Holi Day (no, this is not misspelled!)

Today is Holi, or color day, a big Hindu festival day here in Nepal.  The schools are out and the citizens of Kathmandu are having a great time if the sounds we hear outside our apartment are any indication!  The festival is based on a wonderful Hindu story about a wicked king, a righteous son, a Hindu god and a wicked aunt.  In the end, the righteous son triumphs (with the help of the Hindu god) and the wicked aunt ends up in ashes.  It was originally tradition to celebrate the festival by putting ash on your forehead.  Now, however, it is celebrated by putting powdered paint in vivid colors not only on your own forehead, but on anyone nearby.  This morning we were visiting with our companion senior missionary couple, the Oliphants, in their apartment, when the family of our landlord invited us to celebrate color day with them.  Elder Weaver was the first one to cave to pressure; Sis. Weaver soon followed suit.  What followed was a rousing water fight between five adults and three adorable children.  Sometimes the water bags were filled with plain water; sometimes they were filled with colored water.  Sometimes you got drenched with an entire bucket of water and sometimes the perpetrator simply smeared a handful of yellow, red or green paint somewhere on your person. 

This is what we looked like when we finally beat a hasty retreat!  There are parts of our gray hair that are still a bit on the pink side. 

Rebuilding Schools After The Earthquake

Many schools were destroyed in the 2015 earthquake. At this school they used this shed and some tents to provide classrooms to make up for the lost structures.

This building survived the quake.

But not without damage.

This is a picture of the new school that is being built. LDS Charities will provide the furniture for the new building.

Inside the tent classroom.

This is the toilet for this school of over 400 students. It is being rebuilt.

This is a number chart on the wall of the surviving building. Note the cracks from the earthquake.

This worker is digging a new foundation for a new building at a school.

Nepal, a small country surrounded by giants

Nepal is surrounded by the giant countries of India and China. India is on the south, east and west. China is on the North. During a recent trip we went to the Chinese border. Above is a picture of the port of entry to China. Below is a picture of the port of entry to Nepal.

Chickens and people in a Nepali mountain village.

The chickens in Nepal are very colorful. They are also everywhere. They are in the city, on the roads and there is even a wild version that lives in the jungle. This rooster was loud, proud and pompous. We have a rooster in our neighborhood in Kathmandu that starts crowing at 4 AM each morning. I love the beautiful colors on this guy.

A mother hen and her chicks.

This is a picture of Chandra Adhikari. Chandra is the president of our local LDS branch. He is shown here hosting us on an inspection of a water project that we are funding. A branch is a small congregation. There is only one LDS congregation (branch) in Nepal. Chandra is intelligent, humble and happy. I admire him a lot.

A mother getting her two-year-old ready for the day.

A little boy waiting for school to start.

The village laundry.

This is a water powered rice mill. It consists of a grinding stone that is powered by a water wheel below the shed.

Graduation From a Blind and Disabled Training Program

We do a lot of work with NRSD, an organization that helps disabled and disadvantaged people gain skills that make their lives better. Two of the programs that they run are sewing/knitting classes and computer classes. One of the computer classes teaches blind people how to use a computer. We were trained in this program prior to coming on our mission.  We attended a graduation ceremony for these programs here in Kathmandu last week. There are many touching and some heroic stories of people overcoming vast disadvantage and striving for a better future. Here are a few of them.

From 1996 to 2006, a revolution was fought in Nepal. The rebels were Maoists who were fighting to depose the monarchy. In the above picture you see a young woman in a yellow coat. She was a member of the Maoist army. At age 13, she was wounded by government forces in a battle. She has significant residual physical problems from those injuries. She is graduating from the sewing program. Behind her, in a blue blazer, is a member of Nepal's parliament.  The MP has just handed the graduation certificate to the young woman. The MP had a husband who was assassinated by the Maoist rebels. It has been ten years since the revolution was ended by the abdication of the king.  On this day, these two remarkable women put aside the past to celebrate the future. 

This picture shows a blind girl that has completed her computer training. This is a 6-month long course that teaches blind people to use their ears instead of their eyes to operate a computer. The program is called JAWS. The computer provides auditory feedback to the blind operator to do everything from compose a word document to access a web site.  This young woman has overcome obstacles that people in the United States can't even imagine. 

This young woman was our favorite. She has graduated from the sewing program. She suffered terrible burns from a kerosene explosion. Many Nepali households use kerosene for cooking and heating their homes. The fire did a lot of damage to her hands. In spite of these injuries she was able to pass the sewing curriculum and gain her certificate. When we asked her what she was planning on doing next she said she was working for an NGO (non-government organization) and enrolled in a fashion design school. She has completed her basic course and has started the advanced course.  Again, here is a young person who is overcoming problems that are much greater than almost anything that faces even the most disadvantaged American. She is a superhero!!