A Voiceless Cry

I returned today to the area along the Bagmati River where the homeless folk live.(see previous entry 9th April 2009) This time we were able to walk through the community itself and visit the school and church which have both been established in the last year. The school has two rooms with two classes of young children from this community. The church meet in a small room, many in the community oppose its presence but about 30 now attend.A team of 3 young Pastors( pictured below ) lead this work in a very difficult and demanding environment.The smell of the polluted river is as bad as ever and there are many other associated difficulties. Eliza is also pictured below outside the school and also in one of the classes. She has realized her vision from two years ago to see a school here and will be involved by training 3 teachers to work here from next month.

A Voiceless Cry....The River

Two years on and the river is even more polluted........

A Voiceless Cry.........The Church

The three leaders pictured here with me outside the small 'church building' they are using as a base for their work.......not sure who the 4th person is at the back!

A Voiceless Cry...The School

Eliza is pictured here with some of the children

A Voiceless Cry.....The School Building

Iain with Eliza outside the school building......the other gentleman is a NGO official.

Look closely at the name badges

We have just finished three days of teaching/training at the Leaders Conference here in Kathmandu,Nepal where over 60 leaders from across Nepal attended.Had the British come to Nepal and built their railways and not stopped on the Northern Borders of India then the return journeys for some of the leaders would have been much quicker.I asked one leader how long it would take him to get home and he replied it would take a day and night on the bus(not a comfortable experience here) and then a one day walk to his home.
The conference went well and was really enjoyable.However confusion reigns still with Iain's identity...if you look closely at the name badges on the picture above Tanka now thinks he is Iain and Iain hasn't a clue who he is!!
Congratulations to India who have just beaten Australia in the Cricket World Cup!!

Tracking the Barrels from England.

Good news concerning the latest barrels of secondhand clothes sent from England as they all arrived safely through customs.All ten barrels are pictured above at Tanka and Rita's house . The clothes will be distributed to needy families in Kathmandu and further afield to some of the villages. Other barrels, once the clothes have been distributed are often used for the storage of water. The water supply here is a real problem. The supply is restricted to once in four days for only two hours so storage is absolutely essential.

Identity crisis deepens for Iain

During my last visit one of the themes that emerged was Graham's search for Row H(see previous entries from 2009) This time the main theme appears to be a deepening identity crisis for Iain. Several members of the staff at the hotel are talking to Iain in Nepalese as they are convinced refusing to believe that he is not Peter, his twin brother. The situation was compounded this afternoon when one of the leaders at the conference thanked Iain for his teaching in 1989 at the Pokhara Bible School and was very confused when Iain informed him it was not him! To help Iain remember who he is I have published a picture of him taken earlier today!

Who is the peson pictured with me in the photograph below?

Today Iain has experienced an identity crisis. It started this morning when one of the members of staff here at the Hotel mistook him for his twin brother Peter and was totally confused as to why he had booked a room. During the course of the day several other staff members did the same thing. Not surprising really as Peter has worked in Nepal for the last 40 years or so and recently organised a conference at this hotel. His appearance at Tanka and Rita's house his evening also caused much confusion for Nishma, their two year old. She greeted Peter when he walked in and then looked startled as Iain followed him in........now there were two Peters!!!....but as two years do, soon accepted this strange situation and proceeded to sing me songs in English, Hindi and Nepalese!...Despite all this Iain spoke very well this evening in the opening session of the conference....and if you are wondering they are marigolds!... which were given to us to symbolise we have been entrusted with the responsibility for the teaching at the Conference..........................

Return to Kathmandu

Nearly two years on I have returned to Kathmandu, this time with Iain. We are teaching at the Leaders Conference, will also visit the landless folk by the River to see how the school which has been established since our last visit is progressing and will be looking at the possibilities for two potential projects.

We flew with Jet Airways in a new 777 as far as Delhi. A good friend of mine who works at T4 Heathrow had booked us in so that we had exit seats and loads of legroom and this time no nasty incidents with the nearby toilets.What was remarkable was the average age of the passengers on board who mainly seemed to be in their 70's or 80's !! Iain and I both felt incredibly young as we helped many who were struggling on their own to get from their seats to the toilets! love them!

Delhi Airport was also interesting......an absolute shambles at the transfers security point where a Jet Airlines Employee, who was trying to be helpful caused 58 of us who were connecting from the London flight to the one for Kathmandu to push into the long queue causing several arguments which reminded me of those experienced in the Domestic Terminal in Kathmandu 2 years before. Then when we did get through another employee told us to hurry as they were closing the gate for our next flight. Iain and I then ran for what seemed about half a mile to the Gate dispelling any illusions of youth.....Iain was running ladened down with several laptops he was taking as gifts, I too hobbled along with him with a heavy bag and doggy knee. At one point we were outsprinted by a lady who must have been in her mid seventies!!!!

Anyway we just made our connection and have arrived safely......another update tomorrow..........