Kathmandu sex lady

I am interested to note that my Blog which has now been running since July has had a total of 1,156 visits. The feedback I receive indicates that a good few of these hits are from readers who are probably researching sexual liaison potential for a forthcoming visit to Nepal. The tell tale sign is the search words that they use in Google which leads to my site; one reader from Delhi has just googled the words "Kathmandu sex lady". So I now make good use of such words in my labels in the hope that those with unhealthy intentions (in every respect) just pause to think for a nanosecond on the consequences of their actions. I hope they think of the vulnerable village girls who are being so ruthlessly exploited by pimps and gangs. I hope they think of the children who are now being criminally abused in Kathmandu massage parlours. And I hope they think of the burgeoning HIV/AIDS crisis that hangs over Nepal and the contribution that they might be making towards that. If they want a fuller picture then I refer them to my Blog post of 6th September.

Above all, I hope they stay at home.

"Today is occupated"

Today it´s day six of my two week break in Spain and I´m in Toledo. I deliberately booked myself into a decent hotel that offered business centre facilities as I´ve a bit of catching up to do on the work of the charity. But the receptionist has just told me that in respect of the business centre "today is occupated". So I am confined to use of the internet which is better than nothing.

For the first part of the holiday I was joined by my friend Kathleen "Kik" Kimball who I´d the pleasure to meet on my mosaic course/holiday in Florence last year. Kik is from New Hampshire and a very talented artist who specialises in fused glass techniques:

http://www.cp-kik.com/About.htm

On this link Kik is the artist on the left of shot; she doesn´t like having her picture taken (as I´ve discovered over the past few days!). Kik also has more than a passing interest in Eastern art and is a Feng Shui Mater:

http://www.waterdragoninc.com

As you might guess from all of this Kik is an inspirational individual and has been tremendous company as we explored Cordoba and Granada together. A great deal of her time during the holiday has been given over to helping me with thoughts and designs for my "Himalayan Mosaics" project. At this critical juncture that has been time very well spent and I´ll be forever grateful for that.

Dubious blessings

Today is the tenth and main day of the Dashain festival. It’s the day when the father of the family gives tika (a red splat of dyed rice on the forehead), jamara (barley shoots tucked behind the ear) and his blessing. This is accompanied by a modest cash gift to the recipients. Nepalese astrologers advised the nation today that the “most auspicious” (auspicious is a greatly-used word over here) time to deliver this is at 10.47 a.m. Not being into astrology - or the Hindu faith for that matter - I went ahead and delivered my rather questionable blessings to the children at the refuge at 9.00 a.m. This gives some semblance of family life to the 50 or so children who have no relatives to be with at this time. For most it’s a bit of fun and all benefited to the tune of 10 rupees each (about 8p). However two of the children were in tears, with the ceremony no doubt reminding them of their being abandoned or unwanted by natural family. This made my presence there all the more important. It also reminded me that our facilities can never substitute for a “home” and should only ever serve as a safety net for kids who would otherwise be on the streets, vulnerable to being re-trafficked or at risk of further abuse.

High as a kite

This weekend sees the Hindu festival of Dashain reaching a peak and the slaughter of goats assuming biblical proportion. This is the highlight of the Hindu year and normally comes at the end of the monsoon and of the harvest, although (no doubt thanks to global climate change) the harvest is a month overdue this year. Aside from its religious significance, Dashain is a time for family reunions and general merry-making. Many of our refuge children are reunited with family members just for the festival, the bare minimum in maintaining those family connections that are all important in Nepal. We buy the children new clothes for the homecoming, this being a custom and the girls especially love to show off their finery. Other children have nowhere really to go to and for them we organised a camp in the hills above Godawari. Arguably they'll have enjoyed a much nicer time than some of those who went back to families.

There are a couple of other Dashain customs that I have come to enjoy. One is the flying of kites, the sight of which I will forever associate with our first arriving to live in Nepal exactly three years ago. The second is the use of large, rather rickety-looking, swings made out of bamboo poles. Children rise to quite frightening heights on these structures that are known as "pings" and their use is not just an act of fun. As per the kite activity, the ping journey symbolises leaving earth and taking one's thoughts onto a higher, more spiritual, plane.

Our Kathmandu refuge children have constructed a ping in the open ground outside the children's accommodation block and this is shown on the right.

Snakes alive!

Back in Kathmandu the petrol queues are no shorter than they were when I left for UK ten days ago. But then again it's been like this for months. A driver will queue for four or five hours for ten litres of petrol and then rejoin the queue for a second allocation. The problem has arised because the Nepal Oil Corporation which imports fuel from the India Oil Corporation hasn't been paying its way. The saga began a couple of years ago when the Nepalese Government tried to introduce a petrol price hike (that would reflect the true import costs) that led to riots in the streets and the Government having to back down. The trouble is that no Government subsidy has been paid to the Nepal Oil Corporation to compensate in the shortfall in the price at the pumps, meaning that a substantial debt has accrued. Now the India Oil Corporation has had enough and reduced the flow of petrol across the border.

This morning we moved a box of toys from our upstairs store room in advance of transferring it to the children's home. Fourteen month old Alisha was fascinated with the partially opened box. Bev noticed her fiddling with the masking tape that had secured it and then with a large rubber band that was attached to the tape. Alisha was stretching it as if it were a bungee. On closer examination Bev realised that it was a little toy snake that she remembered having purchased some time ago. But then the "toy" snake moved...oh yes, it was alive. Heaven alone knows how the creature got into the house but it has been released now and Alisha has survived to tell the tale - one day!

Qualified support

The suitcases are packed and I leave at 5.30 a.m. tomorrow for the return journey to Kathmandu. The last two days have seen very useful meetings. The first one yesterday was with a supporter who's helping us to establish our presence on Second Life (http://www.secondlife.com/). This is a virtual world which I found rather chilling on first encounter. But actually it is very exciting and clearly has massive potential, offering another way to connect with supporters; this medium is already being used by some of the larger charities. The second meeting of the day was more conventional and I had a really useful chat with the Trustees of another charity that is prepared to fund the medication and clinical care required to manage HIV/AIDS. This isn't an issue for us at all at present but I expect that when we get to grips with the problem of trafficking of children into the Kathmandu sex trade it will be inevitably - and tragically - be very high on our agenda.

During this visit I also picked up some supporters' letters from my London office. One lady sent us a donation for our art workshops for circus returnees but wrote:

"Can you not bring them to do things through the schools to lead them all lots of jobs (sic) in our country - a more realistic life style?

I feel that you will fail in the attempt you are making and should help them by concentrating on training that will lead to jobs.

Please try to think of another way."

Some initiatives do indeed fail, others enjoy a degree of success (and even that is a huge achievement in Nepal) while others really take off. It's quite hard to predict which particular outcome one will experience and the only option is to keep trying. But for our art and mosaic training I am very confident of great results. This is already bearing early fruit. For example see the response to our online mosaic auction as of today:

http://www.ebtrust.org.uk/site/auction.php

Things that do not pass away

Earlier this year a supporter in Kathmandu, Anneke, invited me to write an article about the Trust for Mensa Israel - Anneke being a member of Dutch, Finnish and Israeli Mensa associations! The article has just been uploaded to the Trust's website and explains in my own words why I set up the Trust and how it has taken an uncanny direction. A direction that is most appropriate as a memorial to Esther Benjamins. Here's the link:

http://www.ebtrust.org.uk/site/assets/pdf/philipandebt.pdf

A Christmas initiative

The Trust is now offering distinctive charity Christmas cards. Nothing exactly innovative about that apart from this initiative offering a dual unrivalled benefit to charity. First of all, thanks to sponsorship from UK engineering company Ramboll Whitbybird (http://www.whitbybird.com/), we are offering packs of 10 with 100% of the purchase price (£4.50) coming directly to the Trust. That's unbeatable. Orders can be placed through the Trust's website at:

http://www.ebtrust.org.uk/site/christmascards.htm

The second benefit is through an online auction that is linked to the cards. The cover of the card shows a mosaic made by Rina whom we rescued from an Indian circus back in 2004. Recipients of the card will be able to bid for the original mosaic, with bids closing at noon on the 20th December. So there's the chance to buy someone (or yourself) a truly unique last minute Christmas present. You can find the auction site here:

http://www.ebtrust.org.uk/site/auction.php

Good luck!

Sir Ben Kingsley

I watched Sir Ben Kingsley being interviewed on "The One Show" yesterday evening. We were over the moon to have had this very charismatic man present our Radio 4 Charity Appeal on behalf of our Circus Children Project a couple of years' back. You can still hear the original broadcast through the hyperlink on the bottom of this page on the charity website:

http://www.ebtrust.org.uk/site/pact.htm

One of the highlights of my life was watching Sir Ben carry out the final amendments to the script before the broadcast and to see how he seemed to work himself physically into what he was about to say. His effort was well worth it as the appeal raised in the region of £23,000, one of the highest responses ever. Before he left the studio I was touched when he turned to me and said "As the father of four healthy children it has been my privilege to have done this for you".

I was very pleased to learn last evening that he has just remarried and I hope he finds the happiness that he so richly deserves.

Fantasy dog

Last evening's Inner Wheel District meeting in Stockport went very well indeed. I was privileged to speak to over 150 ladies drawn from 25 clubs within the region and the talk was received very well. It was hard to draw a line under question time at the end. But a firm line had to be drawn at 10 p.m. as I faced a three and a half hour journey back to my pied a terre in Welwyn Garden City. Or so I thought. At one in the morning I found myself sitting stationary in a traffic jam on the M1 for an hour, meaning that I stumbled through the door at 2.30 a.m. with 400 miles on the clock of the car. Today I felt quite drugged by it all but still glad that I'd gone.

In my post last month "Hearing Dogs" I mentioned how a supporter had commissioned a mosaic of a "fantasy dog" - a multi coloured interpretation of a four legged friend. I gave the task to Sunita, one of the girls that we freed from the terrible New Raj Kamal circus in January. The result isn't necessarily to my taste but the exercise still served its purpose in that she responded to my encouragement to be ambitious with her use of colour. This should not turn out to be just a boring brown and white dog. She's learned a lesson in art and this will have been further therapy for her as she expressed herself with flair after years of suppression inside the circus.

Hidden Nepal

Yesterday I returned once again in UK, to attend meetings and pursue funds. This evening I'll be in Macclesfield (for the second visit inside a month) this time to address a District "Inner Wheel" meeting, ladies who are the wives of Rotarians. The organiser, Adrienne Fox, invited me a few months ago to participate, having heard me speak on two previous occasions. I am flattered but I hope that the stinking cold that I am nursing doesn't lead to disappointment.


Before I left Nepal I had a very pleasant lunch at a delightfully secluded spot in the hills above Kathmandu, another hidden gem that I have discovered in the last couple of weeks (see previous post "Garden Sculpture"). It has tremendous views over the Himalayas and the food, enjoyed to the sound of a background hum of a host of crickets, was magical. This time I am going to be selfish and keep the location a secret apart from for supporters of the Trust!

Another element of hidden Nepal is the wonderful wildlife that must emerge at night. On the outside wall of the hilltop restaurant I was amazed to find a cluster of exotic moths around the exterior light that had attracted them the previous evening. I publish here the pictures that I took of them, some of which will inspire future mosaics.

Irish mosaics

A few months back the Youth Club at St McArtin's Cathedral in Enniskillen, Northern Ireland undertook a sponsored stay awake to raise funds for our work with trafficked children. My brother Willie, who is a congregation member, is my link there and in response to an excellent £1,120 raised on the night I offered to have my girls make a mosaic of gratitude. I chose as the subject the Celtic statues on White Island on Lough Erne and former circus girl Manju really brought those old statues to life. Now the mosaic will go on display in the Parish Hall at the Cathedral and bear testimony to the gratitude of young people on the other side of the world. Well worth staying up for.

Garden sculpture

I spent an hour today at an idyllic little spot in the hamlet of Chobhar, 8km to the south west of Kathmandu. Chobhar is set on top of a hill commanding fantastic views over Kathmandu and being there one feels far removed from the pollution and bustle down below. Although it consists of only a few houses it is home to a Hindu temple, a Buddhist monastery and a delightful restaurant/hotel called "The Village Resort". In spite of this establishment being owned by Frenchman Theo, the restaurant food is rather disappointing, unless like me you always elect for the safest of bets, dahl bhat (rice and lentils); that was excellent and I took great pleasure watching the chef collect the ingredients from the garden beforehand.

The purpose of the visit was to have a look at the collection of garden sculpture that enthusiast Theo has assembled quite recently. This is certainly well worth a look and the rather bizarre collection of modern works well within the resort's pretty garden. It is like nothing that you'll see anywhere else in Nepal. See adjacent pictures and the resort's website at:

http://www.nepalvillageresort.com/garden.htm

We have now reached our appeal target of £30,000 for our two three month long art workshops for child trafficking victims, the first of which started in Kathmandu on the 18th September. We are actually starting to plan for a third follow on workshop to begin next May. In December we will be joined by UK volunteer sculptor Rebecca Hawkins (http://www.rebeccahawkinssculpture.co.uk/) to teach our girls totally new skills. I wonder if at least one of their works will find their way to Chobhar?

Pokhara museums

We awoke this morning to a very definite change in weather which I hope indicates that the unusually prolonged monsoon is now finally over. After a weekend of heavy rain in Kathmandu, this morning the southeastern Godawari hills were shrouded in a delightfully cooling mist. It shielded me from the early morning sun as I walked the dogs down the road and a slight northerly breeze provided additional refreshment. This may now herald the pleasant couple of months that one looks forward to all year.

Last week I visited two museums in Pokhara. The first was the Regional Museum which endeavours to give an insight into the local culture - mainly that of the Gurung and Thakali ethnic groups. The information that was presented was quite interesting in itself but the presentation was appalling, a combination of exhausted displays and poor illumination. The toilet at the back was an Asian one, which isn't necessarily to every tourist's taste, or indeed capacity. This museum could be really great if someone were just to get a grip of it. Straight after that we went to The International Mountaineering Museum which opened just three or four years ago. This exemplified what so often goes wrong in Nepal. It has clearly been a grandiose scheme with a massive building of warehouse proportion, set in a large area of land on the outskirts of the town - you really have to go out of your way to find it. To my eye there has been a lack of vision in the concept for the Museum; I suspect substantial funds have been obtained from somewhere and the instigators have decided, like many Nepali planners, to go for it and build big, thinking nothing of public accessibility and electing to worry further down the line about what the facility will display. That suspicion is supported by the lack of content or poor quality of exhibits. The interior of the warehouse feels like er, the interior of a warehouse and the sparse exhibits are pretty pathetic. These may have been cobbled together from former museums as the fauna exhibits (stuffed animals) look particularly old and sad. There has been no attempt at taxidermy, and one showcase presents the Munal pheasant (the national bird) and the splendid Satyr Tragopan (resembling a scarlet pheasant) lying flat, looking rather like they have been ritually executed or run over by a vehicle. This museum, as per the first, also cries out for an imaginative input. Dare I say it, this should come from a foreigner who has an insight into museums and what can interest, excite and inform tourists. An example of how this approach has worked well in the past is the Patan Museum in Kathmandu which was designed by Austrian architect, Gotz Hagmuller. The content of that museum is quite limited in scope and to enjoy it to the full one must enjoy (or be prepared to enjoy) looking at a large number of ancient statuettes of Hindu gods. But that aside, it is one of the loveliest museums I have been to anywhere and I could highly recommend it to any tourist.

Finally on tourism, I noticed a travel agent in Kathmandu yesterday calling itself "Titanic Tours and Travel Ltd.". Any takers?