It has been nearly two weeks since we added anything to this site, and it's been a busy time with a week spent in Nepal's Mid West region visiting INF projects there and I'm now coming towards the end of my first full week of work – this is no longer feeling like a holiday!!

The trip to Nepalgunj is 420kms but takes 10 hours if you're lucky. It is a fascinating journey with two distinct halves. From Pokhara the road climbs over and through Nepal's hilly middle regions with no straight sections longer than about 100m. Then you each Butwal on the edge of the Terai, and suddenly the land flattens out and the country takes on a completely different feel. The horizontal horizons felt a bit disorientating after six months in the hills, straight roads stretching into the distance teeming with rickshaws and buffalo carts.

INF's work in this region covers both urban and incredibly remote districts and involves treating people with complicated TB and leprosy and then getting them re-integrated into their communities, community development, drug rehabilitation and support for the government run health service. INF works in the poorest communities, often behind the scenes, helping people to work together to prioritise their needs and then either do the work themselves, or go out and find other sources of funding to carry out development. This is a slow process that can take several years, but as the communities are integral to it, and drive the pace of it, this way of working seems to develop a greater sense of ownership among the community, and developments are more long term and sustainable.

We also had some fun, meeting some great people and sampling life on three wheels. The owner of this rickshaw was nervous to say the least...

We visited the Indian border - seemingly open to anyone with a brown skin, but westerners need a visa. It was incredibly busy, with a constant stream of trucks, carts and cycles. Goods are cheaper in India than Nepal so many Nepalis travel across regularly to shop.

Unfortunately Elle picked up a nasty dose of amoeba, which surfaced while we were away. She was really laid low for three days, and is now slowly regaining strength. This has been our first real case of illness since we arrived, and has been sobering. Your prayers for continued good health would be much appreciated.

Evie has kept well and is on great form - now moving around the house rapidly from one dangerous situation to another!

In the last couple of weeks it is has warmed up dramatically and the day time temperature gets to ~30C and rising: at 8.00 in the evening it is still about 26C in the house. The approaching summer feels a little daunting!

I am now a full time Donor Liaison Advisor..... Working with a team of three Nepalis to ensure that INF's various projects are fully funded and that donors know how their money is being spent. After several years in an open plan office, I feel a bit lonely in a small office by myself. Other than that, my work is remarkably similar to what I have been doing in the UK: writing and compiling reports and presentations, communicating with donors (suppliers) and ensuring deadlines are met. Oh, and anyone at Eurotherm who wants to complain about the heat in the office is welcome to swap!

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Went for a quick spin on the bikes this morning with Ian and Marcel from Germany who has come to Nepal for four months to teach German to some of the INF kids. We took in part of the Royal trek route that Prince Charles trekked when he came to Nepal. As you can see, the views were ok....

No blog would be complete without a picture of Evie – happy as ever and getting in some climbing practice.

Strikes are still very much the order of the day here in Nepal as political parties and protest groups all vie for influence (Nepal's interim constitution was modified this week to take one groups concerns into account). However ordinary people have become increasingly disinterested and keen to get on with their lives. Ignoring strikes can be a risky business though and there have been riots in some parts of the country – fortunately not in the Pokhara area. Perhaps sensing that they were losing support for their strikes with ordinary people, one group has now announced a campaign of civil disobediance – locking up government offices and refusing to pay taxes....

Assuming no new strikes are called overnight, we travel to the mid-west of Nepal tomorrow to visit INF's programs in Nepalgunge, Surkhet and Gorahi. We'll be away for a week and are really looking forward to seeing a very different part of the country (where a lot of the political unrest has been) and seeing INF's work there at first hand.

We are all well, although tired after a hectic week during which we have moved house and both started work.

Further to my previous post, we also had a spectactular lunar eclipse that was well worth getting up at 3AM to see.



Elle was involved in two days of interviews as part of INF's 'visionary recruitment process' that aims to attract talented Nepalis to the organisation and put them in roles where they can be trained and developed. I had a two day meeting with the INF donor team (three Nepalis, manager, and me) working out what everyone's roles are, what needs doing, and where I fit in. First impressions are that it is a strong team with a lot of experience and I have some catching up to do!



A couple of weeks ago was the Hindu festival of Holi. Not quite sure why, but this is a day when the whole country seems to get involved in water fights: pitched battles with coloured dye and water bombs can be seen on every street. We had several groups on motor bikes racing around the neighbourhood attacking each other and anyone who got in the way. It all seemed very good natured, but not a day to wear your best clothes....

Same scene, different light.... I make no apologies for attaching another picture of the awesome Annapurnas, this time glowing in the light of an incredibly bright moon. I didn't get much sleep last night as after taking these pictures, I waited up for the lunar eclipse. Which is actually happening tonight....

Despite joining an interim coalition government here and officially ending their civil war, the Maoists are currently undertaking a nationwide series of rallies to maintain their profile and reassure people that they haven't thrown in the towel.

In preparation for their visit to Pokhara the town has been covered in red flags. This picture shows the statue of Pritvi Narayan Shah, the Gorkha king who united Nepal in the 1700's, now wearing a maoist banner and welcoming people to Pokhara with a new red flag.

We are all well. Full time language learning is over, and we are taking a weeks holiday before getting stuck into work. We'd be interested in your comments....

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Mid-week photo special....


We had a break in the clouds on Tuesday, giving a fantastic early morning panorama of snowcapped peaks along the northern horizon. I used the think the view over Worthing seafront from Highdown was good, but this is something special!





This shot from the south of Pokhara gives a view of Green Pastures hospital. The two storey white building to the right is INF's regional administration centre and where we have been having language lessons. The actual hospital is the low square red roofed building in the middle of the picture, and the other buildings dotted around include a laboratory, a workshop for manufacturing prosthetic limbs and an occupational therapy centre. Pokhara stretches off into the distance, with Machapuchare and the Annapurnas watching over the valley.




Of course the other main subject for photography in our house is Evie. Here she is, generally being great, with Sukmaya who helps us in the house.

On Wednesday, a national strike day was called by a group trying to promote indigenous people's rights within Nepal. Roads and shops were closed across the country, and in contrast to some previous 'bhands' there was a peaceful atmosphere in Pokhara hiding the frustration that most people feel at this disruption to their ability to work and get around. The roads crowded with cyclists and walkers rather than buses and tractors – maybe the UK government should try this to promote exercise...