Probably we will volunteer for one month in the 'friendship clinic' over there. But if we get a better offer for working about pregnancy and neonatal care we will take that.
So the story of the shoemaker continues:
So the when he let my shoes shine he told me about his uncle who was beaten during a strike day and after which people stole his shoe box. He told me how importand it was to have one. Now the only had bags whit little material. People an't see they are shoefixers and when they ask the don't look professional. I experienced this together with him. He asked a tourist with really worn off shoes to fix them, he said 'no'. The guy walked further and meets an other shoemaker with a shoefixingbox and he said 'yes'!
I accompanied him to his home. He appeared to me to be a honest boy, not very clever, which is normal there he only enjoyed 6 months of education. So after meeting his parents I gave them 60 euros in rupees. They where of course very glad, made me food and thee to thank me. He showed me his slum and the budha stoepa which is near his home.
He said he would buy the box that afternoon and that he would come the next morning with his shoebox. But he didn't!
He said the shoebox seller asked now 80 euro! They are not even new. The nephew of the shoefixing-box-seller tried to persuade me to buy his box.I said I didn't want to insult him but there was no hair on my head that thought to give so much money for such a crappy box!
So I said Mousafi (traveler in Hindi - he was born in the train) that I would find him one in Kathmandu. So I went out, a bit frustrated. I wondered in the streets where to go. I asked around, I asked shoemakers and then there was a guy comming with the tippical Nepalese introduction: " hi or namaste, where are you from? o, Belgam?" " No Belgium" " Oyae, Belgium" "yes" I said a bit irritated. " what are you doing?" Well I want to buy a shoefixing box." So he joined me on my search.
An other guy joined us. We went on asking, going to small shops, taking the micro bus to other parts of Kathmandu. I was a bit surprised that two guys helped me on a sunday. They said they went to sachool, so I thought they where a bit bored and enjoyed helping a stranger.
Finlay we ended with the same shoebox-seller where Mousafi would buy his box from!
He asked 8500 rupees (85 euro). The guys where convincing this was the best price and the only seller in Kathmandu. (So if you want to make good money, start a shoe-fixing-box-shop in Katnmadnu - off course bad for the other shoemakers)
He showed me wath was included, indeed a lot and the essentials to be a shoemaker. I don't want to do half work so I asked him to come to the family of Mousafi. Togeteher with the boys and the father of Mousafi I bought the box. Apparently the father had borrowed already 2000 rupees to anothes family to buy medicine! i said him to get the money immediately back otherwise I wouldn't buy the box. The guys helped me a great deal in translating. What convinced me also to buy the full box, was that with this box he could get a permission to work as a shoemaker. Apparently without this license they have to be careful for the police and bad people who just can take there stuff. So I supported them also in buying the license. The license would take max one month.
100 euro, a lot of money to give to a stranger, but hopefully it will bring much more to the family.
After this I went back with the 2 guys. When we are about to separate, they ask me to buy food for there family! I was astonished, disappointed and getting very angry.
They said it was the most normal thing of the world, "every western person would do that after the help they had given!" WTF*#%@)***^^^!!! They asked me to pay 12 euro for oil and rice. They looked not very poor, but even this was not important. I told them if they wanted my money, they just had to say it in the beginning, " don't give service without asking and come afterward with the bill" Now they blamed me to call them 'the bad guys'.....i just walked away..."they shouted that I disappointed them deeply" .....Man I was mad! I burned all day, poor and silly me.
Well the day after Mousafi came with his box, glad and thankful. But since then he came every morning to our room! Little annoying. One day he came with us to Patan and the monkey temple. He kept on giving hints about how poor he is, that he has no TV nor radio and apparently he had to be at home around four while we only arrived around six. He kept on saying he would be beaten by his parents, like it was our fault. So next morning we left him outside the restaurant when he came waving at the door. Saarje felt ill that day so we decided not to go to his family as we had promised. But when we explained he didn't get it and was to self occupied.
So now I don't really now what is going on in his head, but he is starting to get on my nerves, although I still think he is not being stupid on purpose.
...
So few days later now, we are friends again. Yesterday I visited his family, ate with them and helped his sister to relieve her fever.
Last sunday we went walking in the Kings forest park in the north of Kathmandu.
A very steep 2 houre walk to have an astonishing vieuw of the Katmandu valley with its smog, but also in the distance we could see the mounainrages from the Anapurna until the Mount Everest!
When walking back down we where talking a one time standing a bid still, when we suddenly heard a sound about five meters from us like 'wrrrraaaaaa wrchaaaa'!!! The image of a tiger flashed instantaneously in my head. Saartje had the same with a wild boar. We looked at each other and without looking back we ran as fast as possible down the hill. We where terrified. Silly, but tru. I was trembling and couldn't go to far as my legs felt gummy. ;) I am a real hero!
Saartje found herself a stick full of thorns.
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| Van Nepal, 3 weeks Katmandu |
Finally down we asked the park guards what it could be. They said it was probably a tiger. We said he was fooling us, but he kept being very seriously. He said that is why people can't walk alone and are not aloud inside the park after four. We still don't really believe it, maybe it was rather a panther, but still. We find it very annoying we didn't see it, but what would have happened then?
Finally we found a project to work in for one month. We will be working in Chitwan, Meghauli, in the jungle. Its a British founded ngo. They have a little clinic, some healthposts, a watersanitation program, an ambulance and a little education project. http://www.clinic-nepal.org.uk/
We are very curious what it will be like. Hopefully we can use our skills to help them a little, although we can't do much in one month.
Pics
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| Nepal, 3 weeks Katmandu |
