I left Nepal yesterday and am now in Seoul, Korea. I always hate saying goodbye and I have to do a lot of it. My last day was a busy one which started by taking Jenny to the vet at 7 am to have her condition checked, the vet suggested I do this before I left. He said she is recovering well and she had gained a kilo in weight. Jagat and I carried on and collected letters before going to the hospital to see a father of one of my families who is very sick. We then went to see Sima at the hospital with their baby and say goodbye, the baby is doing well and was to be discharged the next day.
I was visited in the late afternoon by Lalmaya from ChimKhola village. She is a school teacher there and the sweetest little lady. She brought me honey from the village where it is collected from the cliffs on the mountainside.
Now I am on my way home and can reflect on the past weeks. It has been tough time with a lot of challenges. Daumaya and her little girls situation was heartbreaking. On my way to Pokhara I thought I really would have to make arrangements to have them cared for in a children's home but when I arrived and visited the girls I knew that this would be the wrong decision as they were coping and had each other, were going to school and it was best to leave them as they were and
provide food and rent for them. This family has been with NEF since 2006. Seeing Daumaya at the cancer hospital in Chitwan was very moving. Living away from her children with no money for treatment was such a hopeless situation. When I mentioned this to the doctor he said, there are thousands of women like her. I do realize this but this was our Daumaya who I have known and loved for six years and her life has been nothing but a struggle. Her husband left her because she did not produce a son, she is penniless and low caste. I cannot begin to imagine what it must be like to live such a life.
Sunita is the other lady we found with no money or food and a baby and five year old son. We now
have a sponsor for him and a credit at the grocery shop.
On the positive side we did a lot of dental camps with our dentist, Jeff Phillips. He worked every day and saw and treated hundreds of children and adults, many of which were NEF students. Mann did a great job as dental assistant. Many thanks go to Jeff.
Our children are all doing well and I saw all but three of them. When Mann's baby got sick last week we lost time and some things did not get done on time. We have a new women's literacy program and school improvements at Kristi, Chalnakhel and Gunjara have all gone well. I have not put these on the blog but will do so during the next week. There has been so much to tell you about that I could not get it all done.
I do not know who reads this blog and never will and it does not matter. This to me is like a journal and writing here of the days events helps me express my feelings. I can never tell you what it is really like that has to be experienced and it is not for everyone. Someone said to me the other day that when you set yourself on a course to help people your heart will never be at rest. This is true and sometimes it is a simple thing that you did not do that keeps coming to mind. When I was standing outside the cancer hospital people starting gathering around me as they do not often see foreigners here in this southern town. One man started to talk to me in basic English. I asked him where he learned this and he told me in school and he had passed class 10. I told him how good that was and he asked me if I would buy some carrots off his cart, his face showing hope, "only 20 rupees" he said. I got distracted and did not know what I could with carrots right then. I did not buy them. I regretted that so much. There was something so simple and genuine about that man and he had finished school in that town so far south, he obviously had worked hard in school. I looked for him the next day but it was a strike day and he was not there. Sometimes it is the little things that matter. Also when dealing with so much sadness it just takes one small thing to haunt me at the end of the day. A few days ago I lost my wallet with some money, credit card and bank cards. With all I have experienced it did not seem like a big deal. I am sure I did not put it away safely and must have put it down or dropped it. I will finish today by saying how very lucky I am to live in a country that has free medical, electricity 24 hours a day, water, hot and cold, always having food on the table and I can travel anywhere in the world I wish. These basic things we take for granted are denied to millions of people in the world and the world is our neighbourhood and these people our neighbors.
Many, many thanks to all my Nepali family and friends for making me so welcome.
I was visited in the late afternoon by Lalmaya from ChimKhola village. She is a school teacher there and the sweetest little lady. She brought me honey from the village where it is collected from the cliffs on the mountainside.
Now I am on my way home and can reflect on the past weeks. It has been tough time with a lot of challenges. Daumaya and her little girls situation was heartbreaking. On my way to Pokhara I thought I really would have to make arrangements to have them cared for in a children's home but when I arrived and visited the girls I knew that this would be the wrong decision as they were coping and had each other, were going to school and it was best to leave them as they were and
provide food and rent for them. This family has been with NEF since 2006. Seeing Daumaya at the cancer hospital in Chitwan was very moving. Living away from her children with no money for treatment was such a hopeless situation. When I mentioned this to the doctor he said, there are thousands of women like her. I do realize this but this was our Daumaya who I have known and loved for six years and her life has been nothing but a struggle. Her husband left her because she did not produce a son, she is penniless and low caste. I cannot begin to imagine what it must be like to live such a life.
Sunita is the other lady we found with no money or food and a baby and five year old son. We now
have a sponsor for him and a credit at the grocery shop.
On the positive side we did a lot of dental camps with our dentist, Jeff Phillips. He worked every day and saw and treated hundreds of children and adults, many of which were NEF students. Mann did a great job as dental assistant. Many thanks go to Jeff.
Our children are all doing well and I saw all but three of them. When Mann's baby got sick last week we lost time and some things did not get done on time. We have a new women's literacy program and school improvements at Kristi, Chalnakhel and Gunjara have all gone well. I have not put these on the blog but will do so during the next week. There has been so much to tell you about that I could not get it all done.
I do not know who reads this blog and never will and it does not matter. This to me is like a journal and writing here of the days events helps me express my feelings. I can never tell you what it is really like that has to be experienced and it is not for everyone. Someone said to me the other day that when you set yourself on a course to help people your heart will never be at rest. This is true and sometimes it is a simple thing that you did not do that keeps coming to mind. When I was standing outside the cancer hospital people starting gathering around me as they do not often see foreigners here in this southern town. One man started to talk to me in basic English. I asked him where he learned this and he told me in school and he had passed class 10. I told him how good that was and he asked me if I would buy some carrots off his cart, his face showing hope, "only 20 rupees" he said. I got distracted and did not know what I could with carrots right then. I did not buy them. I regretted that so much. There was something so simple and genuine about that man and he had finished school in that town so far south, he obviously had worked hard in school. I looked for him the next day but it was a strike day and he was not there. Sometimes it is the little things that matter. Also when dealing with so much sadness it just takes one small thing to haunt me at the end of the day. A few days ago I lost my wallet with some money, credit card and bank cards. With all I have experienced it did not seem like a big deal. I am sure I did not put it away safely and must have put it down or dropped it. I will finish today by saying how very lucky I am to live in a country that has free medical, electricity 24 hours a day, water, hot and cold, always having food on the table and I can travel anywhere in the world I wish. These basic things we take for granted are denied to millions of people in the world and the world is our neighbourhood and these people our neighbors.
Many, many thanks to all my Nepali family and friends for making me so welcome.
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