Peace at last!

On the 21st of November a long-awaited peace accord was signed between the government and the Maoists bringing an end to over 10 years of conflict in Nepal. A national holiday was declared and the people rejoiced in high spirits. By the evening, candles were flickering in every single home as a symbol of peace. The rebel fighters are now withdrawing to special camps and placing their weapons in storage. Prisoners of war and nearly a quarter of a million internally-displaced people are finally beginning to return to their homes.

The Nepalese now need to rebuild their country and to do this, the revenue from tourism, (one of its biggest industries which has suffered badly as a result of the conflict), will be crucial. This project is also dependent upon tourism; since without sufficient numbers of tourist ‘clients’, it cannot become truly sustainable. Our massage clinic should be properly up and running by this time next year and we’re sincerely hoping that visitor numbers will be back to normal by then. There has never been a better time – or a better reason to visit Nepal so please get booking!

Training Centre Nears Completion....

More progress shots of the training centre! Completion should be within the next few weeks – when we plan to have an opening ceremony. Keep an eye on this blog for more progress shots.

Looking Professional!

The students are delighted with their new uniforms. Brought from the UK, these proper massage tunics are more expensive than the T-shirts they were practising in before but well worth it. They have made the students feel so proud and professional and are much better quality. Plus they have handy pockets for talking timers and bottles of oil. Pictured are Chiran and Anita having a practice session in their new uniforms.

Blind Singing Programme

During Deepwali, our training programme was slightly delayed whilst the students visited local houses and businesses with a singing and dancing programme called ‘Bhailo’. Throughout the Deepwali festival, or Tihar (festival of lights), as it is more commonly known in Nepal; children visit houses and sing and dance traditional songs for money(about 10pence per visit depending on the size of the group and the quality of the singing & dancing). Their 27-strong blind ‘bhailo group’ arrived in a bus and included 8 singers (male and female) one harmonium player and two drummers. There was also a driver and a dancer (both sighted) a large throng of clappers, and about 5 partially sighted men who were proudly in charge of a huge speaker system with a microphone (and terrible quality). Fortunately we only had to endure about 15 minutes of ear-splitting whistling and whining from the mike before the electricity went off! Many of them also tripped over trying to navigate the crowd and foreign objects in a foreign backyard. The music was excellent though, with Laxmi, a blind girl we have come across before taking the lead role with her beautiful singing voice. With a minimum donation of about £10, they collectively raised enough to provide numerous scholarships for young blind people so they could attend school. In a country where many people believe blindness to be contagious, it was a brave initiative and shows just how determined they are to raise awareness and improve the situation of other blind people in Nepal. Well done students!

Student Progress
Our first group of students have already exceeded all our expectations. In their monthly theory examinations, Chiran and Anita have shown an amazing understanding of anatomy, consistently scoring 100%. Laxman and Sarita are not far behind at around the 90% mark but fare better when it comes to practical marks. They’re all refreshingly enthusiastic too, and have actually asked if lessons could start at 6am with a vigorous exercise session!

Laxman is doing an exceptional job of managing his study alongside his family commitments. He is pictured here with his partially sighted wife, Sita and their 6 month old baby, Prajwal, who is sporting a cute outfit that was kindly donated by Laxman’s sponsors. (A&T Harrison, Ilkley)