Volunteering in Kathmandu - girl

Further to my whinging about travelling being an entirely selfish preoccupation we found ourselves a volunteering opportunity: a chance to 'give back', feel good about ourselves, fuel our western need to feel like we're doing something useful (delete as applicable). We had a few options: teaching sherpas English, a children's home and a home for blind kids. Yup, we (I) opted for the children's home. We were strict from the outset: only if we can be useful we should we be anywhere. Despite only giving five days of time, I think we were possibly, maybe, hopefully useful.  While C. was working on website stuff I began by writing a decent fundraising proposal for them. This soon turned into more concrete/ephemeral (depending on who you are) work of helping them work out how to establish a children's club to give the kids some representation within the home. The 'director' wasn't massively excited by this but I know the kids want it and there's a long term volunteer who was keen to help with implementation too. I'm hopeful, but not too hopeful, that the club will happen. Left to the local director, it won't, with the lovely volunteer, it might.

 

It's actually been pretty interesting, from a personal point of view, to do this. I've been working as a consultant essentially; trying to help but able to walk away and know I've given some decent advice but not being invested in them actually continuing with the changes.

 

The place is kind of amusing, mainly because of the husband and wife team who 'run' the show. There's not much running going on, to be honest, basically there's a whole lot of sleeping, some aggrandisement (probable) and some posturing but not much else. The kids are certainly fairly well cared for, they're receiving a good education, a balanced diet and they live in a good place but things could be so much better if those in charge played better.

 

Day 1: After lunch I sat down to work with Mrs. Boss by my side. Within minutes I noticed her breathing get heavier and then the gentle snores began. After around 20 minutes she awoke with a start, looked around and said, 'oh, sorry, it's been a tough day. I had to get up, wash and come here'. I should add she was 45 minutes late to meet us (we arrived at 0930 as agreed, she at 1015) and spent the morning watching us work. She then said 'I'll give you a lift home, wake me when you want to leave' and disappeared into her office for a sleep!

 

Day 2: We met Mr. Boss. I was unimpressed from the off for a number of reasons. Once he discovered C was working on the website he got all excited and began writing his new biography to be uploaded. Actually, he didn't want to write it at all, he wanted to dictate it to C who could type it straight onto the web. Watching C firmly refuse to do this was most entertaining, especially because he began 'you must write about me, I'm the founder'.

 

Day 3: Most of my suggestions for improvement have met with a 'oooh, yes, yes, yes, you are right, you are right'. While of course I am (!), that's not really a good response so today when I started explaining why a board should not be made up of paid staff members (accountability, anyone?) and met with the same response (knowing full well they won't change), I told Mrs. Boss that I didn't need to be told I was right, it doesn't actually matter to me if they change or not but if they want European or American support they'll need to. I think that made her think a bit. We then had a fun discussion about the budget she showed me - I repeated my mantra of 'I won't put anything in the proposal I'm writing if I think it's not true' and suggested that the prices were elevated somewhat, Mrs. Boss couldn't look me in the eye but she swore blind the prices were real. As if! Later, the lovely long-term volunteer was taking dictation of the same biography C had refused. It began something like 'Mr. Boss is a great man, Mr. Boss was born...' After a while of listening to this I asked, very politely if the biography was for the website. Affirmative. I then suggested that less was more and told him that Europeans only ever put a few lines about the staff on a website (particularly a CBO) and that the more he put the more it seemed like the organisation was a front for his political ambition (all put very politely, I assure you) - which it may be. His wife, as usual, agreed with me. The volunteer later told me he was pleased I had been putting the squirrel among the horses and that I should continue since the couple respect C and me and listen to what we have to say.

 

It's actually really upsetting to think about how great the place could be. Whilst working in the office I haven't seen either of the directors do a jot of work. They treat the place like it's an extension of their living room: listening to music, drinking tea, reading the newspaper and chatting on the phone. They see their three volunteers as white monkeys to be ordered around. Luckily, C and I don't take it, much, but the Spanish guy, for his own reasons, does. While there's nothing out of the ordinary here, it's just another CBO in the developing world that doesn't run as it could and they're just one more set of people who are more interested in lining their own pockets than doing good (there is a side product of 'good' here), it upsets me enormously to think of the wasted potential.

 

Apart from the work, we've been eating some good food and some terrible food, reading and trying to ignore the mayhem that is Thamel.

 

We were caught up in the middle of a Maoist protest the other day too. We were being driven by Mrs. Boss. Road blocks were up all over the city to bring traffic to a halt. We managed to get through two or three by them pointing to us and claiming we had just arrived in the country and needed to get to Thamel. Very exciting.

 

I have truly never been in a dirtier city. Cairo might give black snot but this place gets into the lungs, the nose, the mouth, everywhere. Most locals wear face masks it's so bad. We always know when the bus is approaching the river as it stinks, truly stinks. People chuck everything in there while others live on its banks. I read that there's faecal matter in the tap water and I can well believe it. Kathmandu is in a valley and all the pollution sits on top, unable to cross the mountains and leave. Delightful.

 

So we all sit in this fetid but interesting place where no one seems to be honest (of course I know there must be good people but we're not meeting them). Every shop in the tourist area sells 'yak scarves', soft scarves of beautiful colours, I was very excited by these and thought they'd make good presents. I bought one (pretty cheaply) before seeing them in a fixed price store labelled as acrylic and cotton. At least it was more expensive than I'd paid. I questioned the salesman who told me that everyone was lying outside and I should do the fire test - yak wool burns like hair, the acrylic burns like plastic. We went back to my shop and questioned the guy. I was so upset by the exchange I decided not to return the scarf as he eventually offered but to keep it as a reminder. He outright admitted to lying but said that since everyone is doing it, it's ok. We asked if he really felt like that, his response was that this is Nepal and that everyone in Nepal lies so why shouldn't he? - everyone, he said, from politicians to salesmen to children, everyone. In his words, 'that's why Nepal is as it is'. Well, the place is certainly a mess but how depressing. So I shall keep the scarf.

 

It's time to leave. I've enjoyed myself but the numbers of tourists seem to be increasing every day and we've eaten in all the good restaurants so bring on Tibet!