeared from the Resource Room the teachers have told him they were going to store them. Are they worth any money? Could they have sold them? That’s only one of the questions we began to ask this evening as Subodh began to tell us about the injustices that have befallen these visually challenged students.

We had invited Subodh to dine with us that evening and here is shared the pain and heartache he has stored in to his giving heart. He belongs to a school that has been part of an inclusive program supported by the government. Hostel accommodations are provided to the school plus 3 resource teachers who would teach the students braille and support them in their integrated study with sighted children. We have come to find out that the resource teachers are not teaching braille but teaching sighted students other subjects. They hardly receive their braille paper and rely on their sighted friends to read to them. The older students have taken it upon themselves to teach the younger students braille and together they try to make their tests and homework with whatever is provided to them. If this was not horrible enough, he had also revealed that some musical instruments donated by some foreign visitors to their hostel has been taken away and provided for use by sighted students.

Something definitely must be done about this!

We are back in Kathmandu at the NAWB (Nepal Association for the Welfare of the Blind), a non-profit organization that has the support of INGOs from Germany and Japan, trifc.org, government ministries of Nepal and a host of local foundations to provide resources, education, vocational training for the visually impaired children and adults. NAWB operates in 7 districts which serves 5500 children. They had estimated that there are 30,000 visually challenged school aged children in the country.

We were there to check on the 200 boxes of Braille books we had shipped from Seattle to build the first National Braille Library of Nepal and plan the project to catalogue the Books and ensure that these are disseminated via a Mobile Library to the districts that NAWB covers. There are plans for India to donate the vehicle for this purpose.

We had brought our concerns to Rajan Raut, Immediate past chairman of the center. He's a Rotarian and passionate supported of this organization, he will follow up on the goings on at the Sanjuwani School Blind Hostel and Resource center with the help of the Rotary Club at Dhulikhel. It is a start in the correction of practices that have harmed the blind students’ progress. It is encouraging to note that despite the seemingly unjust society, that when good people are asked to do something about an injustice, there are Rotarians who will stand up and take the challenge, work in their environment and ensure positive change for the students and the future of the inclusive program.

On our part, Sita Gyawali, our volunteer will continue to keep in touch with Subodh and the other students on their progress and needs and relay conditions to Mr. Rajan Raut for continued action and support.

Guest post from Rose Stevens - TRIFC Program Coordinator

2011-03-02T20:30:00.001-08:00

We arrived in Dhulikel in the late afternoon after driving thru
pouring rain. The hotel is perched high on a hill but with the rain
and fog there is no view and no heat. We sit huddled around a
kerosene heater in the bar area drinking hot tea and talking. Ashok
Shrethsa arrives with my sponsored child and a young man who has been
a recipient of a small micro finance loan to start a fish farm in his
village.

My sponsored child had been burned in a forest fire near his village.
He is 8 years old and quite small. After the fire he had been unable
to walk as his legs were badly burnt with a lot of skin contraction.
After several surgeries and physical therapy he is now able to walk
and is doing quite well. He has been attending a local school but will
soon be returning to his village.

The young fish farmer was wrapped under a blanket which he used to hid
the deformed side of his face. He was born with a very dramatic birth
defect which drew his head and face down to his shoulder. He had never
left his house as his face was scary to other people. Several
surgeries later his appearance is greatly improved and he is able to
be social settings.

He was very shy and self conscious of his appearance. I imagine his
shyness is due to the many years of isolation due to his appearance.
His fish are growing and will be ready for harvest in the near future.
He is also raising pigs as a cash crop. I admire his courage in moving
forward with his life and for being willing to take a chance on the
surgery.

We were joined for dinner by Bethany and Eva, both Fullbright
scholars, and Ashok and Annu as well as Rob, Sandie, Rose, Balram. We
discussed our agenda and logistics for the training program the next
day. We went to bed in chilly rooms with Hot Water Bottles to warm our
bed! Hot water bottles were a thing of my parents and grandparents
generation. I have never used a hot water bottle for warmth. I am
moving backward in time!

The next day we awake to sunshine and a view of the Himalyan
Mountains-WOW. The snow capped mountains above a sea of puffy white
clouds with small islands here and there. This is the Nepal you see in
photos.

Today is the first day of handicraft training. The suitcase is packed
with all the materials and we squeeze into the car for the trip to
the Kavre Barnape Deaf School. Although it is only a short distance
away it takes some time to weave around the potholes in the dirt road
and the motor bikes and pedestrians.

We are greeted by Krishina the school principal and several deaf
children. We set up the materials and the women start to trickle in.
First in Bandana who is in her early twenties and very outgoing and
friendly. She is a crafty young woman who had made several other paper
products which she proudly shared with us.

I decided to give her a preview of the finisted product…. HER EYES
WIDENED AND HER SMILE GREW BROADER..as she was astounded by the beauty
of the samples. She signed her happiness and utter amazement and how
thrilled she was to learn this craft. I was very happy to have this
project so well received by the first participant.

The ladies continued to arrive and finally we had 17 eager
participants. The smiles were broad and the excitement contagious.
Introductions of our team were completed and the program began. I
spoke of our principles: commitment, pride and partnership; and our
goals: empowerment of women, to become strong women, to create
community and to improve the life conditions of their families and
themselves.

Many of these women came from outlying villages where they were the
only deaf women. Within just a few hours I could see the ladies
bonding and communicating with each other in ways they could not with
others. To finally meet with others who spoke the same language was
very empowering for them.

There were four women who were illiterate. It had never been so
apparent to me the benefit of literacy in a persons’ life. Although
deaf, the literate women had fine motor skills, the ability to measure
and cut paper and to read simple directions. The other women tried so
hard but even cutting paper with scissors was difficult.

These four ladies also had eyesight problems and I am investigating
the possible need for glasses or cataract surgery. They came back for
second day of training and my heart broke as I saw them struggling and
trying so hard. Those who have the greatest need and desire are going
to find this the most difficult.

This is one of the most satisfying projects I have completed. The joy
on the faces as they completed the card is indescribable. The joy in
my heart to witness this opportunity of community building and skill
building is overwhelming. I see brighter futures for these women
thanks to TRIFC.

Rose Stevens
Program Coordinator
TRIFC

See the full gallery on Posterous

A New Day

2011-02-27T02:32:00.000-08:00

February 23, 2011
Dhulikhel, Nepal
Himalayan Horizon Hotel
6:30 am

The plan was to wake up to catch the light the sunrise casts over the Himalayan range, to marvel at the beauty only nature can stage! You could make out the varying degrees of blue gray shades that marked the many layers of mountain’s skyline. I caught view of fog rolling in low below the tree tops. The haze over the mountain range stayed as the sun rose at 6:40am yet despite that, witnessing the sun rise today as quickly as it set last night. In a few minutes, it shown in all its glory, the yellow orange orb that we rely on each and every waking day.

Bobbie and I stood there recording the scene via video and photo and felt the warmth it brought our faces. Mornings are precious, I thought! Here we are at the beginning of a new day! All the possibilities become evident, become hope, become a vision of what the day could be! We stood there shoulder to shoulder to face the day together!

The day will be a fun day of art! We’ll visit the blind students as the Sanjiwani School who board there and create personal boxes that they will paint and decorate with ornaments and jewels we brought over from home. There’ll be a box lunch and some presentations of presents and games. I’m sure it’ll be a fun day!

Sanjiwani School Art Project

2011-02-26T08:02:00.000-08:00

February 24, 2011
At Sanjiwani School

There are 14 visually challenged students who live in a hostel in the grounds of the Sanjiwani Model Higher Secondary School in Dhulikhel, Kavre District, Nepal. 4 of these students have sponsors who pay for their hostel and tuition fees. We always plan a special activity here to benefit all the visually challenged students. They range in age from 6 to 18 and attend the school with all the other 1000+ students from class 1 – 10.

Bobbie has suggested a “treasure Box” art project wherein the students would decorate wooden boxes with objects of many shapes and sizes and then the volunteers would help varnish these boxes so they would have their personal treasure boxes to keep as a memory of our volunteer activity. RR had the boxes made by a local woodworker and we brought the plastic jewels of all shapes with adhesive backings to make the process a little easier for our students. Each volunteer partnered with a student to assist and interact with them while they decorated their boxes. Each box was labeled with their name and the name of their volunteer. We had boxed lunches brought in and gave out goodie bags we brought for each student too! We also got to buy each one a shirt, underwear and socks from the local market.

A good time was had by all! The students had fun being out of the classroom for a few hours (who wouldn’t?) and created their treasure boxes and just chatted with us about their families and favorite things! I just felt really warm inside as I saw their smiles light up their faces as we joked around. They don’t care what we looked like or how we dressed or why we were there. They just enjoyed our company, received our presence and felt good that all eyes were on them that day!

Namaste from Nepal

2011-02-24T00:33:00.001-08:00

Today we visited the building site for the Disabled New Life Center. It is a lovely three-story handicap access building overlooking an agricultural valley. The valley has fields of potatoes now, which will change to rice during the rainy season.

Sita accompanied us on this visit and she was impressed with new building. This was my first opportunity to act as her guide as we traversed the construction site. I have never been a guide for a blind person and I relished the opportunity to share the colors of the tile and the view from the verandah as well as avoiding piles of gravel and pieces of cement. She seemed to sense many things before I spoke any words. I cannot imagine living in a developing country without being able to see!

We visited the Disabled and Helpless Children Newlife Center Nepal run by Amrit Pususainee. He has worked many years with disabled children and has just created his own NGO. He currently has 13 children at the home. Some are disabled and some are from homes of severe poverty or have been abandoned. They all attend a regular school and are socialized in a normal manner.

They are renting a lovely three-story house, which is likely to be the best living conditions these children have ever seen. The walls are all pink with cheap vinyl imitation wood flooring. All very clean and the bathrooms have clean green and white tile. The boy’s bath has a western toilet while the girl’s bath is the traditional squat toilet. There are two bunk beds in each room and they are requesting funding for dressers and bookcases as currently their belongings are on the floor. We arrived on Saturday which is their one free day each week. The boys were upstairs playing Monopoly and the girls were sitting on the patio playing Uno. Everyone seemed very happy and content.

Armit lives at the home and is not paid a salary. There is one staff person. The children all seemed very happy and I was impressed with his dedication and concern for the children. Although they have funding from several sources they are short $430 each month. We discussed some fundraising ideas and his plans for the future. I was very impressed with his goals and with his values.

We then went to lunch at The Bakery Café. This is a chain here in Nepal and they employ the deaf as waiters. The service was excellent as was the food.

Now for the adventure. We needed to find a cab to our next destination. We are standing there on the side of the road one tall white man, two blond white women and a blind Nepali woman with a cane. This is Saturday, a holiday, and every cab had passengers. Two buses stopped and we waved them on as we had never taken a Nepali buss-a minivan with as many people as possible inside.. both sitting and standing. Finally when no vacant cabs appeared Sita said lets take the bus. We squeeze inside having no idea of the fare or where we are going… trusting only in Sita to guide us.

Luckily everyone was very helpful and we were able to get off at the right stop. Now we had to walk half a mile. Sandie is guiding Sita as the sidewalks have steps up and step downs and there are building supplies here and there, trash and mud puddles to avoid. Finally we decide it would be easier to walk in the street and face down the motorcycles, buses, cabs and rickshaws rather than deal with the sidewalks.
At least the street was a relatively smooth surface! People were staring at us and we just smiled and said Namaste.

The next facility reminded Sandie of hospitals back in the 50’s and 60’s in New York City. The conditions were “tolerable” with spacious rooms but they were rather dark and dank. The patients had the freedom of the open grounds but the disability level was profound. We meet with Rakesh Gwachha, who is diagnosed with brittle bone disease. He is about three feet tall at age 24. He was living with his family on the third floor of the house with no access to the outdoors. He could only watch life go by from his window. His sister carried him to school when they were younger but she is now married with a child of her own. His father is alcoholic and Rakesh was not receiving the care he needed.

He is very happy at the home and has a small wheelchair which provides his with independence. He is still attending school and TRIFC will be funding his English classes. He really wants to learn to speak English to communicate with his benefactors. He was thrilled to see Rob and wanted to know when he and Gina were going to visit again.

We move on to the Disabled New Life Center ( DNC ) to visit the children for a second time. They were watching a Hindi film and insisted we join them for this special time. We played games with them after the movie and generally just spent some quality time. The kids are truly happy here thanks to the house mom/director Shanti. She lives full time at the home (except for Friday when she is off from 9-4) and sets a gentle, loving tone to all the activities. They are all very anxious to move to the new facility, mentioned earlier, which is much more spacious and light. The children learn English in primary school and our conversations were meaningful and enlightening into their thoughts and feelings.

This being only my second meeting with these children I already feel connected and very concerned for their well being now and in the future. Such potential. Such love.

Touring the new Disabled Newlife Centre - Kathmandu

Rose, Sandi, Sita and Amrit (in the back) at the new DNC (Disabled Newlife Centre) building

Rose, Sandi, Amrit and kids at DHCNLC in Kathmandu

Mr. Rakesh Gwacha

Santa from DNC with kitty cat!

DNC's Saraswati with cat

See and download the full gallery on posterous

New X-Ray machine

2011-02-23T23:49:00.001-08:00

Because of the past success of our Bellevue Rotary Auction we have been able to fund an x-ray machine to replace the antiquated one you see in the photo. In addition, we are proposing a project to put in a 2-bed Intensive Care Unit (ICU).

This is an urgent need at this hospital. The types of cases that the hospital treats are difficult and complex requiring not only medical expertise but also post-operative, specialized equipment that the hospital does not currently have.

This hospital does surgeries and procedures that cannot be done anywhere else in the country. Currently, prior to a difficult surgical procedure they call other nearby hospitals and confirm that an ICU bed is available.

Only when that is confirmed can they start the surgery, otherwise they have to postpone. If, in the case of an emergency the patient needs to be transported to the other hospital’s ICU, patients must be moved in a delicate, precarious condition over terrible, bumpy roads to the other hospital’s ICU.

Transporting children in this way, who have just had spinal surgery is not advisable. Having an in-house ICU would remedy this problem.

The children you see

2011-02-23T23:28:00.001-08:00

The children you see in the photos are receiving treatment at HRDC Children’s Orthopedic Hospital in Kavre-Banepa, Nepal (near to Kathmandu). This is a wonderful institution where families only pay what they can afford for orthopedic surgeries large and small.

The Essentials… When packing

2011-02-13T08:04:00.001-08:00

The Essentials… When packing my carry-on’s for a long flight I have a methodical (some would say maniacal) process whereby I try to plan and prepare for any eventuality. As you probably know, on most international flights you are allowed two items- a size/space-approved hand-carry bag and a computer bag. Of course I have my travel pillow. It’s a new and improved design that stores neatly and blows up to resemble a huge blue shrimp!

Then there are the mandatory eye-shades and ear-plugs (the industrial-strength ones capable of silencing the piercing shrieks of a two year-old sitting right next to you!). I also have my own headphones so I don’t have to wait for the standard ones to be passed out.

Here are some other items I bring that maybe aren’t on the ‘usual’ packing lists:
• One regulation ping-pong paddle with spare balls (you never know where a game might pop up) and I don’t want my valued paddle damaged in my checked luggage!
• 24- Granola Bars (there wasn’t room for these in my checked luggage)
• My own concoction of ‘trail-mix’ with peanuts, raisins. m&m’s, yogurt covered raisins, pretzels and craisins (sweet cranberries). I ate my allotment of these during the first hours of my flight from Seattle to Seoul!
• Carpal-tunnel wrist braces to keep my hands from falling asleep when I snooze.
• Eye drops and Saline Nasal Spray for those super-dry plane flights.
• One regulation Nepali language phrasebook and Nepali letters flash cards.
• Battery powered computer speakers for those times when the power is out in Nepal (which is about 14 hours a day!).
• Vitamins and medicines for my trip Geez, you’d think I was preparing for an Everest climb, there’s such a wide selection stuff!

It’s kind-of a strange collection, but when I’m going to be away from home for a while, I like to bring some reminders of home and my life there. What ‘unusual’ items do you bring on your long trips?

Rob begins trip to Nepal 2011

2011-02-12T09:18:00.001-08:00

Rob sent an email a little after 1:00 am today that he arrived at Incheon, Korea safe and sound. He will arrive KTM on Sunday 1:00am PST with Rose Stevens and Sandie Olsen, 2 of our volunteers who are scheduled to develop a women's cooperative and produce embroidered notecards for sale in and around Nepal and overseas. These empowerment activity wil allow these women, who are hearing impaired, to develop a craft, learn the process of marketing and business. This is just the start of the many projects trifc.org will launch this year.

I follow on Saturday, the 19th with our board member, Bobbie Izuo and 2 Rotarians, Steve Swank (RC Des Moines) and Elisabeth Saunders (RC Leavenworth)to visit their Nepali project partners on their disability awareness campaign initiatives and to tour our project sites, meet our nepali friends and witness the beautiful tourist attractions in and around Kathmandu(KTM).

Needless to say this is the highlight of our year and we are excited to meet the children who have benefited from the generosity of our sponsors and donors. Rob will also continue to monitor the 3 year Rotary 3H Grant activities and with his partner Rotarian RR Pandey host the RI Auditor visiting to evaluate the overall impact of the Nepal Disability Awareness Campaign that began in 2008.

With just last minute packing to be done, I am grateful to all of you who have supported Rob and I in our trips whether for Rotary International, trifc.org or other interests. As those who have experienced the magic and mystery of this country, this trip will be just as ethereal despite being Rob's 12th and my 6th trip over. I believe it is about people, it is about friends and it is about humanity coming together to make a better future. Namaste.

~Gina Rose

Goats rule Main Street!

2011-01-03T19:04:00.001-08:00

Goats rule the main street! Calcutta, India circa 1974. What an experience at age 16 to live with an Indian family and attend school.

My home in Calcutta,

2011-01-03T18:59:00.001-08:00

My home in Calcutta, India. circ- 1974. My address was: 290-B Rashbehari Ave. I lived in the 2nd floor flat with the Basu family.

Sunset over the Ganges

2011-01-03T18:52:00.001-08:00

Sunset over the Ganges River. Calcutta, India - 1974- Extreme air pollution provides the stunning sunset!

My life as a Rotary Exchange Student

2011-01-03T18:45:00.001-08:00

My life as a Rotary exchange student to Calcutta, India circa 1974...yellow pants were "in"!

Check out this link!

2010-12-13T16:43:00.001-08:00

Check out this link! We are providing support to the first all-deaf Interact Club with the Rotary Club of Mt. Everest.

We attended an Alternative Gift Fair

2010-11-15T18:22:00.001-08:00

We attended an 'alternative' gift fair yesterday at Eastshore Unitarian church. More info and photos later!

Drinking Nepali Tea

2010-11-01T15:58:00.001-07:00

Drinking Nepali Tea in Bellevue!

That's a Lot of Braille Books

2010-07-06T16:55:00.000-07:00

Weigh it. Unpack it. Repack it. Weigh it. Stamp it. Carry it. Stack it. Repeat.

Over two dozen volunteers crowded the Northcoast Allied Moving and Storage warehouse near Factoria on July 5 to play an instrumental role in preparing Braille and large-print books to be shipped to the blind and visually impaired in Nepal.

The boxes of books to be shipped overseas, due to the usual over-complications of US customs, mustn’t weigh more than 15 pounds apiece. Many of the boxes received by TRIFC weighed much more, and thus resulted the instant creation of many assembly-line jobs that volunteers took up in stride.

To the outside observer, all was chaos. To the participating volunteer, it was still mostly chaos. That was fine for me, since it turned out that I was mainly responsible for delivering the pizza lunch in a timely manner.

But still, the assembly line worked, and it worked better than anyone had anticipated.

The goal going into the day was to pack up 500 boxes of books that weighed less than the 15-pound requirement. In just a few short hours, that goal was met, and then some.

The books were saved from recycling by Cindy Holm, teacher of blind and visually-impaired individuals and they were shipped to and stored at the facility courtesy of the Washington State Braille Resource Center and Stuart Morrow from Northcoast Moving & Storage. Because of their efforts, schools for the blind and visually-impaired throughout Nepal will be able to give these books new life through the imaginations of children in need. And the children need Braille books!

Cindy Holm

Heck, even just blank Braille paper can be hard to come by.

So, a warm thank you and Namaste to everyone who helped out on the holiday weekend!

And to all the other readers out there, there are still many boxes to go! Keep your eyes on your e-mail, we’ll be having another volunteer packing party soon, and we could always use some extra help.

-Carey

Click to see more photos:

Braille Books - Edited

FYI....Click On Any Photo To See The Entire Album!

2010-05-14T17:13:00.000-07:00

Defying Description – Disabled Newlife Center Trip to Chitwan National Park – Final Installment

2010-04-28T21:26:00.000-07:00

DNC Chitwan Part 5

The days activities had totally worn out both the kids and the volunteers….everyone was ready for a good night’s sleep. The nighttime symphony of jungle sounds were augmented by RR’s loud snoring in the bed next to mine. At least, I hoped it was snoring and not a tiger sitting outside my window! The best gift I have ever received was this trip with these kids. Those were my thoughts as I drifted off to sleep.

The previous evening, RR had suggested that we have a late wake-up call, a leisurely breakfast and a relaxing boat-ride across the river before getting back into the two busses for the long ride home. After waking up and showering we packed up our belongings and headed out for another excellent breakfast with our group. The other guests at the lodge were very curious about our kids and some of them had expressed an interest in wanting to help out in some way. A group of visitors from Greece gave me some art supplies for the kids that they had planned to donate elsewhere in Nepal and a nice young woman from the UK was interested in volunteering at DNC as she was teaching in Kathmandu and had Sundays off.

For me, this jungle-trip was the grand finale of a truly phenomenal five weeks in Nepal. Launching the National Braille Library, being a part of working on the Rotary Disability Awareness Campaign, setting up a Massage Training program for the Blind/Visually-Impaired, visiting all of our sponsored kids in Dharan, Rimwa, Sanjiwani, Kavre-Banepa, and taking the Kathmandu children with deafness to the zoo for the day were just some of the highlights! How can this trip ever be topped? My sincere gratitude goes out to all of the Rotary, Rotaract and TRIFC.org friends, supporters and volunteers who made this such a successful trip.

After breakfast all of the kids and volunteers went down to the river and loaded themselves and all of their things into the canoes. We crossed the river one last time. Laughter and chatter echoed off the otherwise quiet waters. Our many chatterboxes were so excited to experience whatever this day would hold. We had a few surprises left for all of them.

We began our ride home and I insisted that the windows be closed and the air-conditioning turned on! I found out later that the outside temps were easily 110 degrees….that’s too hot! So our ride home was so much more pleasant as we wound our way through Bharatpur, Mugling and past Manakamana. RR’s staff had made lunch reservations for all 40 of us at the Riverside Springs Resort. Right around one o’clock our busses came to a stop in the restaurant parking lot. This was a beautiful location above the banks of the scenic Trishuli river. Unfortunately, the restaurant was at the bottom of many steps. Everyone helped everyone else and when we reached the restaurant at the bottom we sat outside at tables set in a beautiful garden. There was an outstanding buffet with an array of tasty Nepali foods. I’m sure they lost money on us as our kids ate more than any normal person would!

I was sitting with Muna (aka-Little Mosquito), Sunita (the smaller Sunita) and Mansara. We were talking about boys and food and I asked Mansara what her favorite food was. She answered that she really disliked “Gundruk”, the national food of Nepal and that she loved “ice-cream”, the national food of Rob! I was surprised by the fact that she didn’t like gundruk, but the fact that she liked ice-cream gave me an idea. I asked RR if they had ice-cream here for the kids to have for dessert. He made a few inquiries and they had it. We decided to save this for a surprise just before we leave for the busses.

Most of the kids walked down to the river and threw rocks into the swift current. We kept a close eye on them and everyone was very careful. We got our feet wet in the cold river water and took a few last photos to remember our trip by. RR told me later that as he carried Bimala on his back out to the river, she remarked to him, “Sir, sometimes I wonder why are you doing all this for us. We are so lucky to have you helping us.” RR told me later that Bimala’s words really touched him and how it brought home how much this trip really meant to all of the children.

“Okay, time to get ready to head home, everyone head back up to the restaurant!”

We reluctantly left the cool, rushing waters of the river and walked back up the steps to the shady grass lawn of the restaurant. We all sat together and the kids started playing a traditional Nepali game called “Gatta” with rocks that resembles the game of “Jacks”. You have five rocks on the ground, grab one, throw it up in the air and while it’s up in the air you grab another of the rocks on the ground and then catch the one in the air. You repeat this until you have all of the rocks picked up in your hands from the ground!

Then, guess what arrived… Ice-Cream, of course!! In little round tubs and a wooden spoon just like we used to get in grade school!!! Vanilla and Strawberry were the choices of the day. It was very popular and a nice way to end our trip activities.

We worked our way back up to the busses, loaded up and took off for Kathmandu. I switched busses to be with the other group of kids for the rest of the trip. The final leg of this trip can be a long, slow, exhausting journey as we go uphill much of the way. We got behind stinky-truck after stinky-truck. Every one of them was spewing out thick, black diesel exhaust. However, I still had fun playing and chatting with the kids for a while and then one-by-one most of them dropped off to sleep and I could spend my time watching them resting so quietly, so peacefully.

Traffic really started jamming up as we got close to Kathmandu. I finally ended up in the far back of the bus with Sunil, DNC’s budding photographer. We talked about photography for a while and the proper use of a tripod (not an unusual line of conversation for photographers!), when Sunil suddenly blurted out, “My mother called DNC and wants to see me.” You might remember from my third blog-entry about this trip that 16 year-old Sunil couldn’t even remember what his mother or father looked like as he hadn’t seen them in 10 or 12 years. They hadn’t had any contact with him or interest in seeing him over all these years and suddenly there is this call. I asked Sunil how he felt about this sudden development in his life and he replied honestly, “I’m angry”. I thought for a moment and then told him that it was okay to be angry, but to try to keep an open mind about it if he could.

We arrived back in Kathmandu around five o’clock. The busses would take the kids back to DNC and we went in RR’s Toyota to head to our home. We said our goodbyes to the kids and the Rotaract volunteers.

I don’t know how Sunil’s visit with his mother went as I was making my final whirlwind project visits and packing/preparing to leave for home over the next two days. Just think about the monumental event this meeting would be for him…I wondered how it went and I’m sure I’ll find out the next time we get to talk. If it is okay with Sunil, I will let you all know what happened…

Update!!! I just had an email from house-mom- Shanti and she wrote that Sunil had a nice visit with his mother and that he is happy! I think that is very good news!

This was an emotional finish to an energizing trip. I learned a lot about myself, about Nepal and about our commitment to these children. I can try to paint the picture with my words, but being there is magic!

With My Warmest Regards,
-Rob.

Defying Description – Disabled Newlife Center Trip to Chitwan National Park - Part Four

2010-04-21T22:29:00.000-07:00

DNC Chitwan Visit- Part 4

I watched as Rotaractor Sudeep Shrestha carefully hoisted Sanjay out of his wheelchair and up onto his back, carrying him down to the canoe for the early afternoon boating trip on the Narayani River. He placed him gently into the boat, positioning him so that he was comfortable. For those of you who don’t already know Sanjay, he is an irrepressible kid with an engaging smile who had always run around with total abandon on the two stumps that serve as his feet. He had severe burns as a young child as he fell into the cooking fire in his home. His feet were so badly burned they had to be amputated. Another of the DNC kids- Dhiraj comes from a similar background, but that had never slowed either of them down… until this trip. I had noticed that Sanjay had been confined to a wheelchair and he definitely wasn’t his usual, exuberant self. Looking at him, one leg appeared to be shorter than the other. I asked Anjan (DNC admin.) why this was and he told me that Sanjay’s stumps were becoming infected. After proper assessment it was decided to further amputate both of his legs to allow him to be fitted with proper leg prosthesis’ so that he could have better mobility over the long-term. During our trip Sanjay was in the midst of this process and was awaiting the amputation of a portion of his other leg to even them out and prepare for his new legs.

When you spend time with these children and find our more about their health and family backgrounds you quickly realize that each one of them has been through more emotional/physical pain and heartache than most of us will ever encounter in our own lives. I am so glad that we have been able to make this trip to the jungle and that they have these special moments to remember always…

We alternated groups on either the elephant-ride or canoe-ride on this hot, breezy afternoon. The wind was strong, but instead of a cooling breeze, it felt more like what would come out of a hair-dryer if put on “high”! I was alternating my attendance from Group Rhino to Group Tiger to Group Crocodile, thus enabling me to spend time with all of the kids as they did their various activities.

The canoe ride felt great, sitting in those low-slung boats close to the cool water. The river isn’t very deep at any point and as you will note, the boatman simply had a long pole to push us from place to place. After the canoe/elephant rides we had another filling lunch and then some rest time. I spent it visiting some of the older boys – Bishma, Sujan, Mahadev, Manav, Pushkar and Bishnu. As Pushkar fell fast asleep on his bed the rest of us chatted about the happenings at DNC and some of their future plans. Most of the boys in the room were going to be finishing their high school next year, so everyone’s thoughts are very much on their SLC (School Leaving Certificate) exams. Some people call it the ‘iron-gate’ exam as if you don’t do well, your future educational opportunities are very limited (the iron gate stays closed!). Eight DNC kids are scheduled to take their SLC exams in the upcoming year. TRIFC.org has undertaken the responsibility of finding sponsors for their higher education or vocational-training (note to readers…please let me know if you have an interest in sponsoring the higher-education costs for one or more of these great kids…it’s not too expensive and you’ll make such a difference in their lives…).

The kids were also excited about their upcoming move to the new, permanent DNC building that is almost finished with a move-in date of July 1st! The land acquisition and building were entirely funded by the Nepali Children’s Trust (NCT) in the U.K. (http://www.nepalichildrenstrust.com/home.htm). Brother/Sister team- Michael and Fran McGowan have spent many years volunteering at DNC and started their own non-profit organization to provide assistance where needed. They provide the funds for schooling for all of the kids in an English-medium school as well as providing for many other needs. I am proud to be partnered with such a great group of people who are there to help strictly because the need is there…

We at TRIFC.org also partner with the local Nepali Board of Directors of DNC and the Rotary/Rotaract Club of Kopundol, who help administer our funds and also plan/participate in fundraising activities for DNC. Having this balance of local involvement and international assistance is a strong support system that bodes well for the future of our children at DNC.

After my chat with the older boys, Naina and I were walking around the grounds talking about this and that. As we walked past the river, I noticed my mentor and project partner, RR in the river with a bunch of kids splashing close to the bank. He called out- “Hey Rob, go get your swimsuit on and get down here asap, we need to keep track of all of these kids!” I hurried back to my cottage, changed, put some suntan lotion on and rushed back to the riverbank. The kids were jumping, splashing around, leaping here and there and generally having a blast! Now, as mentioned the river isn’t very deep at any point, but for the little kids, especially the ones with mobility issues, even one or two feet deep is deep enough to cause trouble! We quickly moved the smaller kids closer to the riverbank, helped some of them try to learn to swim and splashed with the older kids who were having such a great time. One of the older boys- Hari was a superb swimmer and looked like a dolphin in the water. He is a polio victim and also has a congenital hip dislocation and he walks with great difficulty. Water is definitely his element, however!

The water felt so nice on this hot, hot afternoon. Even our volunteers with blindness- Sita and Namrata walked right into the river- fully clothed! Then, some other oversized visitors lumbered across the river from the opposite side and it wasn’t the tourists visiting from Greece! They were…. elephants, in the river, right beside us! The elephant trainers were astride them and the beckoned us to join them on top! I thought about it for a minute and then decided that this could well be the only time in my life that I would swimming in a river next to some elephants….I decided to ‘be bold’ and climb up and on. The elephant lowered itself down into the water, I grabbed an ear (of the elephant), the hand of the trainer and pulled myself up and on top of my large gray friend. It was great fun holding onto the elephant’s ears as she sprayed me with cool river water from her trunk again and again! Then I dropped back into the river as the elephant once again lowered her head down toward the water level. RR also climbed up on one of the elephants (see the photo!) and some of the older kids and Rotaractors followed suit. We felt it was a little too deep for the little kids to ride the elephants in the river, but many got an up-close and personal look at the elephants as we held them up so that they could touch them and feel the texture of their skin.

After swimming with the elephants, we helped all of the kids back up the banks of the river and back to their cottages to dry off and change. We had one more canoe ride that evening with RR1 in one boat and RR2 (that’s me!) in the other and a variety of kids in each boat. As we slowly poled down the river there erupted a major Hindi/Nepali song contest between boats! The Rotaractors in my boat seemed to be human catalogues of songs, but RR was the true master with a song-lyric recall that was amazing. Of course, I’m not familiar with any of those songs, but it was fun to witness as the sun began to drop slowly in the sky. The contest ended in a draw as our canoes came to a stop on the sandy riverbank near the lodge.

We gathered as a group in the shelter near the lodge. Bishma grabbed an empty Sprite bottle to act as a makeshift microphone and emceed a heartfelt presentation about how much this trip had meant to all of them. Sujan and Namrata sang beautiful melodies beside the banks of the river as the sun set. Sunita fondly remembered her past years at DNC (she is in college in Nepalgunj now). As the other tourists at the lodge looked on, our little group reflected on the past, rejoiced in the present and looked to the future.

The last day of our trip will be my last installment. A few surprises are yet to come…

Defying Description – Disabled Newlife Center Trip to Chitwan National Park - Part Three

2010-04-17T17:58:00.000-07:00

DNC Chitwan Visit - Part 3

5:25 am…The jungle hummed with activity, it literally ‘buzzed’ with life-energy. I couldn't count the number of animals, birds and bugs who were making their presence known. I wondered what they were saying? Maybe it was something simple like, “I am here, are you there?”. If that is what they were saying, then I fully agree. I am here… at this place…in this moment…with this wonderful group of volunteers and kids. I slowly take a breath in, hold it for few seconds, then slowly exhale. I am completely in the moment…

Our wakeup call came at 5:30am as one of the lodge workers gently knocked on our cabin door and quietly called out. True, it was early, but we had a day full of events planned and the middle-afternoon time was reserved for rest due to the intense heat of the day.

After tea/coffee and biscuits it was time to split into our groups. With the Naturalists provided by the lodge, one group went bird-watching and the other took a nature walk. I went with the bird-group (I later told some of the older boys that ‘bird-watching’ was what they call ‘girl-watching’ in England….they liked that!). The nice thing about bird-watching for our kids was that we didn’t need to travel far to see some amazing birds. We just wandered down a jungle path just past the cabin-area for about 5 minutes and then, looking up you could see so many birds of all shapes, sizes and colors flitting from branch-to-branch, tree-to-tree. Our Naturalist had binoculars and a bird-identification book so he could point out what we were seeing. The kids looked up in amazement to see parakeets, birds of paradise and so many other species getting their morning exercise. As we sat on several benches in a clearing, Bimala found that her prosthetic feet and sandals had collected so much dirt and dust during our short walk it made them difficult to use. We found some bottled water and she carefully rinsed them off, strapped her sandals back on and felt much better.

In some of the photographs, you can see the elephants working in the background. I took one shot where I tried to put an elephant on Sunil’s head…check it out. Sunil is such a nice young man who also has a special interest in photography, like me! We always talk about composition, lighting and other photographic techniques. I think he’d like to do photography for his livelihood and he shows a definite talent with posing and engaging his subjects. Another interesting fact about Sunil is that he hasn’t seen his mother or father in a long time….so long he can’t remember when he saw them last, he can only guess 10-12 years. Since he’s only 16 years old, that would be so long ago. My heart breaks for him….We provide funds through TRIFC.org to send kids home to visit their families, or to bring family members to DNC to visit, but if a parent chooses not to visit…

Today, I gave Muna a special nickname that I chose for her- “Little Mosquito”, as she is always buzzing around everywhere, for which she quickly came back with my nickname- “Big Frog”, for which you can draw your own conclusions! She is so cute, talkative and sharp. Such a contrast to some of the other kids, such as Naina. Naina is a quiet kid whose feet sharply turn outward to the sides. I asked him if he will have surgery for this and he said when he is older, they would do that. Walking is a challenge for him and he works very hard at it, steadily getting where he needs to go. Sometimes he got picked up by a volunteer, but really it is better for him to get that exercise and build strength in his legs for the future. Naina does not demand attention and will just sit-back and watch others be cute or talkative as they get the attention.

My goal was to spend quality time with each of the DNC children on this trip and I was so happy to do that with Naina. He loves it if you give him a hug, which I did often and we chatted about this and that. He is a very kind kid and well spoken. His English is excellent and I know that he is a very bright student. We held hands as we walked around the lodge, surveying the jungle and talking about life…these are priceless moments that happened so often to each and every one of the volunteers and the DNC children during our three days in Chitwan.

After our bird-watching excursion we had another delicious meal, courtesy of Island Jungle Resort! Breakfast was a buffet affair and again the children ate amazing amounts of food. After breakfast we divided into our Crocodile, Rhino and Tiger groups (of kids!) and some went to take a jungle ride on the elephants, others went boating on the river in canoes. This would be the order of business throughout the rest of the morning as we wanted to make absolutely sure that each kid got to do all of the activities.

Most of the children were a little hesitant to climb up the set of stairs leading up to their first elephant jungle ride. Particularly the ones with leg issues and I can understand their trepidation. The stairs lead to a platform that seems to go nowhere, until a friendly elephant backs up for you to clamber onto…beep, beep, beep (I’m still reminded of the UPS truck analogy!). However, the Rotaract volunteers really stepped up (literally) and carried everyone who needed help up the stairs and onto their respective elephant. If you look at the photo of Rajeeb being carried up the stairs, you can feel the excitement written into his expression. Watching the faces of each child as they got on-board to take the ride of their life was such a highlight for me. My eyes moistened (not the first time this happened on the trip, nor the last!) as I thought about the life-challenges each one of these children had been through during their short lives and the opportunity we have to improve their lives through our efforts.

As each elephant filled with kids, it moved off, but stayed close, waiting for the next elephant to fill up, etc. Next, the elephants lined up then trundled off down the path, over and around tree stumps and downed logs, through the brush…

Stay tuned for canoe rides and bathing with the elephants!!!

Warmly, Rob.

Defying Description…Disabled Newlife Center (DNC) Trip To Chitwan National Park – Part Two

2010-04-15T07:24:00.000-07:00

DNC Trip To Chitwan- Part 2

The warm, late afternoon sun gave a golden tint to the surroundings on the banks of the lazy Narayani River, where three or four canoes sat ready to cross to the Island where we would spend the next two days.

The kids that were able ambled down the banks and Rotaractors gently carried those who could not walk, carefully placing them into their canoe. Overnight bags, crutches and wheelchairs all went into the boats. The boatmen quickly pushed off. The children yelled with excitement and waved frantically as the boats drifted off with the slow current. The boatmen use a long pole to deftly push their boats across the shallow river on a semi-circular path to the landing on the other side, taking three-five minutes to make the crossing. Reversing the procedure, all kids and stuff were taken out of the boats and with the volunteers assisting made their way down the beautiful jungle path to the lodge.

Butterflies of all shapes, sizes and colors danced in the low foliage as we wound our way to the lodge. It was about a fifteen-minute walk from canoe to the lodge and as we strolled we took a deep breath and smelled the ‘green’ that surrounded us after that smelly, hot, dusty bus-ride. The looks of joy and wonderment to be found on each child’s face was instantly worth all of the time and trouble it took to arrange for this remarkable event.

Arriving at the lodge there was a central gathering area with benches where we all sat down and had a welcome soft-drink. Then we broke the kids and volunteers down into three groups- Group Crocodile, Group Rhino, Group Tiger! Each group was assigned rooms and then they were off to rest a bit, freshen up and return for dinner. The adults were told that they would take their elephant ride right away, to allow for all of the children to have theirs the following day. Also, that way we would know what was required to get the children safely on-board their elephant’s back.

The rooms at the Island Jungle Resort are not fancy, but neat and simple. There isn’t any air-conditioning, just the breezes coming off of the river. And you don’t need any ‘sound-machines’ or alarms to lull you to sleep/wake you up because the sounds of the jungle do that naturally! But to the children, these simple rooms were quite luxurious compared to their regular accommodations in Kathmandu.

As the children rested, the adults walked down the trail to the elephant safari. There they waited- four, very large elephants standing like huge, brown UPS trucks with elephant-trainers on top. Each one carefully backed up to a small tower about 15 steps up where we stood, then we clambered on board in groups of 4-5 per elephant and lumbered off through the jungle. If you’ve never ridden an elephant before, it’s a bit like being on a boat, quickly rocking back and forth on the waves as the elephant’s feet move swiftly through the jungle and over/under tree-trunks and branches. It was so much fun! The elephant I was on decided to take a detour from the main group and careened off down a very small path. I don’t think he realized that there was a group of ‘green’ tourists atop of him and that we were being beaten and thrashed by various branches, leaves and bugs (or maybe he did?)! Eventually, our elephant met up with the others and we worked our way through the jungle. We heard the low whistle of one of our guides….other guides also whistled. As all of the elephants came to a stop, we watched quietly as two rhinos stood before us munching on grasses and perking-up their heads and ears to watch us. We were told not to alarm or startle the rhinos as they could charge. For my part, I was frantically (but oh-so quietly) trying to put a new memory card into my camera without dropping the one with all of my past, priceless photographs on it! I knew for sure that if I dropped it off of our elephant, in the midst of two rhinos, I’d never recover it! It never fails, does it? You always run out of memory (or film, or video-tape) on these things right when you need it the most!!!

Well, we spent a few minutes with our friendly rhinos, then headed back to the lodge. Our trip via elephant was about an hour and it is something I will always remember, and that our kids would never forget when they got their chance the next day.

We returned to the lodge and it was time for dinner. We all sat together, communally at large tables and the typical Nepali food was served buffet-style. Those that could stand, stood in the lines, those that couldn’t waited for their food to be brought by others. It was so nice to see the older, more-able children helping the younger children and children who couldn’t stand up to get their food. This is the ethic we encourage and love to see from our kids! Plus, Shanti, Anjan and the other volunteers stepped in to make sure no one’s plate was empty, even for a second! Shanti wandered around with full plates of rice, vegetables and chicken, endlessly spooning it off on to this kid’s plate and that kid’s plate. I began to wonder if there would be enough food in the lodge to feed these kids- even the little ones ate prodigious amounts of food! This was a special treat for all of them, and the quality and availability of food was superb! Special thanks go to Sabitri and Ranjeeta who were also invaluable helpers on this trip!

After dinner, we had a nature slide show by a park naturalist who went over many of the various animals and habitats located within the park. After that, we trundled all of our kids in their various groups- Crocodile, Tiger and Rhino off to their cabins and off to sleep, to dream of things to come…

Elephant rides, canoe-trips on the river and swimming with the elephants to come in day two of our trip….stay tuned!

-Rob.

P.S. Thank you to DNC friend- Sunil Puri who did some of the photographs for this story!

Defying Description…Disabled Newlife Center (DNC) Trip To Chitwan National Park – Part One

2010-04-13T07:30:00.000-07:00

Chitwan Trip Part One

Okay, to be completely honest, the event detailed below was very much a gift to myself. Gina and I ‘blow-in’ and ‘blow-out’ of many children’s lives each year, and we never get the opportunity to spend ‘quality’ time with them. We are so close to so many children- our 33 sponsored children (30 of them hearing-impaired, 2 with blindness and one so very disadvantaged), our young NYOF friends whom we’ve known for many years and, or course the 28 children from the Disabled Newlife Center whom we’ve been helping the longest.

After last year’s Nepal trip we set a goal- to raise enough extra funds to take all 28 kids from DNC (Disabled Newlife Center) in Kathmandu to Chitwan National Park. This is the ‘jewel’ of Nepal’s parks and we wanted the children to get to visit the jungle and experience what they had only read about in their schoolbooks. It finally came together at the very end of this year’s stay in Nepal. We were able to take 27 of them to the park. One of the children- Bikash Dahal went home for a family event, but we had all of the rest of them to enjoy, encourage and take inspiration from for our three-day adventure into the jungle! Also along was a beautiful young woman who had been living at DNC, but is now in college via TRIFC.org sponsorship- Ms. Sunita Dangi. Sunita is a double-leg amputee, but you’d never guess it if you didn’t know…

If you look at the photo albums, I will try to introduce each and every one of them to you. They are all so special to us and their personalities are worth giving insight into.

We were very fortunate to have the logistical assistance from Rotarian and TRIFC.org board member- Mr. RR Pandey (RR). RR provided two tour busses for our trip to and from the park and helped with logistics going and coming. But what really helped ‘make’ the trip happen was another good friend from the Patan Rotary Club- Mr. Santa Kumar Shrestha, who happens to own a lodge in the park- Jungle Island Resort, one of only seven lodges allowed to operate within park boundaries. He helped make all of the arrangements, gave us a very special rate on the rooms and jungle experience, and had the guides ready to help us help all of these kids have a great trip, no matter what their physical limitations were! Thank you, Santa Kumar for your kindness in helping us make this dream-trip come true.

The morning after the kids’ final school exams were over, the busses picked them up at DNC. DNC House-mom- Shanti, DNC administrator- Anjan, DNC assistant- Sharmila and four Rotaractors from the Rotaract Clubs of Patan and Kupondole were also along to assist on this trip. RR, Chandra (RR’s wife) and I picked up our friends with blindness- Sita Gyawali and Namrata Adhikari and her husband Hiralal who had volunteered to help out on the trip. Also along to help was Disability Project Coordinator, Ms. Jayanti Bhatta who was a victim of polio at a very young age. We had a bit of a challenge finding Sita, who had been dropped off by her local bus, but it can be very challenging to find someone with blindness as it’s difficult for them to describe exactly where they are waiting. You have to imagine hundreds of busses, cars, three-wheeled transports, people on bicycles, and so many other vehicles racing around, honking and dropping off/picking-up so many people. You can’t even see the people on the side of the road, there’s so much confusion. Our driver- Bal Krishna managed to track her down and we then met up with the two busses all the kids were on. I boarded one of the busses and we were off!

I want you all to know something about Shanti- DNC’s house-mom. If anyone is a Saint in this world, then she must be one. We have known her for many years and she is one the most patient, caring people we have ever known. How she keeps track of all of those kids is beyond use. I had trouble keeping up with two kids when they were growing up, but 28??? She works 7-days a week with only an afternoon off once a week. I don’t know how she does it, but I’m so glad that she is there for us and those children. We provided a special award through TRIFC.org for Shanti last year and some extra funding, but whatever she gets paid, it’s not enough.

The DNC children (and all of the volunteers for that matter) were so excited with anticipation of this trip! This is a trip that the kids would dare not even dream of, it would be so unlikely to ever happen. We tried to keep it a surprise, but word got out to the kids, then it looked like it wouldn’t happen and they were so sad, but then we managed to pull it together and you could read the joy in their faces as we bounced along in the busses on the road to Chitwan National Park.

The bus ride to Chitwan is about a 5-hour ride, IF there’s not any/many traffic problems along the way. We had been on this same road a week earlier to visit a city called Pokhara and a 5-hour trip became 8-hours due to slowdowns, blockages, a hail-storm and other miscellaneous traffic-related mishaps. This is the only way to get to Chitwan, so you’re kind-of stuck with whatever traffic-karma you get. There are a lot of up and down hills and invariably, there are at least one or two beat-up trucks stuck on the side of the road, or in the road, or that have run off the road! The sign for a truck being broken-down is to put some branches with leaves sticking out of the window, in case you were wondering!

We were to stop for lunch at a city called Bharatpur, about an hour from Chitwan and the park. Guess where we had lunch- Island Jungle Resort, Bharatpur….a small hotel/resort also owned by Mr. Santa Kumar! I should also tell you that we almost never pass up an opportunity to meet with Rotarians and/or Rotaractors and Bharatpur was no exception. We had a meeting with about twenty local Rotarians and Rotaractors from Bharatpur and Chitwan. We gave details about our Rotary Disability Awareness Program and discussed an interesting project that was being proposed by the Bharatpur club. The project involves surveying how/when/why people near the park are becoming victims of wild-animal attack, how people with disability are affected and how this might be avoided. Believe it or not, attacks by elephants, rhinos and tigers on the general population residing near the park are not an uncommon experience.

We had also picked up four more Rotaractors from the Bharatpur club to help us out so we had plenty of assistance for our group.

The closer we got to Chitwan, the hotter it became. We had all of the windows open and the air blowing in was like a giant hair-dryer, blowing in dry heat (Ironically, I found out later that both busses had air-conditioning!). Fortunately, we had lots of water and fresh fruit for the kids (and me!). I later checked the temperature for those days we spent in Chitwan on my computer and it was around 110 degrees….I don’t think I’ve ever experienced that kind of heat!

We left the main road and barreled along a dirt/dust road past small homes and villages, dusting everyone and everything in our path. Adults and children stood by the side of the road to watch us pass by and many waved enthusiastically. Finally, we came to the end of the road. We got out of the busses and read the signboard- ‘Welcome to Island Jungle Resort’.

Low-slung boats awaited us in the river below to cross to the resort, which is located on it’s own separate island…

That is all for part one…

What to do???

2010-04-10T04:28:00.000-07:00

Sita's Blog Entry

We had planned to visit Rimwa Janajyoti higher Secondary School on March twenty-first where 13 visually impaired students were studying together with sighted students. Rob, myself, my sister Nirmala and Jayanti Bhatta from the Rotary Disability Awareness program were planning to go.

But two days before that plan, both Gina and Rob became sick and Gina had to cancel her flight for USA. This made all of us sad. Part of my heart wished to cancel the trip and the other part of my heart would say, "Yes, we are in bad situation, but if we cancel this trip when will we get another chance to see those kids whom we really need to visit, who need our help."

Somehow it went positive. Both Rob and Gina felt little better. Gina was able to reschedule her return flight to Seattle and Rob was able to make the trip. On the morning of March 20th, we departed for Gulmi.

We arrived at the Bhairahawa airport after our 30 minute flight from Kathmandu and then drove more than five hours to Gulmi in a jeep which we had hired for three days. As Rob had stomach problems, he barely ate single bite of anything except several bottles of water during the whole drive that day.

The next morning we started out for our trip to the Rimwa school. After two and
half hours driving on the very bumpy, jumpy road, we were able to reach the school. All the school staff and blind/visually-impaired (BVI) students were waiting for our arrival with great anticipation.

As it was my first visit to the school, everything was unfamiliar for me. First, we
introduced ourselves and the children introduced themselves. After introductions, everybody gathered in the main school room, which is both bedroom and resource room due to the lack of space for the BVI students. After a few minutes of informal discussion, Rob started to take individual video interviews of some of the students. Out of 13 students, five were first or second in their class, out of many students, sighted or not! We asked each child if they had any other activities or talents they would like to share and many of them could play a musical instrument and they all enjoyed singing.

After a short discussion with resource teacher for the BVI students, we felt that there is so much need in every sector. With our limited funds from TRIFC.org, we were able to provide money for Braille paper for a year. They game us tika (red dot on forehead as farewell and good fortune) and mala (flower marigold necklace) as is the custom in Nepali culture. Then came the time for us to say goodbye and we left for home.

In the early morning of our third day, we left home and drove to Butwal, which is the major city in this area. In the afternoon, we attended the Butwal Rotary meeting then went to visit Shanti Namuna School for blind/visually-impaired children as the local Rotarians had requested. This school was established with the help of many organizations. Though their infrastructure was better (larger dining room, kitchen and sleeping rooms), all the other problems were same as Rimwa/Janajyoti School had in the village area. It really pinched me and reminded me of my own school as we are facing many of the same type of problems for the visually-challenged students even though it is in Kathmandu, the capital city of Nepal.

After that we left Butwal for Lumbini, the birthplace of Buddha, with many Buddhist temples having been built by different countries around the world. I was excited to go there as it my first visit. We spent that night in one of the local hotels. The situation at those schools for the blind/visually-impaired drew my mind back and forth with worry and concern for the children’s future. The next morning we visited Lumbini and then returned to Kathmandu.

-Sita Gyawali, Teacher of the Blind/Visually-Impaired at Laboratory School, Kathmandu, Nepal and Volunteer for TRIFC.org

To Soo, or Not To Soo (“Soo” is Pee in Nepali)!

2010-04-10T04:21:00.000-07:00

Village Dilemma

Okay, I hope you don’t think this is too juvenile, but I ran across a situation that I though would make for an interesting blog post…

Two weeks ago we visited the village home of Nirmala and Sita Gyawali (both women with blindness) in Charpala, Nepal. As you can see from the photos, it is such a colorful home and the surroundings are so green, clean and beautiful. Nirmala and Sita’s mother is such a welcoming host, so excited to see me again (I visited two years ago) and so hospitable. Plus, as is the custom, she always does her best to try to put as much food inside me as is humanly possible!

Now, for the ‘problem’….the sleeping rooms are upstairs. There is a narrow, steep ladder of stairs that go up from the ground floor. All doorways are about four feet high and inside the rooms I can almost stand (I’m 6’2”), but need to be wary of the beams running across. My general inside-posture could be described as ‘early-Neanderthal‘.

The bathroom, or ‘toilet’ as it is called here is a Nepali style one that I am familiar with. It is a very neat and clean affair that is located out the door and behind the house, near to the animal sheds. The toilet ‘bowl’ sits nestled into the cement in the floor…it is also known as a ‘squat’ toilet for obvious reasons which I won’t go into now.

To get to the toilet from my bedroom during the nighttime I must first gather my wits (and the flashlight), half stand up without bumping my head, put on a few important clothing items so that I don’t offend anyone, pull open the one-inch thick small double door to the room, hunker-down some more to successfully make it through the doorway, avoid stepping on other family members sleeping soundly in the next room, get to the narrow, steep stairway, carefully turn around and make my way down backwards, re-hunch once I’m down, make my way over to the main door, pull aside the two wooden dowel-like pieces that go across/lock the door, go outside, find my flip-flops, make my way to the toilet, do what is needed, then reverse the process and get back to bed!

To complicate matters, the weather has been pretty warm and I’m trying to stay hydrated by drinking plenty of water. Last year while in Nepal I had the experience of being ‘fluid-challenged’ and spent the morning dizzy, until I drank three quarts of Jeevan-Jal (Nepali Gatoraid)! So, here in the village I’m both trying to stay hydrated, and trying not to have to get up and pee every three minutes….I bet that you now have a better idea of my troubles!

Well, I can report that during my two-night stay in this beautiful corner of Nepal, I managed to work out the details and only get up once during each night. I even successfully made it back to bed both times too!

Note… Please enjoy the peaceful village photos and faces from the attached album!

-Rob.

Communication Reinvented!

2010-04-10T04:12:00.000-07:00

Trip to Zoo

Last week we took a group of thirteen of our TRIFC.org sponsored kids with deafness to the Kathmandu zoo. Along for the ride was our project coordinator and sign-language interpreter Balram Dongol. We were also fortunate to have along nine Rotaractors- five from the Dillibazar Club and four from the Patan Rotaract Club to help keep track of everyone.

I had purchased a hula-hoop, a basketball, a plastic golf game and a small soft soccer ball at the Bhatbettini departmental store and supermarket. You can get most everything at this store. In the grocery section it has more selection than many stores in the US!

Many of these children have been sponsored by TRIFC.org since our formal inception in 2006 and all were so excited to see me and our volunteers! We gathered all of the children in a hired bus and headed to the zoo- about a 20 minute drive… if we were lucky with the traffic.

As we started off I ‘broke the ice’ with a little game of back and forth catch with the soft ball. That started the communication ball rolling, so to speak as both the boys and girls joined in, with laughter and giggles augmenting the traffic hongs, horns and bleats! Unfortunately, I only know a few signs in Nepali Sign-Language, but I do know how to play with kids, so that was what I did!

After arriving at the zoo (or the Joo as people here pronounce it- “Z’s” are pronounced “J” here) we too a quick head-count and determined that we had a total of forty, including the Rotaractors and a few parents and siblings. For all of us to get admission, it was only a total of about $30 – not bad, huh? What a busy, noisy place the Kathmandu zoo is on a Saturday, as that is the only day most people have off from their work. It was sunny and bright as we gathered just inside the entry to make introductions and get a brief sign-language primer from Balram.

After everyone introduced themselves (with sign-language interpretation), we partnered up one or two kids with each Rotaractor (some of the older boys quickly snapped-up the pretty Rotaract girls!) and we began our journey through the zoo (or joo). I was amazed at how quickly friendships were forged as we went from enclosure to enclosure, and how swiftly communication developed through ways other than speaking.

After about an hour of roaming around the zoo we came to what I thought was a statue of an elephant with a bunch of kids surrounding it- until I saw the tail swing back and forth! I did a double-take! All of our kids and Rotaractors gathered to see this giant up-close and personal. Having the Rotaractors spending one-on-one time with these kids was priceless, they loved the attention and I could tell that they enjoyed the challenge of communicating with someone who knew little or no sign-language. The kids were gentle, patient and facially very expressive as they worked to explain whatever point they wanted to make and the Rotaractors were equally patient and kind.

We decided to order noodle-soup for everyone at the little café in the zoo. I think they may have been a bit overwhelmed by the order for forty bowls of soup and forty juice boxes, but they went to work on it! In the meantime, we played an old Nepali game as a group activity. Here’s how it goes- everyone kneels down in big circle and then one person with a hankie slowly walks behind everyone and very deceptively drops the hankie at the rear-end of the unsuspecting individual and then the hankie-dropper takes off running like crazy and they hankie-droppee takes off after the dropper and tries to catch him/her before they get back to their original spot. Not complicated, but a lot of fun!

After my knees tired from the kneeling, I checked on the soup and we motioned to everyone to head to the tables in the café. Guess what the first thing I passed out was- Hand Sanitizer! I’m Mr. Excitement, aren’t I? I don’t think the kids have/use that here, so it was a bit of a novelty. I’m sure we had the most sanitized group there that day!

As the soup arrived and we began to partake, I noted that whether you can hear or not, noodle ramen-type soup is meant to be slurped. My table of girls was very cute trying to be petite and polite, but there’s no way to do that with noodle soup (check out the photos). You know, after you are with these kids for a while you stop noticing that they have any disability….you just play with them like you would play with any kid.

After lunch we had more games of badmitton, soccer, basketball and mini-golf on the dusty zoo grounds with all of the Rotarators joining in. We had a hula-hoop competition and some of the kids were very adept at keeping the hoop “hula’ing” quite well!

It was a very special afternoon for all of us. I had rave reviews from all of the Rotaractors as we dropped our friends off to be picked up by their families. They hadn’t ever had this kind of volunteer opportunity before and they were totally energized by it. One of the them- Mina had just joined the Rotaract Club of Dillibazar that day and it appeared that she would become a member for life after her experiences with those wonderful kids!

Communication isn’t really all that difficult, if you work together and care about the other person. In this particular case, actions were more important and powerful than words. Kindness, patience and understanding provide the medium for true feelings to be shared between new friends.

-Rob.

What Lies Within...

2010-04-02T09:39:00.000-07:00

Cerebral Palsy Self-Help Center

Going back in time a bit to March 14th, Gina, RR and I accompanied Dr. Chandra Lekha Tuladhar from the Rotary Club of Kathmandu Mid-town and several Rotaractors to visit the Self-Help Group for Cerebral Palsy.

The Rotary Club of Renton has provided grant funding for the center to purchase a number of custom-designed chairs and tables for the children to use at the center and also to have in their homes. The chairs themselves have been specially designed in Nepal and are built in Nepal. What’s so cool about them is that they can be adjusted as per the individual’s size and mobility needs.

Dr. Chandra Lekha is a person entirely dedicated to helping others through Rotary and who is involved in so many wonderful programs and projects. As we drive out to the center, she relates some of the interesting and high-impact projects she’s participated in. She helped coordinate this club-to-club partner project even though she’s not with the partnering club, the Rotary Club of Balaju- she’s with the Kathmandu Mid-Town club. She really doesn’t care who does the project, as long as it gets done!

She describes a very terrible situation which is all-too-common in the village areas where parents of kids with CP must work all-day in the fields. They don’t have any caregivers and there are no daycare options. Dr. Chandra Lekha said that many times the family will dig a circular hole in front of their house and then they place their child in this round hole and there he/she must stay for the day….rain or shine, through cold weather or in the heat, or in the mud. However, I think people must try to understand, these aren’t bad people, they just don’t have the knowledge, resources or care options that we do.

At the center we visited the various rooms where different learning aids and equipment are kept and classes are given. They even have a computer-learning center and the teacher is herself a person with disability, her own movements limited by her wheelchair. She tells how one of her students works the mouse and keyboard with his feet and toes, as his hands and arms aren’t functional! She is so able, interested and excited to teach computer skills to these children.

What is inside these children’s minds? I watch one of the children move letters around on the table in front of him, making seemingly random movements until I notice that the letters are being pushed into place in ABC order! It seems he isn’t able to communicate much, but when coaxed by a Rotaractor he is able to respond, engage and smile. Is there a Stephen Hawking inside this child, anxiously waiting to be discovered? Only a place such as this with loving, caring help and patience will ever be able to find out…

These funds sent by RC Renton made it possible for this project to happen, for the design to take place and for this critical need to be fulfilled for these children. However, there are so many more children in the same situation who have a need for these chairs. If any other clubs or individuals wish to make a donation for one or more of these chairs, they only cost about $100 to produce here in Nepal. Please contact me for more details.

-Rob.

Empowerment and Intervention

2010-03-29T19:17:00.000-07:00

Dhulikhel Rotary Disability Awareness Project

Yesterday we visited one of the ‘Club-to-Club’ partner projects that have launched as a result of the ‘Rotary USA/Nepal Disability Awareness Program’. To see this project in action was very inspiring and it is already having a wonderful impact on many lives. This is a partnership between the Rotary Clubs of Dhulikhel, Seattle-International District and University District.

The Rotary Foundation Matching Grant Project has two main parts: one is vocational training with empowerment and employment opportunities. The other is orthopedic surgeries and physical therapy for thirty individuals.

Rotarian Ashok Shrestha from RC Dhulikhel gave us a tour of the newly launched Disability Support Program, where people with disabilities receive vocational training, jobs and a chance at a productive future. They are running this program in a very simple, effective and efficient way. One small manufacturing center works with bamboo products and another works with rataan. They have identified a number of products which are in high demand, such as student bookcases, coat racks and small stools. They produce these and then sell them to retailers. So far the demand far exceeds their ability to supply, however they are continuing to ‘ramp-up’ production to meet demand. There is a good profit margin on these products which bodes very well for project sustainability.

Even though our project motto is “We Are All Able”, I am still amazed at just how able People With Disabilities (PWD’s) are. The production team that has been trained to produce the student bookcases includes three blind individuals, one with developmental disability and three with physical handicaps. Two of the young men with blindness were using very sharp tools to cut the bamboo into about one-inch strips, a fellow with one leg and another physically handicapped woman were sawing them into the correct length and one physically handicapped person, the man with developmental disability and a guy with blindness were assembling them into bookcase form. One of the men doing final assembly was blind, yet he skillfully and precisely hammered each of the one-inch slats of bamboo to the bookcase frame.

To top it off, the young man in charge of the bookkeeping and accounting is also a person with blindness and he keeps track of all accounts via computer. So many great skills are being taught with this program that will impact the trainee’s life and their family's lives for generations to come.

We also visited an orthopedic hospital where doctors are going to operate on the little boy you see in one of the photos, who had been badly burned in a fire in his village. He was happily coloring away when we introduced ourselves. The severe burns have also caused his leg muscles to contract so that he now isn’t able to straighten them out. His parents had spent all of their savings trying to help their son in the village hospital. The matching grant funding that has been raised for this project are his hope to walk again. 30 such surgeries will be done as a result of this one grant... 15 operations have already been accomplished.

Getting these grants isn’t an easy process. Ashok Shrestha, Susan Sola and Judy Ginn all put in a great deal of effort to help make this project come to life. But when you see the transformational impact with your own eyes, it is like a gift that we both give and receive. We give the help and hope, we receive the satisfaction of being able to be of service to others through Rotary.

-Rob

P.S. Many thanks to Dhulikhel Rotarian Ashok Shrestha, who is a tour-de-force of Rotary projects and help. He lives the Rotary motto and is himself an inspiration to so many.

Flying Fingers...

2010-03-28T09:28:00.000-07:00

National Braille Library Dedication

The door is opened, a red ribbon is cut and a rush of people holding white canes enter. Anxious arms reach out to feel for the Braille books on the table. There is a hush in the room as words in Nepali language shift over to quietly spoken English in tandem with fingers moving swiftly across the raised dots that make up Braille words, sentences and paragraphs.

That was the scene on March 26th, 2010 at the offices of the Nepal Association For The Welfare of the Blind, or NAWB. In cooperation with NAWB, TRIFC.org, and the Rotary/Rotaract Club of Kasthamandap we officially inaugurated the National Braille Book Library in Kathmandu, Nepal!

Doing the official duty of ribbon cutting was Rotary Nepal District Governor Elect- Mr. Tirtha Man Sakya. The President of the Kasthamandap Rotary Club- Rotarian Rajan Raut and many other Rotarians and Rotaractors were also present for the library dedication. Rajan is very dedicated to both Rotary and the NAWB. His determination and expertise are what have brought this library into existence….thank you, Rajan!

My longtime friends and inspirations- Ms. Nirmala Gyawali and Ms. Sita Gyawali, both women with blindness were present to help us celebrate the start of what we hope will be a very long fruitful relationship, bringing both English and Nepali Braille storybooks and novels to many readers with fingers at the ready just waiting to learn, envision and dream.

For those friends not in Nepal, let me give you a brief explanation of how difficult it is to be a person with blindness here and why this library concept is so groundbreaking. It is difficult to imagine daily life here in Nepal if you are a person with blindness. The noise, traffic and volume of people on the sidewalks and roads are unsettling even if you have sight. And the sidewalks, paths and roads themselves are riddled with bumps, holes and broken cement. However, many children and adults with blindness make their way to NAWB every month to get Braille paper and access other services. Having the library located there made very good sense.

Virtually all of the Braille books here in Nepal are textbooks. There are few storybooks and novels printed or available in either Nepali Braille or English Braille. Blind/Visually-Impaired (BVI) students begin learning English Braille in 5th grade. There was no official Braille library in the entire country….until now.

In cooperation with NAWB, TRIFC.org has commissioned a number of Nepali storybooks to be printed in Nepali Braille. We are also shipping and sending hundreds of boxes of gently-used English Braille books from our area to the new library. One AMAZING fact led to this entire project- Braille books can ship from the USA to anywhere in the world for free, courtesy of the US Postal Service! Once I learned of this opportunity, I immediately contacted the Library of Congress Braille Book Resource Center in Washington D.C. and they agreed to send some of their excess, gently-used books to Nepal. Our own state resource center located in Vancouver, WA is also sending four-hundred and fifty of boxes of books to Nepal (Thank you Colleen Lines!).

So very instrumental in this project has been Ms. Cindy Holm of the Maple Valley Rotary Club. Cindy is a 2008 Nepal Rotary Trip Alumni and also a teacher of the Blind/Visually-Impaired. Thank you, Cindy for your dedication to this project, your coordination help and expertise. And many thanks to the Rotary Club of Maple Valley for their help and assistance packing and shipping so many boxes of books.

A Visit, an Idea, an Email, a Connection

2010-03-25T07:15:00.000-07:00

Here's an email Rob sent a development worker from Oxfam (an international NGO in Nepal) after being introduced via email. These connections become catalysts for action and involvement which is what it's all about-Connections and Relationships! I wanted to share this with you all. I know Rob wouldn't mind!

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Rimwa School

Hi Kamal!

Yes, Bhawana and I have spoken on the phone and are going to set up a meeting for next week!

I have been very busy on all-levels and in all areas that we are working.....I'm having a lot of fun as well, visiting old friends and making new ones.

Sita Gyawali and her sister Nirmala (both women with blindness) have been my constant companions as we visit our various TRIFC.org programs and Rotary projects/programs. We recently took a trip to their village home in Charpala, Gulmi District and made the bumpy drive to a fairly remote school with 13 children with blindness in Rimwa where we provide some support. They are in-residence (hostel) there with many other children. There are many shortages and problems for these BVI students. The last time Nirmala and Sita visited they found that there were only 8 food plates and that the children were eating in two shifts due to the shortage! They quickly bought 5 more plates and resolved the problem. Isn't that crazy? In addition, there isn't proper nutrition for them and they are always short of Braille paper. We left $200 with the resource teacher for a year's supply of paper which they can purchase in Butwal. Like I told the Rotarians I spoke to at the Dillibazar Rotary meeting last evening....being without braille paper is like being without a pencil for a sighted student. How can they take notes and study???

Amazingly, even with all of these deficiencies, several of these BVI students in the Rimwa school are doing more than just 'getting-by' with their studies. They are excelling! Two out of the 13 are 1st in their class- of any of the children, sighted or not. There are over three hundred kids in this school!!! Many of the BVI children are also very talented, musically. Either with the madal (drum) or flute or by song. What beautiful singing voices filled the little schoolroom/bedroom (these rooms are combined here, due to lack of space). I was overwhelmed and overcome by their ABILITY! We willcontinue to provide help as we are able through TRIFC.org.

That was a lovely afternoon as we bumped and jolted our way back up the steep road to head back to their mom's home for another peaceful, quiet evening spent in the village.

The next morning we drove back to burning-hot Butwal and met with representatives of two Rotary Clubs and discussed the disability awareness program. One of the clubs- Butwal South wanted us to visit another school for the Blind/Visually-Impaired that wasn't far. There were 32 students with blindness in residence along with hundreds of other non-visually-impaired students. We quickly agreed and after a
late lunch (our earlier lunch consisted of two kinds of potato chips, some cheese-balls and a coke as we waited for RR, my project partner to arrive at the airport!). Also attending was Jayanti Bhatta who is our program administrator for the Rotary Disability Awareness Program. She was the victim of polio before the age of two and knows full-well the societal stigma attached to disability. We arrived at the school in late-afternoon and the hot sun was quite oppressive as we trudged across this huge, dusty field in front of the school. We met most of the 32 children with blindness and toured the facilities which were about the same as the Rimwa village school facilities, but with more space in each of the rooms. There were also a separate kitchen and dining room. But as we questioned the students, teachers and staff we quickly surmised that they had many of the same problems
as the village school- not enough fresh fruits, vegetables and protein, lack of Braille-paper and other basic needs. The government provides a 1,000 rupee allowance per month for each student (about $13 US) which doesn't come close to meeting the cost of these basic needs.

I suddenly had a 'light-bulb' moment and quickly asked the Rotarians from Butwal South how many club-members they had. They said, "32". I said, "Great! Perhaps each of your club members could agree to sponsor one of the 32 students in this program and provide some additional funding on a monthly basis, maybe 300-500 rupees per child ($4-6)....it wouldn't take much and would be easily affordable for any of them. They were very positive on this idea and agreed to consider it! Now I am thinking that if they are successful with their small 'micro-granting' program, perhaps we could have other Nepali Rotary Clubs do a similar program with other schools with children with blindness study. The best part of this program is that the HELP and the CHANGE is coming from within the country.

Well, this is one story out of many that have and are happening during my visit. As always, it is a life-changing experience for me- One of ten live-changes during my past ten visits to this country. I grow, reinvent, gain a deeper understanding of myself and others. What a teacher this country is for me!

Warmly,
-Rob.

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What reaction does such a letter hold?

TRIFC.org and Rotary in Action at Dharan Gopa and Itahari

2010-03-24T23:52:00.000-07:00

Biratnagar, Nepal

Nirmala, Rob and I traveled to the city of Dharan with Arun, a Rotaractor of RC Biratnagar to visit several Rotary project sites. These Rotary Clubs are down in the Terai, about 25 kms. north of Biratnagar where we had seen the orthopedic shoe project.

Before we visited the sites, we stopped at a school for the hearing impaired children called the Purwanchal Deaf School. Through the kindness of the donors of TRIFC.org, 15 deaf/hearing impaired school aged students are being sponsored for their tuition and school fees for an entire year. The donors have sent their letters and photos to the kids which they have assembled into a poster which hangs on the wall of the office of Renuka, the principal. We had visited the children and provided all 55 students with beany babies, chocolates, pencils, pens, toothbrushes and toothpaste donated by Rotarians from Bellevue Rotary. They were excited to welcome us and presented us with traditional and western style choreographed dances.

You wonder how they could keep time despite not hearing the music, well isn’t that what dancing is about, keeping time with the beat of your very own, different drum! It was wonderful to see the joy in their expressive eyes as they clearly were happy to dance for us! I would want that someday each of the donors would visit with their student so they can see first hand how they have provided the opportunity these kids would not have had to learn their coursework in a loving and nurturing environment, in sign language!

While lunch was served and the children were playing, Rob had a meeting with the Rotarians from Itahari who had partnered with the Rotary Clubs in Bellevue, Kirkland and Renton to provide 20-25 wheelchairs for the disabled community. They watched the videos and TV ads that was part of the 1st phase of the Disability Education Awareness Campaign and you could tell, they were moved by the Nepali messages:
• “Public places should be disability friendly”
• “Assist a visually challenged person cross the street”
• “Deaf people can’t hear with their ears but hear with their heart”
• “A small act of kindness can make a big difference”
• “We are All Able!”

Our next stop was a Teaching Hospital, the only hospital that serves the western Terai area. Here the RC of Dharan Gopa and Rob’s Club, er… I mean the Rotary Club of Bellevue together raised funds to provide Cleft Palate surgeries and Spinal braces to patients who had undergone spinal surgeries. The RC of Dharan Gopa are made up mostly of medical doctors and they were very proud to show us their hospital!

Here’s a Shout Out to all Rotarians out there in Bellevue, Kirkland, Renton! You make these opportunities possible!

-Gina

Biratnagar Part 2

The Gift of Shoes

2010-03-23T22:48:00.000-07:00

Biratnagar Orthopedic Shoes

Rob and I flew down to Biratnagar last Tuesday, March 16th to visit some Rotary Club to Club projects and visit future Rotary District members for the upcoming years to ensure that the Rotary Nepal Disability Education Awareness proceeds with their support. Biratnagar is a city in the Terai ( the plain region) closest to the Indian border. It is only 235 ft above sea level and is about 10 degrees warmer than Kathmandu in the hilly region. Nirmala Gyawali (one of our spokespersons of the program) met us there to join us on our journey.

Our first stop was the orthopedic shoe making workshop staffed by 2 recently trained persons with a disability. This project is supported by both RC Biratnagar downtown (Rotarian Dr Mamata Varna) and RC Duvall (Rotarian Jeetu Falodia). The workshop is housed in a building for prosthetic and leg brace manufacturing. he owners had provided the space for free.

What a wonderful cooperative relationship they have with the Rotary Club and it has plans to grow too! They are expecting to further improve the skill level of the workers to enable the production of school shoes. Its sales will subsidize the cost of the orthopedic shoes they can provide to very poor families. Today the shoes cost between 120 to 200 rupees.

This project will provide the needs for the physical handicapped children in the Terai region and avoid the 9 hour trip to Kathmandu. All over the 7 Districts of this campaign, Club to Club projects are underway. There have been 20 projects matched to clubs in District 5030 to date totaling $175,000 dollars worth of tangible benefits for the disabled. How wonderful it is to see this evidence of sustainability, local Rotarians thinking of what their community needs and continuing to include them in their service projects.

Of Slogans and Social Marketing, Passion and Change

2010-03-14T18:15:00.000-07:00

Everyone filed into the J. Walter Thompson Agency conference room that afternoon to attend the agency presentation and discuss the elements of the 2nd phase of the Rotary Nepal Disability Awareness Campaign (RNDACP). Attendees were the members of the District Committee, account and pr managers, JWT managing partners, investors and Rotarians, Rotaractors, Rob and myself. The 1st phase of the RNDACP consisted of TV, Radio & Print ads bringing the message to the community about people with disabilities that “We are all Able” and a little help makes a big difference in the daily lives of PWD.

The most popular Nepali movie actor Rajesh Hamal is featured as the spokesperson and the opinion leader in the campaign. This next phase will drive the message deeper in the community through billboards, leaflets, pamphlets, street theater and even school copybooks with a cartoon strip depicting a situation where a child with a disability is interacting with his classmates and excels in various subjects. These activities work in tandem with the outreach projects and Rotary club-to-club matching projects that benefit the PWD. Events will be planned that will highlight the capabilities and showcase talent of PWD’s at the same time providing entertainment and exposure to the community.

The discussion was very passionate and energetic: I thought I was transported back to my Colgate Palmolive or Comcast days where we gather in ‘war’ rooms and hash out the creative execution of the current campaign. It’s great to see such involvement and I kid you not, this campaign echoes the voice of a group that wants to make a difference in the lives of the PWD, in the lives of their development as a contributing segment to the welfare and growth of a nation trying to forge a new path towards democracy.

People with disabilities have been kept down too long. Deprived of education, training, dignity and opportunity and to date, only a few have made it to a position of honor and pride. This is only the beginning and it’s a long and challenging road to full integration yet this is a very solid first step. As I sit there taking notes and photos, I realize that it started with one voice which won the hearts and minds of 100’s of Rotarians in 2 continents and it humbled me so much to know I am married to that one person, Rob Rose.

-Gina Rose

JWT

Confessions of a Shopaholic

2010-03-13T18:55:00.000-08:00

If you find yourself crisscrossing the potholed lanes of Kathmandu’s Central Market area, trying not to get run over by the thousands of motorbikes plying these lanes or rickshaws delivering everything from blankets to large baskets of cauliflower from either side of the bicycles, you drive a hard bargain, want the best quality products and are willing to take the time!

I ducked out of one of our meetings to join our host Chandra and her niece, Pinku to visit Kathmandu’s New Road – site of all vendors, licensed and otherwise who peddle fruits and vegetables from the Terrai region of Nepal- teas, coffees, spices, sarees, pashminas, undergarments, pajamas, toiletries, DVDs and CDs, T-shirts, shoes, pants, jewelry, handbags and backpacks, local brands and knock-offs, and everything you would need or want and at any price range as well! You’ll be happy to know they have a 99 rupee shop!

Thanks to Pinku! She is the ultimate shopper and can save you hundreds of rupees since she knows the right price of anything on any given day. She helps me shop every year and she also has a special relationship with the more established store owners, which is of course, is priceless!

I love the way everyone has something to offer! They sell several items and their day is done. The family can eat until tomorrow! The idea is that you show up where there is foot traffic, which is pretty much anywhere! Perhaps a shopper eyes your wares that she may need today or pass you by. Peddlers move around avoiding security officials who may ask for their permits. It’s a moving marketplace! They rotate daily and pack up in 2 minutes!

We shopped ‘till we dropped and refreshed ourselves with fresh lassi (yogurt drink) with dried fruits. Shoppers queued up 7-10 deep… you’d think it was a Starbucks! haha! A glass full of cool lassi and you’re able to check out a few more stalls, and perhaps purchase a few more mementos from this mysterious and wonderful place!

-Gina Rose

Shopping!

Braille Book Library To Open Soon!

2010-03-10T19:53:00.000-08:00

Today we will meet with Rajan Raut and the staff at the NAWB (National Association for the Welfare of the Blind/Visually Impaired - BVI). We had a lot of projects to discuss, most important of all is the Inauguration and program planning for the National Braille Library! Imagine a resource center for all visually impaired children from grades 1 -10 filled with text books and story books that can open up their minds despite a childhood they may have been deprived of, information their families had no idea how to communicate and a possibility of a future! Let’s put this in better perspective, there is one digital Braille-book printer for the entire Nepal while here in the US there are 2 digital printers for each school district. The NAWB waits patiently for the Braille books to come from the government and distributes these to the BVI students around Nepal. With a backlog in production, there is hardly any time to develop Braille storybooks or informational reference books that may augment the children’s learning.

This itself is a dream come true! In September, 2009 at our TRIFC dinner, Cindy Holm, Rob and some Rotaractors who had just come back from their Nepal visit were asking for contacts because they wanted to print Braille books to send over to Nepal. Cindy connected Rob with Seedlings, a non-profit that publishes and sells Braille books. Through TRIFC, we ordered $1000 worth of storybooks for all age levels. They sent the books over and these are the first books to occupy the new library. Cindy also had contacted and heard that the WA State Braille Resource Library was purging old books. “We’ll take them!” said Cindy as she proceeded to arrange for a Rotarian to donate warehouse space for the books. Cindy, who is now a Rotarian with the Maple Valley Rotary Club arranged for club-volunteers to repackage the books to be shipped overseas courtesy of the USPS. Thanks, Cindy Holm!!

More books are also on their way to Nepal from the Washington D.C. Library of Congress Braille Book Library and other state resource centers like Ohio and Tennessee! When word gets out, word gets out!!

What a great project, the Inauguration is set for March 26th and we’re rounding up the VIPs for the ceremony but the true VIPs will be the bind/visually impaired children who will benefit from this resource!

New Braille Library to open!

2010-03-10T19:52:00.000-08:00

March 11, 2010

Fun Photos From DNC

2010-03-10T07:55:00.000-08:00

DNC 3/10/10

Opportunities and Reunions

2010-03-10T07:51:00.000-08:00

Our meeting with the Tranquility Spa owner, Phuwan Phaiju couldn’t have gone any better! He listened intently and when he realized what we were proposing shook his head from side to side to signify that he agreed with the idea entirely.

Tranquility Spa regularly trains candidates from organizations like Saathi (for disadvantaged women), Healing Hands (an all blind masseuse service). He said he would commit to a pilot program and train 2 blind/visually-impaired candidates and hire them on at one of the 5 Tranquility Spa locations. We would then list down some metrics to evaluate the success of the program in 6 months. The pilot program would involve Phuwan himself as the instructor. He would teach them the massage techniques and accommodate their visual challenges when the lesson involved topics in anatomy and muscle groups. Part of the program will include promoting the blind massage services to area hotels frequented by tourists. It has become something of a desired service to be massaged by a blind or visually impaired person due to their increased tactile sensitivity and “third eye”.

As I sat there watching this unfold, I said to myself, “Well, that was easy!” He had no questions, no concerns about their work performance, work ethic or any foreseeable problems. It felt great to meet a someone like-minded, one who can hold out a helping hand to someone else, sight unseen (no pun intended) and give him/her a chance at a productive life!

We later found out he sponsors 4 impoverished students at a high school in the village he had graduated from! Mr.Phuwan Phaiju, Namaste! (I honor the Divinity in you)

We arrived at DNC at 5:00 PM and the whole place was quiet as the smaller children had their heads down in various rooms finishing up their assignments for the day. I almost felt I was intruding but as soon as Kumar saw me, he squealed “Gina Miss!” We hugged and I made my rounds hugging each and everyone who was there. Rob and I usually split up and visit with the kids. It is a more efficient way to provide attention to 26 children!

Michael from the British NGO, Nepali Children’s Trust, was busy reviewing math exercises with the older kids. We hugged and he immediately went back to work while I continued to search for more children. Where are the 9th graders and Anju?

Shanty explained they stay back after school and took review classes in Math and Science to prepare them the upcoming District and end term exams Anju was preparing for her SLC (School Leaving Certificate) which is a iron gate exam that allows one to take higher education if you pass them at A level marks. The pressure is on for these students. There are 8 of them graduating next year and from the looks of it , we will need to increase our education fund and look for sponsors for the university tuition and book fees which average about $600 per year per student.

My plan to raise about $1200 this year entails taking pledges for completing my 2nd Danskin Triathlon on August 15th! This I vow to achieve!

Well they all showed up between 6:30 and 6:45 and these are the kids that I have seen grown up from 2004 when I first met them. At 10 or 11, they were but little naughty kids that just wanted to play and have hugs and someone to listen to their wild imagination! Today they have plans and the determination to back them up! They work hard and still want hugs and someone to listen to and that’s pretty much all that I do when I visit!

Their solar power was waning and Shanty motioned the kids to wash up for dinner so they can continue studying. I had to say goodnight until the weekend when we plan to have a picnic and truly celebrate a much awaited reunion! Their treats that we brought would need to stay inside the luggage until then!

-Gina Rose

Back In Our Second Home

2010-03-10T07:48:00.000-08:00

It’s the barking of the neighborhood dogs that get you up in Sanepa, the neighborhood in Kathmandu where our hosts RR and Chandra Pandey have welcomed us the last 6 years. Their constant back and forth of announcing that daylight is coming beats any flock of roosters in Western Washington. After 20 minutes they quiet down perhaps to eat and go about their day. This is our first morning here after the cross Pacific flight via Seoul, Korea which was a pleasant transition to our new time zone.

All the household staff, guards, drivers, cooks and their 2 wards Sabriti and Ranjita greet us and welcome us back with hugs and Namastes. They will be doting on us and we’ll have our morning English –Nepali lessons over coffee or tea. I usually watch them cook up the delicious meals and roll roti when we eat in and we’ll watch a Hindi film together, provided the power stays on long enough. It feels great to be be back, Rob and I were committed to return this year, despite the set backs in his business and my work issues.

Rob went to the kitchen to make coffee, wow it feels like home!

Our schedule today starts out with massages at “Tranquility Spa”, a massage and spa place in the neighborhood. After which we are going to have a meeting with the owner to discuss the possibilities of hiring on some skilled massage professionals who are sight challenged. This is part of our program to encourage employers to provide job opportunities to people with disability and experience their capacity to provide services just like their non-handicapped employees.

This afternoon, we will see the kids at DNC and we have a boatload of it of items to distribute. I am so excited!! Pictures for sure will be posted!
- Gina Rose

Pre-Trip Message from Rob

2010-03-05T16:15:00.000-08:00

I can't believe it...another year has passed so quickly as we prepare for another journey to Nepal- my eleventh and Gina's sixth! Kathmandu seems almost like a second home for us now. Our impact has grown as our projects and programs have grown: school sponsorships for children with disability, surgery sponsorships, backpacks for the Blind/Visually-Impaired,the amazing Rotary Disability-Awareness Campaign, the launch of the 'National Braille Library' with our partner- NAWB to name but a few!

All that has happened, and indeed all that will happen is possible because a large number of people in Nepal and so many concerned people here in the USA (and around the world) believe in the power of kindness toward the less fortunate. We are positively impacting so many lives in so many ways. I am truly humbled to be part of this effort and blessed to have so many wonderful friends and family who understand the importance of our efforts.

As we embark on another journey I wish to express my gratitude to all of our supporters around the world!

Home is where...I am

2009-03-18T08:27:00.000-07:00

With the aid of advanced technology such as fancy touchscreens and Madagascar 2, my final flight from Incheon International Airport in South Korea passed largely without a hitch.

Descending into the Seattle area at around noon, I was staggered. I could see the ground, there was water (and it was blue), there were real cloud formations, and 'mountains' (large hills now) miles and miles away that I could see just as clearly as if I was on them.

As I was checking my tire pressure yesterday, it started raining, and I didn't care in the slightest. It was fantastic.

My cough is subsiding. I took a hot shower. There was electricity all day. My cell phone works beautifully.

To all of my Nepali comrades reading this, my point is not to 'rub it in.' It's just that the people in Seattle take things like clean air, and above all, rain, for granted. And rain is wonderful.

I'll never forget this trip, nor the friends I've made. I hope to go back again someday soon.

//SHAMELESS PLUG//

If you enjoyed reading this blog at least a little bit, then you might enjoy what I'm planning next. This summer, I'm planning on taking a road trip across much of the USA, and spending as little money as possible. I'll be taking a fancy camera with me, seeing sights, camping, and hopefully encountering silly things to write about.

Look for signs of it around June and July.

//END SHAMELESS PLUG//

Until then, thank you all so much for joining my dad and I on our journey.

All the best,

Carey Rose

The Last Day in Kathmandu

2009-03-15T11:25:00.001-07:00

...was extremely busy.

Itinerary:

-Massage
-Haircut
-Pick up photos
-Pick up Jamuna
-Independent Living Center
-DHRC (I don't remember what it stands for)
-Hopeful Home Orphanage
-Say our goodbyes at DNC
-Drop Jamuna off
-Get lost on the way back to Sanepa
-Go out to dinner
-Pack
-Update the blog

Right now, I'm uploading photos. The upload speed is reading in Bps (Bytes per Second). That means I'm uploading at less than one kilobyte per second. *sigh*

I don't think I have the energy to post details. But look at the photos, they're alright. And they have captions.

Bagamati and Hopeful Home

-Carey

Odds and Ends

2009-03-14T10:35:00.000-07:00

From The Humble Taxi, and Good Times

The humble Maruti 800 is as ubiquitous in Kathmandu as Starbucks cups are in Seattle. They also, I'd wager, match up nicely in regards to build quality / sturdiness.

The Maruti 800 has been manufactured since the mid 1980s (still manufactured today), and has remained largely unchanged since that time. Each is equipped with an 0.8 liter 3-cylinder engine that puts out 37 horsepower, although with the average cab driver's propensity for lugging the little engine, most probably see around 15 horses at any given time.

The best way I can think of to describe this vehicle to the average American is as a Geo Metro 'Lite.' Its diminutive exterior dimensions hide away a remarkable ability to comfortably seat four adults (and uncomfortably seat many more). The interior of most cabs lacks carpeting, and they all share a similar aversion to proper idle (or idling at all) and also exhibit rather intrusive and troubling transmission noise.

Also, it seems that a cab driver's worth is largely measured in gauche, gaudy and inaccurate decals that coat the vehicle both inside and out. Many are harmless - a mural of a cheetah chasing its prey running across both doors, or perhaps the understated (and hilariously false) "Sports" running a similar span in loopy lettering. However, every so often, you'll find large '4WD' and 'Toyota' stickers adorning the cabs as well, which seems silly. It's rather like tattooing a six-pack over your beer gut.

I think it's fairly remarkable that most of them are still running. My only explanation for this is some sort of voodoo / black magic, or perhaps they've simply been modified to run on dirt.

If they could sufficiently woo the government, some combination of Maruti 800, Kathmandu traffic and the highway to Pokhara would make an excellent episode of Top Gear.

/end taxi story

As I mentioned previously, the guitar at DNC is of the brand 'Happy.' It made me even more UNhappy today when I was playing it normally and one of the brand new strings snapped. *sigh*

Last night, I had a jam session to prepare for a band performance tonight at a restaurant. After the jam session, Sachin asked if I wanted a beer or a glass of wine, so I said yes, and we crossed the street to Chopstix. We had a fantastic time, though, mostly discussing the ins and outs of Nepali and American culture.

My dad and I and a wonderful man named Michael (who helps support DNC as well) had lunch with Shanti at her home. Shanti acts as surrogate mother for the 30-odd children at DNC, and lives there 6 days out of the week, and rarely gets a moment's peace. She is a truly remarkable woman with a heart of pure gold. And the lunch was delicious as well.

I performed with Sachin and the rest of the Nepali Blues Society at the Ambience restaurant in Patan Durbar Square. It was a ton of fun! I posted a couple of pictures.

Well, I'm exhausted from my lack of sleep last night due to drunken escapades, and shall now go to bed.

The Humble Taxi, and Good Times

-Carey

Priveledged

2009-03-12T08:16:00.000-07:00

Anecdote:

My dad met today with the president of Bakery Cafe, Shyan Khakshupati. Bakery Cafe's are plentiful around Kathmandu, and have become successful on the basis of good, consistent food and youthful atmosphere. Shyam is also responsible for the large proportion of deaf individuals working as wait staff in his restaurants.

Shaym mentioned that his daughter recently hosted a couple of American friends. One morning, the Americans wished (understandably) to take a shower, but were informed that there was no water.

"But...how can that be? How is that possible?" they asked.

They then learned of the electricity situation here as well, and I can only guess that armed with this further knowledge, they sunk further into confusion and vague despair.

It's cliche and unfair to say that, as Americans, we are spoiled, and take far too much for granted. After all, if things like running water and electricity are plentiful and serve to ease and enhance our lives, why should we not take advantage of them?

That said, the disparity between societies that are granted this freedom of resources and those that are not is stark, though sometimes it is difficult to see.

Today, my dad and I traveled with Sita and Nirmala out to Banepa to visit the deaf school there. Rotary had provided funds to the school very recently, and already the school has gone out and purchased two brand new computers (the first computers the school has ever seen), as well as some proper kitchen equipment, so that the staff may cook lunch for 40 children on more than one kerosene-pump burner.

As computers are largely a visual medium, they are perfectly suited for use by those with hearing impairment, and yet, there are few deaf schools with adequate facilities for computer training. I won't extol upon the virtues of computer usage here, for those are tired words.

But on the other hand, seeing the light and joy in the faces of the children as they thanked us for the simple and, to us, common joys of computers and proper cooking equipment was something that one can never grow tired of.

I've posted a few photos, some related to this, and some following other small tales of our trip today. Enjoy!

Another Visit to Kavre Deaf School

-Carey

Life Development for All

2009-03-11T08:19:00.000-07:00

The main event today centered on a visit to LDC, or Life Development Center. This is a center run by my some of my dad's newest contacts in Nepal, Rolf and Monique. The center is a residential home and school for children and adults with serious developmental disabilities.

Most of the residents are unable to communicate clearly through speech. Many of them suffer seizures on a daily basis. They vary in their level of disability, from mild autism or down syndrome to near a near-comatose state.

Four to six individuals sleep in any given room in the center, and for each group, there must be one caretaker sleeping as well, as the seizures many suffer are random and require immediate attention.

The center provides many activities for the children, such as preparing vegetables for cooking, gardening, music therapy and exercise, and so on. The center needs more sponsors, and today, we video-taped and interviewed a number of children and young adults whose families are no longer able to provide adequate support funds to the center.

With us today was another group of four individuals with physical disabilities. The general consensus from them was one of revelation - the LDC really helped to put things into perspective. Jamuna Subedi, for example, may have artificial legs, but she has full and complete use of her mind, something she has taken for granted. The LDC helped to inspire and show those with physical disabilities that there are people that they can help too, instead of merely acting as recipients of aid themselves.

/end serious topics

On our way back from Boudha, we were lucky enough to have hired quite a young, hip cab driver to drop Jamuna and Chanda off before driving my dad and I back to Sanepa. He is so far the only cabbie throughout Kathmandu that I've encountered who has taken the time to install a subwoofer in his cab (the Nepali people simply call them 'woofers'). While I'm sure he was very proud, the woofer impacted our cab ride in a largely negative way.

In the beginning, we were trying to have pleasant conversation, but the driver proceeded to play techno-Nepali music at a decibel level usually reserved for measuring the sound levels of heavy construction equipment. Luckily, he heeded our pleas and shut it off for some time.

However, the woofer was so badly wired that somehow, the engine noise was amplified through it and every bump would also be amplified. And the bumps themselves need no amplification. For the first time ever, I was grateful every time the cab driver stalled, because it meant sweet, sweet silence for at least a few moments.

As soon as Jamuna and Chanda were dropped off and it was just my dad and I in the cab, the music came back on. However, it did make for some good background music as I filmed our little drive through Kathmandu at night.

No photos today, though, I am thoroughly worn out, slightly sick, and have taken NyQuil and have only a matter of seconds before I fall into a deep, rock-like sleep.

-Carey

No one is safe

2009-03-10T10:19:00.000-07:00

On Holi, no one is safe.

Even the man with the D3 and the 80-200mm f/2.8 lens and the large, reflective "Press" jersey on looked concerned.

Our trip to DNC was not without excitement.

I've only posted a handful of photos, because that's all we could risk the camera for.

There was much red. Much water. Much fun.

Throughout the city, there were far more elaborate face paintings than those we saw...many reds, silvers, greens.

Anywho. Check out the few pics I've uploaded.

Holi

-Carey

P.S. - The guitar belonging to DNC that I've restrung is manufactured under the brand 'Happy.' It's occurred to me that emotions do not a good brand name make. I wouldn't buy a car called "downtrodden," I wouldn't buy a pencil called "dull" and I wouldn't buy a pair of pants called "vulnerable." All of those seem to just be asking for trouble, just as the Happy Guitar has made me anything but happy due to various tuning problems among other issues.

Vague Apprehension

2009-03-09T23:11:00.000-07:00

Today is Holi, which, in India anyway, is a festival of color where literally everyone throws dyes at everyone. In Nepal, it's more common practice to simply throw water or water balloons, but I hear there will be some color mixed in as well.

As I speak, there are screams and roars coming in through my closed windows, The Scorpions' "Rock You Like a Hurricane" is being blasted at an obscene volume from an unknown location, and my dad got chased by little girls with a bucket of water on the way to his massage this morning, shortly before getting pegged with a water balloon from a balcony.

We're spending the day at DNC, but I don't think that means our experience will any more sedate.

Also, sorry, but I doubt there will be any photos. For obvious reasons.

I'll post a detailed update later.

-Carey

p.s. quick update: current music blasting through the streets is a techno remix of Stand By Me.

Dictated by Health

2009-03-09T05:05:00.000-07:00

I suppose I’ll eventually have a proper blog update, but in its stead, I figured I’d go ahead and plot out the day’s events for your reading entertainment.

-I started the day out with a nice, mild cough and feeling as if I’d had the back of my throat belt-sanded throughout the night. I realized this might be partially due to a lack of sleep, as a lone mosquito spent the night in my room. I received only one bite (on my finger, of all places) because I’m pretty sure that I didn’t actually sleep because I was too worried about waking with a hundred bites and a mosquito the size of a hamster to deal with. So, I wiled away the hours tossing and turning, and trying my best to ignore the muted ‘zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz’ that would occasionally buzz past my ear, causing me to flail madly before falling back into some semblance of half-sleep. I also had a fairly serious concern regarding the results of a mosquito crawling inside my ear and into my brain. While this image was no doubt enhanced by my lack of sleep, it also did little to remedy that situation and lull me off to snoozeland.

-I woke with electricity, which had kindly been switched on from 4am to 8am. By the time my dad and I both woke up, we had enough time left with electricity to make toast and write a single email. The toast was very good.

-I had a fine bucket bath, but I also had a shave, and I’m not entirely satisfied with it.

-I elected to stay home today and nurse my belt-sanded throat, and in doing so, clearly limited the day’s activities, which were as follows: read, drink water, eat, watch top gear, concoct elaborate schemes concerning the fate of the offices of RR’s internet provider, and eat some more.

-I finished my book today, which was a fairly gruesome murder mystery. While it was very good, reading 200 pages of rape, gore and gritty LA underbelly in one go can have a somewhat...numbing effect on the brain. And I say the book was very good, because it was. But I’m also frustrated because I can tell that the ending of this book was extremely significant, profound, and metaphoric. But for the life of me, I cannot understand one damn single part of it. At the very least, the story was a page turner.

-I’ve watched two episodes of Top Gear which did little more than to make me hope that when I get home, my car’s battery isn’t dead, and my tires aren’t flat. Both of these are, however, quite likely.

-The internet worked for the ten minutes I had to use it this morning. The power came on today at noon or thereabouts. The internet then worked for approximately ten minutes after that, and beyond that, I was unable to do...anything. So I gave up and watched, as previously mentioned, a couple episodes of Top Gear. However, once I was done with that, I discovered that my computer would not even connect wirelessly to the router, much less access the internet. So, I find myself currently sitting on the stairs in RR’s house, hard-wired to the router with a cable roughly the length of my leg. If I only had a cushion...

On the positive side, I’ve gotten to spend all day in my pajamas, and my throat feels as though it’s now simply clogged with feathers, which is an improvement.

When my dad gets home with the camera and IF there’s internet later, I’ll upload photos and write a quip about yesterday’s events.

Til then,

-Carey

Summing up a 5 day trek into one blog post is difficult.

2009-03-07T07:12:00.000-08:00

But here goes.

The steps pass as the ticks from a clock, distinct and endless. As steps become the seconds, dung becomes the mark of minutes, and villages the marks of hours.

Treks were unplotted territory in my mind. Someone would say "trek," and I think "cool" and it generally stopped there.

Even on this relatively sedate trek, I begin to see the attraction. Exhausting, yes. But much more as well.

I've found, for the most part, an inverse proportion between steps taken and amount of conversation, which I take to be largely positive. Even in a group, it becomes all too easy to fall into your own thoughts and leave your body on its anti-dung autopilot.

I might also expound upon the difficulty of observing your surroundings for photographic qualities when your primary concerns require extreme attention to that which is under your feet. In addition to dung, there are roots, rocks, loose gravel to slip on, and water.

Growing accustomed to a consistent state of fatigue is easily done as well. You get used to pushing yourself over this short time, as it becomes more mechanical and less mental. Each time I felt tired, I would realize that this was still nothing in comparison to my Black Belt Test, which will probably always be the most trying physical experience I've ever gone through.

The hotels within villages are often referred to colloquially as 'tea houses.' Quick comparison:

Tea House: plenty of water, hot shower, 24 hours electricity, expensive internet, plenty of beer.
Kathmandu: Little water, bucket baths, 4-8 hours electricity, 4-8 hours internet, plenty of beer.

At least we're even on the beer front.

It seemed to me as we first started the trek that all the glory, glamor and 'extreme-ness' of trekking seemed absent. You merely walk along a well-traveled path past village after village where you might purchase all you might need.

Then you hit the forests. And the stairs. Thousands of them. Suddenly, while it's no walk into Mordor, it's certainly no walk in the park either. All told, the trip is around 50 km round trip, with 3-6 hours of walking per day.

And when I ascended the steps to Poon Hill for sunrise over the Annapurna range after two and a half days walk, I was not prepared for how breathtakingly beautiful it was, and suddenly, it all makes sense - I understand now why people go on treks and climb mountains. RR said "the journey is the destination," and I think to a degree that's true. But my destination atop Poon Hill was more awe-inspiring than I could have imagined.

Tid bits:

-One of the tea houses we stayed in actually had showers and bathrooms attached to our rooms instead of a community-toilet setup. However, the whole room is the shower, so no curtain was present to protect everything from inevitable wetness. This wouldn't have been so bad if I hadn't made a grave miscalculation and taken a shower prior to relieving myself on the much-needed Western-style toilet. The wetness was quite unpleasant.

-In the same bathroom, the tank for the toilet hangs at a slant off the wall, but I couldly have noticed this as I stumbled into the bathroom with a flashlight and a need to pee in the middle of the night. I set the flashlight atop the toilet tank. Before I could reach for the waistband on my sweats, the flashlight toppled end over end and landed light-down into the toilet. Mercifully, I had flushed the toilet earlier, but I couldn't help but stare at the ethereal glow emanating from the bowl as though it were a little ray of sunshine coming up from the depths of God-knows-what. Then I came to my senses, swore, and fished out the flashlight and sanitized it.

-The internet in Ghorepani (a village 45-minutes walk from Poon Hill) cost 8 rupees a minute. This wouldn't be so bad if it didn't take at least two minutes to load a single email. It also wouldn't be so bad if they had posted the price in more than one place, instead of just writing it in sharpie on the corner of a monitor two computers down from me. So, in five minutes, I'd read two emails and lost 40 rupees.

-I was introduced on this trip to the deep-fried Mars bar, which the Nepali tea houses slyly call a 'chocolate roll.' It is awesome beyond description.

-One of our guest houses seemed to have walls made of aluminum foil covered with a thin layer of washable paint for good measure. My neighbors tried to whisper so I wouldn't be disturbed by their conversation. Even though the aluminum foil on the walls was, I'm sure, of the highest quality, I still heard their whispering and whispered back that they shouldn't worry about it and then promptly put in my headphones.

-A lot of guides seem afflicted with the infamous dal-baht belly, despite their job, which is, you know, walking miles upon miles through mountain wilderness.

-While walking silently during the trek, I was grateful no one asked me what I was thinking, because I was actually thinking quite often about how nice it is to get lost in one's own thoughts, but when you say that to someone when they ask you what you're thinking, I'd wager it sounds pretty stupid.

-One brand of bottled water you can buy is called 'Today's.' However, most of the bottles you'll find are usually bottled about 9 months ago.

I'm sure I've typed enough. Go look at the photos, they're absolutely breathtaking.

Poon Hill 5 day Trek

-Carey

Sidenote

2009-03-02T16:57:00.000-08:00

Also, for those interested, Gina's blog is here! Check it out:

kathmanduandbeyond.blogspot.com

I'm going on a trek for the next few days, so there's likely to be no blog update until this weekend. Expect many a pretty picture when I return, though.

-Carey

Another Double Dose

2009-03-02T08:36:00.000-08:00

Due in no small part to my own desire to get a good night’s sleep two nights ago, I decided not to update the blog. This, of course, was folly, and now I have twice as many photos to upload and the electricity did not come on at midnight as I have hoped, and I am now hopelessly behind.

Anywho. On to the last few days of programs.

Two days ago, many of the Rotarians attended a polio immunization day, but that’s about all I can say about it, because that’s all I know about it. They showed up at the deaf hostel where my dad and I and some Rotaractors were hanging out. This hostel houses perhaps 70 children who are all hearing impaired.

There’s something I’ve noticed about children with hearing impairment. Not only are they generally quieter (I suppose that’s for obvious reasons), but they seem more mature for their age, and generally more mild-mannered. And I know this isn’t due to a lack of communication, because I’ve visited other schools here with children both with physical disabilities and without, and even the children there that don’t speak English and cannot communicate with me are tangibly different than the children with hearing impairment. I also feel a slight pull to perhaps pursue sign language. It’s somewhat fascinating.

We got a lovely tour of the facility, and many Nepali sign language lessons, which made for an amusing picture or two, mostly at Dave’s expense.

When we came to the deaf hostel, we had no real program planned, but luckily, things worked out. There are children living there who have sponsors back home, so those that have sponsors wrote letters to them and were photographed. Those who aren’t sponsored generally amused themselves, but every child was treated to a nice box lunch, and some new sporting equipment. We bought them a badminton set, ping pong paddles and balls, and a few soccer (foot) balls, and the children all had a great time. We also handed out many a beanie baby and gift bag.

Afterwards, the Rotarians went to Fire and Ice for dinner, and my dad and Gina and I attended dinner at Dhruba Acharya’s, a friend of my dad’s.

Deaf Hostel Visit

Yesterday's program was placed entirely in the capable hands of Judy Ginn. We attended Durbar School, which is Kathmandu’s oldest school, established in 1854. Judy’s not-so-easy job was to teach the children to make an ABC book for Nepal (A is for Apple, B is for Bee, etc etc). Luckily, we had a team of Rotaractors to help translate and brainstorm, but somehow, we still ended up with J for Jesus Christ. Not to bash Mr. Christ, but he and his followers aren't exactly prevalent in Nepal, and are thus not the first subjects to LEAP to my mind when I think of Nepal.

My dad’s main job during this time was to film all of the pen pal children, and I’m sure my impending job will be to edit and compile that into a video to show to the kids back home.

Following the Durbar School visit, we visited Bhoudanath Stupa, which is the largest Stupa in Nepal, which is saying something. The photos will have to tell the story with this one. We ate lunch at a restaurant called Flavor’s, owned and operated by a friend of my dad’s. He also employees little people as wait staff, and is an avid proponent for those with disabilities. And the food is good, the coffee amazing, and there’s free wi-fi. So naturally, he’s doing quite well (especially with tourists) and is opening up more restaurants.

Durbar Pen Pals and Bhoudanath

The Rotarians continued their sightseeing around Bhoudanath, but my Dad and I went to Independent Living Center, which is a center for children and people with severe developmental disabilities. It’s headed up by Rolf and Monique, who are also actively involved in the deaf hostel we visited yesterday as well as DNC, and there’s some potential for partnership there.

Tonight, we had a nice relaxing dinner at home, and everyone else watched a Hindi movie while I tried to fix my email client, which ruined my mood almost too effectively. Oh well. I’ll recover.

-Carey

P.S. - Again, another shameless plug for my flickr page, which has a few shots that are mostly irrelevant here, but still should be nice to look at.

www.flickr.com/photos/carey_rose

For those that are interested

2009-02-28T18:51:00.000-08:00

Here's the good photos of the Himalayas that I got on our way out of Pokhara. They are better than the ones in the Picasa Web Album because I figured out how gradient masks work in Photoshop after I uploaded those. These are from my Flickr, and rather than re-upload them to Picasa, here they are.

Enjoy!

Also, I've found Penny's Nepal Blog (which is slow on updating due to various problems) but here is the link, check it out!

http://www.kirotv.com/station/18724775/detail.html

-Carey

Pokhara Post

2009-02-27T10:43:00.000-08:00

At last! We've returned from Pokhara after a grueling 8-hour bus trip. I'll do my best to recount this two-night, three-day trip as briefly yet interestingly as possible.

The trip began early in the day, with one bus of Rotarians and one bus of DNC kids and Rotaractors. We were all headed to Manakamana, home of an enormous cable car ride. The cable car was, thankfully, engineered by Austrians and not, say, the Chinese. I should mention that that comment does not stem from racism, but merely from the fact that the Chinese imports Nepal receives are of an infinitely more questionable quality than those that the United States receives. And a questionable cable car is not an encouraging thought.

Anywho. The cable car is reached via stairs. Many of them. Prior to exiting the cable car at the top, there are also more stairs. There were kids with us from DNC who are unable to negotiate stairs, and that's where the Rotaractors come in. They are invaluable. This trip truly could not have happened without them. I was in charge of filming on the way up in light of Len's absence, and in spite of the difficult time the children were clearly having, it was also clear that they were having the time of their lives. They had gotten to ride on a nice tour bus and then a cable car up to a highly significant Hindu temple at the top of a mountain. Not a bad outing by any standards, but for these kids, it was truly magical.

We had a lovely lunch at the top and hung out for a bit, but the time eventually came to head back down and to send the children back to DNC, while the rest of the group and I pressed on to Pokhara. It had taken roughly 3 hours to reach Manakamana, and it was going to take at least 3 more before the journey was done.

I feel I should describe the road to Pokhara a bit. For those that have driven on Chuckanut Drive up to Bellingham, this is an easy task. The Pokhara Highway is to Chuckanut Drive as gorillas are to infants - rougher, smellier, generally more unpleasant to spend time with, and far more likely to kill you. It was apparent early on that I needed a seat at the front of the bus, and once I had gotten my seat with little argument from my fellow passengers, the drive passed smoothly for my stomach, at least, and when we arrived, we checked into our hotel (the Hotel Trek-O-Tel), wandered up the street for dinner, and then turned in after that. I should note, however, that our dinner came with live music, and Namrata knew a member of the band, and blessed us all with singing on stage with the group. It was wonderful!

The next day, the group arose bright and early to go on a boating adventure, followed by an hour-and-a-half hike up to Peace Stupa, led by Mitralal. I, however, had other plans. Instead of doing this whole 'boating' thing, I promptly hopped into a Jeep, drove to the top of a mountain, and jumped off a cliff.

I went paragliding, of course.

Paragliding was an absolutely tremendous experience. For those that have even the slightest inkling to do it, I highly recommend it. The height isn't frightening at all - indeed, I never felt in any real danger, either. The harnesses were chair-like, so it was really more like being driven around in a La-Z-Boy at 2,500 meters (I was riding tandem). In fact, the thermals were so good when I went, that shortly after we took off, we were climbing past our take off point.

Then, I started to feel airsick. Ugh. I can't do anything fun.

We landed a few minutes earlier than normal, and with me dangerously close to hurling. However, I had an AMAZING time, and would like to try it again sometime, or maybe learn how to pilot myself, as I feel that might help with the motion sickness.

Break time! Go look at pictures!

Pokhara in 34 Images

Okay. We're back.

The Rotary meeting that evening was excellent. It was not a usual meeting, and there were guests from Rotary and Rotaract clubs from all over the Pokhara area, and it had all been arranged only the night before. Amazing! My dad gave his talk, RR Pandey gave a talk, Jamuna gave a talk, and, well, so did everyone else.

The next day led off with a lovely bout of bus riding to Bandipur, which is on top of what the Nepali people would call a hill, but what most other sane people would call a mountain. There was a Rotary meeting there, and we had a lovely lunch sponsored by a Rotarian Santa Kumar who owns a resort up there, but what is by far most the most impressive thing about Bandipur is its cleanliness. It's almost an anthithesis to Kathmandu in this regard. In fact, the city prides itself on its lack of litter. I was quite taken aback.

Following Bandipur was a rather uneventful ride back, save for some lovely singing by Namrata, followed by a number of sing-alongs led by various people on the bus.

Anywho. That is all! Also, there are a few photos up on my Flickr that I did NOT post in the album here, and in addition, I've edited and adjusted the mountain pictures, and the ones on my Flickr look far better. Check them out if you like.

Til later,

Carey

Two birds and a stone

2009-02-24T08:22:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone, we're getting off to an early start to Manakamana with the DNC kids tomorrow, so I'm going to do two quick updates in one...update. But I do have pictures! The internet has been kind to me tonight.

Our Shivaratri Day at DNC was a momentous success. Ruth Moen carried out the same art project that we did with the kids at Kavre School for the Deaf, and the kids loved it at DNC as well. In addition, we had the Nepali Blues Society band (several members are Rotaractors) come and perform for the kids as well, and I was priveledged enough to sit in on drums for a few songs. Overall, the kids had a wonderful time, I KNOW the adults had a wonderful time, and the whole day was just a triumph.

DNC Painting Day

Today, we attended Swayambunath and Kathmandu Durbar Square. I took some notes during Mitralal's speech on the bus, so now for some fun facts!

Swayambunath
-Swayambunath Stupa is approximately 2500 years old, and is one of the oldest Buddhist monuments in the world
-It is locally known as "The Monkey Temple" for obvious reasons
-The stairs leading down to Kathmandu are 365 in number, representing 1 year.
-The tourist way up is 100 steps.

Kathmandu Durbar Square
-Most famous for being the location of the Kumari, or Living Goddess. This is a very young Buddhist girl, who is selected to be Kumari and then becomes Hindu. She is (obviously) a virgin, and when she reaches menstration age, she is replaced by a new girl.
-There is the Caste Mordab Temple (No idea about spelling) that was built in the 16th century from the wood from a single tree.

After our events, everyone went and had a nice Chinese food lunch, and visited the U.S. Embassy and got to meet the U.S. Ambassador to Nepal! She seems a very nice lady, and has had much prior experience in Nepal.

Swayambunath pt. 2

Following this, the group went back to the hotel to freshen up, and then to a large Rotary dinner hosted at the President of the Rotary Club of Patan's house. I missed this dinner, but I heard that a Nepali film star has agreed to help be a spokesperson for the NDACP! Wonderful news!

-Carey

P.S. I thought I'd also mention that I have a Flickr page where I do some post-processing to some of my very favorite shots, and upload them there. If you're interested, the site is:
www.flickr.com/photos/carey_rose

Thoughts

2009-02-23T10:09:00.000-08:00

Today was Shivaratri day, a festival celebrating the Lord Shiva:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maha_Shivaratri

However, a more interesting fact that goes unmentioned in that Wikipedia article is that in Nepal at least, Shivaratri Day is the only day of the year on which it is acceptable (not sure about legal?) to smoke pot, and apparently, it's quite popular. Fortunately, for the sake of myself and my various lung conditions, we spent the day at DNC, where such heinous acts do not occur. I shall be posting up pictures again tomorrow when I have steeled myself to once again perform this task whose completion is often, to say the least, illusive.

In addition, there seems to be a great and intangible force that is working in stout opposition to my having a nice, hot shower. It comes in many shapes and forms. We may be out of water. The electricity may be off, so we cannot run the pump. The sun may not have been hitting the panels on the roof long enough to produce hot water. The shower may be cursed. All the water may have turned to blood. The water tank may be filled with dead pigeons, and so all that comes out of the tap are feathers. I cannot know for certain. All I know, as I'm sure you're all tired of hearing by now because you're so jealous, is that I'm becoming quite good at bucket baths.

-Carey

Dhulikhel Trip Day 3 + Bhaktapur

2009-02-23T09:14:00.000-08:00

Hi Everyone,

Still playing catch-up. I'll be quick about our last day around Dhulikhel, and may or may not get photos uploaded.

The day began with breakfast, and then a walk to downtown Dhulikhel, led by Mitralal. I didn't go. I don't remember why. But my dad took some great photos!

After this event, much of the group went straight to a Rotary meeting, and everyone else had a nice, relaxing afternoon.

When everyone had returned, we went to Sanjewani School and distributed talking watches to the blind students there, and were treated with singing performances by Namrata and a blind student at the school. Photos included!

Following this, we visited scenic (and touristy) Bhaktapur, City of Devotees. I've posted some photos of this as well, and they are far more interesting than anything I might describe in words here, especially given my current state of fatigue.

We then began the half hour bus ride back to Kathmandu, where each member of the group went to a different Nepali Rotarian's house for a traditional dinner, and I attended a jam session.

That's about it!

Dhulikhel Trip Day 3 + Bhaktapur

-Carey

Ups and downs

2009-02-22T04:08:00.000-08:00

Today hasn't been the best day. I've had on and off stomach pain and nausea since this morning, with occasional headaches and chills mixed in as well. I've spent much of the day sleeping, and much more of it attempting to upload photos from our second day at Dhulikhel, which have only just completed (perhaps ten hours after I first tried to upload them).

The group had a full program today, which I've quite obviously missed. However, I lent the camera to my dad, who will perhaps provide me with something to post up here, so keep an eye out for that.

Before I go any further, it occurs to me that some people may be somewhat hazy on the subject of Rotary International. Rotary International is a worldwide volunteer organization with massive philanthropic impact. And when I say worldwide, I mean it. Here in Nepal, there are over 70 Rotary clubs. Worldwide, there are 1.2 million Rotarians. Their motto is Service Above Self, and it shows. The men and women on this trip with my dad and I are paying their own way to be here and volunteer their help. Rotary International does not endorse a particular religion, nor is religion a guiding factor. The guiding factor is simply the will to make the world a better place, whether through selling ice cream at fairs to fund projects, tireless efforts made in the name of eradicating polio, or flying to Nepal to help a man on his mission to help those whom society will not allow to help themselves.

The less poetic and more information rich version:
http://www.rotary.org/en/AboutUs/Pages/ridefault.aspx

Which brings me to the final point of 'what are we doing here,' which may or may not be apparent by now. People who are disabled in any way in Nepal must live with a stigma attached to their existence, the stigma that they are suffering from a past life sin or curse. They constitute the lowest rung on the societal ladder. My dad is interested in changing this perception. It is not about changing the entire belief system of the country or changing religion in any way. It is about showing the people of this nation that those are believed to be useless may be an asset to society, and not a burden. It's about showing the people who are put down that they can make something of themselves. It's about going to the remotest of villages and helping those who may not understand what disability is to realize that their child may amount to great things someday. It's about getting the people of this country emotionally involved in this effort, and with the help of Rotary, giving hope.

Enough of my spiel. www.trifc.org

ON TO THE EVENTS OF DHULIKHEL DAY 2

We visited the Kavre School for the Deaf and got to work. There was a wonderful tent provided so that we could paint in the shade outdoors. Ruth, one of our volunteers, helped to describe the day's activity. She is a firm believer in the idea that "everyone can paint," and, though she is without formal training herself, creates wonderful works of art. Many (if not all) of the children had never painted before, at least not painted on something physical besides paper. In Nepal, if you want something painted, you generally hire a painter, and that's the end of that. It was immediately clear that these children had found a wonderful avenue for personal expression, and once they started painting, it was difficult for them to stop.

Following the painting session, my dad had hired a magician, who rather mundanely introduced himself as Adarsha. His last name is Limbu, and I'm fairly certain that his business would triple if he would simply change the name of his act to "Limbu the Great," or "Limbu the Magnificent," or even "Limbu the Somewhat Okay and Mediocre." The name Limbu speaks for itself.

With Balram translating into Nepali sign language, the children got another wonderful visual treat, and the looks on their faces were absolutely priceless. Yes, I've posted photos of that.

Following Limbu, there was lunch, which we ate in the traditional Newari style. Translation: We sat on the ground with woven leaves as plates and ate with our hand (the right one). It would take some getting used to, but really, your hand works just as well if not better than a fork.

Last on our program for the day at Kavre School for the Deaf was a number of dance and martial arts performances done by the children, which were fantastic. Remember these children are deaf, and cannot hear the music and beat, and yet, moved with remarkable unity.

After finishing up at Kavre School for the Deaf, the group attended a meeting of the Banepa-Kavre Rotary club, and was treated by the club to a wonderful dinner afterwards.

That's about it! Whew.

Dhuikhel Day 2 - Kavre School for the Deaf

-Carey

Return to Kathmandu

2009-02-21T10:27:00.000-08:00

As I might have predicted, our trip to Dhulikhel was not blessed with internet access, and so, as we've returned to Kathmandu, I'm faced with a backlog of information and pictures to post. I'll do so one day at a time.

Also, please do your best to forgive any typos. I will proofread, but it's about 12:15am (the lights came on at 12am) and I wanted to get a head start on uploading these photos.

Also, I spent such a vast amount of time photographing that these posts will be short on writing but complete with copious photographs.

Day 1 to Dhulikhel

Our trip started out well enough, with the usual minor chaos associated with organizing people in any way in a foreign country. We were headed to Dhulikhel, and first stop on our trip was HRDC Hospital.

HRDC Hospital (I don't know what HRDC stands for...sorry) is a hospital and rehabilitation center for children and individuals with physical disabilities. They perform corrective surgeries, and many children from DNC have been sent there to have operations funded by TRIFC and Rotary over the years.

HRDC has a wonderful positive feel about it. One can tell easily from this positive energy that lives change here. Many children who crawl in to HRDC are able to walk out under their own power.

After HRDC, we visited the Kavre School for the Deaf nearby, which was the location for the next day's program. That will be covered in a subsequent post.

Lunch that day, while delicious, was unsurprisingly a source of delay. It seems standard fare throughout Nepal for restaurants to be slightly understaffed and ill-equipped to deal with teams of hungry Rotarians, but I suppose we don't constitute their usual target market.

After this, we returned to the hotel and had some down time, during which I wished I had brought my guitar instead of leaving it, and then we had a wonderful dinner, and everyone turned in around 9pm so that they could see the sunrise in the morning. Photos of this to follow in the next post as well.

Dhulikhel Day 1: HRDC Hospital

Also, I have more pictures showing members of the group doing random things, but they're not that interesting as, well, pictures. But if any of you readers are interested in seeing those, just let me know. The next post with the Kavre School has more photos that include the team.

-Carey

Prediction: Correct

2009-02-18T09:23:00.000-08:00

The visit to Kokhana and Bangmati did indeed present MANY wonderful photographic opportunities, so really, I have very little to report verbally, but have uploaded an unprecedented 33 photos, which took a little over an hour of uploading, so I shall make sure the captions are adequate for those, and then let them tell the story.

The Group Visits Kokhana and Bungmati!

Also, Today is Chandra and RR's 40th wedding anniversary, so I'll hope that you'll all join me in congratulating them! We had a wonderful dinner out and a great chocolate cake as well :)

The remaining Rotarians arrived today! We picked up Gina tonight, and greeted Judy and Katie as well. We'll all be heading out on another short trip tomorrow, so hopefully everyone won't be TOO jetlagged.

Anywho. If there's internet in Dulakhel, expect an update soon. If not, I'll see you all on Saturday...

-Carey

The Rotarians Are Coming

2009-02-17T08:38:00.000-08:00

As (almost) always, the morning today was excellent. I got to sleep in until 8:30am (which is sleeping in when you go to bed at 11:30), and I relaxed, read a book and played guitar.

After this, we picked up Suzie, Dave and Doug at the airport, the first three Rotarians to arrive! They were, understandably, a bit jet-lagged, and so we took them to the Hotel Himalaya where they hung out for the rest of the day.

From The Rotarians Are Coming

After this, we were scheduled to visit DNC, but on the way, we stopped at a Bakery Cafe for some lunch. The Bakery Cafe is a great place, with great food and a 'young' atmosphere. It is also a wonderful place to hear some classic Western pop music, although it gets a bit weird here and there. Today I was treated to a very long techno remix of "Killing Me Softly," as well as a techno/rap/remix/medley of "Kung Fu Fighting" and "I Get Knocked Down" among others.

They also had the following sign on the table where we were eating:

From The Rotarians Are Coming

mania |ˈmānēə|
noun
mental illness marked by periods of great excitement, euphoria, delusions, and overactivity.

Well, they certainly don't seem to exaggerating the name Momo Mania with events like beer and coke drinking contests and momo eating contests. I would imagine all the caffeine from the coke one would ingest would result in a high degree of excitement and overactivity, all the beer one would drink and all the momos one would eat would take care of the 'delusions' and the 'illness' part of 'mental illness.' Also, though I cannot make momos, I imagine it's a rather intensive process with one's hands, so that'd also take care of overactivity. This sounds like an amazing festival to attend, but not necessarily to partake in. I'd rather not contract diabetes, alcohol poisoning, obesity and carpal tunnel syndrome in one fell swoop.

We had a nice visit at DNC, and I'm going to look into getting their guitar fixed up a bit more, because as it is, it's still not very good, and I'm sure some of the kids would really enjoy it.

After that, I went out to dinner with Emily at Fire and Ice, and we walked around Thamel and hung out with some of her friends, all of whom are very cool and easygoing. I hope I get to see them again soon.

Well, that's about it! Very few photos today, but we're visiting a village tomorrow with the Rotarians that are present, and that's sure to present many a photographic opportunity.

-Carey

I've failed to think of an imaginative name for this update, so I shall call it...Update

2009-02-16T08:02:00.000-08:00

The past two mornings have consisted of bucket baths, which for those unenlightened few among you, means that I take a bath out of a bucket. Not altogether unpleasant, and I'm really getting quite good at it.

2/15/09

THE FOCUS GROUPS ARE DONE. Not that I was particularly stressed about it myself, but it'll be nice for my dad to be able to relax for the first time since we've arrived, and just nice to get the ball rolling on our baseline stats on the perceptions of people with disabilities.

After the focus groups and leaving Mahesh (Rotaract president) in charge of changing the video tapes for the focus groups, my dad, Penny and Nirmala and I went to Thamel to wander around. To be frank, I much prefer wandering around in locales that are NOT described as 'tourist hot spots.' This isn't because I have so much of a problem with the tourists, but just the people who are conditioned to sell things to tourists. I am very cheap, and fairly practical in my purchases (fairly). There are many things I don't need, and I feel terrible, but sometimes the only way to get someone to stop trying to sell you something is to ignore them outright and walk on.

That said, I bought a pretty B.A. hat. It's kind of wintery, and is impossibly awesome and somewhat silly. It was clearly a necessary purchase. And I bought guitar picks, which are among the few items that I've discovered in Nepal to be more expensive here than they are at home. I told the shopkeeper this, and he merely expounded upon their extraordinary quality, and left me somewhat mystified. Unfortunately, I actually needed them, and am a terrible haggler despite my Jewish heritage, so I grudgingly purchased two. The shopkeeper seemed rather put out that I didn't need more.

Other minor tidbits:

-We ate lunch at the Namaste bar and restaurant, which was very nice, had a rooftop view, and live music in the evenings (so we didn't hear it at lunch, but it may be nice to go back).
-Jim trained the Rotaractors on how to give a survey, and it was very well received. I videotaped the whole thing and am planning on making DVDs to distribute for those that missed it.
-Penny, myself, RR, Chandra and my Dad had a kind of drinks and snacks get-together at RR's house, and after that, we went to Masala Indian Cuisine, which was, unsurprisingly, quite good.
-After this, I was far too tired to update the blog.

2/16/09

The time is 3am. I awake in the midst of an intense sweating episode, and realize with much dismay that I not only have terrible terrible heartburn, but I also feel mildly like vomiting. I get up and take a swig of Digene (discount Pepto-Bismol) and a half hour later, I fall asleep again. And I wake up in the morning, and despite being tired, I feel completely fine. *bullet dodged*

Today my dad and I picked up Nirmala and went to Kirtipur to visit Namrata, another blind student my dad sponsored. We walked around Kirtipur and ate at a restaurant called Kirtipur Restaurant and Beer Garden. We were the only patrons.

The food was good. The wait staff was friendly. However, they seem ill-equipped as a restaurant to serve people in numbers greater than one. Our food came out in waves (almost as though it were a fancy multi-course meal, but needless to say, I don't think that was the intent), and my dad, on his way to the bathroom, glanced in the kitchen and saw our former waiter hard at work over a solitary pair of burners. All told, the meal couldn't have taken longer if the chicken in our chicken chow mein was hatched, raised and THEN cooked for us as we waited.

I then came home and had a wonderful hot shower, because there was water and electricity simultaneously. Yes. It was glorious in its magnificence, and magnificent in its glory.

My dad attended a Rotary meeting, but I was too tired from my temporary illness and stayed home, read about cars on the internet, played guitar, read a book, and thoroughly enjoyed myself.

Focus Groups, Kirtipur

-Carey

caught up

2009-02-14T10:58:00.000-08:00

Today, I was rather rushed through my morning routine as we were in a hurry to attend the focus groups. I’m not sure I’ve ever actually had to drink oatmeal as I did this morning, but it wasn’t as altogether unpleasant an experience as it may sound.

Also, I showered by way of small bucket with cold water, moist towelettes, and a dash of creativity, though not without a certain nostalgia for, you know, a real shower. That will hopefully happen tomorrow morning.

For those that don’t know, Jim Hebert of Hebert Research has generously donated his and his company’s services to trifc.org and Rotary International so that we may gather baseline info regarding people’s perceptions toward those with disabilities, and then we can see what kind of impact we are having as the project launches and progresses. Jim showed the focus groups some of the concept boards I mentioned in a previous post, and gauged reactions. It was all captured on audio and visual recording equipment.

The focus groups were highly successful. The results were excellent, in that some were unexpected, and thus extremely helpful in refining these concept boards and finally deciding on which approach to use.

Afterwards, we had lunch at the Bakery Cafe, which is a restaurant that hires mostly deaf individuals for wait staff. Nirmala had the pleasure of interviewing the owner previously, who said candidly that he didn’t hire the deaf workers for philanthropic reasons. They simply worked much harder and better than the other employees who were not hearing impaired. Hm. Just goes to show what those with disabilities can do when they’re given an opportunity.

Oh. And the food was really good, too. I had fried buffalo momos.

Following lunch, I went to Swayambunath with Penny and Len. Swayambunath is a Buddhist stupa / temple area that overlooks much of the Kathmandu valley. I’ll leave it to the pictures for this one.

Len and Penny wanted to continue to be adventurous, but I had to return to go to dinner with Olga and everyone. Olga, for those that don’t know, is the person who got my dad started with his work in Nepal. He happened to see her in the newspaper, call her up and volunteer his photographic services, and as a result, changed his life entirely.

The dinner was very nice, RR and Chandra and my dad and Nirmala and Sita and myself went, and it was great to see Olga again. Olga is, near as I can tell, immune to the effects of the passage of time, i.e. she looks great. I also met Lynn and Laurie (I hope I spelled that right); Lynn has known Nirmala for a very long time. I also met Emily who just turned 21 and is from Colorado. She’s volunteering at a school here and teaching classes as well as designing the curriculum for those classes, which is pretty amazing. She’s come to Nepal alone, and definitely seems more outgoing and adventurous than I am, I must say. It's great meeting all these Rotary people and they're absolutely wonderful people, but it's also always nice to meet someone my own age.

Okay. Proofreading this post, I notice it's more...informative than entertaining, but I suppose I have to post something serious now and then. Anywho, it is late, and I’m up to date.

Check out the pictures though, they should be pretty good this time around.

Focus sessions, Swayambunath

Talk to you all soon,

-Carey

p.s. oh. my. god. there is a dog outside that will NOT STOP BARKING. BARK BARK BARK BARK BARK BARK. LDGSL:DKGHSD:LKfjS:LKHG:SLKFJ;slkfjad;slkfj

Playing catch-up

2009-02-14T10:22:00.000-08:00

Well, given the rather sporadic and inconvenient allocations of electricity over the past few days, this post will perhaps be longer than most, and followed up with as many photo uploads as possible before I over-tax the router, which would most likely result in its combustion. This would, of course, be quite the problem given the recent water shortage as well, but alas! Such is life in Nepal.

Photos referred to in this post may be viewed here:

Pen pals, Mountains, Jam

Friday, February 13 (That is the day that this post is about. Ignore the date above)

We had a wonderful, lazy, late morning. I had plenty of time to do some exercises, play guitar, eat too much breakfast, the usual.

After our relaxing morning, we made our way to Durbar Square to Adarsha Kanya Niketan school to do the pen pal project! For those that don’t know, this seemingly innocent project is actually rife with obstacles to its success. When I entered the project, we had just received letters and photos from the Nepali kids to their American pen pals, in all-digital form (meaning the Rotaractors had to scan 90+ letters). I had to print each letter, get prints made of each photo, match them up, stuff the letters, and write names on them. My dad and I then went to Meadowdale High School and Forest Ridge School to distribute the letters, videotape each kid, and then get a still photo. Then, we collect letters and print photographs (I had to sort for the Meadowdale kids, the teacher at Forest Ridge did this for us...whew) and stuff them into envelopes. Then I also have to assemble each clip into a cohesive video to show the kids here. Then, we have to actually assemble all the kids in one place here (they are from two different schools), procure a generator AND a projector to show the video, show the video, hand out the letters, and hope I haven’t screwed up something major. In the end, it was a vast success. Check the photos.

After the whole pen pal project, I went to have a meal and a beer with Penny and Len at a roof top cafe, and luckily for us, the mountains came out from the haze during our meal. On one side, we had the sunset over Durbar Square, and on the other side we had the Himalayas over Kathmandu. Absolutely fantastic. I posted some photos, but they obviously don’t do justice to the real thing.

After my dinner, I had a jam session near Sachin’s house, which is a different location from where we practiced before in Durbar Square. Sachin had electricity this night, so we could play with a full drum kit, two electric guitars, an electric bass and a microphone. Needless to say, I had a blast. Some songs we played:
-Roadhouse Blues
-Every Breath You Take (yes. by Sting)
-With or Without You
-Sweet Child O’ Mine
-Bombtrack
-Wicked Game (HIM cover)
So, a very eclectic (and excellent) selection of music. I might also add that Sachin has an AMAZING singing voice. He’s fairly soft-spoken and, you know, normal sounding, but he can sing and sound EXACTLY like Axel Rose. Photos of the jam have been posted as well.

Penny used the word ‘ensconced’ today, and I wrote it down, feeling that I should use it more often. Ensconced ensconced ensconced.

One short story I forgot to mention when it happened occurred the morning of the first trip we took to Durbar Square with Penny and Balram. Balram came to the house early to have a short meeting with my dad about the school for the deaf that he works at, and came by bike. We were all going to meet Penny at her house and walk to Durbar Square. The main problem with this is that Balram and my dad are both rather large (meant in the best way possible, since neither is fat), and would have trouble squishing onto Balram’s bike by themselves, let alone with me dangling off the back. But this is Nepal! The people here are nothing if not...space efficient.

And so, off we went, bottoming out over every pothole and scraping the ground over every speed bump. We received more stares than usual, and were twice outstripped by passing school children (no, this is not hyperbole). Annnnd that’s about the end of that story. Short, as I said. And that’s all for this day! But as the electricity has just come on, I shall be making another post immediately after this.

‘Til then,

Carey

p.s. I HAVE proofread this, but please look past any mistakes or mis-wordings. It's late and I'm tired, but I wanted to get this updated.

Quick update

2009-02-12T09:59:00.000-08:00

This update will be very quick, as I am rapidly running out of time to have electricity.

-I went with my dad and Joydeb to meet with Equal Access Nepal to further discuss the logistics of incorporating SMKK (Chatting with my best friend) into the Nepal Disability Awareness Campaign my dad is in charge of, and so far, it's looking quite good. They have a listening base far larger than anything we could hope to achieve in 5+ years, so we'll just save the time and go with them, I think.

-After that, I went with dad and waited two and a half hours at the airport for Jim Hebert to arrive, due to a miscommunication - the e-mail from his assistant detailing his revised itinerary hadn't gone through. Oh well.

-Had lunch at the Greenwich hotel where Penny's staying, although Penny was out. We were hungry, though.

-Jam session!

The jam session is more easily shown in pictures.

Jam session photos

-Carey

Jam in Nepal

2009-02-11T09:56:00.001-08:00

I think most of our day today is well summed up in the photos I've uploaded. So here:

Durbar Square Sightseeing and DNC

The portion of my day that was not copiously photo-documented was quite good indeed. Sachin (I'll check on spelling) picked me up after dinner, and we rode his motorcycle over to his house to pick up a keyboard, and then road from his house back to Durbar Square and had a jam session with a bunch of his friends. He's a member of the Nepali Blues Society, and they play lots of different blues and fusion, and Sachin also plays a lot of alternative rock on his own.

I've already described how it was riding on a motorcycle through Kathmandu, so I'll say no more besides the fact that it was equally exhilarating the second time around.

As for the music, they seemed to like me well enough. I played the keyboard along with them for a few songs, and also picked up a guitar and played for them as well. They want me to come back and jam tomorrow night, and also jam on Friday and maybe perform with them at some restaurant. Unfortunately, I won't be able to jam on Friday (the only night with electricity at Sachin's place, the home of a drumset) but that's alright, I'm sure tomorrow will be fun.

The group consists of several people who play guitar, two singers, a bassist, and a drummer who plays the tabla drums (and is amazing). So. I am, understandably, pretty psyched. Not that I mind hanging out with dad and all the Rotary people, but it's nice to find some young(er) people to hang out with, and people with whom I have something in common.

'Til next time (which will probably be tomorrow),

-Carey

Random update

2009-02-10T07:56:00.001-08:00

Hey all,

I don't have anything in particular to write about, so I figured I would ramble on about small tidbits of information that you may or may not find interesting, and perhaps post a photo or two. We have electricity until midnight, which is fairly unprecedented, so I figured I should take advantage of this opportunity.

-RR told an interesting story at dinner (and I subsequently read the story in the newspaper) concerning the fire-fighting capabilities of the fire departments in the Kathmandu valley. Throughout the Kathmandu valley, there are four fire engines. The newest fire engines were manufactured in 1976. The fire engines are never filled with water, and so they must first drive to Boda (sp?) through heinous traffic to fill up their tanks, and then back to the rubble that had once resembled the building that had long since been reported aflame. Also, there are limited fire hydrants city-wide, but even these are of little concern, because the water board has already cut water to them. There are also limited (if any) sprinkler systems in high rises throughout Nepal. No new firefighters have been recruited in the past 15 years, and so they call in additional help from the Armed Police Force, and the only training these people receive is on-the-job...meaning they train when there is a real fire. There is no money to retrofit a new water tank, no money for new fire engines, and the roadway system is inadequately designed for eight-foot-wide vehicles. Long story short: avoid an open flame at all costs.

-An individual wrote on my wall on Facebook informing me that it was snowing. I wrote back saying that that was utter madness, and given her posting time of 4am, I'd assumed school was cancelled. She wrote back saying that she had actually pulled an all-nighter working on art projects, and that I was the only one on at 4am so she decided to send me a celebratory message. I was about to write back expressing my glee that the strange time difference and electricity schedules here were finally convenient for SOMEONE, when the electricity suddenly went out and I was disconnected from the internet.

-I'm really excited about a new lens Nikon is coming out with when I get back in March. Yup, I'm a nerd, and do not really have very much money. But I'll probably still buy it, it's supposed to be cheap. It'll also probably be backordered, so I'll have time to save up anyway.

-We had a meeting today to narrow down concept boards for the disability awareness campaign. I took some photos, but predictably, I like very few of them, because taking photographs during a meeting is hard. Oh well, I'll upload some more photos later.

-We ate lunch at a place RR recommended called "Rice & Bowl." When RR said the name of the restaurant, my dad heard "Rice & Bowel," which I would imagine would be a far less popular establishment. Even so, "Rice & Bowl" proved interesting enough. There was good food, and there's always gonna be something special about a Chinese restaurant in Kathmandu that is also playing smooth jazz covers of songs like "Tequila" on the radio.

-After the meeting and lunch, we went back to the office being rented for the Nepal Disability Awareness Campaign program that my dad is running. We got some interesting photos on the way, and also Penny and Len interviewed the two paid employees at the office, Kedar and Jamuna. Jamuna was in a terrible bus accident when she was a child, and has lost both of her legs. Despite this, she climbs a flight of stairs up to the office to work every day, and is a great asset to my dad's campaign.

Photos now!

2-10-09 NDACP meeting and others

-Carey

Len and Penny's arrival in photos

2009-02-09T08:58:00.000-08:00

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.

Motorcycle + Kathmandu = Amazing

2009-02-09T03:22:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, I had the great pleasure of dining out with my dad's friend Dhruba and his wife, son and nephew. We went to Fire and Ice, which is a pizza / ice cream parlor in one of the more 'touristy' areas of Kathmandu. The pizza was very good, if not completely authentic (the Hawaiian pizza had green peppers on it, but that just added to the charm). After dinner, Dhruba had to go pick up his car as it was being serviced, but it was in the opposite direction of RR's house, and so he offered me a seat on his nephew's motorcycle.

Many thoughts went through my head at this point in time, but all I could really do was smile hesitantly and say "Uh....sure, yeah. Sounds fine." He asked if I had a scarf to protect my lungs, and I didn't, so he suggested I grab a napkin. Luckily, I also had a coat. Unluckily, I had my camera with me and nowhere to stow it besides my neck.

My previous experience concerning two-wheeled transportation has been somewhat...limited. I've ridden on a scooter with Henry Bi (which was terrifying) and also driven a scooter that belonged to Erin's family (which was quite good fun). Of course, neither experience had taken place in Kathmandu, Nepal at rush hour.

The first few minutes were absolutely petrifying, and I clung on rather sheepishly to my driver while trying my best to keep up with his small talk. After that, though, I have to say that that motorcycle ride was one of the most fantastic experiences I've ever had.

While in cars and trucks being driven around the city, I try to pay as little attention as possible to how close we are to outside objects, and often cringe as we slip by a pedestrian or motorcycle, for fear of running them down. However, on the motorcycle, given that I could see the far extremes of the vehicle and precisely how close (or how far away) we were to other vehicles and people, I found myself unperturbed by my driver's aggressive nature, and even comfortable enough to attempt to snap a few photos as we drove along. I'll upload a couple, although they truly don't do justice to the experience as a whole. And they're pretty lousy as photographs, too, but hey. I was on a motorcycle.

Motorcycle ride

Notes:

-I felt a twinge of discomfort in my stomach earlier today, and promptly took some tums. Luckily, nothing seems to have come of it, and I am feeling fine (although hungry) now. No massive puking yet.

-Penny LeGate and Len Davis (cameraman) arrived today. Len is a very nice and very interesting individual who is perfectly at home in Nepal and is also fluent in Nepali. He's staying with a friend from Kansas who has lived here in Kathmandu for a number of years with his Nepali wife and child. Len is 6'4" and has a long pony tail, so he is easy to spot in a crowd (which can be both a blessing and a curse). Penny is a very sweet individual with a knack for easy conversation and a gift for seeming perfectly at ease whatever her situation may be. These qualities also have an effect on those around her, and everyone seems comfortable in her presence. She is attending a Rotary meeting with us tonight, and joining us for dinner after that.

-My dad and I waited for Penny and Len to arrive at the airport golf course, which was very nice, if perhaps a bit too brown. RR's name is on display twice, once for each time he has made a hole in one at the course.

I'm very hungry and though our ride hasn't arrived, I fear this post is long enough already.

-Carey

DNC in photos

2009-02-08T04:48:00.000-08:00

I've (finally) uploaded some photographs from our trip to DNC to supplement my dad's story. I took some of the photos, but many were taken by Sunil, a resident of DNC. Enjoy!

DNC

-Carey

A Trip To Heaven

2009-02-07T23:50:00.000-08:00

Yesterday we visited the Newlife Disabled Center (DNC) which is the organization for children with disability that we help both by Rotary and Rotaract means as well as through my own non-profit- TRIFC.org. What a reception we received! I had been waiting a full year for this day to come and it looked like they had too!

There are two new children at the center since our visit last year. Dhiraj is around 7 years old who, like another of the DNC children- Sanjay, lost both of his feet in the cooking fire in their home. You wouldn’t believe it, but he is very balanced and mobile even without his feet. Bimala who is 13 years old had to have one leg amputated due to burns received as a baby. Both of these children come from very poor families and DNC gives them both the medical and educational opportunities that would otherwise not be possible.

School runs six days a week here so Saturday is the children’s only free day. It was bath day for the younger boys and they were enjoying their open-air bath and then drying off in the warm sunshine. The weather in Kathmandu has been unusually warm for this time of the year and the temps have been getting into the 70’s during the daytime and while cool at night it isn’t cold. The kids kept Carey and I constantly busy during our five-hour visit. We played ping-pong with many of them, sat in the sunshine and gave a hug to others, distributed books and small gifts and just enjoyed spending time with each other.

Thanks to Alex Smith and family, we fund many programs at DNC through the Rotary and Rotaract Club of Kopundol. Through Alex’s funds and other funds that are donated through TRIFC.org we fund orthopedic surgeries, physical therapy, funds for college, tutoring and much more!

Later in the afternoon, we ordered “Momo’s” (Nepali chicken and vegetable dumplings) and juice so everyone had a full tummy to bask in the sunshine and relax. What a perfect afternoon….
-Rob.

Some more thoughts, and brief news updates.

2009-02-07T23:45:00.000-08:00

Greetings!

Brief update on the electricity situation:

RR Pandey: They are increasing power...
Rob Rose: Hey, that’s great!
RR Pandey: ...outages...

Apparently, one area wants electricity for 24 hours, or they won’t produce any electricity. So, we’re now up to 16 hours per day without electricity.

Although I may be the only person interested, it recently occurred to me that Nepal is the perfect candidate for demonstrating both positive and negative aspects of the diesel engine, which is largely absent from cars throughout North America.

The positive side is not only do the diesels here get excellent mileage (they have to), they are also terrifyingly rugged, and stand up well to the pressures of the climate, the unhealthy (to put it mildly) driving, and also a probable lack of routine maintenance. Also, while they are slower and more underpowered than your average Geo Metro, I largely view this as a blessing, as I have already grown accustomed to viewing 40 km/h as a frighteningly speedy pace on the once-paved roads in urban Kathmandu.

On the other hand, it is these diesels that are largely responsible for the interminable haze that has settled over the Kathmandu valley, and they are noisy and coarse-running. Mercifully, the three-wheeled, boxy taxis that rattle around and used to run on kerosene (and also used to pour out black smoke toxic enough to kill your average elephant in seconds) have been largely converted to electric power. However, this doesn’t stop the larger buses and diesel vehicles from spewing out black smoke of their own.

So, long story short, I look forward to the clean diesels that car companies are beginning to bring to the United States, as they represent the best of both worlds. It will be nice to someday have normal vehicles topping 60 mpg without the need for impractically heavy battery packs and hideous styling, and I plan to rub this in the face of everyone driving a Prius once that glorious day arrives.

I plan to do a story of some sort on taxis around town, so watch out for that in the future.

I’ve only recently discovered one of the more rarely publicized characteristics of Kathmandu, which is odd considering inescapable nature. City-wide, whether you be indoors or outdoors, most everything is coated with a fine layer of dust. This dust, which I can only assume is highly toxic in nature, is so ubiquitous that it almost blends in with the city’s ambiance, and becomes difficult to notice until you realize that not everything is naturally brown. Leaves are green under it, and walls are clean under it. I've oftentimes touched something and, horrified, realized I'd left a mark when really the mark is just a newly-created absence of the dust which was now transferred to my hand. Hm. I don't think that sentence makes sense.

From A Walk to Druba's (friend of my dad's)

I suspect this dust may not have the most positive influence on my asthma.

I have much news, but it’s not a terribly fascinating read, so I shall sum up in bullet points.

-I’ve been spoiled for breakfast every morning with fantastic oatmeal and /or eggs, toast and coffee or tea.

-My dad’s disability awareness campaign in Nepal has made some real progress. For those who do not know, to be disabled in Nepal is to be on the lowest rung of the social ladder, because everyone views you as deserving your fate due to a past life sin or curse. Of course, disabled individuals can be a valuable addition to society if society allows it, and my dad is working on just that - changing society’s perception of those with disabilities through a social marketing campaign. We have just viewed concept boards for different directions that the campaign may go, and will be attending a meeting on Tuesday to narrow them down.

-It’s difficult to justify spending 1,000 rupees on something, even in spite of the fact that 1,000 rupees is about $12.50.

-Went out to dinner at Chopstix with Rotaractors (young Rotarians) last night. Very neat place, very western...played lots of Jason Mraz, Maroon 5, and that ‘you must not know about me / you must not know what I mean’ song. Also, I shall be jamming with one of them, as he has a small music studio in his house and likes blues and rock. Excellent!

Sorry for the long update. Hope it’s somewhat entertaining!

A Walk to Druba's (friend of my dad's)

-Carey

There is electricity! And a massive traffic jam.

2009-02-06T01:41:00.000-08:00

We were going to go visit the DNC (Disabled Newlife Center), which is a residential institution for disabled children, but unfortunately, the United-Marxist-Leninists (UML) party decided to have some sort of demonstration today, and has tied up traffic all over town. We did go on a walk and get to go to the supermarket, but unfortunately, there's not much else. In any case, I shall update the blog with some INTERESTING stories (and photos) the next time we have electricity.

Til then,

Carey

Side-note

2009-02-05T08:43:00.001-08:00

How is the layout working for everyone? Is linking to a slideshow outside the blog working, or would you prefer I narrow photos down further and just embed them into the post itself? I welcome suggestions and constructive criticism, this is the first time I've done anything like this.

must sleeeeepppppppp

-Carey