It’s almost one year ago that I left Nepal after a month of working and living at Bright Horizon Children’s Home. It feels great to be back. I just arrived a few hours ago and was very warmly received in the Porong Monastry in the city of Kathmandu. Around 50 monks from the age of 5 to 17/18 are staying here and receive school  and tibetian buddhism education.  50 years ago the Tibetian fled from their country and the Porong Monastry has 600 years old reliques which the monks were lucky to save from destruction by bringing two lorry loads here to this place. I am very excited to  discover these works tomorrow and listen to the 5.30 am prayer from the monks.

I am staying here for two days and then I will move to the Bright Horizon Children’s Home in Mathatirta, which is about 10 km out of Kathmandu. Big events are going to happen next week: we are going to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the school. More than 300 children have taken the chance to get a home and education for a life of broader choices and possibilities than what most of them would have lived without coming the BHCH. The celebration will take place on October 4.

After that we will travel to Bampti and visit a school for Sherpa children. The school is located 1 helicopter flight hour north of Kathmandu or 12 bus hours plus 6 hours walk. i guess we will do both if the weather permits. In the last weeks, there was still heavy rain due to belated monsoon rain and land slides did not allow to go there by car.

Still need some good shoes…..

Tihar, as popularly called as Deepawali by Hindus, is a festival of lights and colour, celebrated for 5 days. We also refer to tihar as ‘Yama Panchak’ which literally means “the five days of the god of death”. Houses are decorated with tinsel candles, oil lamps and electric bulbs. The children enjoy having new clothes, good foods, singing and playing with fire crackers. The first day of tihar is known as ‘Kag tihar’, crows’ day. On this day crows are offered food on a plate made out of leaves in the morning before anyone in the house takes in food. Crow the messenger of death is honoured on the first day of tihar. The second day is called ‘Kukur tihar’, dogs’ day. As the legend says that there is a dog at yama’s gate guarding the gate to the underworld. The dog is also the steed of the fearful Bhairab, the god of destruction. So, on this day a big red tika is put on a dog’s forehead and a beautiful garland around the neck. After worshipping the dog, it is given delicious meal. On this day one can see dogs running around with garlands on their neck. The third day is the most important day of the festival. It is called ‘Laxmi puja’, the day when this goddess of wealth worshipped. On this day, early in the morning cows are worshipped. Tika is put on her head and a garland around her neck then she feasts with delicious food. A cow also symbolises wealth and she is the most holy animal for Hindus. Cow is the national animal of Nepal. On the fourth day normally most of the people perform ‘Goru puja’, ox worshipping. The ox is worshipped with tika, garland and then a delicious meal is fed to it. On the other hand people who follow lord Krishna perform ‘Gobhardan puja’. These people build a small hill made out of cowdung and put some grass on it then do puja on it. This puja symbolises the act of lord Krishna when he lifted the gobhardan hill and saved millions of people and cows from floodwater. There is tradition of doing “Mha Pooja” by the Newar community; worshipping their own body to safeguard themselves from evil. This day is also the New Year, known as Nepal Sambat, followed by the Newar community. The last day of tihar is ‘Bhai tika’, putting tika on brothers by the sisters. The royal astrologer gives the appropriate time to put the tika through the national radio a day before and the entire nation abides by it. At this moment the entire nation observes bhai tika. The main theme behind bhai tika is the sisters praying for their brother’s long life from Yama Raj, god of the underworld the “narka”. Through out this time, especially in the evenings Laxmi, the goddess of wealth, is worshipped. Rows of candles, oil lamps and colourful lights are placed on terraces, windows and doors and the house is purified from the gate to the worshipping room with red soil, hoping that the goddess will reside in their home. Laxmi Pooja, Gobardhan Pooja, and Bhai Tika are the series of event under Tihar. Our children too celebrated Tihar in traditional way. They had sweets and “cell” a special dish eaten during this time. They lit candles in front of their dorms and had goodies through out. On the 2nd day 18 boys and girls from the senior classes went out to sing songs, as traditionally called as playing Deusi. They had practiced for days for this day. They went to six houses including two of their teachers. Of course it was started from the school. The boys and girls sang and the girls danced. It was really a fun event! I am longing to see how they will perform next year.

The recent publication of the 20th UN Human Development Report showed that Nepal’s ranks 144 out of 182 countries in the Human Development Index (HDI). Norway ranks 1, China 92, India 133 and Niger 182. Of all the components evaluated, only income and enrollment in schools responded to short term policy changes in Nepal. The growth of Nepal’s rising HDI though is falling behind (142 in 2008 report) since the scores across the world have increased over the last years. Main reason: poor economic growth. The emigration rate is 3,9 %, with 95% of them directing to Asia. Remittances make the most direct impact as it increased household income, thereby increasing overall standard of living. Migration is considered as a necessary evil: there are simply not enough jobs in the domestic market for the 350000 annual school leavers.

These and many other negative news fill the dailies in Nepal …. and probably impact the perception and mood of the Nepali population. But you don’t need to be literate to experience “hands-on issues” such as the unavailability of 500 (around 7 USD) and 1000 NRS bank notes which led to a decrease in trade. That became visible during the Dasain festival season not only in less gift shopping. Many farmers who came to Kathmandu to sell their animals for the festivals (see my earlier notes on the Hindu animal sacrifices and goat dishes eaten during Dasain) had to go back to their villages without having sold all their animals. Big question: Where is the money? Nobody knows, hypotheses suggest that certain political groups horded them or people save their money for worse times.

Another? Corruption in the bureaucracy. The Minister of Education – currently taking part in a UNESCO Conference in Paris – is accused of abuse of authority. He is said to have directed the vice-chairman of the Higher Secondary Education Board to appoint one of his party cadre as an advisor and to have pressed him to grant past marks to his nephew who had failed the Grade 12 exams.

And: The Government decided early September the phasing out of gas-run 3-wheelers (also called: Tuk-tuks). There are around 850 in the country, 400 are running in the streets of Kathmandu and transport 120.000 passengers a day. They are supposed to be replaced with (probably Japanese and Chinese) 14- to 16-seats 4-wheelers in order to allow for better traffic management. The owners of the 3-wheelers come from poor families and would be put on the street if they would not get compensation for their old or subsidies for the new ones. The Wheeler Owners association announced wide strikes if the Government does not provide adequate solutions.

Then: grocery costs increased due to less food available. The scarce monsoon rain and increasing heat over the last years results in a poor harvesting and hence shortage of crops. Nepal will lack rice, maize and grains. The warming will also result in less fruit and vegetable in the valleys and mountain regions. Hence, the dependency on food imports from 3rd countries increases. Last week, Nepal got the Chair of the Least Developed Countries Group on the occasion of the recent UN General Assembly. While in the US, Nepal requested increased duty- and quota-free access to Nepali for ready made garment and textiles. Nepal needs 330 mio metres of clothing per year. Local production is 50 mio. In the last few month, 50% of the industry located in the flat land close to the Indian border (Terai) which has the highest number of textiles industry in Nepal, closed down. Frequent workers strikes, the lack of adequate infrastructure (streets and daily electricity cuts of up to 8 hours) and security threats to the business community from various armed outlets were the main reason that 50000 workers lost their jobs.

More distant to the everyday life but all the more fundamental for Nepal’s future: Will the negociations to end the two-month stalemate of the Nepali Parliament be successful? For an outsider, it seems that one side is scapegoating the other for hampering a compromise on the premiership and the intended adoption of the new constitution (planned for April 2010). Interestingly, many articles and opeds in the last few days were suggesting that an all party commitment to non-violence could pave the way for a compromise leading to the long-awaited democratization in Nepal. Referring to the 108 birthday of Mahathma Gandhi and his doctrine of non-violent revolution (” Nations have progressed both by evolutions and revolutions – history is more a record of wonderful revolutions than the so-called ordered progress. However, a successful bloody revolution e.g. France, Russia, can only mean further misery for the masses – an eye for an eye only ends up making the world blind”) however provoked reactions from Maoist whose vision is to create a whole new Nepal by getting rid (also violently) of old structures. A big issue is the rehabilitation of over 20000 ex-Maoist combatants to put an end to the ten year long armed conflict between 1990 and 2000. The Nepali Congress party is all out opposed to the integration into the Nepal Army whereas the Maoists seem to be in no mood to relent short of the integration of the rebel army in the national army. The overall conflict seems to turn in circles around constitution first vs adjustment or integration first.

A lot of foreign aid comes to this country but it takes a lot of time to be turned into tangible results. Factors slowing down well-intended solutions are mentioned above. In addition, one should not forget the geological situation of this country. Mountains cover 64% of Nepal. From 26 m (Terai) to 8859 m (Mt Everest) above sealevel over a distance of a maximum of only 230 km means the second-greatest range of altitude (after Hawaii). In a mere 160km conditions change from tropical to arctic. Nepal has more than enough of one of the most scarce resource in this world: WATER. It is however almost impossible to exploit the enormous amount. The rivers shooting out the Himalayas transport so much rocks and sediment and have such a power that building water power stations requires the most sophisticated high-technology. So far, only a minor amount of water power is transformed into electricity and it would require a stellar investment to do so. Everybody in this country wishes that the standard of life increases.

The country is at a turning point where ideas and wishes need to be put into action. The process will be long and will take generations – remember: Rome was not built in a day. The most important ingredient for this change are the 26 mio Nepalese who believe in their country and their nation and will continue to contribute what they can. Each individual needs to be empowered and encouraged to step up. This can be done if each individual is valued by society and the system – education is a fundamental catalyst if done properly: teaching knowledge is important but is worth little if life skills and the heart/soul formation is neglected. The children at BHCH can be proud to be in a school where they get an allround education combining skills and knowledge to succeed in their life and contribute to Nepal‘s growth process.

Before children went home for their holiday, they got some food for thought and vacation work. The youngsters were asked to write about their time at home and the elder where asked to think about what they want to do when they will leave Bright Horizon after class 10. We are all very curious to read what they will write, especially class 10 students who will do their School Leaving Certificate (SLC) in April 2010. All staff from BHCH wants to make sure they take the right decision for their future.

The children come from various ethnical and religious backgrounds. Most of them don‘t have parents or only one parent. Fathers often have been forced to seek work away from home, also abroad in India, Malaysia or the Gulf States. 85% of the 28 mio Nepalese live in rural areas. Thus, most BHCH children come from rural areas in the Kathmandu valley, the lower Himalaya regions or the subtropical flat lands of Terai (at the border to India). Almost 3/4 of the Nepali live in poverty, half of them „ultra-poor“. The average income in Nepal is around 20 $ a month. They can not afford to pay school fees – even not public/government school fees (for uniforms, books, etc.) which are around 1 $ a month. It is still common that rather boys than girls are sent to school – more than 70 % of adult women can neither read nor write and their labour is needed in the house and the fields.

Apart from a few private and christian school, there were almost no schools before the revolution in 1951 (where the Shah Kings regained the power they lost 100 years earlier to the Rana Kings). Today, there are around 33000 public/government schools and 8000 private ones. In addition, there are around 1200 trust schools, such as BHCH. In around 10000 colleges (so called +2) children are prepared to go for studies at the 5 universities in Nepal. 2 to 3000 of the colleges are situated in Kathmandu and district capitals. Pre-School starts at the age of 3, class 1 at the age of 5. As of next year, 3000 public pre-school/childcare will be opened. So far, only private childcare exists in the cities.

Jobs are scarce. When the 25 class 10 students leave BHCH with their SLC in hand, they need to take a fundamental decision: Will they go back to their villages and help their families to survive? Then, the question might come: will they find jobs out there where farming is still the main occupation? Or: will they be fit to “survive in the city jungle” of Kathmandu and will they have a chance to realize their dream of a well paid white collar job?

Although the cast system has been abolished, Nepali life very much happens in traditional structures reducing individualism very much to the level of cast, kinship and village. Only in 1990, political parties were introduced after they had been banned by King Mahendra in 1960. Life skills, such as critical and creative thinking or analyzing and adjusting to new situations, are broadly underdevelopped. Motivation to go the extra mile is low – incentives to do so are almost non existing and hope for change is small. Look at the many political changes over the last few generations which steered Nepal in a political vaccum and stalemate: 1768 – Nepal unified under the Shah Kings; 1814-16 – Anglo-Nepalese War; 1846 – Rana Kings took over after Kot Massacre; 1934 – massive earthquake in Kathmandu Valley; 1950 – Shah Kings took over; 1959 – Nepals first elections; 1962 – political parties were abolished (and the Panchayat (council) system introduced; 1979 – riots in Kathmandu due to corruption and rising cost of living; 1991 – introduction of democracy; 1996 – the Maoists declared „people‘s war“ starting in the poor regions of the far west promising a better life on the basis of Peru‘s Shining path (and not Chairman Mao); 2001 – Royal massacre where Crown Prince Dipenra first gunned down his father King Birendra and Queen Aishwarya and then himself ( some history books suggest as the reason his discontentment of his parents‘ disapprovement of the woman he wanted to marry); 2006 – King Gyanendra reinstalled parliamentary democracy; 2008 – formal abolition of monarchy and election victory of maoist party, though no political party has absolute majority. Prime Minister Kumar is Marxist-Leninist and committed to make democracy work in Nepal.

Both the political and educational system are in their infancy. The Nepalese economy is one of the five weakest worldwide. But Nepalese are patient and positive. Due to the century-long socialisation in tribes and extended families, there is a huge amount of responsibility and caretaking between the generations. More and more parents and families have their children educated, not only to gain knowledge, but also to succeed in their life as independent, disciplined and curious individuals. It seems that one of the fundamental tasks of education in Nepal is the creation of an entrepreneurial spirit to bridge the gap between the sophisticated Industry policy which is designed for skilled people (which are not yet available in a critical mass) and the current economic situation.

Next year the second batch of Class 10 students will leabe BHCH. Career councelling in the school is an elementary duty for the staff  to empower the young future generation to lead Nepal into a more stable and secure situation.

Over the last four days, more than half of the Bright Horizon Childrens Home „boarders“ (2/3 of the children are permanently living on the campus, 1/3 are dayscholars and come by bus lor by feet in the morning and leave in the afternoon) travelled home for mid-year vacation. The school year starts and ends in April. Some of the kids have not been home for 7 years – their home being almost 2 to 3 days travel away. Street infrastructure is pretty poor, especially in the higher Himalaya regions, kids living in the mountains often need to walk for a day or more to get home.

Dasain and Tihar/Deepawali are the two biggest Hindu festivals. Although the majority of children at BHCH have a buddhist background, there is no class in the next four weeks because most of the teachers are Hindu. The boarders staying at the Childrens Home still have a full day program: breakfast at 7.30 am, study/reading time till 9am, games/computer before lunch and in the afternoon dance/music classes or TV. Weekly excursions will allow for practical discoveries: Friday we will visit a few Hindu temples to celebrate Dasain.

Dasain started last saturday with the so called Ghatasthapana: in their house, people installed a sacred jar of water as well as a vessel filled with cow dung and red soil. If the sowed maize and barley seeds sprout a few centimetres over the next 10 days, a good harvest (mainly of rice) is supposed to be guaranteed. Dasain is also known as Durga Puja (puja=worship): the festival celebrates the victory of the goddess of power Durga over the forces of evil personified in the buffalo Mahisasura. Since Durga is bloodthirsty, the festival is marked by the biggest animal sacrifice of the year. The average Nepali family does not eat much meat during the year, but most families enjoy goat dishes on the eight day of Dasain, also called Kala Rati. Cars and vehicles are sprinkled with the goat‘s and buffalo‘s blood – it is said that each Royal Nepal Airlines Corporation aircraft will have one goat sacrificed to it. This ensures a safe year on the road/in the air. On the last day of Dasain, families exchange cards and gifts. Parents place a tika (red powder) on the forehead of their children. The festival ends with processions and masked dances everywhere…and with gambling in many households and public places. After a pause of 10 days without festival , Tihar/Deepawali starts.

Yesterday, muslims (appr. 4% of the population) celebrated the last day of ramadan, called ead. Food was offered and shared with the poor.

Religion is the cornerstone of Nepali life. Officially Nepal is a Hindu country but Hinduism and Buddhism (high Himalaya regions and appr. 12000 Tibetian refugees in Kathmandu Valley), Shamanism/faith healing/animism (Himalaya region) and Islam (close to the border to India, so called Terai region) peacefully coexist. Hinduism has penetrated slowly from India and made its home in Nepal „by adapting itself to a primitive religious world wherein the terror of men faithful to the cruel motherhood of the earth holds sway“ (G. Tucci. Nepal. The discovery of Malla. p 51) . The main element in Nepali religion/spiritualism is the adoration of the linga as the horned phallic god and the Cosmic Mother/Mother Goddess as the source of fertility and productivity going back to 2700-1700 B.C. This worship of images rather than abstract principles combines the lingam with the Yoni or the matrix. The lingam-yoni symbol represents the union of two resulting in the act of creation, that is, genesis. This symbolism was absorbed by all following influences, i.e. Shiva, Vishnu and the many Hindu gods and goddesses. Also partly by Buddhism who is supposed to have entered into Kathmandu Valley from India. The first great teachers crossed the Himalaya in the 8th and 11th century to make lasting contributions to Tibetian Buddhism. Nepal has not only served as a relay-station for transmitting Buddhist religious and cultural products across the Himalaya region but also received and assimilated influences from both the Indian Continent and central Asia.

Nepal is a melting pot of religions – thus Hindu and Buddhist religious festivals are occasions for common rejoycing…

The Bright Horizon Children Home is located in Matatirtha, 8 km west from Kathmandu. The school campus overlooks the village Matatirtha and the Kathmandu Valley with its capital Kathmandu. Provided you raise early before sunrise – as I did today – you get also a glimpse of some of the beautiful and majestic Himalaya mountains. When the sun is out and warms earth and air, clouds cover the Himalaya mountains.

The village is nicely situated at the foot of a jungle covered mountain with a height of 2200 m. During the day, the top is very often covered in clouds. Sometimes in the early afternoon they empty themselves within a few minutes of rain without the sun ever disappearing.

Sun, Earth and Water are very closely linked in Matatirtha. First: the sun pretty much shines every day. Second: Matatirtha means „Mother Earth“. What a better location can you find for an orphans and childrens home? And thirdly: water plays a central role in a spiritual spot in the neighbourhood. If you take a 20 minutes walk from the school downhill – like I did this morning at 7 am -, you will reach a little compound. Behind the little temple at the rear of the area, you‘ll spot a very small water pond protected with a cage. The colour paintings on the temple walls, the cristal clear water and the deep green jungle are a feast for the eyes. The water comes directly from the uphill jungle and the fresh smell of the protecting forest and the warm humidity adds on more sensual discoveries. A place which invites you to rest a little bit…

This little pond has a very deep meaning in Nepal. Orphans are brought to this place to look in the mirror surface of the water…..to see their mother. Thus, every May on Mothers Day, a lot of Nepali visit this place to honour and pray for their mothers.

But the fresh water from the mountain also serves a very basic need of the inhabitants of Matatirtha. In the big pond (20×10 m) and under the many taps installed inside (for the man) and outside (for the women) of the compound, showers are taken and clothes are washed. A pretty busy place in the morning!

Nawaraj – a pupil from the final Class 10 at BHCH (and by the way: his Nepali name translates „New King“) – told me that when he joined BHCH 7 years ago, he learned to swim in the big pond – but only after he helped the local women washing the clothes.

The alarm clock started the day at Bright Horizon Children’s Home at 5.45 am. Still a bit tired, the children warmed up in the physical exercise session or got focussed in the meditation session. After studying for an hour, the breakfast was impatiently awaited. After a joint effort to clean up the dining hall and the dorms as well as washing their clothes, school normaly starts at 9. But not yesterday as it was National Children’s Day. Nepal signed the Children‘s Right Declaration in 1947 and this special day was invented by the King‘s mother in 1965.  She founded many centres called Bal Mandirs, meaning „childrens‘ temples“. In those places orphans and childrens of families in need were taken care off, fed and educated. Children‘s Day is celebrated every year in September shortly before children go for a 4 week holiday to celebrate with their families and relatives „Dasain“ and „Deepawali“. These two festivals are the two biggest annual festivals in Nepal ….more on this in a later blog post next week when the festival has started.

What happens on Childrens‘s Day? Teachers throughout Nepal sing and dance for the children and entertain them with local songs and dances, such as  the „Maruni dance“. This traditional dance was invented last century by the reigning Rana‘s. The noble Rana family took power in 1846 after one bloody night (the so called Kot massacre). The then Shah Kings lost power and the Rana‘s became a second „royal family“ within the kingdom. The real power was now with the Prime Minister and decreed in hereditary. The Rana family held power for more than a century. During that time, they built giant neo-classicism palaces for their family members (36 alone in Kathmandu), lived in opulent luxury while peasants were locked in medieval existence. 

The Rana‘s had a lot of beautiful women in their palace – a bit similar like the oriental  harems -  but women were not allowed to dance. So, men had to disguise as women and do the performances. The children at BHCH were very amused to finally recognize their math and social science teacher in their perfect disguise.

The day continued with a lot of games and excursions in the close neighbourhood – a perfect day for the 300 children in Bright Horizon Children’s Home in Matatirtha.

(see a few fotos in the “more fotos” folder – we will post more in the next day)

Namasté

My name is Anja Bundschuh. On September 11, I will travel to Nepal. First time for me in this country and first time for me to be four weeks away from my day-to-day life. This life happens  in Switzerland where I am working as Public Affairs Director Europe for eBay International.  I spend a lot of my “non-job” time with my friends doing yoga, cooking and enjoying food and drinks, hiking and skiing in the swiss alps. In my “alone-time” I am reading a lot and training my voice with classical music.

In the next four weeks I will visit “Bright Horizons Children Home” (BHCH), a boarding school in Matatirtha, Kathmandu Valley, founded by Marlies Kornfeld in 1999. The school provides a home and school education for currently more than 300 Nepalese children at the age of 4 to 16 years. You can find more details here: www.bright-horizon.ch.

Marlies and I met earlier this year in Bern and it was quickly a done deal that I would spend my four week’s sabbatical (thanks to my employer) helping out at BHCH. I am looking very forward to meet all the children, teachers and staff at BHCH and discover a country and its people. After almost 18 years of working in fast pace environments like media, internet and policy making a welcomed change of pace and perspective.

I start this blog to keep my family and friends and all those who might also be interested updated on my new impressions and experiences in Nepal. Secondly, I hope this way of information transport will provide an additional means for the children and staff of BHCH to connect with their sponsors in Europe. I hope that when I am back in Europe, children and staff of BHCH will want to continue to feed the blog.

Last but not least I have a wish: I very much hope you enjoy reading my lines. Please also interact with me by sending me your comments  as well as your suggestions for facts and aspects about which you would like to read. Let’s create something special together by combining my enthusiasm and excitement with your curiosity – I am very sure that the children at BHCH – for them the Internet is even more mysterious than Sagarmatha or Chomolungma – soon contribute as well.

Namasté.