Sunday, July 13, 2014
Today we had our first Nepali lessons. The fellow who gave them was an older Nepali
man who was like an animated bauble-head doll. He used his head bobbing back
and forward to help emphasize his words.
The Nepali language has 8 vowels and combinations and we know that
mispronouncing can give the word new meaning. A little bit scary. While in El
Salvador, we were mistakenly pronouncing Anos and using caliente in the wrong
reference. We thought we were saying, how old are you, and, it is really hot
(weather). What we were saying instead was, how is your anus and you are really
hot (sexy).
The Nepali lesson will be repeated today for the morning as well. After lunch, which was Dahl baat (lentils, veggies and rice), we had a workshop with the project coordinator about our specific project. We will be doing a combination of healthcare projects and construction. The school we are working at is about 15-20 minutes outside of Pokhara. The school is small and is run by a dynamo woman named Bunty. Bunty is 26 years old and started the school when she was 18 as a way to help support her mother who has cancer. Each child is charged about 2,000 rupees a month to attend which is about $40.00. This is a reasonable price.
Bunty was approached by a woman who had encountered a very young boy in a shop who was tied up in a corner. The family could not communicate with the child as he does not hear so they ignore him and his existence is very bleak. Bunty took the boy in and gradually got him to Kathmandu where he was assessed as partially deaf. Through donations of tourists, he was fitted with hearing aids which have helped.
Next she was approached by someone else about a little girl called Nikkita. She was born with Spina Bifida and hydrocephalus. She also had been shunted in Delhi, India to take care of the hydrocephalus but the rest of her health was never attended to.
Over the years, Bunty has seen the improvement of the kids and this has spurned her to be their advocate.
In Nepal society, disability is seen as a mark against the family. Lack of education and superstition have spawned a society where seizures are the result of the devil and demons take the shape of autistic boys. The disability is the fault of the mother who, once married, must reside in the home of her spouse and take the blame for her inadequacies.
The Nepali lesson will be repeated today for the morning as well. After lunch, which was Dahl baat (lentils, veggies and rice), we had a workshop with the project coordinator about our specific project. We will be doing a combination of healthcare projects and construction. The school we are working at is about 15-20 minutes outside of Pokhara. The school is small and is run by a dynamo woman named Bunty. Bunty is 26 years old and started the school when she was 18 as a way to help support her mother who has cancer. Each child is charged about 2,000 rupees a month to attend which is about $40.00. This is a reasonable price.
Bunty was approached by a woman who had encountered a very young boy in a shop who was tied up in a corner. The family could not communicate with the child as he does not hear so they ignore him and his existence is very bleak. Bunty took the boy in and gradually got him to Kathmandu where he was assessed as partially deaf. Through donations of tourists, he was fitted with hearing aids which have helped.
Next she was approached by someone else about a little girl called Nikkita. She was born with Spina Bifida and hydrocephalus. She also had been shunted in Delhi, India to take care of the hydrocephalus but the rest of her health was never attended to.
Over the years, Bunty has seen the improvement of the kids and this has spurned her to be their advocate.
In Nepal society, disability is seen as a mark against the family. Lack of education and superstition have spawned a society where seizures are the result of the devil and demons take the shape of autistic boys. The disability is the fault of the mother who, once married, must reside in the home of her spouse and take the blame for her inadequacies.
Women work till the time they are ready to give birth and
then, on their own, they go to the cow shed to give birth. No one is to help
them. They must stay there for 2 days before coming out. Disability runs very high at 29% children
born with disabilities and then from those born healthy, another 39% will
become disabled through early life.
In the cities, education is better but in the villages things are not. We will be travelling there on Monday after our Nepali lesson to meet Bunty and the kids. We have been warned of the conditions which are quite stark, as well as some of the health issues of the kids like lice, scabies and wayward dogs, and rats (which we have not seen, that is the rats I am referring to.)
After our project orientation we took the local bus to old town which is where the locals live and very similar to India. We were very lucky as the skies cleared enough for us to see the mountain tops in the background.
Another long but enjoyable day.
In the cities, education is better but in the villages things are not. We will be travelling there on Monday after our Nepali lesson to meet Bunty and the kids. We have been warned of the conditions which are quite stark, as well as some of the health issues of the kids like lice, scabies and wayward dogs, and rats (which we have not seen, that is the rats I am referring to.)
After our project orientation we took the local bus to old town which is where the locals live and very similar to India. We were very lucky as the skies cleared enough for us to see the mountain tops in the background.
Another long but enjoyable day.
Beautiful flowers
Conversation Club