From a Kathmandu garden

Here's a picture I took this morning. The snake seems to be resident judging by the number of appearances that it makes in a day, each being accompanied by frantic barking from my two dogs. I don't think it's venomous (only 20 of Nepal's 80 snake species are in that category) but I will buy a book tomorrow so that I can identify the beast and be certain....

My year from Dental School

Thirty five of us graduated from Queen's University Belfast Dental School in 1982. I am only still in touch with one of the group who continues to serve in the British Army (which I resigned from in 1999). One of the 35 took his own life a couple of years' ago. This evening I picked up this story in the Northern Ireland newspapers about another one of my former fellows:

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/accused-dentist-on-suicide-watch-in-jail-14283908.html

An earlier press report suggests Howell also faces charges of drugging and sexually abusing four women who where all former patients. I couldn't have imagined a more benign chap from my peers but I suppose that's what you hear so often said of the worst criminals after the event.

How not to compose a photograph

I love the imagery that appears in the largest English language paper in Nepal, The Himalayan Times. On the right you see a picture that appeared in today's edition of a presentation of a token of gratitude at a ceremony in Kathmandu yesterday. I love the stoical face of the security guard in the background who just looks like he's involved in someone else's photograph. Or participating in a magic trick.

Too honest

I've been eyeing up an interesting-looking Indian restaurant just off Pulchowk in Lalitpur called "Masala". But driving past it today I noticed that they are turning a necessity into a virtue with a sign on the door announcing "We care for your health. Closed for pest control". So that one has been dropped off my already very short list of suitable eating out spots in Kathmandu.

Donkeys

Much has been written in the Nepali press in recent weeks about how NGOs and INGOs may soon to be brought into line by the Government, with greater transparency and contribution towards the "national agenda". No one can challenge the desirability of NGOs showing clearly their sources of income and expenditure; many if not most don't measure up in this regard. I know of one or two NGOs out there who source their funds by withdrawing cash directly from their overseas' donor accounts through an ATM card that they've been given by their funder. That can scarcely be considered to be best practice. I do have problems though with any suggestion that NGO funds, non-governmental funds, might be harnessed towards the greater good as determined by a local governmental agency that might take precedence in decision-making over donor charity Boards and NGO committees. These suggestions - which seem to be strongest in "letters to the editor" sections of the papers - reflect an ignorance of the nature of public giving abroad and that any attempt to hijack funds that are given for a specific purpose, entrusted to Trustees, would undermine the ethos of charitable giving. It is the individual member of the public's right to give their own hard-earned cash towards whatever cause that is dear to their hearts, be it children, animals, the arts, medical research etc. If a donor country doesn't want to receive funds towards what might be seen as fringe issues then all that has by national government is to decline the charity's proposal. The funds can go to another country where the perceived need is as great or greater and where the contribution is welcome even if it doesn't go towards meeting development priorities.

Also, one of the tasks of a charity can be to identify and highlight something that isn't already on "the national agenda" but that most definitely should be. For example, six years ago when The Esther Benjamins Trust began working with the problem of trafficking of children to circuses no one knew anything about this particular problem. Had our modest resources been channelled into paying for other worthy things like providing rehabilitation and training facilities for trafficking survivors (this is high on the national agenda) then Nepali children would still be languishing, abused in the circuses. Instead we were able to get on with the challenge of sorting the problem out and now that child trafficking route is closed down.

Other causes like animal welfare seem to be of only academic interest to many of the decision makers within Nepalese society. Thank goodness for those few good people out there, Westerners and Nepalis, who have made stray dogs and working donkeys issues that need addressing and thank goodness for those overseas who give money that supports the animals' relief. I hope nothing is done in the future that will restrict the activities of such people who may be seen as "eccentric". It is such people that are the bedrock of charities.

Pictured right is a donkey that was rescued from a brick kiln last week by my friend Kit Spencer, Managing Director of the Summit Hotel.

How a two year old sees the world

Last week I showed my two and three quarter year old daughter, Alisha, this newspaper picture of the Nepalese Prime Minister emerging from a conference. "He's blowing out candles" she declared having enjoyed her parents' birthday celebrations that fell within recent weeks. I sometimes test her on what things are for. One day I took her through body parts - what are ears for? (A. hearing), what are teeth for? (A. eating) etc. When I asked her what fingers are for she answered "noses". She also told me on another occasion that the fridge was "for taking the white wine out of". Hmmm.

She's also become a great animal lover and can identify an amazing range of animals through her visits to the zoos and study of books. But she floored Bev the other day when she asked if she could have some "armadillo crisps" as a snack. Then she pointed to the packet of tortilla chips.

Kusum (see previous post) has just arrived at my house ready to be taken off to a toddlers' library group by Bev and an adoring Alisha. She's coming along really well since she arrived at the Esther Benjamins Trust children's refuge and is now starting to talk and smile. Heaven knows what vocabulary Alisha is going to teach her.

Martin Cheek

One of the big names in the international mosaic scene, Martin Cheek, has agreed to come out and give us some consultancy between the 5th and 13th May. I got to hear about Martin first through my wife Bev who attended one of his weekend courses about fifteen years ago. I ended up going to his summer course in Greece five years ago and then the following year, with Bev, to another of his courses in Florence. As you can see from his website his work is not only very artistic but full of humour. But be warned that if you attend one of his classes you'll have to endure the other side of Martin's humour - his really grim, very old jokes. You'll find one or two pictures of me looking remarkably cheerful under the circumstances on his website's courses page.

Anyway, Martin will be providing training support to the trainers who are running the integrated art workshop in Bhairahawa and helping with design input. He'll also be helping us to prepare for a photographic/mosaic exhibition that we'll be running at several venues later on this year to mark the Trust's 10th birthday.

One of Martin's other students is leading British journalist Libby Purves who has shown some interest in following up his visit and our work. And I discovered last week that one of the charity's Trustees, Sue Duncan, has also been on a Cheek weekend course. Small world!

London Marathon

Yesterday was the London Marathon and this year The Esther Benjamins Trust fielded a record 15 runners. Most were made up of two teams from two of our leading corporate supporters Ramboll Ltd and Joules Clothing Ltd. One of the individual runners was James Caulfield, the youngest participant of the day, who was celebrating his 18th birthday in fine style. I am still awaiting news on the times but I gather from one runner that, as usual for the Marathon, it was a scorcher in London so the times are likely to be on the slow side.

My paltry contribution to running yesterday was an early morning 10km training run in Kathmandu which I completed in 50.5 minutes. That is seven and a half minutes faster than I ran in Hong Kong in February.

Kusum

In my post of 24th February, "Raw Poverty", I described my visit to a trafficking-prone community in Makwanpur District which had left me profoundly shaken. This followed my seeing a little four year old girl, Kusum, hiding under a quilt inside a grubby hut. Her mother had died three months previously and she was refusing to speak and hiding from all visitors. We had the dilemma of what to do with this acutely traumatised child. Many aid organisations would maintain that this child should be supported within her community and kept close to her remaining family. That's easier said than done in a Nepalese rural community. On top of that her father had little time to dedicate to his daughter; he had to labour during the day and Kusum was keeping company with a young couple who had their own children to look after.

We decided, with her father's blessing, to bring Kusum and her ten year old sister Anisha to our Kathmandu refuge and I saw her there on Friday, the day after she arrived. She's still not speaking but is in the loving care of the refuge staff, surrounded by curious and exuberant refuge children. This is the first traumatised child we've admitted to the refuge in a long time and her rehabilitation is going to be a challenge; my daughter Alisha is looking forward to doing her bit and plans to buy her a teddy before going to see her again on Monday. Within a month Kusum will be a totally different child. The cost of care for the two girls will be £1080 per year but that's a small price to pay.

Any sponsors out there?

2066 and all that

It's New Year's Day in Nepal, today being the first of 2066. There has been some controversy in recent months over a government proposal to reduce this calendar year from 12 months to 11 months to bring the year into line with astronomical realities but in the end it was decided to stick with a full year. I imagine if there had been any perception within the populace that their collective lifespans would have decreased by one month there could have been a wave of strikes and protests. Now let's hope for a bright 2066 and a less disruption to daily life than we experienced in 2065.

Happy New Year!

Dhanyabad

Around thirty of the children that The Esther Benjamins Trust is caring for at its refuges in Kathmandu and Bhairahawa in the southwest are the dependents of prisoners. I prefer to call our facilities "refuges" rather than "homes" as, in the ideal, they provide full time care only on a temporary basis. In the case of prisoners' children this is pending their parents' release. It's important to keep tabs on the prisoners as, in spite of what they agree at the time we admit their children, it is common for them to vanish into the ether after they are freed in the expectation that we will continue to care for their offspring. For our part we are proactive in reuniting the children with parents as soon as they have found work and can provide a family home but we give the releasees a little leeway after release to sort themselves out. Moreover we are happy to help with some short term financial support (e.g. for educational costs) to smooth the reunification path. This approach is in the best interests of the children and ensures that our refuge facilities can be extended to other, more needy, children.

Two brothers, Raju and Rajesh, came to us back in 2001 after their father was jailed in Tulsipur prison in the far west of Nepal. They have been staying at our Bhairahawa refuge ever since. Towards the end of last year the father was released and it was easy to see how keen the boys were to go home and resume family life. However, this had to be delayed as he needed to find work. Two days ago one of our field staff went with the older brother, Raju, to trace the father. On arrival in his village it transpired that he had remarried and was building a house. He was not at all keen to take the boys back - prisoners enjoy the prospect of a totally fresh start - and would have been more than happy for us to continue to look after the boys to a standard that's better than he could ever afford. But he will take them back; as I see it if he's sufficiently well off to build a house then his finances are good enough to fend for the children.

One of the disappointing things that I see about the parents that we have to deal with is a lack of responsibility (often fuelled by alcohol abuse) and an unwillingness to take ownership of their children. We have to be careful not to indulge these unhealthy sentiments. But the other thing that gets me is the lack of appreciation. Purely in monetary terms, the cost of daily care for Raju and Rajesh over the years has probably been in the region of £8.5k but dear old dad will never say thanks. Instead he clearly expects more off us. This thanklessness is not unique to him by any means. The word "dhanyabad" ("thank you") is a fairly recent addition to the Nepali language. This grates a bit but then you have to remind yourself that what we do we do for the children, not for the parents.

Shailaja has just phoned me to say that gymnast Aman Tamang, who was one of our two refuge children taking part in the National Games last week, has been named as one of the top nine athletes from the games. This means he has won a purse of 25,000 rupees (£210) which equates to six months' salary at the national minimum wage.

10km musings

This morning was my first full ten kilometre early morning run in Kathmandu as I train for my competitive fundraising 10km events of this year. And I ran the course this morning in 53 minutes which is five minutes faster than when I competed in Hong Kong two months' ago. Extrapolation of this improving performance would indicate that in 20 months time I should be able to complete the distance in 3 minutes, which would surely be some kind of record?

En route at 6.30 a.m. I met a squad of Nepali armed police out on their own training run. Rather bizarrely they were running with rather than against the flow of traffic; maybe they know something that I don't. They were also running in their boots, a practice that is all good macho stuff, but one that was abandoned by the British Army about 25 years' ago. That followed the realisation that running in boots wrecks knee joints creating long term disabilities that were usually compounded by well-intentioned attempts by cack-handed military surgeons to repair the damage. Fit young soldiers were being turned into cripples. It is all very well running in boots (very quickly) when the bullets are flying, but the rest of the time it makes much more sense to wear trainers.

There are two sources of aerial pollution to contend with in early morning Kathmandu. The first is the clouds of dust that are swept into the air by Nepali women whose obsessional use of brooms seems to rival my current obsession for training. Given how common spitting is over here and the incidence of pulmonary TB this must constitute a major health hazard. The second pollution source is the smoke from the burning of rubbish which in Nepal tends to be done at the beginning or end of the day. One of my friends who is visiting at the moment deals with proper waste management back in the UK. He said to me that it would be so easy to use a modern incinerator to replace these bonfires, filtering out the toxins (apart from the CO2) and generate some badly-needed electricity for the city. That is something for me to chew upon - much like the free range cows of Kathmandu view the piles of combustible rubbish by the roadside.

Good Friday in Nepal

Yesterday I attended a children's picnic for the 100 kids who are at our Kathmandu refuge. A picnic consists of a trip to a park in the surrounding hills, music, dancing, games and of course (copious) amounts of food. Meanwhile eleven older children from our Bhairahawa refuge in the south were rounding off a five day trek in the Annapurnas, north of Pokhara (for those who know the area this included Ghorepani, Chisopani, Pun Hill, Tadopani, Ghandruk). This is a super challenge for the kids and all part of our overall aim of not just providing for children's basic needs but, quite literally, going an extra mile or two.

These kinds of activities are funded through our "recreation sponsorship" where we invite sponsors to contribute £5 per month for a named child; I can't think of a better way of spending 17 pence a day. We also invite supporters who have a little more cash at their disposal to consider an educational sponsorship of £15 per month or a general sponsorship of £25 per month. To commit to one or more of our children in this way please visit our website.

Socially responsible

I read in today's Nepali Times under the headline "Socially Responsible" that the NMB Bank has launched a social responsibility campaign which includes helping renovate and maintain temples. Recently the bank put marble flooring in the Hanuman Mandir (temple) and has introduced a scheme to clean it frequently.

Pictured right is the home of one of our Kathmandu refuge children in Makwanpur District.

Something to smile about

Our two Kathmandu refuge kids who have been competing in the 5th National Games in Nepal (see my post of 8th April) completed their gymnastic events with no fewer than seven medals to their credit. Aman Tamang won three golds while Bijay Limbu won a gold, two silver and one bronze. Next stop for the lads will be the next South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) games in December but I'd love to see them at the London Olympics in 2012. That's unlikely to happen as the training here would be inadequate and Nepal historically hasn't entered a gymnastics team to the Olympics. I've considered sending them abroad (specifically to Hong Kong where there is a large Nepali community) to continue their education and training but that doesn't seem to offer the appropriate standard of training either. Does anyone out there have any thoughts?

Palden (see 1st April post) seems to be recovering in hospital and is now conscious and off his ventilator. Yesterday one of our staff managed to coax a laugh out of him for the first time. He is recovering quickly but it remains to be seen how complete that will be.

Holi in Bhairahawa

In my post of 9th March I wrote how the Hindu festival of Holi was my least favourite of the year with anyone being liable to find themselves sprayed by revellers with water or with coloured dye, whether they like it or not. A picture I received today indicates that our UK volunteers in Bhairhawa seemed to enter into the spirit of it with more enthusiasm than I could muster.

The Esther Benjamins Trust newsletter

One of my charity tasks is to assemble a six monthly newsletter. Following my efforts, complimented by design and editorial support from our London office, the Spring edition has just been published and you can see the online version here:

http://www.ebtrust.org.uk/images/newsletter/Newsletter_spring_A4.pdf

The National Games in Nepal

The Nepalese National Games started on Monday, the first time these have taken place in five years. Two of our Kathmandu children's refuge boys, Aman Tamang and Bijay Limbu, were taking part in the gymnastics events using skills that they learned the hard way through their time inside an Indian circus. After we freed them in January 2004 they chose to continue to train, attending the National Stadium in Kathmandu each morning before going to school. Today their efforts were rewarded with both boys picking up gold medals in the group event, and Aman winning a gold, Bijay a bronze in individual events. Two more gold medal events take place tomorrow so it's fingers crossed....

Measuring up

I read in the UK papers that there is to be a new drive against obesity with general practitioners screening patients in the age group 40-74 and prescribing weight management and exercise for those who are overweight. Not before time as Britain turns into a nation of slobs, but it takes time and willpower on the part of not only the patients but also of the doctors to see this campaign through.

In my post of 11 Nov ("Not so vital statistics") I gave my baseline measurements prior to embarking upon training for my 10km running events in 2009. Worryingly I found that these indicated that I was in the high risk bracket for a coronary or a stroke, so I was determined to do something about it. Today my dimensions are quite different from then, with my weight having dropped from 80kg to 73kg. That gives me a Body Mass Index of 24.11, down from 26.42 and bringing me into the "healthy" bracket of between 18.5 and 25. I'll be more comfortably within the bracket after I've shed another 3-5 kg. My hip measurement has reduced from 101 cm to 97 cm and waist from 99 cm to 91 cm giving me a waist/hip ratio (which is apparently a better guide of health) of .94, down from .98 last November. So things still aren't quite so good as they might seem as a ratio of above .90 puts you in the death zone.

The thing that amazes me is that last November I visited a GP who diagnosed me as having hypertension (high blood pressure) and prescribed ACE Inhibitor medication. Over the last couple of days I have been testing my blood pressure without taking this medication and I am now enjoying a normal blood pressure reading. Tablets are perhaps too often the easy way out and I'd have been better managed if he'd called me a "fatty" and shamed me into making the lifestyle changes that in the end I decided to embark upon unilaterally. It's the doctors who need the guts if their patients are to shed them.

The slums of Butwal

Last month our volunteer photographer Jonny Cochrane recorded a visit by some of our Bhairahawa refuge children to their home area in the slums of Butwal, which is half an hour's drive away. It proved to be a very bleak visit and I have now uploaded Jonny's pictures to Flickr.

We are now researching how we might provide support to the children who are in the midst of this urban poverty which is every bit as grim at the rural poverty of Makwanpur District. We're aiming to launch a new project in Butwal in the middle of this year.

Palden

On Sunday one of our field workers from Hetauda, Palden, was knocked off his motorbike by a truck. He is currently on a ventilator in a Kathmandu hospital and it seems likely that if he survives he'll be left with brain damage. The truck belonged to a major haulage company and the company agreed to fund Palden's immediate care and, if need be, long term family support to his wife and children.

When I first came to Nepal I was told by my driver during a road journey that the immediate action in the event of an accident was to get out and run for it. Irrespective of whether or not the fault lies with the driver, a mob of locals can form very quickly and summary justice meted out. I remember on one occasion as we were driving along seeing someone up ahead fall off his bicycle. My (Nepali) driver was insistent that we shouldn't stop for if we had we'd most likely have been blamed for whatever had happened to the cyclist and there'd be a demand for compensation. Nepal's roads are no place for a Good Samaritan.

Compensation to the victim of a traffic accident is the norm in Nepal, if the victim survives. I have heard it said that it is common for a victim to be "finished off" in a bid to avoid a life-long bill to the motorist concerned.