Days 18-19

Days 18 – 19 (March 18-19)

What a day!!! This morning we got ready to go to an elderly home for the homeless at Pashupati Nath in Kathmandu. We visited this place once before shortly after we got to Nepal. I (Ute) had taken some photos of four women there and made paper copies to give to them today.

Aparna went out early to buy fruit and cookies to be passed out. Michelle joined us for this event, and we got dressed up wearing saris for the occasion. This was my first sari experience. Quite a science to wrap the 10-yard cloth around you in a fashionable manner. Some native women who were visiting Aparna helped us.

Around 11 am, we walked over to the facility and started the visit by handing out bananas, apples, oranges, and cookies to each person. The elderly queued up to receive their goodies. In the meantime, I found the four woman whose photos I had printed and gave them each a copy. They were so happy. They started showing their friends their newly received photographs and their friends were so impressed that they too wanted their pictures taken. What a great photo opportunity. These amazing pictures capture their outer beauty, with their wrinkled and lined faces, and their inner beauty. I felt blessed to have this time with them. It was also a nice warm-up in terms of connecting.

After the food was passed around, Aparna wanted us to gather and start singing to the elderly. It was a bit chaotic. The microphone and loudspeaker that were supposed to be available were not, so we had to sing without. We began by playing a singing bowl so everyone would gather for the entertainment. Then I sang an African call and response children’s song. It was great fun. The young nurses in training who were visiting today came over and joined in as well. They then started to sing Nepali songs and one elderly lady started dancing. Soon a bunch of us were down there with her. I was so touched by it all. Conrad, who is not so musically inclined, took the opportunity to film and photograph the scene. I felt so much at home with everyone. Even though I don’t speak the language, I didn’t feel like a foreigner at all because I felt as though they had accepted me as one who loves them.

After the singing, our group and the nurses surrounded the elderly who were sitting on chairs, held the space, and offered some loving healing energy to them. Can’t wait to get the photos onto my computer at home so I can share them with you. The internet is just so very slow here that I cannot upload anything.

Day 19 started early. We were supposed to meet Pabitra at 8 am and so we got up at 6 am to give us time to get ready. It is a 20-25 minute walk to the Boudha area of Kathmandu. In this area is the largest Buddhist Stupa in Nepal and the holiest Tibetan Buddhist Temple outside Tibet. Pabitra met us at the Temple as she lives on the circle that surrounds the Temple and we then walked 10 minutes to a home she rents. For over 20 years, Pabrita has provided a place for children to live who would otherwise have been sold into sex-trafficking[1]. She is now caring for sixteen girls between the ages of 5 and 15 years at this rented location. She also has three or four children at her private home.

Unfortunately, the rented home is in the process of being partially demolished. It was built in a government right of way and the government has decided install a road that will provide ambulance access to this area. Pabitra told us that yesterday the military came with a bulldozer but she was able to stop them for thirty days so she can move the children. The people who own the house were renting it to Pabrita so that they had income to support their own children. Once the building is partially demolished, they will loose this income and a house.

Pabitra is a very dedicated woman with great passion for children. She and Aparna have the same chemistry and so they definitely “hit it off.” We are pleased that our contacts in the US have now allowed Aparna and Pabitra to connect in Kathmandu. We met one of Pabitra’s adopted sons who is also interested in helping his people. We think that he will begin helping Aparna with her new brick machine. He had been working for an NGO but was currently without an engagement.

After Aparna and Pabitra had talked for a while, Pabitra went and got the children. When they came in the room, they sat in a circle in perfect lotus seats (we were very envious about their flexibility) and started singing. It was wonderful. These passionate young voices singing from their hearts brought tears to our eyes. They sang a repertoire of songs from different religious backgrounds. Just precious. When we left, they gave us a khadha, which is a white scarf that is put around your neck as a welcoming gift, a sign of respect, or a farewell, and Ute then taught them an African call and response children’s song (same she taught the elderly yesterday). The kids were all smiles as they sang this new song. We will get back in touch with Pabitra and her son before we are leaving Nepal.

The day ended with an invitation for dinner at our new friend Sita’s house. She and her husband are lovely people whom we have enjoyed getting to know. As a special treat, Ute got a facial from a woman who is studying to be an esthetician and needed a “guinea pig” to finish her certification. She and her husband came to Sita’s house. While the facial happened, Sita’s husband took Conrad and Aparna to a sacred site in the forest nearby.

When they returned my facial was over and we sat down and ate a fabulous dinner. It is hard for Nepalese to understand the twin concepts of “not too much” and “that’s enough.” The culture shows its love for another by feeding vast quantities of food. We certainly don’t eat this much and obviously cannot eat all they offer. Unfortunately, this sometimes disappoints our hosts but this time Aparna had forwarned them. We then walked a mile to catch a taxi and headed home.

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[1] Aparna has been fighting sex trafficking for a long time in Nepal. She explained that the girls in certain castes have features that the Indians find attractive. Apparently, brothels in Mumbai are the usual destination. Because girls aren’t appreciated in this culture, it is easy to convince the parents that the young girl will be educated and cared for. The parents are typically given tin to put on their hut in exchange for their daughter. The neighbors then see the new roof and want to give the trafficker their girls as well. Once in India, these girls have no money and no way to get back home. Even if they did find a way back and it was discovered what they had done, they would be shunned. Total evil at work.