Blogs from Pakistan, Asia - page 15

Dear All Just a quick blog to pass the news on that V.S.O. have descided to stop international volunteering in Pakistan until the political situation becomes more settled so we will be coming back a couple of months earleir than intended. We now plan to leave at the end of July ready to go back to work in Coventry in September. All volunteers are to leave by September. This is sad news for many reasons--we have never felt in danger in the area where we are placed and we our having some good success in our work which will now have to be curtailed. However it will be lovely to see everyone again and bore you all with even more photos and stories of 'When we were in Pakistan..........' Good news--we are getting some monies from ... read more

Bits and bobs blog! Lots of stuff happening here in hot and getting hotter Sydenwalla! Geoff and I had another visit to India! This time we walked!! Not all the way--- we are close to the Wagga border crossing. {Yes, the one where the trainee police academy was attacked!} so we took a taxi to the Pakistani side {there was little evidence of the previous trouble and I had made lots of phone call and enquires to make sure things were OK now!} and we walked across to India! The Pakistani side was very modern and posh but lacked electricity and the India side was rather run down but did have power! Our names are now written in many huge ledgers as they still want physical proof as well as the computer records! We then took ... read more

Adventures on the Road to Murree from Islamabad! So, the steep, narrow, curvy, and perilous mountain road leading up from Islamabad to the cool mountain-top town of Murree is, well, steep, narrow, and perilous. The road to Murree is also filled with large commercial trucks that are rolling folk art, wonderfully painted, and dazzlingly decorated. They are also often old and tired. Metal chains dangle and clang as the trucks struggle and strain to go up hills. If you are behind one of them, the people in your rear-view window become increasingly agitated if you don't pass them. There were some other factors to consider as well: (1) a steering wheel on the right hand side, (2) a stick shift in your left hand, and most importantly, (3) oncoming traffic, which means on the right hand ... read more

School blog 2 As I write this I think you are all looking forward to half term, what ever the weather!! The holidays here do not seem to be so well defined---some depend on the phases of the moon and others on the decision of the government or who ever runs the school. Any how it means that sometimes Geoff and I are surprised to realise that there is no school today! The weather also plays a part in if school happens or not---rain is a problem, even just a little, as the ‘roads’ turn to mud very quickly, the class rooms are dark and the outdoor option not possible so few teachers turn up and even less students. Infact today is a wet day so we are home early and I am writing this sitting ... read more

Work Blog Been looking at the blog entries and realised that I haven’t really said much about why we are actually here i.e. WORK! I will try and describe a typical day but they are always different which is a good thing really!! Our ‘office’ is a few moments walk away situated on the roof of the Girls High School. The High School is in the largest building in the village and it used to be a very grand house belonging to a Sikh family. It is built around a court yard and could be beautiful with some good painting and loving care. I often stay for their assembly which the girls always organise themselves as quite often there are no teachers as the transport from Kot Rahda Kishen is not ever so reliable! They recite ... read more