Volunteer Log Stardate 2005

It's a holiday - announced this morning - we're celebrating the signing (at 8.29pm)last night of a peace agreement which ends the 10 year civil war in Nepal. The title is taken from the front page headline of the 'Himalayan Times'this morning.

It was quite something watching the ceremony live on TV. Typical Nepali event - everyone introduced, introductory speech, reading of the document in full (all 11 pages) by the government leader of the peace talks team, the signing (by Prime Minister Koirala and Maoist leader Prachanda), a handshake, a speech by each of them and a vote of thanks by the Maoist negotiaton leader.

The great and the good from the parties, the UN, UNHRC and even the American ambassador (who keeps opening his mouth and putting his foot in it where the Maoists are concerned - basically the US isn't sure how to treat baddies turned good) were all there in the Birendra International Conference Centre. Afterwards many people went out into the streets to light candles to celebrate. The papers say the government buildings will hold Deepavali light ceremonies tonight and the Maoists promised celebrations all over the country.

That was certainly true in Hetauda this afternoon. A lot of people in the bazaar stopped to watch a procession of flag and banner carrying Maoists. (I just happened to be coming back from a walk - honestly VSO. I didn't exactly avoid it though, in fact when I realised something was happening at the statue I headed in that direction. Those poor statues of King M - they have suffered this year). It was very good natured; there were plenty of traffic police, but no APF or army in sight.

So, will things change? There will be many twists and turns, but the peace agreement states that the ceasefire is permanent, landmines will be identified and removed within 60 days, seized property will be returned,there will be no recruitment by either side (more of that later), troops wil be confined to barracks, extortion will stop,information will be given about 'disappeared'people and the values of multi-party democracy will be respected. And then there will be elections, the monarchy will probably be ended and the King will be put on trial for his part in suppressing the April revolution - not a smooth road.

The editor of the Kathmandu Post summed up the situation well. After thanking the two leaders for their work (and suggesting Koirala for the Nobel Prize)and remembering the 14000 who have died in the last 10 years, he asks for an end to corruption, nepotism and favouritism and for both sides to keep to the agreement - 'We hope our leaders will not do anything to dampen the genuine and just exuberance that Nepalis are feeling today. Let us commit ourselves to build a new Nepal.' And so say all of us.

At last - CNN have just mentioned it for the first time - one sentence at 6.20pm (well it wasn't on this morning or at lunchtime, but BBC World Service had a report from Charle Haviland, even saying there was a holiday).

On the lighter side, according to the press, the whole ceremony was delayed by 15 minutes because Home Minister Sitaula (Gov talks leader) took the papers to the toilet with him and got them wet, so had to go and find a photo copier.

The first thing that must stop is the 'recruitment' (with the promise of good pay just for staying in the camp areas) of young people into the PLA (People's Liberation Army). I'm told that on Monday over 2000 young people passed through Hetauda on many buses headed for a camp in Chitwan district. Other reports talk of parents stopping buses to try to find their sons and daughters. One private school headmaster left his post because he was promised more money.

Apart from the fact that it's yet another day when chldren aren't at school and noone is in the office, there will probably be further changes of personnel when the interim government is announcesd at the beginning of December. As I said in the last blog, there has been much change at the office - 18 resource centres now covered by 9 RPs, new supervisors -only temporary appointments for 3 months and the new DEO is back in KTM because his mother and wife are both ill. Trying to get a minute with my new counterpart, Mahendraji, is impossible-he's the DEO and tryng to sort out his new job.

I've got a good contact in our major donor organisation who has told me about the financial situation left by his predecessor. Enough to say there won't be as much funding ths year.

On the positive side, training for heads and SMC chairs is starting -just when I have to go to Kathmandu for the winter conference, over Christmas (24-26 Dec) and then in February when we have the Programme Workshop in Kathmandu, when the DEO and section leader attend.

I am beginning to feel some empathy for the people who work at the office. Being surrounded by so much uncertainty must be really demotivating and my complaints that there is no follow-up to training seem ridiculous when it's often a different person who would be following up. I'm still asking to be associated with one RP on a more permanent basis and I think I've found the right person (she's on a 10 day course in women's education in Bharatpur, just now) - let's hope my second year in Hetauda (I arrived 12 months ago tomorrow) gets off to a good start, particularly at this time of new beginnings.

Just a diary this time - I'll try to put the photos in the right place.

Saturday 4th November
The main event of today was the British Embassy bonfire. What a lovely surprise as we went thrugh the gates - it was like Tihar again - lots of twinkling lights in the hedges and round the buildngs. We found some very comfortable seats (between the bar and the buffet)and settled down to people watch. The Ambassador lit the massive bonfire (plenty of rubbish just over the wall in what we know as Smelly Alley, where the rubbish searchers work), but there were no fireworks because importing them is illegal (not that anyone took notice of that at Tihar). Last time I went to the Embassy it was for roast beef - this time it was sausages and chicken from the barbecue. We missed out on the marshmallows, but managed a toffee apple each.

Sunday 5th November
Peter and Rosemary had invited me over for lunch so that I could share thoughts about the English students' visit (it was Peter who had suggested they should come to Hetauda in the first place). After meeting Rosemary at the organic market at the Summit hotel (I only bought a jar of strawberry jam)she suggested a walk round Kirtipur before lunch. Kirtipur was once a small independent kingdom; it now joins on to Patan but maintains it's independence by not allowing the King to visit (even the 'good' ones)because the King who invaded the valley cut off the noses and lips of the inhabitants when they put up a brave resistance. During Jana Aandolaan, Kirtipur was once again a centre of defiance - because Tribhuvan University is situated there,there was plenty of student activity, but it was all peaceful - poetry readings and powerful speeches by respected academics, with hundreds of people sitting in the ancient square. Anyway, it's a lovely old place built up the sides of a hill with temples and gompas (even a Thai Buddhist temple sponsored by Thai Airlines)and a splendid view of the valley at the top.
Monday 6th November
Although I collected my passport at 8.30am it was too late to start queuing at the Indian Embassy, so I joined Purna, Rima, Nancy and Ste (VSO's education advocacy adviser from London)for work on the VSO Nepal Education Advocacy Plan. There had been a workshop the previous Thursday, which most of the ed vols in the Valley had attended, but people were just going to attend as and when they could during the second week of the planning process. Without going into too much detail, it was an excellent opportunity to share in some strategic planning (actually using the brain a bit)and having time to think and discuss properly. It was a responsibility to be representing the vols from the districts - it will be a responsibility at the winter conference too, when we have to report back.
Tuesday 7th November
Janet and I were at the Indian Embassy at 7am - numbers 7and 8 in the queue. Since we already had form 1, we could just hand that in when we finally reached the counter just before 10am. Although we moan about this process, Janet has realised this week how simple it is because she has been helping the president of her organisation in Kalaiya get a visa to attend conferences in London and Amsterdam.Having to arrive at Embassies and Consulates with files full of evidence is a lot more inconvenient than getting up an hour early.

At the end of the day, with Peter and Rosemary, we had another visit to the British Embassy (no visas required). The occasion was a performance of a farce by Michael Frayn 'Noises Off'by the 'New Shakespeare Wallahs' - an international group of amateur dramatic enthusiasts. As ever there was food to follow.

Wednesday 8th November
We had been waiting for it all day Tuesday, but only at midnight was the peace agreement between the SPA and the Maoists signed. PEACE AT LAST said the headline. Unfortunately the celebratory mood was spoiled a bit because many Maoists, who had come to the Valley for a rally planned for the end of the week, had been demanding accommodation and food from the inhabitants of Patan. The inhabitants demonstrated on the main road from Kathmandu to Patan and caused chaos (the Netherlands Consulate is in that area and Janet was visiting that day!)As one of the papers (now allowed a satirical column)commented later in the week - it was a shame the peace agreement was signed when the USA was having elections,Saddam Hussein was being sentenced and Brittney Spears was getting divorced-the peaceful (so far)rhododendron revolution didn't get the coverage it perhaps deserved. With the Nepali papers habit of making acronyms for everything, it's worth noting that the SPA and Maoists have now become SPAM.

Thursday 9th November
Another day of hard work ending with a delicious Nepali meal cooked by Claire. The red wine certainly went well with it. Throughout the day we had also been hearing of the arrival of the latest group of volunteers - an international group of 7 flying in from Great Britain, San Francisco, Amsterdam, Nairobi and the Philipines.

Friday 10th November
The queue at the Indian Embassy was slow this morning, but that gave us chance to talk to the people behind us - two nuns from Mother Theresa's home in Calcutta. One, an American, asked for our paper, to see what was happening in the elections. She was literally praising the Lord that the Democrats were winning. After 6 years in India, the government has decided that noone can stay longer than 5 years without renewing their visa, so the nuns are making the trip to Nepal in pairs. The other nun was Vietnamese and there were some concerns that her visa may not be extended, but when we saw them in the afternoon as we collected the finished article, everything had worked out.

It was 11am before I reached the VSO Office for the final session - a feedback to our Director,Tracey- of the Advocacy workshop and then Nancy and I were given the afternoon off. After lunch with Geraldine, Nancy, Melinda from the Philipines and Juliet from Kenya, I had a haircut and bought a pair of jeans. The streets were filled with trucks and buses full of happy, singing Maoists touring KTM on the way to their rally. Prachanda had said he would make his first public appearance but had changed his mind - in order to help keep the sitution under control. Let's hope all the leaders are as responsible.

In the evening there was a welcome meal for the new vols in Thamel. All the programme Office staff came, as well as language teachers and most of the Valley vols.

Saturday 11th November
I had decided to travel back on Sunday, as Claire and Ciara had organised a treasure hunt to introduce the new volunteers to the delights of Thamel,Durbar Square, New Road and all points in between.It was a great deal of fun helping to collect evidence and information and the sharing session at the Buddha Bar was very funny. Our group won butter lamps for 'the most enlightening information about the Irish in Kathmandu' (awarded by Ciara of course). The fact that we found an optician's sign that said he had qualified in Ireland shows how we were working.

Earlier in the day (10.55 to be precise) I had been walking past the British Embassy when I realised there were a lot of people and the APF were stopping traffic. It was the Gurkhas Remembrance service. Many elderly men in tweed jackets with poppies and medals were gathered around a photo of a soldier covered in malas. It was a strangely British sight and of course made me think of the Farnborough group and their link with the Gurkhas. It also made me wonder what they must think of their own country - did they demonstrate in April, would they have fought for their democracy?

As we went down to the Pacific Guest House for the treasure hunt, Janet and I went that way again. The photo was still there,the men were still there, but now more in the background and their place had been taken by the women who had been standing at the side in the morning. They carried signs 'PENSIONS FOR WIDOWS' 'WE DESERVE BETTER'. They certainly have the fighting spirit and fromwhat I have heard and read, the British Government is having to listen. Perhaps someone from Whitehall should have been there at 11am.

Sunday 12th November
Back to Hetauda, the washing, a screen full of e-mails and work (of which a lot more next time).
I'll finish with a photo of the statue at the main crossroads in Hetauda.It's King Mahendra (King G's father). He's well protected by razor wire, but that hasn't prevented his plinth being covered in posters of Prachanda. Monarch and Maoist will not meet in real life, but somewhere along the way the two extremes are coming together - we hope.

They came, they saw and they conquered. Concerns that a day at school in Hetauda would not match up to an Everest flight, white water rafting, a Himalayan trek or an elephant ride were unfounded.

The long awaited visit of eight pupils, two staff and two police officers from Farnborough to Adhunik Secondary School in Hetauda began inauspiciously - I was with the headteacher, the chairman of the School Management Committee and Krishna, the teacher who had organised the Nepal end at the school, while the English party had gone straight to the Avocado Motel. A short motor cycle ride later we were all together and I was already gaining an impression of a very confident group of young people.

Next morning, the headmaster collected the party from the hotel at 6.30am (not Nepali time!) and brought them to the school, where they were welcomed with bunches of flowers offered by their partner pupils from Adhunik. A breakfast of boiled eggs, bananas and triple decker jam sandwiches was enjoyed and then we all visited the 10+2 classes. It was already becoming clear that James was a hit with the girls (he thinks the Nepali girls in Farnborough are beautiful, so he was in his element and the girls were acting in a very un-Nepali way too!)and we warned him he might be whisked off for a marriage ceremony if he held many more hands, but for some reason he seemed unconcerned.

In the break before school started, a game of basketball started (a bit one-sided, as Darryl is all of 6ft 2ins and the tallest Nepali student just about reached his shoulder). The girls were more interested in learning a popular folk song, though Mark the teacher disrupted everything by deliberately getting the words wrong -'I'm a donkey, you're a monkey' isn't very Nepali.

After introductions during the assembly, held out in the courtyard under the trees, with all 1400 pupls singing a nationalistic song before marching off to their classes, the students spent time in question and answer sessions. The group I was with enjoyed asking their questions in Nepali as they were talking with Deepa a Nepali girl from Japha, out in the east, who has been living in England for 6 years (Santosh, a 16 year old from Pokhara was also a member of the party. He's been in Farnborough for 4 years, where his dad is a security guard).

Before lunch the youngest children came out to meet the visitors and the staff also greeted the adults. Then it was into the bus for a quick tour of residential Hetauda as we all went off for daal bhaat. The students met their host families for the first time, but it was clear the pairs of students were getting on really well. Everyone returned with complements for the Nepali food and no worried looks about staying overnight in the Nepali homes.

While I went up to the office to find out what was happening (it was Lilaji's leaving party and I was given some food even though I couldn't stay for the 'do')the students set off for a two-hour rickshaw tour of Hetauda (including two schools, a temple and a bit of countryside).

A busy day was rounded off by a cultural programme of dancing by pupils from Adhunik - always beautiful to watch. The English students replied with descriptions of their life and school and the gift of an England flag signed by all the party, while June, the party leader from the Hampshire Youth Service, presented the school with a digital camera.

As I walked home with Mark and Mandi, the police officers who had been given a welcome night off to stay at my house, the pupils and their new friends were driven home.They enjoyed a variety of activities - dancing with the neighbours until 11pm, milking a cow and drinking the milk, sharing photos, trying on clothes, eating roti or more daal bhaat.

I learnt a great deal about the situation in Farnborough, where the town is trying to integrate 40000 Nepalese people. Mark and Mandi want to understand Nepali culture and practices better, so that they can deal with misunderstandings more empathetically. I also learnt how tiring the tour as a whole had been and could only marvel at the enthusiasm of the young people after two weeks on the road. Unfortunately Mandi did not have a good night's sleep as she was disturbed by a mouse at 3am. I didn't know I shared the house with creatures other than the geckos (I don't any more - the rat cake seems to have been eaten and the entrance was the drainage hole in the bathroom. Uday, the knowledgeable Nepali tour guide with the party suggested that it had been very fortunate for Mandi to see the mouse as it must have been Ganesh riding on his personal animal coming to wish them a safe journey.

So we set off for the Avocado early next morning. Our two rickshaw drivers thought they were having a great start to the day when they each asked us for 100 rupees for the fare. What a shame one of the bideshi spoke Nepali and knew the score - even 20 rupees was expensive.

All the families came to see their visitors off - hugs and tears, exchanged e-mail addresses and phone numbers, tikas and scarves, Buddha statue gifts for the two schools. All too soon it was time for the bus to leave.

As Krishna and I had been invited to attend the reception for the students at the British Council that evening, we were travelling on the bus too. Uday had decided we would travel over the high road via Daman. A lunch stop at the Everest Panorama Resort revealed no Himalayan panorama (when I told Deepa there should be mountains all the way along the horizon, she replied 'Mountains, Pat? we're mountained out!' - apparently trekking hadn't been her thing)and a muddled order which took ages to prepare. The long stop meant the journey took almost 8 hours. Most of the students went to sleep and Mark the teacher felt ill most of the way, but as ever, I really enjoyed it! I was able to talk to the boys and girls about their impressions and found that the homestay had made a great impression on them (James got a phone call from his partner saying his Mum had been crying because she missed him already)- the rafting was good and being filmed by Kantipur TV on Baai Tika had been cool, having to take a detour because of burning tyres and going to the Shanker Hotel was impressive, but there was nothing to compare with a bed like a table, fresh milk and monkeys in the garden.

After a quick freshen up, a very smart group of people (boys wearing tops)was welcomed at the British Council. (Earlier disappointment that it wasn't the Embassy forgotten). I was interested to meet one of the senior figures at the Education Ministry who assured me he had no problem signing my new visa (pity he didn't do it a bit faster)and familar faces from other NGOs. Purna was there, representing VSO who are partners with the Brisih Council in promoting Global Links, as was Peter Reid whose idea it was for the party to come to Hetuada. Pranay Rai who had carried out the risk assessment met the people he only knew through e-mails and John Fry,the big boss made a short speech.

The students were going on to one of Kathmandu's poshest hotels for their last night in Nepal, to enjoy the 22 dish Newari dinner. They have arrived back safely and are telling unbelievable tales in school. Sarah Wood, an ex-VSO volunteer who works at one of the schools is busy finding out about making the link more permanent through the Global Link scheme and Krishna is back at work, feeling relieved that everything went well -'We'd never done anything like that before'. What an incredible two days - the young people will never know what an impact they made in Hetauda - just today Jo told me some people had told her there were bideshi all over Hetauda - I suppose an extra dozen would make it seem like that.

If Santosh,James,Darryl, Deepa, Esterina, Sam,Zoe and Emily were pupils of my school, I would have been so proud of them. I only knew them for such a short time, but I know their interests, ambitions, likes and dislikes and how they felt about their visit to Nepal. Opening young people's eyes and minds is what education should be all about (Nepal please note)and I commented later on Friday night that they had reminded me why I went into education in the first place.

I still have an interesting week in KTM to describe - in personal and political terms - but for now it's getting late, so enjoy the pictures.