Some pictures

A friend of mine and amateur photographer, Phil Horgan, came to visit our mosaic studio in Kathmandu last Friday. Afterwards he went to record the younger kids at our nearby refuge taking part in dramatics workshops after school. Here's a link to his striking images. Enjoy!

http://www.pbase.com/philhorgan/esther_benjamins_trust

Rakhi in Nepal

As I was walking the dogs this morning I couldn't help but notice the three freshly beheaded goats at a shop outside my front gate. The headless torsos were receiving a post mortem shave preparing them for the pot later on today. Yes, it's party time again in Nepal (to the exclusion of goats) as it is the annual Hindu festival of Rakhi. The festival is all about an exchange of affection and bonding between brothers and sisters. The girl ties a holy thread around her brother's wrist, places a tikka on his forehead and offers him some food, wishing him long life, health and wealth in the process. In return the brother pledges to look out for her and protect her from all forms of evil for her entire life.

At our Kathmandu refuges today the festival was marked by girls participating in the ceremony with surrogate brothers. Quite a few girls chose not to be involved. Maybe that's because they're Christian; Christianity is a religion that many girls choose to adopt either inside the circus or after their release. Or perhaps some of these former circus girls felt cynical given how their real brothers have failed them so abominably in the past. Instead of receiving life-long love and care they had been betrayed and trafficked by their families into misery and bondage. For others who did take part, who could justifiably have harboured these sentiments, maybe it was a way for them of re-connecting with society and hoping that in future things might be different. Each to their own.

CEDAR

I spent this afternoon drafting an application to potential grant-making Trust funders for our "Child Education, Development and Reintegration" ("CEDAR") Programme. It is a Programme that has evolved out of our early project work with the children of prisoners, street children and disabled children. Essentially the Programme represents a move away from our (my) early limited and, it has to be said, naive concept of the "children's home" and the inevitable institutionalisation that goes with it. Instead we now endeavour to move children, including disabled children, along a pathway in life. For some children, like the prison children and the street children, this may lead them back to stable family life. For others it may set them on a course that, in the absence of any realistic family support, will allow them to realise their full potential and become self-sufficient adults. This may not be just in terms of academic achievement; CEDAR aims to identify and develop any latent talents that might be there (see previous post "Special Olympics").

Assistance to children on an individual basis is important for us; it mirrors the very personal nature of the charity itself in terms of how we relate to our supporters. However we do look also at how we can help children collectively within CEDAR. A case in point is the circumstances of impoverished families in Butwal in the southwest of the country. In some communities children live in hovels fabricated from plastic sheets, pieces of wood and stones like the one pictured right. Although they don't actually live on the streets all the time, children from such families roam the streets during the day, eschewing education and getting themselves into trouble. We are about to enter a research phase to see what we can do to address this growing problem with a likely solution being contact centres in the parts of Butwal where these communities establish themselves. If these centres can provide some kind of education and stimulation during the day we may coax at least some children into school and nudge them gently onto the CEDAR pathway that will lead them to a future. Otherwise they have no hope.

Charity volunteers

The Trust's work in the UK is underpinned by the services of some great volunteers (including its Trustees) and we have a very regular flow of volunteers to help us out here in Nepal. The vast majority of Nepal volunteers have been not just good but outstanding. Often they come here with invaluable professional skills within fields that are totally new to us. If they haven't these they compensate for the lack with a quite overwhelming enthusiasm and commitment. Such marvellous people invariably breathe fresh life into our work and inspire the regulars to keep going in the very difficult working environment that is Nepal.


Cases in point are our current two volunteers, dance choreographer Sue Way and playwright Nick Discombe, over from the UK. I went to see them yesterday at work at our Kathmandu refuge and they were so focussed on the task in hand that it was a joy to observe. Sue is pictured right bringing the best out of the refuge children - children who are normally very shy being invited to give their name, express what they like and perform a little star turn. The children's faces in the picture show their captivation and appreciation.

Special Olympics

For the last six or so years my Trust has been supporting a disabled daycare centre in Butwal, southwest Nepal. It's a great place - set up in 1995 by a group of parents of disabled children. These include former British Army Gurkha Captain Bishnu Shrestha, whose daughter Kalpana has cerebral palsy. Each year we provide 100% funding for the centre's home visit programme that provides outreach to those disabled children who are physically incapable of coming in to attend the centre on a daily basis.


Yesterday I heard that Chandra Prasad Pun, 20, (right) from the centre has been chosen as one of 14 people to represent Nepal in the forthcoming 2007 Special Olympics World Summer Games being held in Shanghai, China from 2-11 October 2007. Chandra has been selected for the 200 metre race and the relay event in China having won many medals and trophies in his preferred 200m and Shot Put at National Level events in Kathmandu over the last couple of years. Chandra now comes to the daycare centre every day, where he has learnt some English and how to make some money by making candles and envelopes. Other children also learn to sew whilst physiotherapy and speech therapy are also available for those that would benefit from them. Initially Chandra accessed these services through the home visit programme which we fund. This has been such fabulous news for us as the funder and I wish him every success at the the Games.

Amateur dramatics

Today I had the pleasure of welcoming our latest UK volunteers to join the project, Sue Way and Nick Discombe. Sue and Nick are members of Northcott Theatre Group in Exeter and friends of former volunteers from 2004, fellow Group members Derek and Dawn Roberts. Sue's expertise lies in the field of dance while Nick is a script writer. We discussed our needs in more detail with them face to face and have agreed that they will split their time between the kids in Kathmandu and the older circus returnees in Hetauda. For the former they will complementing the great services rendered by volunteer Cherry Hills (right), who has been running drama workshops at the refuge most weekends since last April. Cherry has been on gap year but after her time with us plans to work in youth theatre when she goes back to UK in September. As for Hetauda, the three volunteers will be going there on Sunday along with a fourth volunteer and two of my mosaic studio girls to run combined mosaic and drama classes. The whole effort will be geared to our laying on a performance on the 6th September, this being national anti-trafficking day in Nepal. Previous volunteers in Hetauda, Lynne Rawlings et al, were captivated by a playlet that the girls in Hetauda spontaneously laid on of their time in the circus. I think with a professional input from Nick, Sue and Cherry that can be turned into something really great.


One of the advantages of volunteers such as these is that it stimulates creativity, something that seems to be lacking in a rote-learning, copycat culture such as this one. Just this evening I read a review in the paper of a guy called Shankar Lamichane - "one of Nepal's greatest ever essayists". After a few paragraphs describing his unique and original style it said that his critics had accused him of plagiarism and he had admitted it....

Invasion of the leeches

Monsoon season is leech season in Nepal and anyone who goes trekking into the mountains is a legitimate target for hordes of the things. But the less brave, like me, who stay at home are still vulnerable because they can also lurk the garden. Sometimes they come into my house on the dogs, great bloated things, replete on blood, sensing their way blindly around the hallway. This morning, horror of horrors in a Psycho-esque scene I found one of them in the upstairs bathroom as I was having my (cold) shower. It came second in the encounter. On the plus side the weather has suddenly felt much pleasanter within the last couple of days, the humidity is dropping and leeches will soon be consigned to memory once again for another season.

Yesterday I called down to see Bev working with the kids at the refuge. They were all knitting furiously, boys included, and it was such a lovely relaxed atmosphere to wallow in. I bumped into the visitors' favourite, tiny Santosh, a sibling of a girl that we rescued from a circus whom we are looking after for his own safety. Trafficking runs in families. Santosh is the only Arsenal football club supporter that this avowed Manchester United supporter is prepared to embrace.

Return from the circus

The team is on its way back from the Raj Mahal Circus. Six girls were freed in the end and the team had no choice but to give up in the face of the brick wall that they met from the local police, the Labour Department at State Government, everyone that they approached. Sadly we'll just have to wait until the circus moves to territory that is more familiar to our partner, ChildLine India, where we can count on support from the authorities and local supporters.

Often circuses retain performers' paltry pay (maybe a few dollars a month) until the completion of their (illegal) contracts - this stops them running away and the parents from trying to retrieve their daughters prematurely. As a final insult The Raj Mahal has held onto the pay owed to the releasees for their last six years of service - presumably because of some kind of breach of contract. So this really has been slave labour for those miserable souls. We'll be fighting a legal battle to get that reimbursed to the girls in full.

Phateh Khan, the circus owner, has won this round but he won't win the bout.

Raj Mahal Circus rescue

Today the Esther Benjamins Trust circus rescue team entered the Raj Mahal Circus, Raipur, Chattisgarh, with representatives of (the excellent) ChildLine India and around 60 members of the Indian police. The aim was to rescue between 20 and 30 Nepalese circus performers who are trapped in one of India's most abusive circuses. Only six girls could be released in the end, the circus holding on to the rest - including six minors (under the age of 14). The circus resisted the rescue attempt on the grounds of the old excuse that they are not an industry (they see themselves as "entertainment") and so are exempt from child labour legislation. Their defence has been supported by the Labour Department of Chattisgarh state government; no doubt someone at the circus has paid for this support. We are now calling in all the legal and media support that we can summon to win this battle.

I have been frustrated at not being able to join the team due to non-availability of flights to India but I will try again tomorrow as this could well be a protracted incident. I distracted myself this afternoon by going with Alisha and Bev to visit the children at our Kathmandu refuge. She is such an extrovert. Afterwards we fitted a mosaic to the wall of the children's common room, a mosaic sponsored by one of the Trust's supporters in the Irish Republic. The kids were delighted.

Bishnu

Today I had a chat with Bishnu who joined my mosaic studio a couple of days ago. In doing so she was reunited with her sister, Sunita, who had been sent by their family to a different circus. It was the first time they had met in 12 years. I was interested to speak with Bishnu as she had come back in January from the Indian circus that we'll be raiding on Friday; I don't know why she returned - probably the end of her contract or an injury - and I didn't ask as it can sound quite accusatory. Why are you back while all your sisters are still inside?

I could see her tense up at the mention of the circus owner's name, Phateh Khan (see previous post of that title). When she left the circus there were 25 girls there, all but four of whom were Nepali. She confirmed for me that just about all of them would want to return home really badly. As I had expected though, a few will have become involved with the circus staff sexually and after that happens there is no future for them back in Nepal. They will not wish to come with us. I will be leaving on Thursday morning for India, and the team will enter the circus on Friday.

This afternoon I fitted a mosaic logo at a friend's shop, "Elephant House", on Durba Marg. It's a really fascinating little place that sells very unsusual and classy items for Kathmandu. On the way home I mused over the posters on the hoarding boards that are advertising current Nepali movies that seem to glorify the recently-ended "People's War" from the Maoist perspective. It is never appropriate to glamourise war and so soon after the deaths of at least twelve thousand people on both sides this seems doubly obscene.

Tortoises that cannot be opposed

This afternoon Bev and I were summoned to the children's refuge as the kids wanted to wish Alisha a happy birthday - she'll be one year old tomorrow. It was all very sweet, with songs, cake and, most touching of all, presents from the children. They had been saving up their pocket money to buy her a doll and a teddy. It's so often the case that those who have least are the most generous. We'll see that they're not really out of pocket by their gesture and a big treat lies ahead for them all later on in the month.

I was able to congratulate Bijay and Aman (pictured right) on their gymnastic success. We rescued these two boys from an Indian circus in January 2003 and they are doing really well at school now. Before they go to school each day, they voluntarily do gymnastics training at the national stadium. Yesterday in trials for the forthcoming national championships they came first and second respectively from the Kathmandu valley contenders. Given that gymnastics outside the capital is virtually non-existent that probably means they're the top two in the country and my prediction of their one day being national champions is coming true sooner than I had expected. If they come top nationally in a month's time they'll be off to the SAARC games with the prospect of training in Pakistan or Japan. It is so gratifying for all of us that their talents are now being recognised in a proper competitive environment rather than in a tacky and exploitative Indian circus.

After that I saw the work that has been completed by the new aspiring mosaic artists from the Hetauda course that has been run by Lynne Rawlings. They had been undertaking a commission by Dr Kik Kimball of New Hampshire - a mosaic based on Chinese symbolism of ten pairs of tortoises - a configuration that cannot be opposed and represents the surety of good fortune (see: http://www.sacred-texts.com/ich/ic42.htm). The mosaics are shown with Anita, one of the two girls who has graduated from the latest Hetauda course and who will join my mosaic studio in Kathmandu next week.

For Bijay, Aman and Anita their path to good fortune and a bright future seems indeed unstoppable.

It doesn't grow on trees

I spent most of today completing a 67 question application form for a funding grant from a Foundation for the forthcoming EBT art workshop in Kathmandu (see the fundraising link at the bottom of the page). Each question seemed to beg a very considered answer and I am now very square eyed, hence this brief post. By contrast it's so nice when donations come in from members of the general public with a nice little greeting and nothing else. To them I dedicate this mosaic of an elephant, completed by Rina, aged 16, one of 29 Nepalese kids we rescued from an Indian circus in April 2004.

Illusion and reality

There's a hotel a hundred metres up the road from my house called the View Bhrikuti. I heard a party going on there last night, no doubt celebrating the end of a course for aspiring staff in the hospitality industry. For the View Bhrikuti is also home to the "White House College of Hotel Management"; there's plenty of space for this function as this rather ostentatious establishment never has any guests. And that's not surprising. I went there last Saturday afternoon for a quiet gin and tonic with Bev - and they were out of tonic. But the kids who I saw trooping in there yesterday morning sporting White House tee shirts with "international" college on the reverse won't mind. They'll have meaningless certificates of attendance for their CVs and everyone is happy - the purchaser and the provider. There's a lot of this in Nepal. Things that look the part but just underneath the surface there is no substance. This can be seen in anything from a pair of local purchase scissors that don't cut anything (or the handles drop off) to social welfare organisations that purport to do x, y or z without any delivery beyond hot air.

We try to be different, otherwise everyone within the organisation is wasting their time and might has well be at home enjoying some comfort. For example we're just about to publish a children's story book about the dangers of the circus (written by Bev) that will go to all the poorest schools in the trafficking-prone area. Yesterday we decided at a meeting with our local partner organisation to set up a special school to benefit the children of the neglected and resentful Madhesi population in Bhairahawa on the Terai (see previous post - "Trouble on the Terai"). Both of these initiatives will deliver tangible benefits in the real world.

Today I received my final update from Lynne Rawlings and the volunteers in Hetauda:

"Life in the Refuge has slipped into a comfortable routine – I'm usually awoken around 5am with a 'swish swish' as one of the girls sweeps outside the open window. The children are all up early and there's lots of activity and a continual chattering to be heard for the next few hours. It sounds a very happy house.

Two girls come to our room around 8.15am and laying a raffia mat on the floor, serve breakfast on trays – black tea now, we just couldn't take the traditional sweet Nepalese tea made from milk, and hard boiled eggs, chunks of cucumber and sweet bread and butter.
Lunch is prepared by a couple of the girls, they take turns and share all the duties around the house – I've not seen any one of them appear unwilling to do anything! It is hard for us to help here as even taking the food trays back to the kitchen is greeted with cries of 'No Sister, no" and they are taken out of our hands before we've got halfway there!

Monday was the last day of the mosaic class but everyone was there at 10am Tuesday to finish off their work. We organised for the house and office staff to come to the studio and one by one the girls stood in front of everyone, held up their mosaic and said 'This is my mosaic' in English. For the girl who made no eye contact at all on the first day and didn't have any English, this was a huge step. They were all so proud of what they have achieved and rightly so, for in the week, their amazing concentration and precise work has paid off. We have got some stunning mosaics which we are sure Philip will think are good enough to sell in Kathmandu.

In the afternoon we went on another field visit with Shailaja and saw the ongoing problems EBMT is dealing with out here, as they worked out how to help one girl who had returned to her father's house after a beating from her baby's father. She was a circus returnee and is 22 years old.

After dinner the girls treated us to drama – their interpretation of what happens to a girl being sold into the circus. There was plenty of humour and what a delight to see the girls intently watching and laughing at the performance of what was such a painful part of their young lives. Much of the therapy comes through the arts and we certainly saw some of its success last night.

I knew EBT was a good organisation before I came here, but having witnessed first hand the work it is doing I now know it is an excellent one.

It will be with heavy hearts that we say our goodbyes today, but I hope that the girls have gained by having us here – they will certainly never know just how much they and their fellow Nepalese have taught us.

Ek din hah mi lai phar ha na man lag cha (We hope we can return some day)."

Thanks, Lynne.

Cuisine in Kathmandu

Power cuts, euphemistically known as "load shedding", are routine in Nepal. This is a consequence of dropping reservoir levels (because of climate change) and a burgeoning demand from consumers. At the height of the last dry season we were having 48 hours of scheduled power cuts per week but now, during the rainy season, it has dropped to around 8 or 9 per week and one can readily work around that. But we have just emerged from an unscheduled (and so far unexplained) 36 hour power cut that has destroyed the contents of my freezer, suspended my internet connection and made looking after a baby in the middle of the night that bit more challenging. It's been quite unpleasant but I suppose the misery is all relative compared to that inflicted upon the south of the country by the floods.

Yesterday I received an e mail update from Lynne Rawlings, the Trust's volunteer in Hetauda:

"Namaste! Each day between 9 and 11 girls assemble in a large upstairs room at the Refuge. They don't need any encouragement to put out the mats and start work on their mosaics. A few girls have tried a couple of days with us, but they prefer to sew and can now be found each day contentedly working away at black Singer sewing machines. Most of the girls sew their own clothes and every day we are greeted by a wonderful rainbow of colours in their trousers, tunics and long scarves. Three girls had check up appointments at the hospital and dressed in their brightest and most beautiful clothes for the occasion.

The mosaic class is from 10am to 4pm with half an hour for lunch at 2pm. I'm writing this after we have just eaten roast potatoes, hard boiled egg, roti (bread) and black tea. Throughout the sweltering heat and humidity of the day, the girls remain focussed on their work. They are keen to learn, have amazing concentration and in the few days we have worked with them, the standard of work has improved – considerably in some cases! Preeya and Maya move around the girls, encouraging, demonstrating their skills and operating quite a strict quality control – we've seen many tiles removed that didn't reach their high standards!! But the girls don't seem to mind, they just want to get it right and seem equally keen to show us their finished product. They all demonstrate an amazing patience – not just in the working of the mosaic, but whilst they wait for us to draw out their patterns or wait while the 'teachers' check and amend their designs. Not once has anyone shown the slightest hint of impatience.

With each day the girls seem more comfortable with us being here – even the most shy now smiles and says 'Namaste'. Eye contact with one or two was not happening at first, but now all of them look at us and acknowledge our presence. Singing happens whilst they work and at the end of the session on the third day, we were treated to an impromptu display of tumbling, balancing and juggling. The girls were being children, they evidently wanted to show us what they are good at and good at it they were. But it was difficult to watch knowing where they had learnt the skills!

Some girls are not doing mosaics, they spend much time in their rooms studying, but like the mosaic girls they are keen and eager to show us their work. They are keen to learn, eager to accept any help we can give them and want to speak English with us. There's lots of laughter as we try to understand each other and sometimes get the sense of the conversation completely wrong!!

Last night we were invited to eat with the girls – an honour to be asked to do this in Nepal. The mosaic studio was transformed into a dining room and the girls sat on mats on the floor, whilst a table and four chairs was very carefully positioned under the ceiling fan for us. Dinner was prepared by some of the girls and was rice, two types of fish, dahl, poppadoms, cauliflower, beans and grated cabbage, carrot and radish. Delicious! As a treat we'd bought bottles of Fanta for the girls. Clearing up is difficult to help with – any attempt by us to clear plates is quickly followed by cries of 'No Sister' (the term that they call female visitors to the house, men they call brother) and several helping hands take the plates away.

One evening the four of us went into the street outside the Refuge to get a rickshaw into town. We were going to have dinner and a beer at the local hotel – it gives us a couple of hours chilling time when we can reflect on the day. But this evening there wasn't a rickshaw in sight. There is a small family shop opposite the Refuge and the lady was soon coming over to our rescue. She shouted to her husband who appeared in his vest on the roof, but quickly came down to us in the street, buttoning up his shirt. A brief conversation between the two of them and he was leading us down the street to a place where there were several rickshaws parked. Minutes later and we were on our way – once again being a focus of attention as we rode in convoy along the main street in Hetauda.

The hospitality and kindness of the Nepalese people is sometimes overwhelming."

Lynne has promised me another update before they leave Hetauda in a couple of days' time. It will all have been very worthwhile as their top one or two mosaic students will transfer to my studio in Kathmandu. The remainder can repeat the Hetauda course (with different volunteers) until they are selected or try different opportunities.

Last evening by candlelight I derived a great deal of entertainment from dipping for the first time into a recently published local expatriate cookbook that has very strong echoes from the start of the last century. It is hard to imagine anyone taking this kind of stuff seriously but I expect there are some diehard thrifty memsahebs out there in Kathmandu for whom this is compulsory reading. Here goes with some selected extracts:

[From the introduction]

"Working with your cook to ensure understanding of the recipes, you will experience delicious, delightful and tasty dishes."

[Special tips]

"Servants - persons employed in your home should appear healthy. They should have evidence of or get a chest X-ray for tuberculosis when they start working for you. The chest X-ray whould be repeated during respiratory illnesses that cause them to lose weight or in two years' time."

"Freeze leftover egg whites in ice cube tray, one per cube; when frozen pop out and store in plastic bag until needed."

"Nuts will keep longer if refrigerated in tightly covered containers."

"Muffin tins can double as ice cube trays. Jumbo cubes are attractive floating in punches and last longer."

"When measuring molasses or honey, coat the measuring cup first with margarine or butter for easy pouring."

"A local stone grinder may be used instead of a blender [why????]. Choose one of uniform color, 20 cm wide. Before using soak with 1-2 tablespoons salt water for 7-10 days."

And so it goes on. Confucius eat your heart out. I must add that the book was not a purchase but presented to me as a gift.

Trouble on the Terai

Ever since the end of the Maoist "People's War" in April last year, tourist numbers have been rising steadily. I wonder though how many are of these visitors are aware of the trouble that continues to fester on a massive scale just beneath the surface.

Most concerning is the little-reported ethnic cleansing that has been going on in the southern "Terai" region of the country. The south is home to the native Tharu people, to Madhesi (ethnic Indian) and to the Pahari (hill tribes) people. Many of the Pahari moved from the hills to the fertile plains in the middle of the last century after the jungles were cleared and malaria was brought under control. They came to dominate the life on the Terai, often being given confiscated Tharu land in return for political favours. And they scorned the Madhesi as an inferior people. Now it seems the tables have turned with the Madhesi demanding the political representation that has been denied them for so long. In fact many of the Madhesi political representatives have even called for secession of the Terai, home to 50% of the population, from the rest of the country. Meantime no fewer than twelve armed groups are active, targeting Pahari people and fighting (and apparently winning) a turf war against Maoist activists who had been calling the shots until the start of this year. This internal conflict has been made all the easier for the Madhesi fighters with the (increasingly frustrated) People's Army holed up in UN monitored cantonment camps across the country.

In July the largest Madhesi armed group gave Paharis one week to leave the Terai - or else. So far 900 civil servants, teachers, health workers have heeded the warning and are now seeking sanctuary in the Kathmandu valley or with families back in the hills. Those who have remained in the Terai are keeping their heads down, staying away from homes and offices.

Life in rural Makwanpur District

I asked one of our Hetauda volunteers, Lynne Rawlings, to send me an account of their initial findings. I received this today:

"It was good to leave the chaos and noise of Kathmandu and head for the green and quiet of rural Hetauda. As probably the only four Westerners here, sore thumbs spring to mind. But a short rickshaw ride to the market, soon produced smiles, waves, calls of 'Namaste' and "How are you?' from the local people.

We were equally welcomed to the Refuge, where 'room service' brings tea and breakfast with beautiful smiles every morning. There's no running water after 10am and the loo flushes with a bucket and jug, but the air conditioning – a roof fan – keeps the room cool as it is hotter here that Kathmandu. The humidity is high and any clothes left out of the rucksack feel damp after a short while.

Our introduction to the children was to visit some of their homes. The first was a simple wooden structure with nothing but the ground inside. Six pairs of tiny eyes looked back into our disbelieving ones and we saw six small boys, one in just a hemp shirt, another in ragged trousers and all with nothing to do. These children do not go to school but they had a cow.
As we moved on, the truck got stuck in the mud – this is the monsoon season – on a track through the rice fields and several people quickly appeared to push. A short walk and we were looking at another wooden structure, well built and solid this time, but a single room where the lady, her husband, their children, his parents and his brothers all live. This was a good home, they work hard and grow crops, the children go to school and they have their own animals. With help from EBT they grow mushrooms.

Finally, we left the truck at the main road and climbed steeply for half an hour into the jungle. These people have only just started coming out of the jungle, but they would not be given land or work if they went down into the valley. The home was another single roomed, wooden, poorly constructed, building. There were nine children here, 7 of whom had just made the journey down that we had just made up, to wash in the river and collect water. The mother was heating maize in the corner of the hut. She rolled tobacco into a leaf and showed us how she lit it from a piece of burning timber. She smoked it and told us that it takes away the hunger when there's no food. She chatted animatedly to the staff with us. They said later she would have kept them there for hours because she will not see anyone until they return. She was offering maize to each of us, so we left. We could not refuse the maize, but how could we take it? This was all this family had – none of us had ever experienced having literally, nothing, before.

I had not realised the extent of the work that EBT does in retaining contact with these families. Regular visits and support, help them be in a position to have their children back or at least have them to visit for awhile. And it is this regular contact, plus the successful prosecutions, that have driven the agents out of the areas we visited.

Our first day of mosaic class started at 10am. 9 girls and 2 'teachers' from Philip's studio in Kathmandu, assembled on the floor of an upstairs room. Sitting crouched or cross legged, the girls are totally engrossed in cutting the tiles and fitting the shapes into their designs. Birds, butterflies, apples and trees start taking shape and we are amazed at their level of concentration as class goes on until 4pm and no one leaves!

When we're in our rooms there is a constant stream of girls appearing at the door – they won't come in without being asked but they fascinated by our fairer complexion and shorter hairstyles. Those studying English are enjoying practising it with us and the rest laugh at my attempt at Nepali, but they are patient and help me learn too."

It is easy reading this to understand how traffickers find the villagers such easy prey. Someone said to me the other day that teenage girls trafficked into the sex trade in Kathmandu receive clothes, make up and a mobile phone. If they are returned home they are sent out to collect wood in the jungle.

Himalayan Mosaics

At the end of this year I am aiming to launch a Nepalese not-for-profit company, Himalayan Mosaics. The company will give jobs only to girls who are victims of child trafficking. In the short term these will be girls that we have rescued from the circuses. The employees will ultimately work on a Fair Trade basis and their work will provide both good pay and conditions alongside a fair amount of art therapy. I'll turn the profits back into the programmes here in Nepal.

We took a big step forward today with the completion of a mosaic that will be the basis of our logo.

Phateh Khan

As per UK, Nepal has been hit by floods over the last week. The death toll has now reached 78. Unlike the UK a proportion of the fatalities are due to poisonous snakes being washed into human habitation. "Something must be done", I hear you say, but as ever in Nepal this is no time for knee jerk responses. Yesterday the director of a major aid agency told me that some people build houses deliberately in flood-prone areas so that they become eligible for relief. A kind of Nepali way of claiming on the insurance. In the midst of desperation there are always opportunists to be found.



Today I attended a meeting of donor and support agencies (like EBT) that are working against trafficking and that try to coordinate their activities. It was very disturbing to here from one attendee of how her organisation has witnessed a rise in internal trafficking in Nepal - village girls ending up in massage parlours and unofficial brothels in the capital. Two or three years ago these girls were 18 and above; now they are aged 12-13. After the meeting I volunteered for EBT to take the chair for future meetings and I hope we can be instrumental in organising a collaborative response to the problem before it's too late.



Mr Big of the Indian circus industry is a very unsavoury guy called Phateh Khan. He and his family own four or five of India's 30 major circuses. He's wealthy and he's well dug in as he is now a minister in government in India's lawless northern state of Uttar Pradesh. His circuses are the most exploitative and violent of the lot; last time we tackled one of these it was a case of resistance with guns and knives. Afterwards his beloved son Raza Khan faced charges of rape against the girls that we rescued - but of course got off Scot-free in the end. A rather grainy recent picture of Phateh with the girls that he and his family have been exploiting and abusing can be seen above.



Next week we'll be visiting another of his circuses in a bid to free over 20 girls from bondage. I will try to keep you posted, but wish us luck.