Hello again, and happy New Year! There is so much to write but this will be a short one with a few spelling mistakes do to the fact that the internet and power here have a habit of turning off right before you press 'save'. It has been getting more busy here and now that we only have about a month of volunteering left we are trying to fit in as much as possible. The concept itself seems strange to be throwing lots of events together so we can get them all done before we leave when the people we are working with are here all the time and who have to handle one event every week and then no events for another long period of time. On the other hand, we are trying to provide as much as we can with the time we have and at least most people enjoy the events. Our latest event was a campaign to stand against domestic violence. Women from all of the women's groups we lead all came together and we had speakers from the health post, a police man, as well as a couple of women wjo work in NGOs in the area to come and speak. Each women's group did a song as well and my girl's group (girls age 14 to 20) prepared a small play about the topic that they performed. Many of the problems in this area come from husbands who drink too much and either use most of the family money for alcohol and/or come home drunk and abuse their wives and children. Ironically during the event, a drunken man came over and started yelling and laughing at the women which only proved the importance of the event. one challenge we faced was how to present the part about what to do about the problem. there are few (although it is increasing) places for women to run to and most will not so I am still not sure what a good solution is. I was lucky enouigh to wear a Sari that one of the women lent me and felt like a Nepali queen (minus the Reebok sneakers on my feet, waaay too cold for flipflpos). It was definitely a challenge to walk gracefully in, and I was definitely put to shame as I moved like a penguin and looked up to see 15 women coming down the mountain as if it were a runway. Despite the complexity of the topic, the women seemed to enjoy themselves as did the volunteers and any excuse for the women to dance and for me to wear a Sari is one we all will take.
Two weeks ago I went to visit a very interesting NGO that helps women who have been burned by their family members and it really threw me for a loop. When some women in Nepal get married, they move into their husband's parents house and there is usually problems with the mother- in-law, in terms of jealousy, or it may be that the wife's family was not able to pay enough dowry for the husband's family's liking. In the most extreme cases, women are doused in kerosene and lit on fire by their husbands and the mother in law is usually there to encourage it. If the woman does not die, she is sometimes taken to the hospital where she is dropped off. Some women have no one to even come back for them and the hospital tries to find some alternative but let's just say the social services int his country are quite minimal. The women are told to say it was a suicide attempt as to not get their "families" in trouble and they are usually shunned from their communities. The woman may be blamed for not being a good wife or daughter-in-law and the topic is very taboo. When I asked the nurse at the hospital what the leading cause of the burning came from she replied, "Poverty". Last time I checked there are plenty of poor people all over the world who have nothing to do with burning at all and it is a shame that the nurses cannot even talk about what is really going on. Luckily there are a few NGOs to help the women and the burn ward int he hospital looked like they have some good services. To be fair, this also only happens farther out in certain villages and the number is decreasing. I am not really sure what to make of it all but it certainly made me appreciate my family relations a lot more and think about the concept of divorce and marriage as well. As crazy as it may be in the United States, at least for many there is a way out. Since divorce is also somewhat taboo here, extreme measures can be used and a common theme I keep running into is how important lucky most of us are to have the power to choose most aspects of our lives (more to come on this topic in the future).
This past weekend i went to a Nepali festival for New years and it was nice to see that most of the people there were actually Nepali, and the tourists were outnumbered. On the bus ride over, there were no seats so I sat on the floor. As time went on, I moved positions four times as each time someone tried to make space so that my seat would be a little more comfortable. Each time I found myself next to someone else with a different story and it was so nice to see how many people were looking out for me so I would be more comfortable. My most terrifying spot was the one next to (or should I say on top of) the driver in which he let me help him move the gears. For those of you that do not know, I just got my license, and let me tell you that road test is nothing like driving a Nepali bus on a road where there are no lanes. After a couple of nervous giggles and just slightly avoiding a crash, one of my first friends who was sitting on the seat net to me from the floor offered to share with him and the person next to him and I figured it would be better to be smushed than, well who knows. the long ride was worth it because that next morning i was able to see the sunrise over the Himalayas in colors that I did not even know existed and it was a very special new years. I hope you all have a happy and fulfilling New Year!
Two weeks ago I went to visit a very interesting NGO that helps women who have been burned by their family members and it really threw me for a loop. When some women in Nepal get married, they move into their husband's parents house and there is usually problems with the mother- in-law, in terms of jealousy, or it may be that the wife's family was not able to pay enough dowry for the husband's family's liking. In the most extreme cases, women are doused in kerosene and lit on fire by their husbands and the mother in law is usually there to encourage it. If the woman does not die, she is sometimes taken to the hospital where she is dropped off. Some women have no one to even come back for them and the hospital tries to find some alternative but let's just say the social services int his country are quite minimal. The women are told to say it was a suicide attempt as to not get their "families" in trouble and they are usually shunned from their communities. The woman may be blamed for not being a good wife or daughter-in-law and the topic is very taboo. When I asked the nurse at the hospital what the leading cause of the burning came from she replied, "Poverty". Last time I checked there are plenty of poor people all over the world who have nothing to do with burning at all and it is a shame that the nurses cannot even talk about what is really going on. Luckily there are a few NGOs to help the women and the burn ward int he hospital looked like they have some good services. To be fair, this also only happens farther out in certain villages and the number is decreasing. I am not really sure what to make of it all but it certainly made me appreciate my family relations a lot more and think about the concept of divorce and marriage as well. As crazy as it may be in the United States, at least for many there is a way out. Since divorce is also somewhat taboo here, extreme measures can be used and a common theme I keep running into is how important lucky most of us are to have the power to choose most aspects of our lives (more to come on this topic in the future).
This past weekend i went to a Nepali festival for New years and it was nice to see that most of the people there were actually Nepali, and the tourists were outnumbered. On the bus ride over, there were no seats so I sat on the floor. As time went on, I moved positions four times as each time someone tried to make space so that my seat would be a little more comfortable. Each time I found myself next to someone else with a different story and it was so nice to see how many people were looking out for me so I would be more comfortable. My most terrifying spot was the one next to (or should I say on top of) the driver in which he let me help him move the gears. For those of you that do not know, I just got my license, and let me tell you that road test is nothing like driving a Nepali bus on a road where there are no lanes. After a couple of nervous giggles and just slightly avoiding a crash, one of my first friends who was sitting on the seat net to me from the floor offered to share with him and the person next to him and I figured it would be better to be smushed than, well who knows. the long ride was worth it because that next morning i was able to see the sunrise over the Himalayas in colors that I did not even know existed and it was a very special new years. I hope you all have a happy and fulfilling New Year!
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