Desperate Girls

The Badi Girls

Between 7,000 and 12,000 young girls, aged 9-16, are trafficked each year from Nepal; mainly to India. According to Nepal Monitor/On line journal, 2007, there are more than 200,000 Nepali girls in Indian brothels.

The Dalits(untouchables) are the lowest level in Hindu society, and the Badi community, in Western Nepal, are the lowest of the low. As a displaced hungry people group the Badi community has made sexual subservience a way of life. Young girls from this group “serve” other groups. This has become a tradition and means of livelihood. Many girls, even when they are unwilling, are forced to serve as sex slaves. Family members knowingly sell their daughters to traffickers.

Though prostitution is illegal in Nepal, the industry reportedly has links with highly ranked officials and political leaders. Large groups of girls are taken across the border with many police and government officials being in collusion with traffickers and brothel owners.

Traffickers and related criminals are often protected by political parties, and if arrested, are freed using political power. As a result, there is an underlying distrust of police that has led people not to file cases against traffickers.

Domestic action involves activities of NGO’s and other volunteer groups. These groups are playing a major role to address girl-trafficking and sex slaves issues. Some NGO’s are playing a very important role to improve the situation. From creating social awareness to rescuing and rehabilitation, they are providing services (and relief) to those that need it the most – the likely victims as well as the rescued ones. The Lighthouse foundation is one of these.

*See Chandra Kala’s story on this blog site.

Saturday 26 April 2014

Friday 25 April. Anzac Day

It didn't seem much like Anzac Day today, although the ESL class did learn much about the "Gurkhas" who fought with the British in WW1 .  They come from a place called Gorka in Nepal and were great soldiers.  Today, we spent a large part of the day shopping for our merchandise for our online and sales as we travel around promoting the work here.  Beautiful pashminas, felt products and paper mâché.  All Nepal products in all their beautiful colours.  A Nepali friend guided us through the maze of streets, packed with pedestrians, taxis and rickshaws.  Totally disorienting.  Then we looked for material for Margaret, who wants to make aprons with a special logo for our hospitality trainees.  Also hoping to sell them in Oz.  We went to a tiny little shop with fabrics.  No! Nothing there but  he wanted us to follow him across the road. We opened a small double wooden door into a dark hall, strongly smelling of urine.  Then began the climb up five double flights of stairs to the top floor, (death by a thousand steps) Every room on each floor jam packed with bolts of fabric to the ceiling.   Every space on each landing also piled up with fabric.  Finally, on the top floor, the little man goes over in the corner, and under a pile, there was the material Margaret needed.  All 50metres of it, measured out with a stick a metre long.  How anyone could know how to find that material amongst the thousands of bolts of material is a wonder.  Carrying it around afterwards was also a challenge.  We met up some of the  team for dinner in the tourist area.  David and Stacey spent the day in the school.  Tomorrow is church, and some of the team are taking their sponsored girls out afterwards.  We are now down to 10 here at the guest house.  Seems such a small group now.  

Robyn

Thursday 24 April 2014

Wednesday 23 April

Today, two of the girls I. The cooking training had birthdays.  One was 20 and another was 24.  Lovely Margaret, with the help of Delma, made two beautiful cakes for,them..  The first time they had had a birthday party.  We all had a wonderful time.  What a great pleasure it was to see them having such a good time.  We also played games outside.  Two teams racing each other holding balloons between their knees and the other one, holding a ball under the chin, and passing it along the line.  They really enjoyed it.



Monday 21 April 2014

Monday 21 April. Coffee shop

Today, the girls in training cooked shortbread and  brownies and cupcakes.  Then after lunch, the coffee shop was set up and we all went down for afternoon tea, while they practiced their hospitality skills.  We even had a young man singing in the background for a little mood music.  We also have another ESL teacher, part- time, to continue on after Patsy and Shirley leave.  We have two more team members arrive last night.  That makes 22 to cook for.  Kate flies out tonight and then on Wednesday, 3 more leave, and thenThursday night, the Mackay group leave.  It has been a great group.  Everyone has been helping each other.  It gets very chaotic here, when everyone has their own responsibilities, often in various parts of the city, or in various rooms here at the hostel.  The Mackay team went on a mountain flight past the glorious mountains, including Everest.  They were all blown away.







    Ladies at the local well washing their clothes. Guess who's Mum doesn't have a Whirlpool
.
    Robyn

Sunday 20 April 2014

Sunday. 20. April

Just a short note to let you know that our blog will be changed from now on.  Today, we were told we have to remove all photos and stories  of the girls from the blog and website and sponsorship  page.  Guess it will be an arduous task trolling back through the blog and changing of the website.

Robyn

Saturday, 19 April. Dologhat church and mountain views (almost)

Today, the team went out to Dologhat chuch, two and half hours drive in the school bus.  Some team members stayed home due to illness, the germs seems to be circulating freely through the guest house. The drive was the usual risky driving, broken down trucks along the way.  One truck had crashed into a little house right on the edge of a precipice.  Good thing the house was there, or the driver would have been a statistic.  Once there, we climbed the ladder- stairs to the church in the loft. 
We were jammed in like sardines in a tin.  Last time, we nearly froze to death in January, and this time it was sweltering.  We also went to look at the land on the River where we hope soon to start the training centre, church, school etc.  Then on the way home, we went to a hotel for lunch.  Sadly this time of the year, there is too much pollution to see the snowcapped mountains. Only the foot hills were in view.  
Robyn


     The pastor and his. Mum.



Friday 18 April 2014

Friday 18 April. Welding lessons

The 6 young men had their first welding lessons today with Norman.  Half were Badi boys, and the others were the lovely boys from the Chepang people, who are residing in one of our hostels until a new hostel is finished back in their region.  At that time, they will return there to be leaders in the hostel.  

   The man,in the back,in the grey shirt is our caretaker, Netra.  We would be lost without him.
Being team day off, various members have gone in their own directions.  Grahame is on the mend, and so is Patsy, but now Barry is under the weather.  This flu  seems to be circulating.  Last night, the Mackay team arrived back, full of talk about their adventures out west.  They have all had an amazing time, all are overwhelmed with the lovely people of Nepal.  Tomorrow, we go out to Dologhat for church.  We need to use the school bus to get there, as there are so many of us.  It is good to have the village experience of church, as opposed to the city. 

 We would like to wish you a happy Easter.

Robyn

Thursday 17 April , icing, welding and construction

The team is already is full swing.  Margaret and Delma are in the kitchen teaching making leaves and flowers for cakes..Barry and Norman are outside welding a frame for a covered area outside the kitchen.  Tomorrow,  some boys are coming to get instruction on welding.  Mo is completing her health classes with the half-way house women.  There will be dancing and singing afterwards, I'm sure.  Agnes and Salli are at school working with the teachers.  Grahame is at the Bible college.  ESL class continue twice a day.  Some of those young people walk for an hour to start at 6a.m. Walk home again and then repeat it in the afternoon.  Many go to work in between times.  The half-way ladies walk an hour each way to come for their training.  I, on the other hand, do the exciting task of grocery shopping, in the morning and each afternoon ,walk quite a distance to buy the fresh veges off the little carts that appear about 4 p.m.  Our front gate is a construction site.  Great mounds of gravel and sand, and a clapped out small cement mixer block our way.  I had to scramble over the gravel pile to get out to buy the food today.  They mix the concrete, then pulley it up in a big metal bucket.  The men on the top floor tip it onto large sheets of something with a man holding two corners at each end, the drag it to,the place it needs to be, the fling it down.  They worked flat out all day.  At least it was all men this time, and not some poor lady carrying the loads up on her back up three flights of stairs.  The Mackay team arrives tonight, so,we will have 22 people here now for another week. With two more arrived in a couple of day.




      
     Norman and Barry

Mo preparing for the dusty streets.

Wednesday 16 April 2014

Another lovely day with these incredible young ladies. They are so loving and grateful for all that they receive they are quite inspirational. Today, we watched a short film on the computer showing a baby growing in the womb till birth and then we shared birth experiences and I explained the intricacies of labour as simply as possible. We have a lovely interpreter who is a year twelve pupil in school and very proficient in English. She seems to appreciate my silly English humour though my joke about pms and. Mad cow disease seemed to get lost I translation! 
Tomorrow I will teach them about parts of the body and relating that back to biblical texts. I really want them to know that they were not an accident and that God loves them and how precious and unique they are. 
Some more of the team have arrived today so the house is noisy again, can only imagine how it will be tomorrow when the school team returns from their trip out west. Everyone is really nice and we enjoy each other, s company. 
Please excuse any mistakes! Have borrowed Robyn,s iPad and it doesn't,  always behave as I want!

Monday 14 April 2014

Monday 14 April, New Years treats in ESL class

Patsy and Shirley ended their morning session today with a little New Year's Day party.  They had brought little gifts for each student. They were very thrilled.  The teacher's were less than dignified as you can see.






          the court jester


           Paris Hilton

Sunday 13 April. Movement on the station

The Mackay ChristianSchool team left at 6.30 am this morning to fly out to Nepalgunj near the Indian border, and then embarked on a two and a half hour trip up those famous Nepali roads up the mountain.  They have arrived, weary, but keen to be there and see where our girls come from, the school we have there and to contribute to the community there.  Peter is spending the next four days doing leadership training with 63 pastors and church leaders.  Lyn is teaching effective teaching and leadership series 2.  The girls will be painting some rooms, and Johnno with be doing maintenance of generators, bikes and the bus and everything else that moves ( or doesn't move when it should) .  I did another round of photos and updates of our girls, Shirley and Patsy continued on with ESL.  We have some sickness in the team with 3 down with various maladies.  Grahame has been preparing for a week of teaching at the  Bible school, from 9a.m. To 5p.m.starting tomorrow.  Surprisingly, it is New Year's Eve tonight in Nepal.  Tomorrow it will be 2071.  We hope there won't be too much partying.  It is enough to contend with yapping dogs at night.

Robyn

Thursday 10 April 2014

Wednesday, 9th, new arrival, horn blower, dogs

We are all very tired today. We had barking dogs all night, and once again, the horn blower at some unearthly hour blowing his leg- bone horn.  The girls from Mackay. Christian School went to another hostel today and entertained  the kids.  They are such great girls.  Four of them are only 15, and one is 17, and they are very mature.  They jump in and do the washing up, and are so respectful and willing.    Today, as I walked back from one of the hostels, I came upon a group of boys playing cricket, with a homemade bat.  They called out to me and asked if I would like to play.   They were telling me in broken English how they love cricket and especially Shane Watson, so they obviously watch the game.our new team member is a nurse, so she will be doing some health training.  






Dinner around the table, girls washing up with head lamp, girls journaling their thoughts  at the end of each day

Robyn

Tuesday 8 April 2014

Twin-tubs, journals, and a crazy man

Girls pretending to know how to use a twin-tub





Shirley and Patsy in front of the class

Today, as I walked down the street, and man was walking with his pants off, with one leg in the pants, and holding the other leg out at right angles.  Once again, I wasn't quick enough with take the photo.
Only in !epal.

Monday 7 April 2014

Business men's conference

Peter Irvine conducted  a conference today  with about 200 businessmen which was very well received.  Peter also preached at both services at Hosanna church yesterday, packed to the doors as usual.  Today, we visited Tusal hostel and the team from Mackay played games with the girls which they enjoyed enormously.  They are on holidays at present, so it broke the boredom a little for them.
Shirley and Patsy are conducting ESL training.  Their classes begin at 6a.m. Till 8 a.m. and again in the afternoon from 4p.m. Till. 6 p.m. So they have to be up at 5a.m

Robyn

Sunday 6 April 2014

Sunday 6. Crèche and construction

Workers about to start work, carrying heavy loads of gravel up three floors  and the crèche  for the little ones as their mothers labour long and hard.


Wednesday 2 April 2014

Tuesday 2 April

It seems as if we have never left, just slotting right in again.  We had two ladies travel with us who will be doing ESL training, and then later yesterday, Peter arrived.  Tomorrow we are expecting another Peter also.  The building going up around us here is amazing.  Apparently, money is being loaned from the government, and there is action everywhere.  Opposite the lane from us, they were digging the foundations by hand when we left at the end of January, and now they are half through the second floor, bearing in mind that everything is mixed by hand, bricks and mixed cement is carried up on their backs one heavy load at a time , by the women. Then everything is rendered and painted some lovely bright colour.  It is pretty steamy during the day, and I guess it will only get hotter leading up to the monsoon season.  We have 24 all together on team , some for the whole time, and others for a week, or maybe two.  There is a school team for three weeks, but they are going out to the west to see where the girls come from and do some work out there also, for a week of that time.  Once again, we got a royal welcome from our half-way house ladies when we arrived interrupting their training.  They are in temporary housing while we are looking for a better house for them.  At the moment, they have to walk for one hour to get to training, and then walk another hour home.  They should be fit.  Things will begin in earnest tomorrow, so I'd better get my act to together.

Robyn