Well folks, many apologies for the lack of regular updates. I have returned from Pokhara to the Kathmandu Valley for the time being, although these days, my eyes rarely stray from the jagged, white 8000m peaks of the Himalaya. I will soon be heading for those hills, to get a sense of how the issues of public health and human rights manifest themselves on the slopes of the world's greatest water towers.
Here in Kathmandu, volunteers continue to come and go in a non-stop parade of altruistic potential. In truth, most leave Nepal slightly disillusioned by the volunteer experience, feeling as though somehow their contribution did not amount to anything substantial. It would be easy to slide into this mindset if one did not remember that simply by their presence, one can offer somebody hope. In a strange twist though, the presence of relatively affluent westerners in the midst of a sea of poverty perhaps serves more often than not to remind people of the lifestyle and the material existence they will never achieve, despite considerable attempts to emulate the life of westerners. There is clearly no easy answer, and the process is one I continue to grapple with.
The pollution is again becoming overwhelming. In the mornings, I wake up and blow my nose only to find a disgusting accumulation of yellow phlegm in the kleenex. I am beginning to understand why the incessant horking of snot into the street occurs. I am also beginning to understand why the average Nepali only lives to 58 years of age. This knowledge makes it urgently apparent that somebody here has got to step up and be a stud - Nepal needs a leader and a unified approach which will see the country through the hard times; somebody to help alleviate the ubiquitous abuses of human rights which meet the eye no matter where one turns. The NGOs and INGOs can only shoulder so much of the burden.
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