nagarhope

Nagarhope….an update

Devi, the girl that was raped on new years eve is now in full care of the umbrella organization in Katmandu. I have met with the head of the child welfare council, and both of Devi’s step-parents. It was a grueling meeting which lasted hours, all in Nepali, in the CDO office (Chief District Officer) two days ago, and all the necessary paperwork has been signed by all involved. It was an important meeting for me, as some of the people involved are people whom nagarhope will have to cross in the registration stage.
The head of the child welfare council has asked me to stop working with the street children and submit a report of all my workings and plans to him before I go back out and feed anyone.

Dhurba, my good friend is going through a bad time now, he has already had one operation on his frost-bitten foot where half of his big toe was cut off. The doctors have said that he needs to cut more off as there is no blood circulation. He is suffering daily and on many drugs to ease the pain. He has to go back to a different hospital tomorrow for an angiogram before the doctors can say for sure what is to happen next.

Prem and Chandra Maya are both due a weeks holidays soon, so I will be spending a week or so up the mountain. They are good and enjoying school. Night time is cold up in Nagarkot. Just imagine spending your winter in your shed / garage, it’s probably as cold as Ireland, but the complete abscense of central heating makes a huge difference here. Brrrrrrrr!!!!

Raj Kumar, a 16 year old student in his final year of school whom nagarhope is supporting, and has been for 20 months, has to sit his final exams in March April this year. He is still unsure of where his future lies but has mentioned accountancy and becoming a doctor. He has expressed his interest to help nagarhope in the coming years.

The Ratpack have become a handful over the last two days. Two Norwegian girls who spent time with them every night are gone back to Norway and the numbers are close to 20 every night. Twenty tough street children high on glue and hungry trying to squash into a tiny café that sits only ten people at any one time. All of them always looking for medicine, clothes, food, love etc.. I have stopped feeding them until I write up a report that has to be submitted to the CDO office. If the CDO office approves the report , I can go back to feeding them.

A Nepali local named Jonny (Pramod) whom I hope will be on the committee on this side has agreed to assist us with a website. Nagarhope will put him on a website design course and he will design the website for nagarhope. It will benefit both him and nagarhope for years to come. Will keep ye updated.

Some of ye may remember the CASE of Wale Odum, a Swaziland national jailed for 7 years in 2005 for overstaying his nepali visa by 4 / 5 months. Wale is hopeful that he will receive some sort of pardon either in January or February. Money collected by myself and Jo in Ireland (separate to nagarhope) is sitting waiting for him to ensure his safety back to , firstly, the Nigerian embassy in new delhi, and then on to Africa (Nigeria) where his mother is. His father died last year while he was in prison.

As for me, I am planning to go back up the mountain today and take a rest. I have been worn down slowly to the point that a very skinny man told me yesterday that I was getting very skinny. Takes one to know one.

Love to one and all, hoping you all have a blissful 2008.

Fachtna doc clandillon
Katmandu
Sunday 6 / 1 / 08, 11.40am

THE STREET and NOT THE STREET

A LONG tale of two places…….followed by a needy appeal

New Years Eve – 31st December 2007, whilst I was dancing to trance music at a party up the mountains,a nine year old girl called Devi was raped by a teenager in Thamel,the tourist area of Katmandu. I found out two days later, yesterday. Whatever bad feelings I had yesterday, whatever bad day I might have had, nothing compares to a the brutal rape of a child.

Devi ran away from home in and around Christmas day. After only 6 days on the street, sleeping rough in bitter conditions, Devi was dragged down an alley by Kisur, a deaf and dumb boy of around 16 or 17, stripped bare and raped. I know this boy well enough and have fed him many times in the past.

A 25 year old street man by the name of Robbie, who I have become close to, found Devi crying and naked and tried to comfort her throughout a long new years night. He said she cried for hours before she would talk.

Robbie beat the deaf and dumb boy, and in turn got a hiding from the local mafia, older friends of Kisur.

Yesterday (2nd Jan), after eating with 12 street kids and Robbie, I was told the story. It left me in a state of shock for the rest of the day. I rang Jackie, a Frenchman and founder of Umbrella Foundation, an Irish funded ngo (non-governmental organisation) which now has close to 300 orphans, street kids and deprived children in it’s care in Katmandu. Jackie told me what I already knew – WE ARE FULL. But Jackie agreed to take Devi last night, and myself and Robbie took her to meet the Umbrella family.

We took her first to the hospital to get treatment on a festering open wound on her foot. All the toes on one foot were cut off after she received a burn. Another burn mars her face where her wicked stepmother (sounds like Cinderella, but this aint no fairytale) pushed her into the fire. She gets beaten regularly by both her stepmother and stepbrother who has also tried numerous times to molest her. Devi took to the streets to get away from abuse at home and walked straight into much worse. Out of the frying pan and into the fire.

Robbie had slept on the street with Devi on New Years night and the following night, Devi had made a good friend. She pleaded with Umbrella staff to let Robbie stay with her on her first night in this new strange place full of other children, and Robbie did so.I saw him this morning, she was still sleeping when he left. I imagine that she will have many hours of sleep to catch up on.

Umbrella is struggling to keep it’s operation going due to the massive financial costs They have to educate feed and clothe 300 kids, pay and feed 50 staff as wellas numerous volunteers. Jackie told me straight out – Doc, if you bring somebody here, you must find a sponsor for the child. I told him I would sponsor Devi, pay any medical costs (the doctors reckon she needs plastic surgery on her foot). So I am appealing to anybody out there who would like to help a young girl in need. The costs range from $500 - $750 US dollars per child per year, depending on their age and education, though all the money received through sponsorship is distributed across the board to benefit all children.

It works out at US$ 750 per year, or US$ 62.50 per month. In Euros 511.81 per year or 42.65 per month, close to 10 Euros per week. Anyone interested can contact me on bilijoni@hotmail.com, or contact Umbrella organisation directly at harrycoogan@eircom.net (irish director) or theumbrellafoundation@yahoo.ie (dave cutler – irish director). Both Harry or Dave can give you details of how to donate monthly or yearly by standing order etc..

Devi has two blood sisters aged 3 & 5 still living with their stepmother and stepbrother. For Umbrella to take Devi into their care, papers must be organised through the Social Welfare council of Nepal. Jackie has told me that every child must go through the process and that papers must be provided by the child’s guardian allowing the child to be taken into care. Umbrella will also look into the case of Devi’s two young sisters and whether or not they are safe in the care of their wicked step family. I have visited some of Umbrellas 7 homes, they are wonderful places full of laughter and happy children. As with every child one sponsors, information on that child will be given to the sponsor through the Irish directors and volunteers.

If more than one person replies to this mail, if more than one person is interested in supporting one of the best run Ngo’s in Nepal, I can arrange for more than just Devi to be sponsored. Umbrella are always in need of more sponsors as the number of children grows each month. Their website can be found by searching Umbrella Foundation online or www.umbrellanepal.org. / umbrella@wlink.com.np (direct email).

Thank you all for your time and patience.I have many happy stories to tellto you all also,but now is not the time. Some things in life get put on the backfoot due to unforseen circumstances.

Kind regards, Doc Clandillon, Katmandu, Thursday 3rd december 2007, 2pm.

Please, anyone who wishes to help,contact Harry or Dave at harrycoogan@eircom.net (irish director) or theumbrellafoundation@yahoo.ie (dave cutler – irish director).

Mission:
It is the mission of The Umbrella Foundation, Ireland/Nepal to rescue children from destitution and help them to become educated, contributing citizens of Nepal, who will grow up to serve their country, and in awareness of their social responsibility.

The Umbrella Foundation, Ireland/Nepal, seeks to relieve the impact of poverty and war on children made destitute in the last ten years of civil conflict in Nepal, and to this end, supports the programs of the Umbrella Organization, Nepal (UON).

Monday 24th December 2007. 10.30am, Katmandu…….A LONG TRADITIONAL MAIL

Traditionally one of the busiest days of the year for many, what with last minute shopping and wrapping, meeting old friends, embracing new ones. There’s comfort and warmth in knowing that we can bask in each others company tomorrow, eat good food, enjoy titanic on Rte 1 at 9 oçlock. Our Christmas traditions are plentiful and well-deserved, it is a time for peace, a time for family, a time for friends………traditionally.

But what happens if you do not have a tradition, if you do not have a routine when you wake upon christmas morning, if you do not have a bed, a house, a meal to give you energy in the morning. Two hours before, I went to hunt down the ratpack (street kids), it was cold and I thought I’d bring them for a cup of tea. Four of them slept soundly together on freezing cold concrete in a freezing cold doorway, some bare-footed, all filthy and infested by nits. Raju, now 17, has been going home the past five nights – a “bigger boy”slashed his arm pretty bad, looks like he has about 20 stitches.His face is blank, the only thing he asks me for is Dettol.

I know where I want to spend my christmas dinner…..but I cannot fulfill that dream. I will eat with these kids tell myself that I am doing a good deed. But I will also know full well that a good meal one day for these children spells a hungry day the next day. The evils they face at night time I cannot protect them from, I am asleep in my hotel bed. I will have a comfortable christmas, though not a traditional one as I know it. I will eat, but not turkey and ham. Santa Claus does not exist over here, Nepali is a Hindu culture and it is simply not celebrated.
I could go to one of the bigger hotels or restaurants and have the real deal 5-course christmas dinner for about 6 euros. Or I could feed myself and twenty children for the same price in a local place. Choices like this become easy to make after a while.

I have been busy enough since the last mail. Dhurba, my good Nepali friend had an operation last week, he had to have half his big toe cut off due to frostbite sustained earlier this year. (The thought brings my mind back to the little dirty freezing feet of the ratpack sticking out from infested shared filthy blankets). Dhurba is not very mobile so I have been helping to cook clean and carry. The two kids- Prem and Chandra Maya have been doing exams so they have been busy studying. In the middle of all this, Dhurba turned 39 on the 21st (winter solstice), so we threw a party for him. Nepali singing all night. Makesa change from the Bog-down-in-the-valley-oh Dalto .

Dhurba and I have been getting things together- forms for registering the ngo (non-governmental organisation), accounts and so forth. Due to him being in hospital and the operation, things have been slightly on hold. It’s important for me to not get frustrated when things move slower than expected. Some things have their own pace and cannot be dictated.

I’ve looked into renting a room in the city, for about 30 euros I can get a one-room flat (completely unfurnished) with toilet and shower. I can’t commit to a lease just yet until I get my visa sorted out. To stay for more then 5 months in any one year I must either apply for a student visa or a business visa. I will probably try and get a student visa and actually study nepali whilst I am here. I have ben taking a few lesons to date though my learning sped is slow. As the Nepali seem to say about everything: Bistaray bistaray – slowly, slowly.

Chandra Maya had a wee accident herself two weeks ago and missed all but one of her exams. I had to go to her school to talk with the principal and ask if it would be okay for her to sit them at a later date. He asked me if I could teach English conversation to the kids (the equivalent of a primary school). I am supposed to start tomorrow (xmas day) but I had to defer til Thursday. I’ve told him I’ll try and do two days a week to start with. I never thought I would be called sir.

Nagarhope will have it’s first meeting Nepal-side in January. Dhurba and I are still looking for a fewmore members to form a committee. It’s one of the most important parts of the process and we are trying to make sure we have a lot of areas covered i.e. a teacher, someone with experience in the charity sector, women as well as men. There are a handful ofpeople already reading through the paperwork involved in registering an ngo. It is probably one of the worst times to be doing so due to the political situation in Nepal at the moment. It is a long story but I’ll simplify it.

The Maoists (anti-king) joined the government (6 other political parties) during the summer. General Elections (Constituent Assembly) were due to take place in November,but the Maoists pulled out. Then they jumpedback in and have a list of demands to be met before the Election (re-scheduled for April 08). They want all power to be taken away from the king BEFORE the election. The Maoists are (or were) considered a terrorist-separatist group, were always anti-king and have fought abloody war with the “kingsarmy”(now peoples army).Now that the king no longer controls the army, the maoists have tried to declare that monarchy is not such a bad thing.All efforts by all parties involved to instill democracy into this crazy country have been hampered by the yo-yo antics of the Maoists. Half the time, Nepali politics remindsme of a monthy python sketch.

Nagarhope also hasplans to open a small shop that will support ngo’s in and around kathmandu. There are many corrupt ngo’s, but we will focus on the non-corrupt ones and display information / pictures / brochuresin the shop. There are always many foreigners here for trekking and shopping, always people who do not see the craziness that is society. If we could have a centrally located info point that would help foreigners and nepalis alike to show a greater interest in the work that is being done by many organisations here in Katmandu. It is still in the idea stage but many people have warmed to the idea. I’ll keep ye updated on it.

I think that’s all for now. Apologies to many of you who only receive this mail and not a personalized one. Know that I am still thinking of you and sending you good wishes and festive cheer. I couldgo on and write a beautiful essay on all the good things about Christmas,but, unfortunately, I will be abstaining from such festivities this year.

Many thanks to you all for your support, it’s easy for me to come out here knowing that hundreds of people back home are interested in the work I am doing. Please feelfreeto ask questions or give advice. Without those words of support I would find it a lot more difficult to keep motivated. My low moments are always made high when I hear kind words from far away.
Have as peaceful a christmas as you all can, I am thinking of each and every one of you and your families. I am without my own family and believe me it sort of makes Christmas a little sadder and more lonely. We often take for granted what we have, we often take for granted those closest to us. We often never see what good friends and family we have got til we are away from them and miss them.

Amn’t I the lucky one to be so far away from those I love, far enough away to know how important they all are to me……..??...........Not quite, no.

But at least I have a bed to keep me warm

Peace love and harmony to one and all.
Nollaig Shona agus Gra Mor
Doc

These children are all street kids, some have homes to go to, even then, many of them choose to sleep rough. Some have run away from an education, others from work on the family farm. The are open to child abuse and child trafficking, and forced slashings by older gang members.
The streets of Kathmandu are a dangerous place even for an adult. Mnay homes have been set up by locals and foreign ngo's to tackle this escalating problem, but the kids keep on coming from the villages in the mountains, sometimes forced away by their family to escape the maoist threat that has plagaued Nepal for the last decade.

Tuesday 20th of March 07, Ktm.

The knees are slowly healing now, the seasons are about to change with the spring equinox, and the time has come for a meeting in Nagarkot.
Tomorrow, circa 15:00 hours, I will meet with the two landowners of 4 Ropani, 6 Ana (1 acre = 7.95 Ropani). Present will be myself, Dhurba, Tek Lama (the manager from the hotel in Kathmandu where I stay), Bhule (dhurba’s good friend), Renu (Bhule’s wife, grand-daughter and sister to the two landowners) , Bidu (Renu’s brother), Lowry (Renu’s grandfather), Bhuban (the local policeman and one of the signatures on Nagarhope NGO Nepal), and finally Bindu, a local woman who has good knowledge of buying / selling land.
9 of us including myself will have a meeting at the BergHouse Café. Prior to the meeting , myself and Tek Lama will view the land. Tek has very influential friends, he has land himself in Cavre district (where this land is situated), 200 Ropani in all, and he has often being involved in acquiring land/ viewing with government officials, army. He is not affiliated to either, he is just a very clever man as far as I can see. He offered to help me because he has seen so many NGO’s ending up in failure and corruption. Tek is there as a personal friend / translator (all documents are in Nepali), and also as a complete outsider with no interest.
I have already twice seen the land, once with Dhurba, the second time with Renu, who showed me the exact boundaries. She has no claim to the land, but she has English. Neither of the two landowners have any English- they are simple peasants.
The price per Ropani is set at 2.5 Lahk (€2,300 Euro’s), 10.3 Lahk in total (€9,488). I had ideas about the price of land in the Himalayas before I went back up into the mountain. Those ideas were false.
I talked recently with a Nepali man called Oasis (married to a Dutchwoman) who has built a school / orphanage, 10km from Nagarkot (where land is generally cheaper). In total, their Children of the Universe Project cost €65,000, €25,000 for the land (@ €3,500 per Ropani), and €35,000 for the buildings. All expenses are taxed @4%. All the funding was done through Jitta (oasis’ wife) and her Dutch connections. Oasis’ father, Raja, is an accountant, Jitta’s brother is an architect, he designed the building. The family run project is difficult work, says Oasis, it makes little money, and relies on foreign aid. The students that do attend the school there have to pay for their education. There are no children staying in the orphanage. The good they have done and are doing, for Nepali children, is priceless, but Oasis seems to have grown a tad dissalusioned with the prospects of the future.
This is looking ever increasingly like a very long, very difficult, mathematical test of sorts. There’s a rough sketch on the next page of what it’s like. Tek Lama will be able to give me advice on how good the land is and if it’s worth what they are asking for. I asked him to give his first impression of the price. All he said is that he would have to see it first before making any judgement, but if the land is good, it seems like a fair price.

As you can see, it’s a funny auld shape for a plot of land. The mountain slopes downward in the direction of the arrow and the black lines symbolize each step downward. Each step is roughly a metre high (or a little over). The site which is marked for building gets good sunshine all year round, the farming land looks very fertile, as are all the farms surrounding this plot. The southern facing slope of the valley is much yellower than the northern slope due to the amount of sunshine it gets. The northern slope is very green in comparison. The white building in the centre belongs to other owners along with the land around it. There will be no problems transporting materials as a road is situated nearby, likewise with water and electricity. Is it a little too good to be true though? As far as I can see, it is very suitable for my plans. I have imagined children running around the house chasing butterflies and singing songs filled with joy. Imagination is a big part of this decision. Building a crap house on good land would do no justice.
That’s about the size of it folks.
There are obviously many other things that I haven’t told you about. Such as contracts and government maps and papers and legalities and whose name would go on the land. I have been told that both myself and Dhurba can put our names to any agreement and the contract can be written up in both Nepali and English together stating that neither one of us can sell the land without the permission and signature of the other. I will be asking ye for help when that time comes. I know they will have different laws here regarding land ownership / buying / selling etc..
As for me, I am fine. I’ve been in Kathmandu for the last five days, torturing my knees and then recovering, emailing many NGO’s and social service organizations, spending lots of time with the Ratpack- the street kids. I have found 5 orphans amongst them, one of them deaf, aged 11, 14,15, & 16 (x2). The youngest of the pack, Asis, is 10. He was 8 when I first saw him sniffing glue. Yesterday I saw twenty of them throughout the day, all but about three or four of them I saw sniffing glue. They sometimes give me the plastic bags full of glue, they think it will buy them Chow-Chow (noodle-soup), but when I see the glue I simply say no Chow-Chow and walk away. If they’re clean, I feed them. There are times though, when I know they are all famished and getting high. What to do? They don’t need me. There are other foreigners to tag-along after. There are meals around other corners. I am not the sole bringer of sustenance to the rats. And they all know that. Two or three of the rats also command a pack of lovable dogs. The dogs are protection from bigger tougher gangs that sleep on different streets.
Many of the kids do have either a mama, a papa, or both. When asking them all their names, ages and parental status, they would reply in Nepali. I thought it odd that most of their parents seemed to come from a village called Gaun.
Gaun IS the Nepali for village. They run away from abuse or school or farmlife or whatever reason they leave for, and they are now the children of Kathmandu, a big broken family running into the thousands (a guess), sleeping rough, getting high both during the day and at nite-time, sleeping mainly during the warmest hours of the day. Many have lice, one small fella looks like his leg went through a combine harvester. The evident problems mount the more time I spend with them. They are , as we speak, mis-spending their youth.
In many ways though, this mis-spent youth is a good life. Compared to many Nepali’s struggling to find work in the capital, struggling to pay rent and bills , the Ratpack have it easy. They do as they please where they choose. They have no mother or father figure to tell them right from wrong, nobody pressurizing them.
But they are still children, most of them. In five years time, they will be older and less cute and life in the gutter will be exactly what it says on the tin with no hopes of stars to dream of. With age comes many problems for the homeless folk all around the world. Same as the beggarwomen in Kolkata, and all over India. They have a cute bubbling laughing baby in their arms, a crutch to beg with. You help the baby, a natural instinct, and by doing so, you also help the mother. Will she get as much from her begging without the beautiful baby in hand? Nope.
So, as you can all see, there are two sides to this story. One side is research, the other action. They balance each other out nicely. If I spent every day with the Ratpack I would soon lose my own appetite for helping them. Because deep down, I know I cannot get them to stop sniffing glue. Well, there are some that I do hope would accept the offer of an education in the future. Until then though, they are a pack of sheep with no shepherd to keep them from harms way. They are my friends, but I cannot be the somebody to look after them on a consistant basis.
I have predicted Kathmandu will become another Kolkata- where poverty is a way of life as well as prosperity. It has started already, and I’m sure more before me have said similar things of the capital. Where is the Mother Teresa of Kathmandu to be found?

It’s 1.23pm, I have things to do other than sit inside on a beautiful day. Please forward this mail to any of your friends who might show an interest in Nagarhope, I am at a critical stage and need all the advice I can get. Peace out.