Sunday, January 20, 2008

Happy New Year!

Hello everyone and a belated Happy New Year!

I had hoped to be able to update this while we were out in Kathmandu but unfortunately the internet connections were just too slow to upload.

We have been back a week now but have had little time to do anything other than pack as the boat for New Zealand leaves on Friday!

Nepal was just amazing; huge contrasts though, I can honestly say that during the time we were there I have seen some of the most incredible things that I have ever seen in my life but also some of the most horrific and tragic.
After living in Bangkok for a year I thought that we had become pretty hardened to the type of poverty that you see in the world’s poorer countries, but nothing that I’ve ever witnessed prepared me for Nepal.
The hardest thing to comprehend is the amount of starving and sick children that are living on the streets. UNICEF estimate that there are around 30,000 children living and working on the streets of Nepal, and it is just tragic.

There was one particular little girl that will live in our memories forever. We found her wandering around the Boudnath stupa area. The poor child can’t have been more than three and she was quite alone and clearly very ill. You don’t see as many girls living on the street as many of them are abducted and trafficked into India and China, but this little girl had two thumbs on one hand, ironically this deformity will most likely save her from the sex traders.
We bought her some food and water and tried to find someone to help her, but in the end, like everyone else we had to walk away because there was nothing that we could do. It is just horrendous that in the 21st century children are still living like this, I can’t even begin to understand it.

On a happier note, we got to visit Kopan Monastery which was even more beautiful than I ever could have imagined it would be. It is set on the top of a hill with simply breathtaking views to all sides and it is just so unbelievably peaceful, I could have happily stayed there forever! (I am now even more determined to do one of the month long courses that they run there)

I have to cut this short and get back to the packing as we still have loads and loads to do. We have a 40 foot container booked on Friday’s boat; this one will just have all of our personal and household stuff in it. We will be coming back to Singapore in April to load up another one with the contents of the studio and all the stock!

Below are some photos of a few of the kids that we met, the first one is the little girl at Boudnath.



1 comment:

Oberon said...

Dear Carri and family we wish you every success in your new venture to New Zealand. You will leave at the high point of a Chinese New Year our thoughts are with you for the excitement of the challenges of life ahead that new year.

Your story of Nepal has touched our hearts as we knew it would,soul searching and heartbreaking,your images are breathtaking, we are sure you have many more if you ever get the time to catalogue them!
There is so much that has to be done to help the ill,needy and starving of this world and to protect children from the predators who profit using them and give them love caring and kindness in their precious years of innocence.
God's speed and blessings go with you all,keep dancing in the light.
David and Myrea xx