8 December 2011
Oh, it was so nice to sleep in our own bed. I even slept past 6:00 am. We got up and I started to catch up on my journal. Soon Alison called and we talked for a while. She said its cold at home, single digits. That doesn’t sound good to me.
Since we arrived back to Kathmandu a day earlier than planned, we decided to have a p-day and spent the day with Brown’s and Deppong’s and Tyler. Deppong’s picked us up about 10:00 and we headed to the hotel to meet the others. We went to the Tibetan Refugee Camp and had a great time. Brown’s really liked the place and they bought a nice rug. I bought a small one that I’ve had my eye one.
After that we went to Thamel where we all did a bit of shopping. I really like Thamel, but Gene doesn’t. It is a tourist trap and I’m sure we could find the same stuff or better somewhere else. I did buy a couple of yak wool shawls. I can wrap them around me while sitting at the computer. It really is pretty cool here this time of the year. I surely won’t complain – I know what it’s like at home.
We had lunch at New Orleans and it was pretty good. It was fun to look at lots of stuff. It would be so easy to blow through a lot of money here in Thamel. I try to be good – sometimes that’s a challenge – ask Gene.
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| Rakesh, Tyler, Deppong's, Brown's, Kalpana and husband and us. |
Tonight we all had dinner together before the Brown’s and Tyler leave to go home. Rakesh joined us as did Kalpana and her husband. She was the interpreter for the training both in Kathmandu and in Chitwan. We all fell in love with her. We had a wonderful time together. She asked us and Deppong’s to come and visit their school. It is a school for disabled children where they do rehabilitation. We told her we would like to visit.
7 December 2011
We went to breakfast at 6:30 am thinking we would have to walk to the venue. Rakesh came in and said if we wanted to ride in the van we needed to go now. By this time it’s a little after seven. Rakesh said the bandh would be starting early. We quickly finished our breakfast (which was an omelet, meaning a flat scrambled egg and toast) and left. Rakesh had made a sign that said ‘Hospital” and put it in the front window of the van. (the training was held on a hospital complex). We hadn’t got to the first chowk when we saw a crowd gathering. Kalpana got out and talked to the men there. She explained that we were all Americans and were distributing wheelchairs. They did let us through, but it was just a little scary.
We arrived quite early, wondering if any of our trainee’s would be there because of the bandh. And then we wondered if the people receiving the wheel chairs would be able to make it. The trainee’s all came. Some were just a little late, but they did come. And the wheelchair recipients came too. The distribution went very well. We handed out 28 wheelchairs and didn’t have to turn anyone away.
The dignitary who was supposed to be the guest speaker was suspended from his position because he was the head of the organization that instigated the attack at the prison. So the certificates were minus one signature. That was the down side. The up side was we didn’t have to wait for him and have a long ceremony. We were able to have a nice ceremony where a couple of the trainees spoke – along with Elder Brown, Deppong’s and another man. It was nice to have it not last for hours.
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| Trainee's in Chitwan... |
By the time, it was over, the bandh was winding down. It was about 3:00 PM and we were able to drive back to the hotel in the van. We had talked during the day and all agreed that we should forgo the elephant ride on Thursday and head back to Kathmandu.
Rakesh finished up his business and we were able to grab a pizza before leaving Chitwan heading back to Kathmandu about 5:00 pm. Traffic was good and we were home about 9:30. That was sweet.
6 December 2011
It’s been an interesting day! We had the second day of wheel chair training. It started off good. Elder Deppong wasn’t feeling too well. About 11:00 am we heard there was a bandh called. First we heard that someone had been shot at the jail. By this time, Elder Deppong is really feeling like he needs to return to the hotel. The only way for him to get there is to walk back, as the bandh has the city shut down. Rakesh said he would walk with him most of the way and we could continue with the training.
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| Elder Brown instructing and Kalpana interpreting... |
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| Training included going up and down inclines - you make do with what you have... |
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| Elder Esplin helping with some adjustments - |
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| Bibeek, a wonderful young man who was able to fit his father in a wheelchair |
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| Bibeek with his parents, and Sister Deppong - Everyone is happy! |
As the day progressed, we learned a little more about the reason for the bandh. A group of inmates in the jail had attacked another man and four others early in the morning. The injured man was in jail on a murder charge. The man was severly beaten and finally taken to the hospital where he was given a 30 percent chance of survival. So his friends, family and members of the Nepali Congress called a bandh to protest the attack. Bandh enforcers shut down the marketplaces and brought traffic to a halt. Schools and factories were also shut down. We are wondering what tomorrow will bring.
The training consisted of learning how to do an assessment and filling out the forms, how to measure people to fit the right chair and then how to teach people to live in their wheelchair. It’s been a full day and a good one, even with everything else that’s going on.
After the training, the bandh was still in effect, so the only option was to walk back to the hotel. It’s strange to see the streets empty of traffic. There were a lot of people on the streets but the shops were closed. The vegetable and fruit vendors remained open though their business looked pretty slow. It took us about 45 minutes to walk back to the hotel. Rakesh did get a rickshaw for Sister Deppong and good thing too – it was quite a long ways and she would have been in trouble. I know I was tired by the time we got back.
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| The streets we empty of buses and taxi's.... |
While we were eating dinner, Kalpana told us that there were many men assembling in the foyer of the hotel. They were gathering to hold ‘talks’ and see what the next step was going to be. I guess they want to be sure there is an investigation held. Rakesh said they would most probably be a bandh again tomorrow.
On another note: Gene told me that Rakesh told him that Dr. Lama of the Social Welfare Council has been suspended pending an investigation. With the change in the Prime Minister, this isn’t a surprise. He could end up back in office or he could be gone. We will wait and see – interesting here in Nepal. And just a touch unnerving….
5 December 2011
Brown’s told us they had talked with their son via Skype and parts of the Northern Utah area had fierce, tornado type winds. Their home seems to be okay, but they lost some big blue spruce trees, along with some other trees as well. Their home appears to have escaped without any damage. They are lucky as there was lots of damage, especially in Centerville. There are lots of people without power and sounds like it will be a couple of days before it’s restored. I’m sure they are feeling a bit of trepidation and wondering what they will go home to.
We had breakfast about 7:15 am and then went to the training about 9:00 am. We were wondering what caliber of people we would show up here in Chitwan. We were happy….some of them were there waiting for us. We had a good bunch and they all came. Kalpana, our interpreter in Kathmandu, was also there for the training in Chitwan. We were really happy about that as she did an excellent job.
Today they went over a lot of basics about wheel chairs and about the importance of putting the person in the right size chair for them. The afternoon was spent talking about pressure sores, how to do an assessment on a person, how to measure and more. The day went pretty fast.
On the way back to the hotel, Kalpana wanted to stop and get some medicine. I wanted to get some alcohol. My camera lens needed to be cleaned. I went out and told Kalpana I needed her help – I needed some alcohol. She asked what kind - rum, Russian, there were lots of different kinds. I said, ‘oh, no, not to drink. We don’t drink it. It’s for cuts, first aid.’ She laughed. We didn’t find any. They have orange colored antiseptic stuff but that’s not what I wanted.
Dinner was at the hotel. Most of us ordered Chicken a la Kiev. It’s fun because the mashed potatoes are sculpted around the chicken to look like a chicken. We ate ours and it was okay, but Kim, who is kind of a fanatic about germs, said all he could think of was who sculpted his – and he was sure, there would have been no clean gloves and who know where their hands had been. I guess if I had thought about that I probably would have thought about it twice as well.
We stayed at the Central Palms Hotel. It’s not great – but there isn’t anything in Chitwan that is. The food left a little to be desired. But, hey, it’s food – we should be grateful.
4 December 2011
I got up about 5:45 am knowing there was a lot to do and not a whole lot of time to do it. I went to the computer and sent an email to READ Nepal (Library) saying that we would be able to start teaching the English class the 15 December and that we would like to change the start time of the class to 10:00 AM. We will be anxious to hear back from them.
I went upstairs and Gene was us and putting stuff in the suitcase. I started to do the same. I didn’t know quite what to take. I did manage to get packed and we met the rest of our group at the Shanker Hotel. The drive to Chitwan was uneventful. The traffic was good and it only took us 4 ½ hours. That was great. We met Rakesh at the hotel, had a little lunch and then went to the venue to set up for the training tomorrow. My mother always told me that ‘many hands make light work’ and that was true today. We had the wheelchairs assembled and the set up complete in short order.
The men were ready to return to the hotel, but Gaye, Debbie and I wanted to walk around the streets for a little bit. Rakesh send his hired man, Naranjun, with us and we had a great time. Shopping here is such a different experience than at home….nothing compares.
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| Naranjun our escort, took us shopping- showing us how to wear a shawl |
3 December 2011
Elder and Sister Brown were able to attend church with us today and it was absolutely wonderful. Fast and testimony meeting was so great. Many bore their testimony about going to the temple. The spirit was strong and truly bore witness to my soul. Today Nick also bore his testimony and said he is wanting to serve a mission. He is ready to start his papers. After meeting I told him how happy I was and that we would be happy to help him with anything he needed. He is a great young man and will be a great missionary.
The rest of the meetings were full of the spirit as well and it was all so good. The Brown’s and Tyler really seemed to enjoy the meetings. After church we had Branch Council meeting and the Christmas party was planned. Pres. Bishnu took charge and plans were made. The missionaries were left out of the loop for the most part, and that’s a good thing. We will help and support, but it’s their party. It will be help on December 23 from 5 – 7 pm.
President Bishnu wanted the input of the council in setting some goals for next year. He will send them to President Jackson. The goals were: 1. A goal of 15 convert baptisms 2. Working to send out 5 missionaries from the branch 3. Sacrament meeting attendance of 120. This year it has been 90. These seem like some lofty goal for our little branch….They feel optimistic that they can do it. Where is my faith?
Pres. Bishnu did tell us that Church Media would be here on December 17 to do some filming of Nepal and the Branch that they hope to air between sessions of conference. That should be fun. Things are busy. I know December will fly by.
After church we went to Deppong's and had dinner together. We invited our housekeepers and Jessica. Browns and Tyler was there too. It was a pot luck thing and was very good. We took the broccoli, cauliflower salad and the bowl was empty to bring home. I was happy.
2 December 2011
It was amazing today to see the trainee’s implement the things they have learned. People who were receiving wheelchairs came. The trainee’s were in groups of four. They assessed the people as to their condition, if they needed a chair, what type of chair, and then taught them and their caregiver how to properly use the chair and how to live in it. I found myself getting a little teary as I watched them work with the disabled people coming for chairs. I envisioned them helping as Jesus would have done. They were so tender and compassionate. The first person was a young girl; I thought she looked to be about 12 years old. We found out that she was 20 years old and had cerebral palsy. She was happy but we wondered if she could stay upright in a chair. At first glance, I thought she wouldn’t qualify because you absolutely can’t strap people in. After the assessment and getting the right size chair, she did great. She got the chair and her and her mother were just thrilled to pieces. What joy that brought to us.
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| She had cerebral palsy and was so happy to get a chair |
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| Wheelchairs change lives - so excited! |
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| This man had never had a chair - his sons and daughters came with him. |
There were a couple of times when they had to tell people ‘we’re sorry, but you just don’t qualify for a chair right now.’ There was a middle aged man who had had a stroke. They assessed him and found out that he could walk. The sweet little lady doing the assessing said, “In my opinion, I don’t think we should give him a chair because if we do, he won’t continue to walk. We need to tell him to go to therapy and get stronger and walk more, not less.’ We were just so proud of her. The harder part was telling them ‘no’ and why. That was also handled with care and they were told we have their information. When the time comes, that he really does need a chair, contact Rakesh Hamal and he will get you a chair.
There was a ceremony held to award certificates to the trainees. It was wonderful. Rakesh had arranged for some dignitaries for the Ministry of Women and Children’s to be there. The top three men in that ministry were present. Rakesh likes that kind of thing. The best part was after when the trainees awarded LDS Charities with a group photo and a beautiful carved frame. We made sure that Brown’s ended up with it. I think they were really touched and said no one group had done that for them before. This was a great group. One of the young men came in and thanked Elder Brown and told him they (the group) would make him proud. I thought that was great. You sure can’t ask for any more than that.
1 December 2011
I woke up feeling a little better – I still felt my stomach rolling around a little bit, but went over to the Wheelchair Training with Gene. The Venue was the Moonlight Café and it’s only about a 10 minute walk from our place.
What a wonderful day. There were about 18 people there from all over Kathmandu. Many of them were in the Physical Therapy field and they were pretty smart. Today they were taught by Elder and Sister Brown, Wheel Chair Short Term Specialists from Salt Lake. They were accompanied by Tyler Huish, a physical therapist from the Salt Lake area as well. The instruction was great. Now when these people are trained, the goal is that they reach out and train others. It's a great program.
They taught them how to assess people for wheelchairs, stressing the importance of putting people in the right wheelchair for them. It’s not one size fits all. There are lots of reasons to make sure they fit the chair. They began by assessing the person, asking questions about why they need the chair and then checking to see what their limitations are. They were taught how to measure a person to see what size chair they needed and which type chair would be the best – a standard chair or a rough rider. They were taught how to transfer a person from place to place – chair to bench or bed or chair for example. They learned how to get people down an incline, a ramp, or steps in a wheelchair.
Lunch was served at the venue and it was really good by Nepali standards. Rice and dahl, curry vegetables, spinach and an apple fruit salad. Gene didn’t want any, he hasn’t been feeling great – but I did have just a little bit. It’s wasn’t great for me, as my stomach was still rolling around a little bit.
After the training we went to the Lazy Gringo. Traffic was terrible and it took us a long time to get there but it was fun to be together.
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