Steve and I just returned from a month in India and Nepal.
It sure is nice to be back in Thailand again.
It has been a few years since we were last in India. As always it was pretty chaotic, but we managed to do some great buying there. We found some new suppliers and renewed our acquaintance with some old ones.
As always it was great to return to Nepal though it was shocking to see the damage from the earth quake. Not so much in Kathmandu but in the villages outside the city.
The beautiful iconic old 3 story farmhouses built of stone and mud didn't have a chance. Most of them are now piles of rubble and are slowly being replaced with 1 story corrugated tin dwellings.
The recent blockade on the Indian border prevented fuel and cooking gas from coming into Nepal, so the people have really been suffering.
Our suppliers were so happy to see us and take our orders so they could continue to rebuild their lives. We'll have some wonderful thing to put in our store this summer.
Our friend Ram took us to his village -Angaputar-about 2 hrs to the west of Kathmandu.
It was badly damaged, though Ram said that because the earth quake hit at mid day most people were outside and so escaped injury.
Ram has taken on himself to re-build the school in his village. It is called The North Pole International Academy. Like alot of the rebuilding going on, the feeling is if they wait for the government to come up with the funding it will not happen,
Ram has built 3 new classrooms. The next step is to rebuild the toilets and septic system, and then repair the original building so they have more classrooms and office space.
The numbers of children that now go to this primary school are rising each month. Any child that can not afford it, Ram has arranged for them go to school free and they will also be supplied with a free school uniform and books.
Ram lives with his wife and twin sons in Kathmandu when he isn't in his village helping with the building of the school. His 85 yr old mum and dad still live in the village. Below is his mum.
Just across the ball field from the high school is the Blind Institute,
As you can see below it was completely wiped out. The children that lived there are now living in tents. It was heart breaking to see these blind children trying to function in this environment.
The rebuilding of the Blind Institute is dependent on government funding and ruling and the paper work to getting started is very slow coming through.
Steve and I made a donation to Ram to help him rebuild the school in his village.
Ram was very appreciative, but a lot more money is needed to see the project through.
If any of you would like to donate to this cause,Steve and I will personally deliver the money to Ram so he can continue re-building the school.
You can donate by contacting us at Bwana Johns.
This summer we will also set up a donation box in the store.
It sure is nice to be back in Thailand again.
It has been a few years since we were last in India. As always it was pretty chaotic, but we managed to do some great buying there. We found some new suppliers and renewed our acquaintance with some old ones.
As always it was great to return to Nepal though it was shocking to see the damage from the earth quake. Not so much in Kathmandu but in the villages outside the city.
The beautiful iconic old 3 story farmhouses built of stone and mud didn't have a chance. Most of them are now piles of rubble and are slowly being replaced with 1 story corrugated tin dwellings.
The recent blockade on the Indian border prevented fuel and cooking gas from coming into Nepal, so the people have really been suffering.
Our suppliers were so happy to see us and take our orders so they could continue to rebuild their lives. We'll have some wonderful thing to put in our store this summer.
Our friend Ram took us to his village -Angaputar-about 2 hrs to the west of Kathmandu.
It was badly damaged, though Ram said that because the earth quake hit at mid day most people were outside and so escaped injury.
Ram has built 3 new classrooms. The next step is to rebuild the toilets and septic system, and then repair the original building so they have more classrooms and office space.
The numbers of children that now go to this primary school are rising each month. Any child that can not afford it, Ram has arranged for them go to school free and they will also be supplied with a free school uniform and books.
The country side here is beautiful.
The day we were there the potato harvest was in full swing. People just getting on with their lives in spite of the hardships.
A few miles down the road was the high school. It also got flattened in the earthquake and is now functioning out of temporary class rooms as the school is being rebuilt.
Just across the ball field from the high school is the Blind Institute,
As you can see below it was completely wiped out. The children that lived there are now living in tents. It was heart breaking to see these blind children trying to function in this environment.
The rebuilding of the Blind Institute is dependent on government funding and ruling and the paper work to getting started is very slow coming through.
Steve and I made a donation to Ram to help him rebuild the school in his village.
If any of you would like to donate to this cause,Steve and I will personally deliver the money to Ram so he can continue re-building the school.
You can donate by contacting us at Bwana Johns.
This summer we will also set up a donation box in the store.
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