Anis, Kora, Sewing and HANDS!

Here are some scenes that will help you visualize what I've been writing about for the past month! It's hard to know what photos will come up as I type these descriptions, because it's all "coded" until you hit "publish"-so here's a general description: The Fearless HANDS in Nepal team, in Boudha, Nepal, the cow is a calf who was always walking around the great stuppa with all the Tibetans (must be a very enlightened cow!) visiting the Arya Tara school of destitute and poor girls, Jan falls in love with little Ani (ani means Nun in Tibetan) Urgan Dolma, who was dropped off her after her mom could no longer care for her-also, shopping for Tibetan beads from Tibetan lady and sewing machines, including shouldering the machine in two parts up the trail to its new home!

Taking Care of Business in the Land of Buddha

I rode inmy little taxi soaking in all the sights of early morning Kathmandu-the sleepy women kneeling at shrines, ringing bells in front of Krisna, or Ganesh, or Buddha, or Shiva or...pasting red tikka on their foreheads, maybe taking a kernal of rice from the shrine and putting it on their tongue. A long line of soldiers jogged down the narrow lane and the dogs of Kathmandu, who enjoy the most dog freedom of any dogs I've ever known, were barking at them, some could not resist and joined in, weaving along the feet of the men, who ignored them, as people do with dogs here. Frut and vegetable vendors were getting out their wares and those in charge of the endless task of picking up garbage were shoveling it into wooden hand carts that looked as if they were made a thousand years ago. Paper trash is swept in tidy piles and set on fire. All was well and life hums along here in this creaky, dusty, ancient city set in the mountains at the top of the world. It is an amazing place!
I have been reflecting back on what we have accomplished this trip, for HANDS in Nepal and for ourselves, personally, for doing our "mission" of HANDS is also so much a personal journey. We started in India and tutored English with Tibetan refugees and monks in Dharamsala and did what we could to help a young Tibetan group put on a Tibetan cultural show. In Nepal, we took 24 orphans out of their disheveled orphanage on an all-day field trip to the Royal Palace and museum (their choice!) and then out to eat at the Tibetan "Dream Cafe". We inspected both schools HANDS built, one school financed by the very generous Dworak family of Minnesota, Danny and Bree trekked to the villages of both and spent many days talking, photographing and interviewing the villagers, had ceremonies and made assessments of both schools and future needs. We had Naropa professor Debbie Young from USA visit both schools as well, adding her expertise, and hired a translator -Jamu- for the first time, so we clarified many issues we've been muddling through. We found the Tibetan Reception Center outside Kathmandu where the refugees are brought to recuperate from long treks over the Himals, and we gave donations after donations to provide scholarships to now 9 poor children who otherwise would not be going to school, one a 5 year old at the Arya Tara school for destitute and poor girls in Pharphing. I met an amazing women in her late 60's, Ruth, who is running an afterschool program for poor children all on her own dollar. I had tea with Sherry, another American woman much like myself, who is here to see what good she can bring to an orphanage for girls and for children who work in brick factories outside Kathmandu. We bought a sewing machine for a needy family who are already learning how to use it and starting their family business with it and made donations to many sewing cooperatives, ordering goods made through them as well as helping them design and make useful items for sale back in the USA. We visited a Tibetan refugee camp and discovered the source of yak hair blankets and shawls and bought many of them, also for sale and to help support their many programs at the camp.
My biggest project here was the start of my store: The Compassionate Yak. I will focus on only buying from Tibetan refugees and womens sewing coops that I have visited and ensured they are indeed benefiting the women who are running them (and not a sweat shop overseen by business men). Danny and Bree were instrumental in countless meetings over Nepali tea and "duk" coffee, sitting on rooftop cafes, overlooking amazing scenes below as we dreamed and "schemed" how to help the good and yet so poor, people here. This is one of the poorest countries on Earth, in an extreme location and a precarious one, as Nepal sits between India and China. We leave with Nepal and the people here entrenched in our hearts- and feel such a tight bond, especially with the children who's lives we've been able to touch. They have certainly touched ours and I know as I try to soak in every last sight of Kathmandu that I will always be bond to return and do what little we can. HANDS was born with the wish to build one school, now we have two and possible a third in the works. And a store that helps support education and welfare of poor women and refugees. Mother Teresa was right-if we had not started with the thought that we could at least build one simple school, we would not be here where we are today. But mostly, we would not be here without the loving kindness expressed by friends we also have met and who have joined us on this amazing journey! Today is the birthday of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, and I will part with his words: True happiness lies in helping others. If you want to be happy, help others! It's true! I have practiced it and it works. I feel tremendous happiness in my work here and leave with a happy heart and tears in my eyes for the love I feel for the good people I have met on this amazing journey!- Namaste and Tashi Delek-Jan

So I was watching monkey's at Swayombuth...

For the last two days I've been enjoying a break from the hustle and bustle of Kathmandu,NGO work and visiting schools scouting for needy scholarship applicants by trying my best to do nothing at the Yoga In Nepal retreat center. Let me describe just a little of what this unique place is like. First, you journey via taxi up a rocky and rutty gravel path that seems impossible for the little Suzuki taxis here to travel on (yet they do by the grace of Shiva or some other powerful god that adorns their dash). Through tall iron gates, you are let into a garden of eden-beautiful landscaped garden, butterflies and birds chirping, a background of forested green hills. There are four large safari tents you stay in,each with two beds with nice,soft comforters and your own small stone porch with chairs. Because the tiny retreat center is on a hillside, you have amazing views of the city below and one of the most sacred Buddhist holy sites in the world- Swayambhunath-a hill from where some mighty things were said to have originated, including the Kathmandu Valley, when the god Manjushri cut the lake that once filled the valley in half with his sword, freeing the water, and a lotus island that is Swayambhu today (nath means place of worship). Maybe that's what brought Buddha here a few thousand years ago, along with a long line of other holy prophets and saints, to preach on this revered hilltop, that is now revered by countless vendors as a chance to sell their assortment of mallas, Tibetan singing bowls and Nepali handicrafts. Oh, and monkeys have also claimed the holy site. They are walking in and around the prayer wheels here, and sacred statues have to be enclosed in cages so monkeys don't rob them of the offerings left -- still I saw monkey after monkey reach as far inside a shrine as the cage would allow to snatch at rice or flowers or anything edible that might have been stuffed at the feet of a Buddha or Tara. A sight that had me double-over in laughter was a monkey who had snatched an article of monk clothing-a red robe, and was playing with pulling it over his head, and wrapping it around and around his little primate body-hilarious! The way to the top of Swayambu is enough to make any one believe they are on a sacred pilgrimage, despite the vendors and monkeys plying you for anything you have to offer-there are some 365 stone steps that lead up to the main stuppa at the top, but half way up, sweat running down my face, I felt it was more like 3,365..at the top, you run smack into a chock-a-block of ancient statues and carvings, inscriptions in stone that date back to who knows and amazing small temples who's walls are covered in soot from millions of incense burnings. It is truly a historic and I do believe a UNESCO World Heritage Site-there are even Buddha's footprints carved in stone (I'd say he wore the same size sandal as Danny!) But if you tire of all the historic and religious artifacts, there's the monkey show! One thing I so enjoy around Buddhist sites is the "live and let live" philosophy that enshrouds all the sites here-I've seen doves nesting inside buildings and a huge hornet's nest hanging from the outer eves of a monastery. Monkeys here enjoy the same freedom and lack of bother from anyone. In fact there's a "monkey swimming pool" at the base of one of the levels of the shrine area-complete with tree branches to swing and drop into the water, and nice runways to get a good start to your swan (monkey?) dive. I was having a good time watching all the monkey shennigans, and decided to pull out a bag of potato chips I had brought with me-oh boy-BIG MISTAKE!! Monkeys seem to be honed in to noticing anything edible being pulled from a bag (they barely glanced at my wallet when I'd pull it out) as soon as they saw the Lay's bag they were on me like a dog after a hotdog! I screamed "Nay Nay" (NO!) and had the bag AND my other bag which contained a wooden sculpture of Ganesh that I had just bargained long and hard for, robbed by little monkey claws-one a MOTHER with her tiny baby holding on for dear life. I didn't care about the chips but that statue was something I had already had envisoned near the entry way for home, and I was determined to chase that monkey down and get it back! I took after the little scoundrel but it was like our rascal terrier Turbo who chases things only to realize he has no back up-as soon as I got off the footpath, more monkeys than I cared to deal with rushed me, chattering in what I can only imagine were monkey curses! These are red-bottomed Reshus (sp?) monkeys-quite large-and furious looking when they bare their large canines. I soon went running backwards to the cement area, with many Nepalis laughing hysterically. I wasn't about to give up. I could see my bag with Ganesh statue discarded in the shrubs after they realized it was unedible, so I opened my umbrella, secured by shoulder bag around me tightly, and entered their primate habitat opening and closing my umbrella and yelling as bravely as I could "Bad Monkey!" This just about drove the Nepalis who had gathered to watch this show into tearful hysterics. I had my own cheering section of little Nepali boys who couldn't believe this "Farangi" had the nerve to confront the monkey gods, and for what? This old, worn out wooden head of a Ganesh?? (I had actually retrieved this carving from a shop keeper's trash pile and loved it so much I offered him 100 rupees (about $2) for it. The monkeys' to my surprise, retreated-and I snatched my Ganesh head and fled backwards (not about to turn my back on a troop of monkey's who own the area) to the "people" area.
I thought of future projects-a kid's book about the monkey's of Swayambu, wondering if they had been there during Buddha's time. Were they just as crafty? Or did that extra craftiness come with the invention of ice cream and Lays'? On our way back down the thousands of steps, I saw a little boy about to bite into his newly purchased ice cream cone-first stopping to admire the drips and heaps of vanilla,like a tiny version of Mt. Everest. and yep-before he could take one bite of the delicious confection, a monkey leaped, snatched, and took off, leaving the kid stunned and confused for a good minute before bursting into wails. I knew just how he felt!

We have six children now that have fully paid education scholarships thanks to donations by generous people like you! They are: 1. Sushil, grade 8
2. Sabina, grade 5
3. Samjhana, grade 5,
4. Surendra, grade 7,
5. Susshan, grade 6
6. Sobit, grade 6

There is also a photo here of the Rogpa Tibetan sewing cooperative that we are supporting by having them make us laptop bags!!

Here are some photos from our trip: Danny handing Dr. Bronner soap donation from to Durga -he also was able to give her a sizable donations to pay for scholarships for 6 children at orphanage; one of the woman who benefited from the sewing coop micro-finance; children athing at the BCH orphanage; Jan giving out clothes and doll to beggars on kora path at Dalai Lama temple on Buddha's Birthday.....