Blogs from Butwal, Nepal, Asia

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Asia » Nepal » Butwal October 2nd 2011

Geo: 27.7006, 83.4484We have been having difficulty getting the data sim card working. So we contacted Saroj who was going to meet us in Butwal and help us sort it out..We ended up in the NTC Telecom building and even Saroj would look at me with an expression indicating he could not understand what the hell was going on!!The chap said at one stage if i was a Nepali then he would not help but because we were foreigners then he would. good for us but bad for the locals... anyway long boring story short the data sim now works mostly... drops in and out fast and slow get very hot and is the source of much discussions and sadness. In hindsight it is really a case of disappointment management.I seem better at hacking wi-fi so ... read more
Lisa and Saroj
Heading across the rice fields
One very big tree

Asia » Nepal » Butwal September 18th 2008

Asia » Nepal » Butwal August 14th 2008

In Nepal things rarely happen as you expect or hope. This is what Heather and I discussed as we stood at the new bus park in Butwal, waiting to meet our friends for dinner. We were mostly thinking of the unexpected information we had uncovered in a series of interviews that morning. It started at the Radio Jagaran office, where I had managed to sit down with Dinesh (see my previous blog about him on my work blog site) and ask him some questions about his parents. His father is a Village Health Worker and his mother has uterine prolapse but they are from an extremely poor untouchable caste family, making them an example of a case where even those who have knowledge about UP still don’t have the resources to seek medical care. During my ... read more

Asia » Nepal » Butwal August 13th 2008

At first glance it seemed an unlikely location for a community information session. An hour by motorcycle from Butwal and then another ten minutes from the main highway over a bumpy dirt road, the building was of a simple wood construction. The bottom level was open on two sides: two water buffaloes rested in the back among stacks of hay; a goat was tied to one of the front beams. A basic set of wooden steps led to the top floor, which was a simple loft enclosed by three walls and a slanting roof. A man was busy laying out mats on the floorboards. He disappeared and came back a few minutes later bearing a TV and a tangle of electric cords. In the loft above the cattle shed he set up the TV and the ... read more
Bringing electricty to the cowshed
Nandu explaining gender discrimination poster
Captive audience

Asia » Nepal » Butwal August 10th 2008

A new work blog (part I) is up about working with the Uterine Prolapse Alliance. Part II will follow in the next few days with a photos and a description of a community information session that I facilitated and observed yesterday in Nawalparasi district. http://advocacynet.org/blogs/index.php?blog=107... read more

Asia » Nepal » Butwal August 4th 2008

Like many women, Barabati was working in the fields when she first knew that something was wrong. By her best guess she was around thirty years old at the time; just two years earlier she had given birth to her one and only child. It was April, the peak of the harvesting season, and Barabati had been cutting and tying bundles of grass. As she bent over to pick up a heavy load she felt a sudden pain in her lower abdomen. Barabati had never heard of uterine prolapse, but she immediately knew that something wasn’t right. Despite the pain that she endured as a result of her prolapsed uterus, Barabati told no one about her symptoms. Like too many women, Barabati was afraid that if she told even her husband about her personal health problems, ... read more

Asia » Nepal » Butwal July 27th 2008

Chandmati Pasi is, if nothing else, candid. She answers inquiries about her life with a measure of directness that is unusual in her community. Ask her how many children she has borne, and without even the suggestion of emotion she will tell you of the four children that have survived and the three that have died—one at birth, one within eight days, and another within five months. Prompted about her medical condition, Chandmati will just as matter of factly tell you about the day she felt her uterus prolapse. Chandmati was out collecting wood just fifteen days after the birth of her last child when it happened. It was a rainy day and the roads were slick with mud, causing Chandmati to slip. As she fell she experienced a sudden pain and the sensation of something ... read more

Asia » Nepal » Butwal July 24th 2008

I think I've finally made Flickr happen, despite the painfully slow uploading issues. Most of the photos are the most recent batch that I developed from Butwal. Those of you who have heard me go on and on about how much I love Butwal may now understand why. Here are a few of my favorites to tempt you. Enjoy. ... read more
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