Sometimes things quite don't work out as you wished

Our family that we sponsor, the Tamang family, who live quite close to thamel, have been having a bad time. Two weeks ago, the father asked to loan some rent money. He has a new job picking up garbage in a rickshaw but had fallen behind with the rent. I said I would loan him 3 months rent at a small repayment per month. On going to give it to the landlady, we found them not home. Yesterday the eldest daughter called crying saying they had been locked out of their home. The mother left last week and has gone back to her village. She has left a family of six including a baby. Kamal went there to pay the rent and found the father crying and the eldest daughter crying and the baby she was holding was in distress as he had had no milk all day. Kamal paid the landlady 50 dollars for the back rent. The baby is awaiting adoption. I am going to go there later today to see if they are okay. I doubt that they can repay the money but it is better to put it that way for the sake of their pride.

The other problem we had this week is that Dev Raj's mother wanted him back home again. She is the lady, Chondra, who livied in the tiny room. Dev had settled in so well and was doing well in his new school, but we had to take him back. Three of us on the motorbike and his few belongings. So now he is back in the slums and in that tiny room. I checked at the school and he has not been doing well. We had a long talk with him and hopefully this will make a difference. He is a smart boy and could do well. Also he was concerned about his mother and seemed to accept that it is his duty to be with her. We were all very sad over this event. Hopefully next week we will have more cheerful news.

We have some problems here now with no petrol and other supplies because of violence in the south. No supplies getting through. The restaurants also getting short. Nothing ever changes here. I have one more day left of the workshop Iam taking by a Buddhist nun and then back to work on Monday but I feel a lot more refreshed.

Till tomorrow.......Susan