After a long flight with a ridiculous stop-over I arrived in Kathmandu tired and worn out in a time zone that added an extra 45 minutes to the 5 hour difference between home and Nepal. I never understood how India got the extra half an hour, 45 minutes, that's crazy.
As promised a driver was there to greet me at the airport. A short journey found us at the hotel which was to be home for a couple nights before we headed out to Lamahi in the Dang Region of Nepal.
I don't remember much about those few days as I drifted in and out of sleep, going to the lobby to meet team members as they arrived, meeting with Dinesh my Nepali contact from
Creating Possibilities NEPAL, the charitable organisation we were partnering with on this project. A brief meeting with Madhu who was the travel organizer for the R&R I had arranged for the team on the weekend in the middle of the project. I had to settle the account and confirm all the arrangements were in place.
That done, it was dinner with the team in the evening, introductions for those who had not worked with each other previously and then an early night. The next morning we were up, packed and ready for a domestic flight to the Dang region.
After an uneventful flight we boarded our bus and headed out to Lamhi, a three hour journey. Santosh our driver would be with us throughout the project. And only the second driver in all of my projects to work with us every day on site. An amazing man.
We traveled through some amazing countryside rising up into the mountains and dropping back down again on the other side. Eventually arriving at the hotel that was to be home for the next two weeks.
Unfortunately one of our team (Natasha) arrived minus her luggage. It was somewhere between the USA, China and Nepal. This was only retrieved one week into the build. Therefore she had to go shopping on our first day in Lamahi.
Dinesh helped with the shopping and the interpreting, I began to worry at this point :-)
Natasha was also lucky enough to have a few garments donated by our female team members and the ladies of UNAKO who made trousers and a shirt for her.
Day one of the build we board the bus and head out to the village, about a 45 minute drive on unmade roads, crossing rivers without bridges. Lifting the power lines with sticks so the bus could pass beneath. Chasing ducks and chickens away from the path in front of the bus.
Arriving at UNAKO house we were greeted by the ladies who run the organisation. Garlands hung around our necks and blessings made, welcome speeches and introductions made, we climbed back on the bus and headed for the plot where we were to help build a home for Bujiram and his family.
In brief, Bujiram's wife passed away and his life savings were consumed by medical bills. His eldest daughter lived away from home as did his eldest son. He had two young daughters and a young son living with him in a mud home. (I will post his story under a separate listing).
Throughout our time helping Bujiram build his new home you could see how hard it was for him to accept help from others. He is a very proud man and felt that he in some way was inadequate and had failed his family by not being able to provide the best for them. By the end of the project he was smiling with the team and I believe he understood that he was not being judged, compassion is not a judgement.
His girls were amazing, when not at school they helped with whatever they could around the build site. that was after completing their homework. The youngest lad had given up school but was convinced and sponsored by Creating Possibilities to go back to is studies.
During the build the team dug foundations, moved mud, sifted sand, shifted concrete blocks, mixed mortar, carried bamboo scaffold on their heads and helped lay blocks and build walls. All of this in extreme temperatures and humidity and without complaint.
Each day we bumped along the unmade roads, met locals along the way, watched them harvest the rice, herd their cattle and transport there crops on their heads.
At the weekend we headed off to Bardia National Park where we stayed for a coupe of nights and took part in a jeep safari and a walking safari. They don't have a lot of animals at Bardia but we did get to see the Rhino, a working elephant and an alligator. But that's not the point. The point is we had fun, and an adventure and that is what it is all about. Its not the seeing but the tracking.
Following our weekend break we continued with the building of Bujirams new home.
By the end of our time there, the house had risen to a height with the windows and doors and even the septic tank excavated and installed. The rest of the work would be completed by Bujiram and the employed labour. This would take approximately another two to three weeks. the results can be seen below.
Bujiram and his family now have a proper home, a home to be proud of. He has gone on to cultivate his piece of land and with the help of further donations has purchased more sheep to help him make a living and bring up his family as a respected member of the community. You can read Bujirams story in my next post.
After another 3 hour drive to the airport and a domestic flight back to Kathmandu, the team had one last night at the Eco hotel and then each went their own way. Some traveling directly back to their home countries whilst others continued their travels and headed for another adventure.
As for me I headed home via another long stop-over arriving back in the UK about 38 hours after I set off. Another project completed and time to work on the next. Unfortunately that was not going to happen as events took over and my life was to be changed once again.
For the full album of pictures documenting this project. go to:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/R8wzWzKmEMEF6Qnw1
