"There are more mobile phones than toilets in Nepal"
and so began my first meeting with the staff in Kathmandu this morning.
Flying into Kathmandu yesterday we had to break through a thick covering of grey, water soaked monsoon clouds but after the rough passage came the beautiful landscape of Nepal. Out the left of the plane, green rolling mountains dotted with houses and small flags; out to the right through the clouds, and at times above them, the Himalayas. Everything can look good from above!
The approach to the airport into the Kathmandu valley, (home to the three ancient Hindu Kingdoms, Kathmandu, Lalitpur and Bhaktapur), is narrow and surrounded by high densely multi-storey colourful housing. Nepal is no longer a Kingdom - following the Maoist wars - in 2008 it became a Democratic Republic, but still today there is no elected government. Surprisingly politicians can't agree on much - but hopefully in November this year the hundreds of political parties will come together in the first election.
Over the next two weeks I will be travelling south and west to the cities of Pokhara (Kaski) and Kailali visiting the people that are impacted by, and partnering in, our programming in these areas. We are trying to transform the lives of children and families in these areas through education/school programs, maternal and new born child health initiatives, livelihood, economic development and child protection projects. Nepal has a terribly high rate of child brides, (some as young as 9), of child labour and migration (to India for work). Through education programs and advocacy campaigns we are attempting to change these practices - and thankfully, we are able to report some successes.
It is a long process, but in some of these incredibly remote and hard to get to places we are making a difference in the lives of children and their families. But it is not always good news - just a few weeks ago a child in one of our communities died of malnutrition - this shouldn't be happening. Why, with all the resources we can make available are children dying from such a preventable issue?
As I walked around Thamel and Lalitpur this evening, I commented to my colleague that there were, for me, many similarities to Port-au-Prince (Haiti). Densely packed buildings with electrical wires hanging low across the streets, buildings crumbling and obviously 'under code' - all in a valley that 'is overdue for a major earthquake'. As if the country doesn't have enough to worry about, the Disaster Management Committee advises that an earthquake of 6.0+ would devastate the valley. Historically, they happen every 75-100 years - that's about now.
The challenges are huge here, the answers are not simple. But there is no doubt that this is one of the most 'in need' places I have visited.
