Wednesday, October 13, 2010

I don’t know where to start!

So I’m going to go backwards. This morning I woke up tired, then got grumpy so let my computer and enjoyed time with the girls. I went out back where the cows were being fed a mixture of ground corn, water, old veges and a nutrition mixture. A fire in the little shed next to the cows was being stoked by Romi (age 9), by blowing through a big pipe. Apparently she was cooking food for the dogs.

The whole house is busy cleaning and preparing for a group of girls who are coming from Darjeeling tomorrow. They are here on a church exchange and it sounds like I will be best staying out of peoples way!

At breakfast we talked about the orphanage, Gopal’s organisation, funding and sponsorship, and women in Nepal.

Gopal’s organisation provides education to children in villages and the girls at House of Hope all get a good education at local schools. Gopal talked about how many people will not send a girl to school here because there is the expectation she will get married and move out of the house to her husbands family, and there is no point in educating her. He said the orphanage only takes village girls and they are focusing on girls for this reason.

Currently they are sponsored by two international groups, one American and one Finnish. The Finnish funding will finish shortly, and the older girls will no longer have sponsorship. The American sponsor covers the younger girls day-to-day needs, but it is not enough.

After breakfast I did my washing – an arduous but pleasant task! The sun was shining, and the washing machine is on the roof, so Prerna showed me how to fill the washing machine with water, add the detergent and put it on spin for 15 minutes, fairly simple. Then we emptied the machine, and the BLACK water ran out. I couldn’t believe how much dirt came out of my clothes!! Amazing. I shouldn’t have been suprised really, having seen the water that comes off me when I shower. Anyway, then rinsed all my clothes under the tap then put it back in the machine on spin with no water to get most of the water out, before hanging up. Not difficult (definitely not the washing by hand that Kinnari has to do), but I can’t imagine having to do a whole House of Hope load – all 40 people or however many live here!

When I went in Prerna and her sister were having pampering time. They ground rice up with milk fresh from the cow and scrubbed their faces (and mine). Then facemasks, and chatted about the differences between our freedoms. Prerna’s sister (who is actually her cousin), is not allowed out, cannot do anything without asking permission, lives a very cloistered life and must check with her boyfriend on anything she wants to do. She expects to get married soon, and will move in with his family. He doesn’t allow her to wear short or tight clothing, and she isn’t allowed to go swimming (both her mother and her boyfriends decision). Prerna is allowed a lot more freedom, but I can’t ever imagine being 25 and having to ask for permission to go swimming in the afternoon.

It makes me appreciate my life so much. And the last three days of site-seeing and wandering around Kathmandu valley! More on that soon.. I took over 200 photos, so need to do some sorting and get my head clear! More later this afternoon, depending on whether we do manage to go swimming haha.

Love y’all. x

1 comment:

  1. It's hard to imagine not having the freedom to choose what we do and who we see but in a different culture it's the 'norm' so I guess our lives are equally very strange to the Nepalese women you are meeting. I feel just a wee bit guilty about my facial scrub that comes nicely packaged and costs but I have to say I doubt it does any more for me that the fresh cows milk and rice would:-)
    I really enjoy your blogs and look forward to the next episode
    Love you heaps...nite nite xxxxoooo

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