Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Why Can't I Touch the Untouchables?

Why Can't I Touch the Untouchables?

A Nepalese friend Krish asked me to come visit the school site when I first arrived in Pokhara two weeks back.  This was Krish's childhood village and he said they desperately needed help.

Krish comes from a higher caste with the surname Poudel.  This subclass derives from the Brahmin caste comprising of educators, scholars, and Vedic priests.  However the people that live in this village are of low-caste and considered "lower than livestock."  They are the "untouchables" of Nepal.

The Untouchable:

Dalit status has often been historically regarded as ritually impure, such as any involving butchering, leatherwork, removal of garbage, animal Caracas, and waste.  Dalits work as manual laborers clearing streets, latrines, and sewers.  Engaging in these activities are considered to be polluting to the individual, and this pollution is considered contagious (Anti-Slavery.org).

As a result, Dalits are commonly segregated, and banned from full participation in Hindi social life.  For example, they cannot enter a temple or a school, and are required to stay outside the village.  Business owners will not hire them and landlords will not rent to them in fear of getting this "contamination" or being ostracized from their peers.

Last summer I met Krish at the guesthouse I was staying at.  He had just got back from a week of guiding trekkers through the Annapurna region.  He found out what I was trying to accomplish with sustainability and inquired about me helping his village.

I posted a volunteer recruitment placement on a website.  Nearly a year later, I found him a volunteer to run and implement the English program he wanted to start at the local primary school.

That man (a retired businessman form India) happened to be in Nepal the same week I wanted to visit the school.  We all traveled there together to see how we could help.

A Lesson in Humanity:

When we arrived, the school welcomed us to be apart of their academic ceremony.  We sat at the head of the room with beautifully adorned flower necklaces and the ceremonial red mark on the forehead.

Two British twin boys, aged 11, who accompanied us on our school visit played soccer excitedly with their new school chums.  Laughing, tossing the ball, hugging, smiling ear-to-ear.

Later that afternoon, I informed them about what it meant to be a Dalit.  It brought tears to their little blue innocent eyes (and to mine as well).

"How can anybody hate them?" desperately asked Sammy. "There just children."

I knew how they were feeling.  Learning about inequality and the harsh realities of life.  It was disheartening for us all.

"These boys will always be our friends," exclaimed the twin Tally. "They will know that they are loved."

I hope this was a lesson for all the boys that day; Dalits and un-Dalits alike.  We're all the same.  A last name shouldn't dictate your job (and your rights)... for the rest of your life.

What Can We Do?

The following morning, we brainstormed for hours.  The Indian man was clearly on a different agenda and wanted to build a Woofing compound in which volunteers would come and stay on this sustained land.  In turn they would help the school and village with their services.

While a good idea in theory, the problem was moderation; an area that I did not want to partake in.  The notion keeps returning to the idea of sustainability.  How do we keep these people sustained after we leave?  Where is the job skill or empowerment?

I shifted the focus and wanted to instead create animal husbandry that could, in effect, generate income for the school.  We would hire the teenage boys to maintain the animals while the profits would be put directly back into the school.

Krish has the idea of purchasing 10-14 pigs.  The annual income generated from the sale of a pig farm of this size equates to 250,000 rupees (US $2841).  This little amount by American standards is more than enough to help sustain a primary school in Nepal.

The Prince and the Pauper:

Krish and I gave the project idea two thumbs up, however it was our more philosophical British counterparts that questioned the idea.

The pig in Nepal is considered the lowliest animal on the totem pole.  Culturally, those of higher caste will not eat pork because the pig is considered unclean (it consumes it's own fecal matter).  This notion of uncleanliness originated from Islam and has been carried over into the Hindi caste culture as well.

The question then arises; are we contributing to the problem that the Dalits are already bound to? The pigs are a cheap and swift way to "fix" the problem.  More desirable animals like cows and buffalo are expensive and at-the-moment, I personally don't have the money or resources to accommodate this.

My primary focus belongs to my school project.  The idea of pigs are a quick solution that can be implemented immediately.  Something that can be completed before I head to the jungle.

The question still abounds; should we really be giving a low-caste person a low-caste form of income generation?  Are purchasing Dalit pigs as a source of sustainability better than investing in nothing at all?  Are we indirectly creating the endless cycle of poverty that becomes hard to break free of?

Give a man a broom and he comes a pauper; give a man empowerment and he becomes the prince.

Perhaps the age-old question still remains.  Who's going to be the pauper and who is lucky enough to become the prince?  Who gets to make these decisions?

Thursday, June 7, 2012

Tappu School Project: Week One

Tappu School Project: Week One


POKHARA, NEPAL -- I arrived in Nepal last Friday and have been busy getting the ball rolling so we can begin the construction of the school.  I am currently working on the project from Pokhara because of the accessibility to ATMs, internet connection, and most importantly... my translator!  I will travel down to the village in 1-2 weeks time.  It's about a 18-23 hour journey by bus from Kathmandu, so I am letting the workers get a head-start on the school before I venture into the jungle!

Working on the budget with Dipak at his restaurant
It has been near-to-impossible to organize anything from America.  To begin with, communication in Nepal is arduous.  Dipak, my Nepalese translator and friend (who's family village we are helping) is very difficult to understand over the mobile.  It's a lot of "Hugh? What? Say again!" then the call will drop.  Not fun.

I had dreams of getting the project started before I came, then arriving with the school nearly completed.  This would allow me more time to organize the purchases of enrichment material and work on curriculum development.  But alas, doing business in Nepal can not be done over the phone.  The country is simply just not setup for this.


School Budget Reform:

Since I arrived last Friday, Dipak has been communicating my questions to the Village Development Committee (VDC) of Tappu over the phone.  They gave me a make-shift budget for the school project last October and then again in March.  I needed the final and revised version.  This is generally how our 'phone meetings' go;

Working on budget at traditional Nepalese "donut shop" in downtown.
I ask Dipak to call my project manager Sitra Ram in Tappu to ask for the revised budget.  He then goes around to each person's home in the village who reside on the development committee (12 in total).  Sitra Ram is the only person with a mobile, so once he walks to each persons' home, this takes up to a full-day.  They meet and discuss the budget.

The following morning, Sitra Ram phones Dipak with the news.  Of course, I have a dozen questions and adjustment requests.  Dipak owns a restaurant, so we can only meet when it's not busy.  It takes a full-day until Dipak can phone Sitra Ram back.  Now, Sitra Ram has my new questions and concerns and again goes around to everyone's home in the village.  He can give me an answer the next day.

And so this process continues until finally, after one week, we are able to create a reasonable construction proposal for the school that I approve of.
I had an audience while writing some notes!

The budget is considerably more than they told me in March.  I saw this coming (because I know how business is run in Nepal), so I over-shot the fundraising goals at the Musicians for Nepal Benefit.  There are several reasons why this has occurred.  



Nepal's Economy and Inflation:

The Nepalese government is very corrupt and disorganized.  Cost-of-living for the Nepalese person has nearly doubled in the last six months, while wages have stayed the same.  This includes things like rice, eggs, petrol, milk, livestock... but most importantly, construction material!  While material has doubled, it isn't hurting my budget too much because the value of the dollar has risen (last summer it was trading at US$1=70 rupees and now it's at 85 rupees).  This inflation is more-so severely hurting the livelihoods of the Nepalese.  This is why it is now more important than ever that we continue to help them.  

I believe the locals are now starting to see that having a Monarch was a good idea.  Many people that I have spoken with hope for the return of a King, though it is not very probable.  When the Maoists overthrew the King in 2006, they had hopes of creating a democratic or parliamentary government but in truth, it really has turned into a Communist society.  The government has yet been able to create a constitution -- something they have been working on since '06.  They sell Nepal's power supply to India and China to serve the increasing needs of those populations.  However, the cost for them is only two rupees per kilowatt while the Nepalese are forced to pay 10 rupees per kilowatt.  

And we mustn't forget all the revenue that tourism generates for the country.  Where is that going?  How is that being spent?  You can ask any Nepalese person and they are unable to give an answer.  The economy and living standards for most people are not good here.  I have seen for myself that the government is getting worse off since I was here last summer.  This can be evident by the dwindling currency value.


Phase 1 of the school - began Summer '11

Next Step for School Project:

The next hiccup will now occur with getting my money from my Global Orphan Prevention bank account into my hands here in Nepal.  Bank fees, bank fees, and more crappy bank fees!  In addition, the Nepalese banks only allow for $500 to be pulled out per day.  It will take three days until I can collect enough money to give the VDC a deposit for the building 

The good news; construction starts back up again on Monday!

Last summer, we gave the VDC a small grant to begin Phase I, which consisted of a foundation and pavilion.  Phase II will be constructing walls, framing, roofing, plumbing, and buying enrichment material!

School enrollment has increased from 75 children to now over 100 since last Summer.  At the moment, they only have two teachers.  I am trying to see if there is room in the budget to hire on two more.  I believe this is more than necessary.
The children utilize the space under the pavilion during construction

I am currently accepting donations for this.  The money we raised in Colorado and from out-of-state private donors this year was primarily for the building, enrichment material, and two teachers' salaries providing we had anything left over.

If anyone out there would like to sponsor a teacher's annual salary, we could really use this.  The annual salary is US$850 per teacher (depending on the exchange rate at that moment).  You can just do it once for this year, or make it a yearly contribution with your tax refunds (and of course, this too is tax deductible).

Please email me at klhilborn@hotmail.com if this is something you'd like to get directly involved in.