Tagged: Nepal

Umbrella Foundation

I spent a month living in Kathmandu working for Umbrella – it was an amazing experience and one that I can never forget: interacting with and learning from the people of Nepal, seeing them laugh, smile, and offer hospitality despite the hardships of their lives.

A decade of civil conflict in Nepal has left the country in pieces. More than 12,000 people were killed and an estimated 150,000 displaced.

Although the conflict affected every region and every segment of society, the children have suffered the most – and are still suffering.

As the nation is working to put itself back together (rebuilding all of the basic infrastructure and struggling to salvage the economy) there are countless thousands of… Continue reading

Tik cha, sister?

“Tik cha, sister?”

It was four in the morning and I was huddled over coffee and muesli. I was still pre-verbal, but perfectly fine. I gestured to the pot of coffee on the stove and waved at a second cup, which was accepted gratefully but briefly – no sooner had Didi sat down than she jumped up again.

“Sister ready go Dhading! Didi get clothes now!”

Didi is a tiny Nepali woman with a deeply-lined face and a worried frown that peers out from her smiling eyes. A widow, she takes care of the Volunteer House. She is employed by the foundation for which I was working, so that she can be near to her… Continue reading

Settling In(to Kathmandu)

First things first: I’ve changed my tickets – delayed my return home for a week. I’ll be back on July 27th (instead of the 18th) – it’s only nine extra days, but it will give me a chance to do some exploring outside of Kathmandu without neglecting my work here.

Life has settled into a pleasant rhythm – waking by 5am (or trying to) for yoga at the Hindu temple three minutes from the house, buying mangoes from the produce sellers’ blankets on the way back, dodging the cars on the road barely wide enough for the bicycles – jumping to the sounds of their horns, which they employ exuberantly – squatting to take a cold shower under the waist-high faucet and grimacing over… Continue reading