I am rather surprised to find myself writing from the UK. Saturday's strike in Kathmandu ended as abruptly as it was called and I was able to catch the flight. My relief at being inside the plane at Kathmandu airport was rather qualified by the heat and humidity which was quite stifling. A young boy was being violently and noisily ill just across from me - and that was before the plane even left the ground. A passenger in front asked a stewardess about air conditioning and she replied that everyone's discomfort was due to this being a "very old plane".
We've just enjoyed a two week visit from outstanding Northern Irish volunteers Jules Graham and Debs Johnston who spent a week in Bhairahawa and a week in Kathmandu. Their visit coincided with school holidays so the support to the regular carers at the respective children's refuges was very timely indeed. Jules volunteered for us this time last year and I was very pleased to receive her feedback on how well in her eyes a group of street children who joined us a year ago had settled down and were clearly thriving in our care. Jules was less pleased to be told by one of the children soon after her arrival that she too looked much better, having put on so much weight in the interim.
