Back in Nepal! Some photos from China and Tibet



 View over Tibet

 Spices at a market in Lhasa

 Pilgrims outside of Polata Palace

Camel trekking in the desert



BBQ Chinese style



Everest base camp



Tibetan Yak herders in the snow

desert



Chinese guard in Lhasa

Forbidden City - Beijing



Kebabs at Beijing Night Market



North Korea on left, China on right of river



Terracotta Warriors

Holiday in China

We have had to take a short break from Nepal (for visa reasons) and have

for the past few weeks taken a whirlwind trip around China.  It has been

difficult to keep the blog updated, with both blogspot and facebook

being banned sites here...

Arriving in China was a real luxury after 3 months in Nepal.

Everything is very clean and organised, public transport is a breeze and

the hostels are so fresh and clean.  We have taken a quick trip from

Dandong in the north (on the border with North Korea) moving south to

Lhasa at present. All our travel has been by overnight train, with

sleeper tickets a true luxury.  We've stopped at the major cities on the

way, seen the tourist sites and attempted to get off the beaten track

(with difficulty).

Travelling through China has brought with it many interesting

observations.  The sheer scale of development and construction here is

phenomenal, everywhere there are cranes building new highrises and

roads/railroads overpasses and other infrastructure.  It all shouts out

progress and modernisation.  Despite this agriculture appears somewhat

backward, with most of what we've passed by being small blocks

cultivated by hand.  The sheer number of people here is also crazy.

Every city we come to easily has more people living there than the

entire population of NZ!  The city's are full of life and people, buses

and trains are always full.  Beijing West train station must've had

100,000 people there - and a good 3 or 4000 of them were on our train.

You couldn't move down the aisle.

China has clearly developed at a great pace, with the majority of the

population living in poverty till recently.  Now, the people have money

to spend, and are living in a very modern, in many ways western world.

Tourism here is very manufactured, with sites like the Great Wall

rebuilt as new rather than reconstructed.  Everything is crowded with

people (mostly domestic tourists), souvenier stalls and convenience food

and drink.  It is hard to find glimpses of the past, and untouched

nature.

China has been a brilliant glimpse into another culture, a country of

great food and diversity.  For the next few days we will travel overland

through Tibet back to Nepal.

Tradition and Superstition

While in the Terai we learn't some more about the traditions and

superstitions that are particular to the plains area in the South of

Nepal.  One tradition that shocked us is the practice of early child

marriage - families will arrange the marraige of their children when

they are only 5 - 8 years old. A ceremony will be held at this time,

with the husband and wife only living together when they reach puberty

or their late teens. Sometimes the girl child (wife) will go live with

the husbands family immediately after the wedding with both children

growing up together.  The women tend to be very sub-servient, and many

miss out on an education altogether.  Education is not viewed as a

priority when the girl child will grow up to marry into and belong to

the husbands family!  Others that do go to school tend to drop out

early due to pressure on them to help with household chores, young

marraiges, and a lack of proper sanitation facilities at the schools.

A lack of education also breeds a healthy environment for superstition

... one belief still prominant in the Terai is that of witch-craft,

also known as Bokshi in Nepali.  Some parallels could be drawn with

medieval England.  One person or a group of people will accuse a woman

of being a witch, and she will be ostracised from the community.  If a

woman is believed to be guilty of Bokshi villagers will put human

excretment in her mouth and to beat her to drive the evil spirits

away. Superstitions like this were actively encouraged and used by the

Maoist rebels during the civil war as it enabled greater control over

the local community.

Fortunately, local NGOs are working to improve this situation in the

Terai through both education and legal aid.  We met with the Jan

Jagaran Youth Club (JJYC) who run many programs in the Bara region,

including programs to encourage the education of girls and paralegal

training.  Paralegal training has been given to a group of village

women to enable them to solve conflicts within the village, avoiding

the cost of lawyer which is unaffordable to all except the most

wealthy of villagers. In fact the system is supported by the local

legal community with many lawyers and barristers providing support and

advice to the paralegals pro bono.  Many people are unaware of their

basic rights, and the countries laws. This training is slowly helping

to improve this situation.  In a recent witchcraft case we were shown,

the victim had been accused of Bokshi by a village rival and

subsequently punished. The victim approached her village paralegal for

help. The paralegal sought advice from local barristers (the woman who

had accused the victim had bribed the local policemen, the victims

only previous avenue of help). With the help of the entire group of

paralegals and support of the local legal community a large village

meeting was called with both women having their say in the open air.

The victim was able to clear her name in front of the entire village

and the accuser was ordered to pay a hefty fine to the victim. This

did not fully please the victim who demanded an eye for an eye but the

paralegals were able to inform her that she would be the one breaking

the law in that case and the matter was resolved.

This shows how deeply rooted cultrual beliefs are affecting the

devolepment of poor, rural areas of Nepal. The path to resolving these

issues will be a long one but with local groups like JJYC and CDRA

doing good grassroots work we are moving in the right direction.

Uterus Prolapse

One of the biggest health issues facing Nepali women is Uterine Prolapse.  This is when the uterus starts to fall out of the body - its comes in various degrees and is shockingly common in Nepal.  I'd never even heard of it prior to coming to Nepal - but now I hear about it almost every day!!
First or second degree prolapse can be treated through rubber rings inserted into the pelvis to hold the uterus in place, and pelvic floor exercies.  Third degree prolapse is the most serious, this is when the uterus falls out of the pelvis and hangs like a tennis ball out of the body.  Surgery is required at this stage.
The health camps are important for identifying women suffering from uterine prolapse so they can be referred for free treatment in a hospital.  The most difficult thing to comprehend is that many of the women suffering from uterus prolapse have been living with it for years (we have heard cases of women living with it for 17+ years).  From the outside you cannot tell, the women hide their pain so well. 
55 women have been identified and treated as a result of the 16 health camps.  7 were identified at the health camp in Jhapa. An additional 15 women have been identified by Bijea, the nurse working in remote western Nepal.  Thanks to Rotary support these women have all been able to have treatment.  The surgery, along with travel, food and accomodation costs for the women is only approx. $US 500 per person.  Unfortunately this is not affordable or accessible for the women, and it is only through the health camps that many realise help is available. Sadly some women refuse the treatment as it is impossible for them to take the time off after the surgery to recover, or they do not have anyone to support them during this time. This was the case for one of the women identified in Jhapa. All she requested was some painkillers - and to think of the times we complain of a headache!



One of the women suffering from 3rd degree prolapse - shes lived with this for around 10 years!

It is estimated that more than one in ten women of reproductive age in Nepal is suffering from 3rd degree prolapse.  Uterine prolapse is caused by many factors, including early and frequent pregancies, home births, resuming heavy workloads straight after giving birth, and poor nutrition. Many husbands will leave their wives in this condition as they can no longer engage in sexual activity.



Women in waiting room



Examination area

Womens Reproductive Health Camp - Jhapa

From the 18th to the 20th of August we were in Bhadrapur, Jhapa for a Womens Reproductive Health Camp.  The camp was the final camp of 16 held in various locations all over Nepal for the past 6 months.  All of the camps have been staffed by a dedicated team of 8 - 10 doctors, nurses, pharmacists, and gynacologists.

Approximately 300 women attended the camp in Jhapa.  During the camp the women received free advice, examinations and treatment.  Many were suffering from STIs or prolapsed uterus (more on this later), others sought advice on infertility, while some had tumours or other problems. The women that need surgery are referred to hospital for free treatment.

The women come to the camp due to pains/problems - many have never visited a doctor before.  The camps are organised in co-ordiantion with the local community.  Camp locations are decided as a result of requests, demand and recommendations.  The local womens groups promote the camp to locals, and help to organise the site, and provide food/accomodation (if possible) to the medical team. 

Education is also an important element of the camp with documentaries screened for the waiting women, and brochures distributed.  These cover a range of topics including nutrition, family planning, STIs, HIV/AIDs, pregnancy and infant care. 

These camps were made possible through a Rotary matching grant from the Dieburg-Babenhausen Rotary Club (Germany), Rudramati Rotary Club (Nepal) and the Rotary Foundation.  The total grant was US$44,264.  Approximately 6000 men, women and children living in remote regions have benefited from the camps. 

It was great to be a part of the camp and to witness the need for the camp, and the quick and efficient treatment it offers to the women in need.

A Drive through the Terai Region



Local Barber in Bara

Temple in Janakpur

Ashok by a massive river - 1 km across



Local community wastelands project - turning barren wastelands into
profit (vegetables and trees, herbs)

Barren wasteland prior to cultivation



Ox and Cart - a common scene

Drive out of the Kathmandu Valley

The health camp team - overlooking border with India (one ute load of people - excluding
driver and photographer)

Bara School

A few days ago we made the long journey from Banepa to Bara.  This was a trip of approximately 100km, we took a shortcut, but still we were in the car for 6 -7 hours!!  The short cut passed over the mountain range that separates the Kathmandu Valley from the Terai region of Nepal. The road was full of landslides, we were thankful that this short cut was passable and that we passed through safely.  Entering the Terai was like entering a whole new country.  It is an almost endless expanse of flat land, crowded with impoverished villages, bustling border towns (with India), and lots of rice and sugar cane fields.

It is here that the Bara National Secondary School is located. Arriving at the school was overwhelming to say the least.  We were greeted to a heros welcome by the school staff, local village elders, students and members of the local community.  A press of people offered us marigold garlands and yellow flowers (a blessing).  We were the first foreigners to visit the school, and everyone was very thankful that we had made the effort to come.We were truly honoured to receive such a welcome!

The school provides an education for 1600 students, from primary through to secondary level.  But the facilities are very basic, and overcrowding is a big problem.  This can clearly be seen on the video that introduces the school: http://namaste-nepal2011.blogspot.com/2011/08/yvonne-voice-over-artist.html.

While at the school we learnt that there are classes of 230 and 260 students each.  This is crazy to imagine as the classroom space was not that large.  We feel for the teachers who must teach 10x the number of kids normally in a classroom at home!!

The community has been trying desperately to get funding to improve the situation at the school, but nothing has come of this.  Many speeches were said during our visit, with the school committee and village elders saying they were prepared to eat less food, to see their children educated.  They have promised to provide all the labour to build the new classrooms, but need help to raise funds to make their dreams for the future of the school a reality.

With basically no resources the school has recently started offering a 10+2 level class. This is the equivalent of polytech level course.  There is a lot of community pressure and need for the school to grow.  We clearly heard the hope that the community places on educating its youth for a brighter future for them. We hope that together we can help the school to reach this goal it so desperately needs and desires to achieve.  Please, if you wish to help, or want to find out some more information, get in touch.



Market in the school grounds

Welcome on the step

A classroom for 230 students

A warm welcom at the Jan Jagaran Youth Club (a local NGO).  Baiyaram Yadav

(the club president) introduced us to Bara School and is committed to helping the school.   



Buffalo in local village



Local village housing



Photo with school comittee, village elders and students