Hi everyone

I am just about OK now to tell you all about my massive adventure over the last 4 days.  Now I am safe and back at school I will commence.

I left Besishahar on Saturday 19th February to start my 4 day adventure!   I trekked up to the bus and managed to catch a micro bus very quickly.  I started my journey with a cough that had started just a few days before, but I thought is would be on it’s way out by the time I got to Kathmandu.  The journey was absolutely fast, the fastest ever,  I was surrounded by women being sick.  The Nepalese rarely travel on the buses so it is without saying that there will be travelers throwing up in black plastic bags which are then thrown out of the windows.  As I always travel with the locals I obviously am used to encountering this.  But still it is not pleasant and I do feel sorry for the sickies! Tourist buses are very different, but of course more expensive.  I am restricted by cost being a charity and also prefer to be with the people that I am supporting.

At Kathmandu I did not feel too bad, but not completely on top form.  I went back to my previous hotel at 500 r’s a night about £4.50, I was there for 2 nights.  I had a common bathroom which meant outside your room.  It was all fine until I went into the room and said to Binod oh it has a sink in the room I was so pleased at this extra luxury.  Until I heard the drip of the tap ahhh!!! Binod in is infinite wisdom got rid of the drip by swinging the tap to the back. By that morning my floor was wet.  I moved the tap back to allow the floor to dry.  The following day we worked at our office and did some project planning.

That night as Richard my partner suggested I tied a flannel around the tap so the dripping was not so bad, but it got bad Chinese torture commenced, eventually I put up with the wet floor again.  I can’t complain about the hard bed and the tap, as the shower was hot in the common bathroom and this is Nepal!

The following day we were due to go back to Besishahar in the morning.  I had asked Binod to bring me a toaster with him that morning to my hotel as we were leaving from there.  I had not been able to get one anywhere in Besishahar the excitment of toast was overwhelming!

We caught our bus loaded up with our travelling stuff, and of course my very heavy (wonderful) laptop!  My rucky was really heavy but hey ho I was going straight to Besishahar.  My cough seemed to be a little better although I still did not feel right.   We got to the half way point on the bus and all was fine, I gave my partner a call to everything was going well.  WE got back on the bus and 10 minutes later we were stuck and I mean stuck.  That road is horrific when it stops it stops.  After some consideration and oohing and Ahhhring trying to find out what was happening.  We with the other passengers from our bus decided to walk to the next village, our bus driver had decided to go back to Kathmandu by this time. Yes I walked (I never mind walking) with my rucksack really heavy 4 kms.  Not far really but my cough and chest were giving up.

We got to the village to see it laden with police officers with batons, guns and riot shields, not really sure what had happened. We were told that the police had shot a member of the public.  But ambulances were going back and fore.  Perhaps we will eventually find out what it was.  I took some pictures, will somehow let you see them when this word press is a bit faster.

We then found a bus that was going to Pokhara if we wanted to to to Besishahar we would have to change again.  I was so tired and worn out by this time I just said we will just go to Pokhara and get a hotel for the night.  I was beginning now to feel pretty ill.  The bus smelt like a cattle truck and it was not much more that one.  It bounced and creaked and banged over rocks as our heads hit the top of roof!! Two seats in front of me elevated themselves over a bump and fixed me into my seat. The smell go worse and I could see fluid running down the windows.  I was feeling pretty awful and it was getting very late. Suddenly just before Pokhara the bus pulled into a cattle market.  I then realised!

Yes!  there were goats above us, forty goats were unloaded from the roof, animal rights please do not read this.  The goats were pushed off the top of the roof screaming, they were pulled and pushed into a compound.  Goats are a really good bit of stock for the Nepali’s as the feed is natural, and one good goat can bring good money at market enough to live on for a year.   There were big rams with big horns being unloaded, of course I took pictures, I woke up a little for the excitement.

Back in the bus the smell eased a little and we arrived at our destination.  I was by this time exhausted.  Off the bus rucky on back looking for a hotel.  Found a reasonable room with shower for 800 r’s about £7.  Soap and toilet roll were given to me, and I showered washed my hair with the soap. I had not taken shampoo during my trip as I thought my hair would last, but hey ho no chance after sitting in the cattle truck.   Of course I also had no clean clothes, but I had what toiletries I had taken.  Binod and I then went to a very nice restaurant and had a very good meal.  The cost was not extortionate £11. We had not eaten since breakfast so we shared 3 litres of beer, I had roast chicken and chips Nepali style and of course dear Binod had Dhal bat.  It was just bliss to be clean safe and somewhere to sleep.

The next day my cough took a turn for the worst.  But I still felt it would get better soon.  As we were in Pokhara I popped to the Orphanage that I set up in 2006, and was run by the locals from 2008. The children now had grown up and some still recognised me. I had not visited since November 2008. I took some picture, it was amazing to see how grown up they all were.

Binod and I then continued our journey we left Pokhara about 11am and arrived at Besishahar at about 4.30pm.  Guess what the bus left us at the top of the village so the rucky still had to be carried.  But once through my room door at the school. I phoned my partner to say I was safe, took 2 antibiotics and just about had the energy to take off my clothes.   My cough was becoming a chest infection (self diagnosis).

Yesterday I should have gone with Binod to the villages in our project area, but I just could not make it.  He has gone up and is making notes and taking pictures to give me feed back.  I is now Thursday and I am eventually on the mend.  I am still on the tablets I will not stop them too early, got all the instructions from the net.

As soon as I can I will present the pictures.

So join me again for more exciting adventures of my project work in Nepal.

Freda

www.himalayanculturalconservation.org

Hi Everyone

Schools out for 5 days.  So here I am having a day off before I get the bus to Kathmandu tomorrow. I have cleaned my little home, done my washing (by hand of course), washed out the shower bathroom, swept my floor with the broom, tided up. Why did all this take so long, well probably because I spend so much time boiling water for drinking and bottling it, I boil more water for my Thermos just in case I need a drink and there is no electric.  I check that I have everything on charge. It just seems to take ages, sweeping constant dust out of the room is also another time consuming activity.

But here I am, it is quite warm here although the sun goes in and out.  I have spoken to my partner on skype which is a real luxury that we did not expect to have so regularly.    I have watch a man plough his small piece of land behind me, with his 2 ox’s and a manual plough being pulled along while he continuously shouted at the animals to get on with the job.  Afterwards the land is looking very good.  They spend so much time on their little bits of land, tending every small detail.  There is always so much to do to just survive really.

I have a cough at the moment so got up later today.   I have the western comfort of blackcurrant sips, and some cough mixture. I made sure that I brought plenty with me.  I have been pretty healthy while I have been here really and it is just little cough.

I also had the pleasure about 10 minutes ago of seeing 2 Eagles circling just near me, their wing span and flight is amazing to see.  I thought about getting my camera, but by the time I had decided to get it they had moved on.  There are often Eagles in the mountains.

So I am off to Kathmandu tomorrow, I suspect the journey will be a long one knowing the Nepali buses.  Maybe I will make it in 5 hours but it will be more than likely 7 hours!  I will be working with Binod my project manger do some planning for a new project.  I will be back in Besishahar on Tuesday, when we hope to go to Kudi to see some land.

Everything with our work is going well, but funds are always short as there are so many needs here and so much work I would like to do.  But hey ho as long as the money that comes it is spent correctly and we do as much as we can with it.

Please check out the website www.himalayanculturalconservation.org  there are so many way to make a difference.

All the best to everyone, keep in touch

Freda

Hi everyone

Things are going pretty well here. I have managed to make some inroads into the schooling system here.  After a long time I have persuaded the Headmaster to open the library.  This result was great for me. I achieved this by taking some of the bored children out of their morning English lessons to the library, where I got them to choose books and read out loud.  The excitement was tremendous.  I still taught the normal curriculum at the same time.  But these boys were so excited.  This had been working now every morning first lesson.  The library is now open all day, I now take a class in the library now and then.  Today I saw the major breakthrough in the lunch break, children in there themselves reading, and mostly English books.  I will certainly keep my eyes on this and make signs and put up posters.

Today we had two boxes of books arrive, we have about 10 boxes altogether.  Room to read have an office in Kathmandu and dear Binod my project manager has become friendly with their office.  That has been since I emailed their head office in the US and complained about the school in Banhundanda have a new building completed.  RTR had commence a project there but had never completed it.  We investigated Binod and I and found that there had been some type of corruption.  We also complained about the type of books that were being taken to the school, the teachers could not even read them.   Well it all worked out fine in the end, the school building was completed, and the books have improved. So the result has been very good for us.  I will distribute the books to some school and give some to the children they do not really own books of their own, the fees of sending the children to school is enough of a stretch for the parents let alone buying books.

I have often wondered why there are so many boys at this school.  Every class I teach there is a very small percentage of girls.  There is only one class where the girls are about 40% .  I asked about this as I have been very aware over the years of working here how women are considered less important than men.  I was told that parents would rather send the boys to a good school like ours, where the fees are high for them,  and send the girls to the government schools as their education was not so important. But strangely enough, like the UK the girls are much quicker to learn and pay more attention to their lessons.

I am learning so much about the systems here, and how hard life is. I watch everyday people working on their little bit of land.  They start of at about 5.30am the women cleaning and carrying wood from the forest up the hills and rocks.   Then tending the animals and the vegetable plots.  The men will not be seen very often doing these chores.  They normally have jobs either locally or in India, or the UAE, that is quite normal.

Myself and my project manager Binod have been doing a lot of planning and hope to be going to our project area around about the 20^th of February.  We hope to see how Ramans house is getting on.  We are also planning to have some sewing machines taken to Bahundanda  this being part of our womens empowerment project.

The electricity and water supplies are not always good, but I am used to it now.  When I have both water and electric I do all the topping up and filling up just in case.   It has become part of my routine.  When I get home I will not know I am born it will be utter luxury.

I have become accustomed to being invited into everyone’s home to take tikka,on one of the days when they are celebrating one of the gods.  Taking tikka is having rice mixed with a red dye placed on your forehead, it is a religious ceremony.  You are also expected to eat dahl bat when you are there.  I am so welcome everywhere, and am always expected to eat!  Difficult when you have been invited to take tikka and eat 3 or 4 times that day, and you have to climb back down to your home afterwards in the dark!  But the Nepalese are just such wonderfully welcoming people and they just so respect us.  This is something that Western culture really does not have.  Can you imagine coming out of your house in the morning and seeing a stranger and asking them to come into your house for dinner!  If it happens let me know!  I may do it if George Clooney passes my door!

Well if any of you have got this far well done.  Keep reading I am sure over the next six weeks I will have plenty more to tell.

Images are just so difficult to upload.  But I will keep trying may be soon I will get a fast connection!

www.himalayanculturalconservation.org

Freda

Hi Everyone

The end o f my trip to our villages was actually event less, well there were no panics. We trekked down to the bus at about 7.30 on the morning of leaving.  The weather was good and it was a an easy trek to the bus just about an hour.  We got the bus to Kudi then went to visit one of our sponsored children Rama.  We went to the school so see her.  We support her education there and her stationery and uniform.  When she arrived at the show she was very slow as she had not regular schooling.  She is now picking up and receiving averages marks.  Rama is such a charming girl we are very proud of her achievements.  She is blind in one eye.  We did try to get something done with this a few years ago, but we were told that it was too late, something should have been done during here infant years.  But she copes very well indeed.

At the school Binod introduced me to another child there who is an orphan. Both his parents have died of cancer.  He is a very bright student and needs support.  We have done our best for this boy and his sister.  They are looked after by their elder sister who is 21.  We hope to find a sponsor for this boy as it is difficult for us to keep him at the school.  We will persist with our support and persuading the school of their support until we get some funding.

We got a bus from Kudi back to Besishahar.  The bus was so full, incredibly so.  As we went around the mountain bends it bent over, it was a bit scary at times. I was so squashed that when I had to get off, I had to pass my belongings to Binod out of the window, I nearly had to climb out of the window otherwise I would be stuck on the bus, but I was rescued and some of the passengers got off the bus to give me room.  It was all quite a laugh.  Now I never get frustrated with the inefficiency of such things here, as they are really just amusing.  I will try to add some pictures later, it may be possible.

I have now been back here for over a week and time is passing.  I just have under 2 months to go of my stay here.  I am back teaching and enjoying my work here.  At the same time I am working on Hi-Cap UK and in touch with my dear partner Richard. He is working on various parts of the charities administration and fundraising.   I don’t know how I would cope without his support.

At the moment I am sitting at my door picking up a signal in the pouring down with rain.  (It is OK I am under cover of course) It is a bit cold though and my nose is running.  We had a thunderstorm last night, I awoke this morning with no electricity or water, but bliss both are back, don’t hold your breath though.  As soon as these facilities come back I spend the first 10 minutes, filling up buckets and bottles with water.  Boiling my hot jug (electric kettle) and filling my large thermos with the hot water.  I also put everything on charge, especially my rechargeable lantern.

Everything here is so very difficult, it takes time you have to be organised. But you soon get into the swing of things.  I have been so lucky to keep in touch with everyone.  The wi-fi connection although outside has been just amazing.

It is odd because I have not missed the TV very much at all, but I am looking forward to an intensive watch of Eastenders on my return to the UK.  But there is a lot of time yet before that!  So bye for now more stories to come.

see Rama below

www.himalayanculturalconservation.org

Hi Everyone again,

I hope to take you towards the final leg of my visit to our remote villages in the Himalayan region of Lamjung.

Further visit consisted of see and the land for Ramans house and also seeing Raman.  I saw him by chance when I was trekking back on my own to the guest house.  He came after me with his grandaughter.   I was shocked at the condition of him and the child.  They had rebuilt their little hut of a house and were living there together.  The child looked so uncared for.  He showed me his hand that he had recently burned on the fire.  What a desparate state of a life they were in.  His daughter is working at a hotel in Besisahar where I am living.  I had previously spoken to her about the house that we are building for the family.  Raman was in a terrible state and so was the child I was in tears to see one of our families like this.   I asked him and the child to come back to the guest house with me.  There I arranged through the locals to supply them with 2months worth of rice and dahl.  The child Sarita was starving, and so badly looked after.

I washed Sarita  and got one of the local women to go and buy her some warm clothes.  As I washed her I noticed her thin hair and extended stomach she was obviously suffering from malnurtion, as was her brother Sanjay when we brought him from the mountains to Kathmandu.  See my previous blogs.

Below the dear child and her grandfather when I met them on the way back to my guest house and picture of her after being bathed eating with me. Wrong order but uploading takes so long please excuse!  Just one cheerful thing I have just spoken to my partner Richard on Skype and he showed me the snow out of the windon in Chelmsford.  Well we have bright sunshine here it is beautiful!  It will of course be chilly tonight, but the season is certainly changing. 

Hi everyone

It took about and one and a half hours to arrive in Banhundanda where we stayed.  This was the quickest that I have done this trek.  I have to say though the weather was good, it is harder to trek in wet weather.  When we arrived we were greeted well.  We stayed at the first guest house in the village.  We rested for a while and then went off to the top of the village and just had a quick look around as it was getting late by then and trekking up and down is no fun in the dark I can assure you.

The following day we did all our planned visits.  We went to see Aruna the child who was dying when my project manager Binod was taken to her. She was supported by us to have major surgery.  She still needs some further investigation, but she has survived,but I am not sure what the real prognosis is.  We are going to ask for a hospital report to be done over the next couple of weeks. Of course all this work is money if we had more of it we would not have to prioritise over a child’s life!

More to come

Freda

www.himalayanculturalconsetvation.org

Hi Everyone

Yes so much to tell.  I don’t want to bore everyone so will try and make this as short as possible and to the point.

I am back from my mountains trip and ready to teach again at Bhu Pu School.  Very lucky today though as yet another festival day, so no school and that is great after my trip as I need to catch up with everything.

My trip to Bahundanda  and surrounding villages was stressful but rewarding.  We got a truck to Bhulbule to see one of the children that we support their.  Well I got out of the truck to give my passport in at the check point, as this has to happen because I support the area, and am not a normal trekker.  I have been given special permission for this. When in the office I suddenly realised that my mobile (Napali basic phone) was missing, I had dropped it on the floor of the truck. Panic set in all my contact numbers were on that phone and I was on my way to trek a pretty dangerous area.  My dear project manager Binod asked around at the stop shop and they said that they knew the driver of the trucks number!  So he made some calls and tracked down my phone, but I was adamant to get the  phone, as there was a Nepali certainty about it, (that means to say yes it has been found maybe, maybe!)

I saw a truck packed up with rice at the stop and asked in what direction they were going, sure enough they were going the same way as the truck.  So Binod and I discussed and decided to go to Banhundanda first.  So no time to waste the only space was in on top of the rice on an open truck.  Well what a great experience watching the drop from behind, my goodness,  well all in a days work, the groans even from Binod as were driven over huge rocks and through rivers.  This is normal but being in the back of an open truck it felt very different.

Well we got to the stop and my phone had been given in.  I have to say I have never lost anything in Nepal, people have always been so kind to me.   We then had a sit down, I let my stomach return to normal and then we trekked to Bahundanda see below the beginning of the trek accross the bridge, I used to find it a bit scary but hey ho I am still here and sois the bridge, it rocks to and fro as you walk across it and the water runs fast below it is very high.   Two of the villagers came to carry my bag so kind.  We got to the guest house in about 1.30mins, the quickest I have done that trek!

follow the story in part 2

Freda

www.himalayanculturalconservation.org

Hi Everyone

I have been awake since 4am today, as I went to bed at about 8.30 feeling so tired.  I had a fall yesterday over a rock coming back from the village area, the rock was enormous and I was looking up and did not see it.  I was not hurt at all, but felt just tired afterwards.

It is very cold here at the moment as I have to come outside to get the wi-fi signal.  The sun is glowing on the top of the mountains against the snow, it is just glorious to see it early morning.

I am going up to our villages today and hope to take lots of pictures.  The house for Raman should have commence, and we got some of our regular funding in that will also be put towards it.  So thanks to all of you that have contributed to the house.  It will be such an achievment for us when it is finished.

Please spread the word about us and direct people to the website, regular funding really makes a difference. There are so many ways to donate.

I will probably show the pictures through facebook when I return because the blog upload just does not want to know.  The internet is very slow here, but somehow facebook seems to stick with it and does not drop out.

I am about to go off now and have breakfast with the founder of the school Captain RB (that is his sorted name).  He fought in the Gurka army for the UK.

My regards and love to everyone and please send me your messages.

Freda

www.himalayanculturalconservation.org

Hi everyone

I am enjoying my experiences here.  The teaching is so hard, not just lack of facilities but teaching children in a class sometimes of 43 that are mixed ability is no joke.  The background noise is so difficult to teach in plus the big classes and mixed ability, well my voice gives out by the end of the day.  I have to practically shout every word I utter to be heard.

It is obvious to me that mixed ability teaching does not work. You only have to look at some of the children’ s faces to see that everything is just floating above their heads.  I would say that 50% of the children in a classroom do not engage in the teaching.  It is very exhausting, give me some tips please guys!

Last night I have an amazing experience.  Our football team won their match and came back with 3 chickens, alive of course, it was their prize.    I stoked a live one it was very pretty, within 5 minutes it’s head was cut off and it was being plucked. I watched it all, the plucking was amazing so fast, then they were cleaned and cooked on the fire.  Yes all the residential teachers and the football team ate the chickens.  They were so happy the footballers, I took photos of all of this in the kitchen where the evening cooking is done on an open fire.

So now I have the internet, it really makes a difference even having to sit outside. Sometimes you may catch me on line, I can skype it is not too bad.  I have managed to speak to Richard twice now it was so much better than just email or phone.

I have now finished teaching for the day, and thought I would settle down and do some work and accounts for Hi-Cap.  I will try again to upload some pictures for you, but it normally fails through the blog, but check out facebook I normally have more success with that.

The best to you all and keep in touch.

Freda

www.himalayanculturalconservation.org

Dear All

I am now connected to Wi-Fi don’t get excited.  But at least I do not have to suffer the dark cyber and the space bar that get stuck.  I am hoping that this will give me some connectivity.  I am sitting by the door with it open to get a signal.  Well I am here and it is wonderful at this particular moment in time.  We have water! we also have electricity, what absolute bliss.  The evening is getting cold and I am not sure how long I will be able to sit here in my coat, but I do have a beer to drink to keep me cheery. 

Tomorrow is Tamang festival so we all have a day off!  There are many days off in Nepal as there is a festival for every caste, of which there are many !  I am enjoying the teaching but it is very hard.  The type of conditions are difficult and there is not any entertainment in the teaching schedule as there is in the UK.  But I try very hard to make my lessons as entertaining as possible by acting out scenarios, the children really enjoy my stupid behaviour.  But it is great fun, I teach for 7 40 minute periods most of the time.  Lesson planning is not existent here but following the government curriculum is difficult, some of the stuff is just ridiculously non informative, and off the prospectus of teaching the English language.

I normally eat breafast and lunch in my room, but I eat Nepali style in the evenings.  The food is not great and one wonders when the residential children actually get some protein.  Rice rice and veg curry, and a bit of dahl and I mean a little dahl.  Meat is eaten just once a week.

The children are charming and I love the work.  This weekend I am going up to two of the villages that we support to see our familes.  After trekking up and down everyday, I am hoping that I am pretty fit to do the trek. 

I love receiving your messages so please continue, it really cheers me up.  Life if not easy and very lonely I am amazed that I seem to find so much to do, but somehow the days fly by.  It is only 3 weeks on Wednesday, so there is plenty of time for me to get despondent.

Look forward to hearing from you, I am now going to make an attempt at up loading some pictures here I go.  The last attemp only showed half the picture, I hope to get a bit more this time.

Actually trying to upload will try again out on the balcony tomorrow,  tonight I am going to publish this before I freeze.  Love to all .

All the best

Freda

www.himalayanculturalconservation.org