Friday 9th November 2007

Hey guys,
Ok, so update on the situation so far.

I went to meet with James X at the Umbrella Foundation, which is an amazing organisation with 6 orphanages and over 300 children in their care. They have been running in Nepal for over 20 years and have a LOT of experience with this kind of thing.

I’ve looked around two of their orphanages and they are fantastic – really properly well run and funded – all the kids have beds, clothes, go to school, get well fed etc.
James is a lovely frenchman, who’s Irish wife Vivienne set up the foundation, and he’s got greying-whitish dreadlocks that make him look rather like an ageing fraggle. Continue reading →

Saturday 3rd November 2007

Ok, now I’ve outlined for you all the basic situation, and while it may continue to change every day (I will keep you posted on any new developments), I wanted to just finish off this 3-part monster of an email by telling you all a few of my thoughts on the whole thing.
Everything that has gone on has really made me think hard and re-evaluate what exactly I’m doing here and what good volunteering can do.

I’ve been well aware for a long time that my orphanage is a very special place indeed. There is so much love and affection between the children themselves as well as with Aamaa, Priya, and all the caring friends and family who constantly visit. I’ve already told you that it’s more like a very big family than an orphanage.
There are lots of willing, helping hands that make it all seem to run smoothly. Continue reading →

Saturday 3rd November 2007

… the story continues…

We talked to an American guy named Mark, who volunteered at the orphanage years ago and has stayed in touch with Ram. Mark is studying the effects of voluntourism in developing countries and has done lots of research at orphanages, so we asked him if he could help us place some of the children with his contacts at other orphanages.

Then we talked again about the options. Ram has now realised that there’s no way he’s going to be allowed to be involved at all in anything to do with the orphans, and Alan has insisted that their Aamaa leave immediately, as she seems to be the immediate threat.

Daniel was very upset about closing the orphanage, as although he’s willing to do it if it means the children ultimately have a better quality of life, but he can’t bear to split them up, and trying to decide which 5 would come to us and how to split up the other 6 kids was proving terribly hard on him, as he’s so attached to all of them. Continue reading →

Saturday 3rd November 2007

Before I begin today, you should know that this email is going to be a particularly long one, so I’ve split it into 3 parts, as I need to give you some background to help explain what’s been happening in the last week or two.

I have mentioned in previous emails the orphanage in Kocanna, where my friend Alan is volunteering.
There is a very stark contrast between his orphanage and mine, and my time here has been a picnic compared to some of the things he has had to deal with in the last three months.

There are 12 children there, in a dirty, dark concrete bungalow, the roof leaks when it rains and the water pours down the bedroom walls where the kids sleep.
The owner of the orphanage, Ram, is almost never there, and is really not a nice man at all.

Continue reading →

Thursday 1st November 2007

A lot has been happening over here in the last week or so, and I am in the process of writing it all down, but it’s an ongoing problem involving Alan’s orphanage, some serious abuse and neglect of children, and what exactly we’re going to be able to do about it.

We’ve been meeting with people all week, from community police officers, to other orphanages and all sorts of other problems and potential solutions have come up.

It’s such a long and involved story that I’m going to have to wait a bit before I tell you all about it, as the situation has literally changed every day this week, so I can’t type fast enough!

In the meantime, I’m going to tell you all some random little anecdotes to keep you amused, although the next few emails will probably be long and involved – don’t say you weren’t warned! Continue reading →

Saturday 27th October 2007

Hello again,
Just thought you’d all like to know that on Tuesday night, around 6pm, I became a vegetarian.

A bit random, but for almost three months I’ve been loving the food here, and it’s been almost completely vegetarian. Then in the last two weeks during Dashain, I have eaten meat almost every day, as I mentioned in my last email, ranging from chickens and goats, to buffalo, mutton and something that was described to me as “sort-of like baby buffalo” – some kind of veal I imagine. Anyway, I was eating my mutton curry for dinner and was literally chewing on a mouthful when the images of all the slaughters I’ve seen recently popped into my head.
I was chewing away on this sinewy, gristly bit of tendon and muscle and I felt utterly reviled and nauseous!

I literally couldn’t swallow my mouthful – I had to spit it out. It was weird cos it was so completely sudden! Continue reading →

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