You Give Me Child; I Give You Organ

Little girls are taken from their family villages and sold to India for prostitution.

A few weeks ago I traveled to Kathmandu with one purpose; to set up meetings with INGOs and make an inquiry at the U.S. Embassy regarding Nepal's 'orphan problem.'

I met my American friend in Kathmandu (she is furthering her nursing skills at a hospital near Chitwan National Park), and we both ventured down to the U.S. Embassy.  When I attended the 4th of July party last summer at their park, I was able to speak frankly with a diplomat at a nearby picnic table.  He helped me with my vision to start an NGO.

U.S. Embassy, Kathmandu Nepal

However, entering the U.S. Embassy was far different.  Speaking through a thick glass pane was not what I had hoped for.  Once being able to hide notice of this obstacle, I switched my first impression of 'pretentious' towards the woman to something more flattering like 'genuine' -- which she was.

It must be hard working for an embassy in a 3rd world country that is shifting from a liberation movement into a communist society.  You know all the evils that lurk in the politics, and the corruption, and who's involved.  But!  As a good diplomatic organization, you are bound by ethics to not get involved.  You must stay jurisdictional while sitting in the heart of the vulture's nest.

I was redirected to ask elsewhere.

The problem with orphan homes in Nepal is that they all have children with living parents.  Volunteerism is the biggest money-making scheme in Nepal.

The Money-Making Business of Orphan Homes:

Right, so let's get down to the nit-and-gritty.  There are two pressing issues why children are being placed into orphan homes.

1. The widowed or abandoned mothers are forced to give them up.
2. The children are being taken from their families and trafficked into the orphan homes.

Through my website www.GlobalOrphanPrevention.com, we are aware of the situation surrounding widowed and abandoned mothers.  However, child trafficking is a whole new can of worms.

Following two leads, I contacted two organizations that are involved.  But just like the Embassy, they too cannot get involved on a personal level.  It would jeopardize their current projects going on in the country.

The situation is much deeper than any of us could imagine.  People in power convince small villages to trust them with their children.  The families pay 20,000 Rs (US$233) to send their child to a private boarding school in Kathmandu.  However, once the trafficker and the child reach Kathmandu, the girls are sold to India for prostitution while the boys are taken to Orphan Homes.  The orphan home directors on 'in' on this operation.  They gladly accept the child (even though they fully have knowledge of their living parents).  They accept the children because they can make money off the volunteers who come to Nepal.  They over-charge the Westerner money to volunteer claiming this is for rent, food, and utilities.  This amount is sometimes double or triple the actual cost to run one of these homes.

In other cases, the boys (particularly around the age of 12) are also sold to India, but in this case it's for their organs.

The Street-Children of Nepal:

There are 3,000 street children in Kathmandu.  Most of them are boys.  They have been taken from their families and many don’t remember where they came from. 

Children that have been trafficked from the villages to Kathmandu.

They belong to a ring (think Oliver Twist) and beg for money.  The ring adults keep their earnings.  Any spare change they receive, is used for the purchase of glue (to huff).  This suppresses their hunger pains.  The children are beaten, kicked, and sleep on the sidewalks while loud cars and motorbikes blow smog into their sleeping faces. 

These 3,000 street children have no where to go.

They ask me for money.  I must refuse.  I know where their money goes.  I cannot help you my little boy I think.  But they don’t understand and tug on your shirt and with their tiny voices and plead “Please money, money. Money please. Hunger. Please.”

Perhaps the only three English words they know.

I must stop them.  I know where it goes.  I can’t even buy them milk.  These young ones have figured it out.  The milk is sold back to the shop keepers for 10 rupees less than what the tourist paid. 

My breaking point was two days ago.  I had been having to turn down the children all week, and at this moment, I had just got out of a meeting about the trafficking problem.  My brain was on sensory overload.

A disabled boy with no legs at the knee was pulling his body along the sidewalk.  I was waiting for my street food from the nice couple who make the best Nepalese chapatti wraps in the capital.

Homeless child on the street. There are over 3,000 street children in Kathmandu.

The boy sat at my feet and tugged on my dress.  I stepped away and positioned myself with the street cart between us.

He crawled toward me, dragging his frail body against the hard, black asphalt.  I was cornered completely.  I waited anxiously hoping that my food would be finished.  I kept thinking about how badly I wanted to give this little innocent boy some Rupees.  For God sake, he has the most arduous life.

When social programs and disability help is minimal, if non-existent at all, these children are left to fend for themselves.  So who helps the untouchable?  I fear they too are apart of that same ring.

The tugging was relentless.  It took everything in me to refuse his demand.

It broke my heart to say ‘no’.  I was angry that I couldn’t help him.  Angry that another adult human being made his life so harsh.  Angry that another human being took him from his parents with false promises.

But that’s Nepal.  It’s India too.

Corruption 101:

I’ve never seen this kind of corruption in any of the countries I have visited.  Of course, some degrees of corruption exist in most developing nations, but to me it seems like Nepal has a serious problem.

The varying degrees of corruption can and do change between the continents; but within a subcontinent, the type of corruption seems to follow a pattern, in my opinion.

In East Africa, for example, wildlife refuges, national parks, and protected areas generate a large portion of the GDP.  Gorilla trek in Uganda ($500).  Climbing Kilimanjaro ($1000).  Multi-day safari though Lake Manyara, Ngorongoro, and Serengeti ($350).

The large money coming in from tourism teemed with endless poverty and terrible infrastructure gives wise to the notion that the money is being handled improperly.

Think the Gilded Age.  A Boss Tweed for every country.  It was America at the height of our Industrial Age and it has now fully hit the 3rd world.  If history repeats itself, then perhaps there is a ray of hope for these nations -- but at the moment this is the cold, hard truth.

So yes, to think that corruption does not exist in every facet of this world is naive, but to use corruption to take advantage of the volunteer is beyond precedent.  While Nepal too generates a lot of income from tourism, it's in a far more dismal way.  The orphan home directors are getting rich from the innocence of the good-hearted volunteer.  And who's backing the orphan homes -- several well-known public officials.

Police officer accepting a bribe so we could leave Kathmandu

They have a saying in Nepal when one decides to become a politician; the salary is the bonus.

I can't even begin to tell you the sadness that overcomes the volunteers' face when I tell them the children not only have living parents, but have most likely been trafficked from the poor villages in the far reaches of the country.

It's heart breaking for me as well, but they need to know.  And they need to know alternative solutions on how they can help (solutions I will suggest in a future blog).

Keep a look-out for a continuation looking into the evils of voluntourism, child trafficking, and corruption...

Mobs, Barricades, and Schools Oh My!

Mobs, Barricades, & Schools - Oh My!

We arrived in Bhagalpur late last Monday night, nearly past midnight.  It took much longer to get there than any of us had imagined.  16 hours to be exact, about six more than what was projected.

We had the usual mishaps along the way!  And by usual, I mean in the Nepalese sense.  Possibly for any other country, what we encountered would be quite unusual.

Assassinations, Strikes and Roadblocks:

Shortly after our departure, a Banda was called in response to an assignation attempt on three leaders of the Maoists Party.  If you recall, the Maoists were responsible for the overthrow of the King in 2006.  They rebelled for the decade prior seeking political and social change.  The Maoists were the peasants who saw a change in leadership ideal for their voice as commoners.  Through propaganda (some believe), the rest of society was convinced of the need for this revolution.

However, after six years since the overthrow, Nepal has gotten much worse.  Those who originally supported the cause are now rethinking their positions and many believe the monarch was better for the economy.

My position is still unclear.  I can only communicate what I see, and what I see is a dwindling currency, a country without a constitution, I see corruption at every level (particularly police and politicians), I see rising prices for dry goods and produce, and I see innocent villagers suffering the most at the hand of an unstable government.

Nepal, I fear, is at the brink of an economic downturn and a political uprising.  There is no real (or least respected) leader.  The Prime Minister they do have gets booed in public while university students hold protests calling for his resignation. Now yesterday, three leaders of the Maoists have been shot with the intention to kill.

Bandas (strikes) were called closing down all roadways.  The one road in and out of the Kathmandu came to a standstill.

We were held up for hours while traffic was blocked in both directions.  It was a full-on gridlock of Nepalese vehicles, sometimes four deep on a narrow Himalayan mountain road meant for two.

I felt like the crowd of people standing around and in-between the cars, buses, and motorbikes were going to accidentally push me off the 300-foot ledge drop.  I retracted away from the cliff and sat back inside the small hot Suzuki taxi decked out in racing strips we hired to drive us from Pokhara to the village. (Not that I prefer racing cars for cross-country road trips, but these are the norm for taxi appearance!)

“This could take hours!” I professed quite loudly with a huff of frustration.  “I have a school to build!”

Another hour passed while sitting in gridlock.  I myself was melting from the exhaust blowing into my window from the large buses that had us surrounded on three sides.  It was taking everything in me to not storm right up to them and demand that their engines be shut off.

But alas, my annoyances were met, as traffic started moving again.  Someone, somewhere had the idea to walk up the mile-long traffic line and direct the smaller cars and micros to pull through while the buses waited.

Rounding another two corners, it was clear to me that we were going nowhere fast.  Further, up the road in Munling, the road splits off; those going to Pokhara veer right while anyone wanting to head down to the Terai must take the left.  Pokhara traffic was given the green light; everyone else would have to wait until 5pm when the strike was finished.  It was 10am when I heard the news.

“We must get through,” I pleaded with Dipak, Nabin, and the taxi driver.

“Oh no, this is impossible Katie,” Dipak explained.  “They don’t let anyone through during Banda.

I refused to take ‘no’ for an answer and stormed right up to the mob of people blocking the road.  They looked like they were about to riot.  During Bandas, the mobs will generally injury the drivers and demolish the vehicles of those who try to pass the barricade.

This information did not deter me.  I put on my charm and pleaded with them to let me through.

“I’m building a school for poor people in Koshi Tappu!  I must get through.  I have very limited time,” I explained in the most sincere voice.

After 15 minutes of Nepalese negotiation, I think someone said okay, so I ran back around the corner and motioned for the traffic driver to start pushing our vehicle through the herd that had considerable gotten bigger since I first spoke.

They searched the vehicle for our contents to confirm we were headed to Koshi Tappu for this school project.

There was chaos while I escorted the car through the crowd.  People were yelling and some looked very angry that I was trying to break the barricade.

We eventually broke free, and with the largest smile I could muster, I kept repeating ‘Dand-u-bhat’ (thank you) as we walked away.

Excitement filled the car as we sped off down the gorge.  The plus side was that the roads were now clear for hours.

The negative side, we had to go through several more police checkpoints and one final mob barricade.

The Village and Project:

The school is half way finished.  There had been another delay due to electricity problems.  The carpenter who is making the doors and window frames only has electricity for a few periods in the day for use of his table saw.  If we recall, Nepal participates in load shedding, which means power is cut for several large portions of the day/nights for sale to India.

The villagers haven’t been able to work full-time for this reason.  They’ve built as much as they can of the structure, but until the doors and window frames are installed, they cannot continue.

This puts construction back one more month.

I made the 45-minute walk to the school site from Bhagalpur, where we are staying.  Dipak’s Aunt and Uncle have graciously allowed for use of their home.  Ba (grandfather) has given me his bedroom, which comes with a fan and several breezy windows.  It is more than generous.

That evening, we had Pork Dal Bhat!  They killed a pig – it was nasty as I predicted, but I kept reminding myself that bacon is delicious.  Providing I didn’t find any eyeballs in my curry, I kept thinking I could manage this beast.

I have met the 10 labors, three on-site managers, and four teachers.  I presented the enrichment material that I purchased in Kathmandu.  The teachers were more than ecstatic.  Though minimal by American standards, I had to remind myself that sometimes the best can't be done.

There’s a dozen or so ways to create the perfect classroom, but in Nepal that is just not possible.

I bought every chart that was available from Everest Publishing Company!  I literally took their catalog and ordered one of each.

Then I went to ETK Books where I purchased more charts (Good Habits, Medicinal Plants, Parts of a Body, Multiplication Tables).  I tried to find the most useful visual aids but considering what I have to work with it’s difficult.

I started compiling the books for the library from the government bookstore.  My Nepalese friend Yogi took me to all the shops in Kathmandu the week prior

Buying products here in Nepal is not that simple.  They really don’t have warehouses or bulk purchase options.  You really can’t order online or even over the phone! There definitely aren’t any websites.  

So first, how did I go about this?  Trial and error I suppose.

First, I went to a local primary school and got the name of the bookshops where the textbooks and charts were purchased.  Then I went to those bookshops, which then directed me to the publishing company.  Often times, the publisher was in India, but the ones located in Nepal I was able to drive to.

This process took the entire day!  However, once I finally arrived to the source I was able to negotiate a discount on my purchases.

“The American people are paying for the school to be built,” I explained. “Now I ask that the Nepalese people help contribute to the cause as well.”

This generally seemed to touch their hearts in some form, and every place I visited was able to give me a decent discount.  One publisher donated an entire series of textbooks for the teachers to use!

What the Teachers are Asking For:

At the moment, school enrollment has increased from 75 students to now over 100!  As soon as the villagers heard of a new school being built, many enrolled their children. 

Wonderful news of course, but now this means that our original building size is too small! This also means that two more teachers need to be hired!  Let me worry about the school addition later, but right now, we must focus on finding the funds to hire more teachers.

I am exploring all options for funding, with a focus on sustainability.  Yes, I could pay the teacher’s salary for one more year, but this does not solve the problem after I’ve left.  We need a more solid form of funding, and I’d like to focus on income generation for the school.

I’d like to continue my idea for the Sivapuri ‘low-caste’ Primary School I visited outside Pokhara a few weeks back.  That being, using animal husbandry as a source of income generation for the school. 

I’ve discussed my idea with my on-site managers in Tappu and they are keen to it.  We are exploring options of a possible chicken farm.  A simple investment for me, but a large return for them.  Just like the Sivapuri Income-Generation Project, this school too could wreak the benefits from this type of sustainability.

Every two months, 200 chickens could yield 108,000 rupees (US$1241).  That’s 648,000 rupees ($7448) a year.  The annual salary for four teachers is 384,000 rupees ($4413).  We are still calculating the overhead, but the possibility of a decent profit margin is very feasible.

I will leave you now with this notion of sustainability fresh in your heads.  I am open for suggestions if anyone would like to give their two cents!

Look back in a few days for an updated blog!