Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Christmas in April


Bringing it back-working by candle light.



"River of Power?"

We have been planning our days around load shedding since I arrived in January. You never know how much you rely on power until you are without it for 8+ hours a day. However, you also realize that you can do without it, improvising and coming up with alternate solutions. We are now programmed perfectly on the load shedding schedule- so you can imagine our surprise when at 9AM this past Sunday morning, the power did not go out. The snow is melting in the Himalayas and the water level of the rivers is rising. More water equals more power- this means that the dry season is over and we must prepare for monsoon season. It feels really weird to have power for most of the day. We are so accustomed to the dark that it literally feels like Christmas every night with lights. It makes doing business so much easier when you have access to the internet and can work at all hours of the day. We learned to appreciate a light switch, an internet connection, a hot meal and hot water. To put it all in perspective- what we think we need, we just really want.

KATHMANDU, April 28 - With the increase of water levels in the rivers, Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) has decided to cut down load shedding. Starting Tuesday, the NEA has fixed load shedding for 21 hours a week relieving people from power cut for 2 days. The load shedding will be imposed for two and a half hour for 3 days, eight hours and six hours respectively for another two days. Before this, the consumers had to suffer more than 40 hours of load shedding. The NEA has announced that the duration of power cut will be decreased gradually.

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

Is This Guy Serious?

We realize some people do not know where Nepal is located. Granted, it is a small country sandwiched between two of the world’s biggest countries (China and India). But when high level advisors to the world’s most powerful and influential figure in the world does not know, it is truly alarming. This following is an article from The Kathmandu Post:

It seems US President George W. Bush's security advisor, Stephen Hadley, did not know the difference between Nepal and Tibet. In an interview conducted by George Stephanopoulos of ABC television in the US on April 14, Hadley repeatedly confused Tibet with Nepal.

"If countries are really concerned about Nepal, we shouldn't have this sort of non-issue of opening ceremonies or not. They should do the hard work of quiet diplomacy to urge the Chinese government -- in their interest -- to take advantage of this opportunity to do something," Hadley said while asked about the issue of Chinese crackdown against Tibetan protests.
It did not end here. "The way to deal with the issue of Nepal is not by some -- a statement that you're not going to the opening ceremonies ..." he further said.

"What he's doing on Nepal is what we think the international community ought to be doing, which is approaching the Chinese privately through diplomatic channels and sending a very firm message of concern for human rights, a concern for what's happening in Nepal, urging the Chinese government to understand that it is in their interest to reach out to representatives of the Dalai Lama, and to show, while the whole world is watching China, that they are determined to treat their citizens with dignity and respect. There is an opportunity here," he added.
Hadley did not realize his mistake, nor did interviewer Stephanopoulos attempt to correct him during the interview.

Later, a White House spokesperson had to correct the mistake. "In his ABC interview, Mr. Hadley referred at least a half-dozen times to Nepal when he seemed clearly to be speaking of Tibet." A White House spokesman later confirmed that Mr. Hadley had misspoken, the New York Times said.

Sunday, April 20, 2008

Earth Day 2008

From Global Daughter in Kathmandu, Nepal- Please love your environment.



As we take from the environment, we must give back. Something as small as saying no to plastic bags is a contribution. We all know what our responsibilities are, so let's take action.

Global Daughter will have 100% cotton shopping bags in their online boutique coming soon. By purchasing a handmade, practical and environmentally friendly bag, you are representing a socially conscience lifestyle...in style!


....other environmentally friendly and healthy living products coming soon- recycled natural paper products and organic Himalayan green tea.....

Saturday, April 19, 2008

Annapurna Base Camp

Oh what thine eyes hath seen...













HAPPY NEW YEAR 2065!

It is now 2065 in Nepal. The Nepali calendar is so ahead of the game. Living in the future is pretty cool. I am almost sure I might not live to see 2065 back in America. Happy New Year!

Thursday, April 17, 2008

To All Teachers

One thing we have learned here is that education is the most important tool a country either does or does not possess. Like all developing nations around the world, Nepal still lacks basic education opportunities for its youth. It is our belief that educating children will be the key to Nepal's progression and rise out of poverty. Teachers here are not only trying to better the lives of their students, they are the leaders of a movement to stop the cycle of illiteracy, child labour and poverty.

So, to all teachers around the world, thank you. Thank you for your contribution to future generations and your commitment to social responsibility. We think very highly of educators (our parents are teachers) and realize that they are some of the most selfless and admirable global citizens.

Teachers in Nepal have to face uncertain circumstances in the classroom. Classes are held in open-air huts or on blankets in the grass in some cases. Most teachers in Nepal are paid very low wages and most are under-appreciated (this happens even in America!). Because communities and families can't afford books or basic supplies in some places, teachers will spend their own money to enrich their classrooms with resource materials (this also happens in America). In our visits to several schools in the village area and the mountains we have seen kids absolutely packed into small rooms with no desks. Their pencils are worn down to the last nub of lead and their tattered notebooks look like used tissue paper. School strikes are common and during country-wide strikes schools are not allowed to remain open. During petroleum shortages school buses can not ferry kids to school so the schools have to be shut down. Some children have to walk miles to the nearest school. Remember that story your gramps told you about having to walk 10 miles in the snow to the school house? Imagine that, now add the fact that some kids have to walk up the largest hills and mountains in the world (most of the time without shoes). They have to be the most fit kids on the planet!

Whether its holding class in the grass or in a four-story luxury private school, it all makes a difference. Anytime you teach someone a skill or share your knowledge with them, it makes a difference. The ability to teach others is a talent that we all do not have- so to those who have this talent and use it to shape the lives and livelihood of our children, thank you.

Hilly region-public, 400 students, one computer, basketball hoops

New School built by Women in Environment in the mountainous region. First School in the area.


Village school (Terai Region)- 2 female teachers, 40 kids, no books, dirt floor

Saturday School in a small town (Plains area)- outdoors, 1 female teacher (volunteer), 20 sponges attentive and ready

Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Have you eaten today?... Lucky.



The world is in a hunger crisis. In just three years, the price of staple foods like wheat, corn and rice has almost doubled. If we don't do something soon, hundreds of thousands of people face starvation and a hundred million more could fall into deeper poverty. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said, "The rapidly escalating crisis of food availability around the world has reached emergency proportions."
Violent protests have already taken down the government in Haiti. Similar expressions of frustration and fear have broken out in a dozen countries from Cameroon to Uzbekistan, with experts warning that 33 countries are at risk of social upheaval because of rising food prices.
The question is what can we do now?

This summer, the leaders of the eight wealthiest nations (known as the Group of Eight or G8) will gather in Japan to set a global policy agenda. That agenda must include emergency action against hunger and long-term commitments to tackle the causes of this crisis.
Click the link below to send the following petition to President Bush asking him to rally the G8 to end the hunger crisis as part of an aggressive anti-poverty agenda:
http://www.one.org/hungercrisis/o.pl?id=293-775348-ooM7xA&t=2
President Bush,
The soaring cost of staple foods and the resulting hunger crisis has caused riots from Haiti to Bangladesh, threatens hundreds of thousands of people with starvation and could push one hundred million more people deeper into poverty. Please build on your recent commitment by taking immediate action to:
1) Prioritize issues of global poverty, including the world hunger crisis on the agenda of the G8 Summit this July in Japan.
2) At the summit, secure commitments for additional resources for all types of food assistance and increased agricultural productivity in developing countries.
For the world's most vulnerable people, there is no margin for survival. Today in Bangladesh, a 2 kilogram bag of rice costs a poor family half their daily income. If prices keep climbing, they will stop eating.
By clicking this link, you'll add your name to our petition calling on the G8 to take action to break the cycle of hunger.
http://www.one.org/hungercrisis/o.pl?id=293-775348-ooM7xA&t=3
The hunger crisis is a critical part of the anti-poverty agenda we're asking the G8 to take action on. The nations of the G8 need to keep their promise to increase development assistance to poor countries and double aid to Africa. Combined with trade policy changes and support for anti-corruption initiatives, these resources will help poor countries to build better health systems, fight preventable diseases, and achieve education for all. But without solving the hunger crisis, we won't be able to make progress in these other vital areas.
The G8 can start by making sure that the right kinds of food assistance reach people in need even while prices are skyrocketing. Last month, the World Food Program issued an "extraordinary emergency appeal" to donor countries. On Monday, President Bush pledged $200 million on behalf of the United States, which we applaud. This is a step in the right direction, but will not end the crisis. It may not even be enough to keep food programs at their current levels. The G8 should meet this need and must ensure that food assistance providers have the resources and flexibility to be able to buy food in local markets.
The hunger crisis is not going away. Prices will keep rising and more people will go hungry unless we make historic investments to help impoverished countries grow more food. Food assistance needs to be matched with investment in agricultural development to break the cycle of hunger. A comprehensive approach is needed to increase agricultural productivity in poor countries including infrastructure investment, improved technology, and better access to water, seeds, tools and fertilizer.
World Bank President Robert Zoellick estimates that, if left unchecked, global food shortages could set the world back seven years in the fight against extreme poverty and global disease. We must urge our leaders to take action, and call for action from other donor countries, before hunger derails the progress that we've made to end the suffering caused by extreme poverty and global disease.

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Global Village

If you could fit the entire population of the world into a village consisting of 100 people, maintaining the proportion of all people living on the Earth, that village would consist of:



57 Asians
21 Europeans
14 Americans (North, Central, South)
8 Africans

There would be:

52 Women
48 Men
30 Caucasians and 70 Non-Caucasians
30 Christians and 70 Non-Christians
89 Heterosexuals and 11 Homosexuals

6 people would possess 59% of the wealth and they would all be from the United States of America.

80 would live in poverty
70 would be illiterate
50 would suffer from hunger or malnutrition
1 would be dying
1 would be born
1 would have a university degree

Harsh Reality for Women


38% percent of the population are below the poverty line and Nepal has the highest maternal death rate among all of the South Asian countries. In general, women in Nepal have remained economically poor as a result of their traditional social values, superstition, poverty and lack of knowledge. Women must live in their husband's home after marriage where their rights are limited. Women also do not have access to property, despite the hard work they put into its keeping and maintenance. Instead they are pressured to give birth to healthy sons, though they are ironically deprived of nutritious food and appropriate care during pregnancy. In reality, women do not have free control over decisions on matters related to their own bodies. The timing and spacing of pregnancies are often not up to them, and they do not have free reign over decision-making with regard to child birth, nor the selection of nutritious food, nor appropriate rest. They are often deprived of safe motherhood services and they do not have access to family planning methods.

The dowry system in Nepal is motivation for families to have more male children despite their ability to financially care for them. In this system, a boys family recieves a dowry, in the form of money, property, animals, etc, whereas the family of the girl has to give these marriage gifts.If a girl's family does not offer enough money or gold in the dowry upon marriage, some new brides are beat by their in-laws and their new husband. Some husbands will throw burning acid in the face of their new bride as punishment for small dowry gifts. Acid is a favorite weapon of violent and abusive men in backward villages in the country. Some in-laws will starve their new daughter-in-law and beat and mentally abuse her. We see stories in the paper daily about violence or injustices against women.

85% of country’s population survives on agriculture in villages where the human development indicator is very low. Most of the women living in the rural settings have many different responsibilities including looking after the household, cutting wood, fetching water, washing dishes and clothes, cooking, farming, looking after the animals, taking care of children, etc. For this work they recieve no monetary compensation. Their work day can be as long as 16 hours, in some cases more. Their husbands, however, average about 8 hours of work a day, with compensation. The old addage, "A woman's work is never done," could not be truer than in Nepal.

With a lack of education, some young girls have no other option than to become some man's wife at an early age and start producing children. Their future is mapped out for them by their parents; their husband is arranged, their living arrangements with their husband's parents is arranged, and their reproductive cycle is closely followed to arrange for children. Free will for women does not exist here as it does in Western cultures.

Girls are often seen as a burden and put to work at early ages. If a family has many children and not enough money to send them all to school, the parents will forfeit their daughter's education so that their sons can be educated. They see the boy as more of an asset than the girl. So the girl remains illiterate and on some occasions, may be sold into sex trafficking in India. It is a nasty cycle that in many villages across Nepal, and is continually being practiced.

We have witnessed these practices in villages in Nepal. To see it with your own eyes makes the statistics jump off the page and become real. It is sad and discouraging, of course, but let us all try to be a part of the solution. Join us in choosing this cause as part of your contribution to future generations of girls in Nepal and the world. We live in a global village and injustice for one is injustice for all.

Monday, April 14, 2008

Communists Win Majority (Good Idea.)


Maoist Leader Prachanda



Election results are coming in from all over the country and by a considerable number the Maoists (Communist Party- Nepal) are leading in seats. The seats are for the Constituent Assembly- the body that will draft a new constitution for the country and determine the democratic (??) framework of the government. It was a shock to many people that the Maoists, the initiators of a decade long war in Nepal that killed over 13,000 people and displaced hundreds of thousands, were victorious. It is scary to think about how they will wield this new power in the name of the people. It is all the buzz in the country that the Maosists have defeated the normally dominate Nepali Congress. This is a sign that people want to see change. They voted a party that they think will help change the country for the better, but in doing so, they have voted for a party that has little experience in mainstream politics and frankly, speak as if they have lost their minds.

They promise gold and property to the poor, but their plan to make good on that promise is to steal possessions from the rich to give to the poor. They have been doing it for ten years and now that they have a majority in the Assembly I doubt things will change. Maoists will show up at your door, blindfold you and remove you from your house. They will hold you for ransom and once your family pays, they will strong arm them out of their house and will declare it "property of the people." They have been terrorizing the people almost daily for the last ten years. From extortion to forced "donations" to violence and murder. So you can imagine how incredible their win in this election really is. For us, it is an ironic twist at the end of ten years of instability and fear. At the end of the day it was an election of the people for the people, so this is what the Nepali people desire. Their hopes and aspirations now lie in the hands of people who only know the power of aggression. As Nepalis say, "Lets see."

(Ok, no more political talk on this blog)

Friday, April 11, 2008

5 Tons of Fun








I have always wanted to ride an elephant. When Erin and I were in Thailand that was my one request, and for some unforeseen circumstances, we couldn’t make it happen. After she came back from Nepal the first time she showed me the video of her on an elephant in the Jungle. I was so jealous and told her that I too would get my dream one day of getting on that prickly beast. Well that dream finally came true and it was honestly a highlight of my life. We met up with some friends in the jungle who took us to their friend’s resort. They owned two elephants and allowed us girls to accompany them on their daily bath in the local watering hole. We hopped on the burly beauties via the hotel rooftop restaurant. We paraded down the streets and straight into the jungle. Once we got to the watering hole the elephant trainer instructed the elephant to “jham” right into the water with us on their backs. Although we were supposed to be washing them, it turned out that we got a good wash too. With a full trunk of water, they splashed us in the face- over and over again. Best.Shower.Ever. We were playing with their floppy ears and hugging their Jurassic trunks for an hour in the river. The local Mogley-looking boys were having a fantastic time watching two foreigners flomp around with Dumbo.

Part of our mission at Global Daughter is to inspire others to “get their dream,” whatever that may be. We all have different goals in life, but it is so important to realize them and have the confidence to achieve them. (Even if they are as crazy as wanting to mount a 5 ton beast)

The People Have Spoken











We are happy to report that yesterday’s elections went great- better than we could have hoped for! Although voter turn out was only 60% and four people- including an independent poll candidate were killed in poll-related violence, the polls were held successfully and security forces created safe and free voting conditions for the people. (Various reports from far flung villages are saying that ballot booths were captured and votes were cast illegally by Maoist cadres. The generally peaceful voting conditions in the city, Kathmandu, varied from the ground realities in the Terai and other fear-stricken communities throughout the country).

We walked up into the hills to visit some of the polling stations and observe Nepalis in one of their proudest moments as citizens. Smiles abound. Vehicles were not allowed to ply roads for a 24 hour period so the roads were clear; the noise and air pollution that normally plagues the city was non-existent as people walked to their designated polling sites. The polls that we saw were outside under tents at either schools or halls. People lined up starting at sun break to cast their votes. Each voter stepped behind a covered voting booth, much like in the U.S., and marked the party symbol of the candidate they wanted to elect. All parties are designated a symbol, for example, a tree, a sun, a buffalo, the hammer and sickle. Because some voters are illiterate, this is the best way for them to associate the party when they are at the voting booth.

People were overwhelmingly high-spirited. Children were eating ice cream bought from vendors stationed outside the polls, women were dressed in their best saaris and young men were huddled together to talk about the future. The excitement and hope in the air was unmistakable and for us, living here and investing our future in this country, we felt an amazing sense of pride in the people of Nepal. Erin has been here for almost a year and seen two election dates pass to no avail. She has followed the process through her organization and had a personal and professional connection to the political aspects of the elections since she got here last year.

Chills were running down or spines as we witnessed people taking part in an election that some felt may never take place. It was an emotional time for everyone. After all the violence, the fighting, the political power games and the tension between brothers and sisters in Nepal, the people have finally got a chance to make their voice heard. The outcome will be a reflection of the desires of the people, not the government, not outside forces, but the people that will raise their children in a democratic Nepal.

Cheers to the people of Nepal! This is a time to celebrate.

Wednesday, April 9, 2008

Bombs, Hope and the Nepali Election

The historic elections in Nepal take place tomorrow, April 10th. This is the first election in the country in a decade. International media is all over the place here reporting the rallies, protests, violence and campaign abuses. We have been told to stay inside our homes for 48 hours leading up to the 10th and all of April 11th as a precaution. There are bombs going off all over the city and candidates in different parts of the country are being murdered, injured and intimidated. At least two candidates have been murdered by opposition parties. Voters are being harassed to vote for certain parties and a few of the rouge factions are strong arming voters through violence, extortion and threats. It has been, by democratic standards, anything but a "free and fair election." It is eerily similar to the repressive and disastrous elections recently held in Kenya, East Timor, Zimbabwe and Pakistan.

There are 54 political parties and over 9,000 candidates in 75 districts of the country vying for 601 seats in the Constituent Assembly. This Assembly will write the new Nepal Constitution. This is not a general election. Those voted in will not be members of parliament or executive heads- they will be members of an assembly that will map out the new democratic structure of the country. The country has been transitioning from a monarchy to a democracy since the People's Movement of April 2006. It has been a slow, painful and deadly process so far for the last Hindu kingdom in the world. There has been 240 years of monarchy rule so you can imagine the revolutionary change this will bring about.

It is a tense environment throughout the country- especially in places in the Terai region and regions where Maoist (Communist Party Nepal) have a strong hold. Since the beginning of the election campaigning they have been a part of a slew of human rights abuses. Their leaders have signed commitments not to use violence during the period, but the implementation of these commitments remains to be seen. They go into villages and tell villagers if they do not vote for them they will come back and kill them. They say that they will be using binoculars to see how they vote at the polls and if they do not check the Maoist candidate they will suffer the consequences. The simple, peaceful and uneducated voters in these areas are terrified.

So now we wait. We wait to see what will happen on the 10th. If certain political parties do not win seats, there will more than likely be intensified protests and violence. At this point there is no way these elections can be free, fair or safe for voters. We visited far flung villages in the Terai and the people are skeptical that any party they vote in will help solve their many problems. They lack survival commodities like water, food, education- during election times the candidates sweep in and tell them they will see to their needs if they vote for them. In reality, they will never return to those villages and the promises made will fade away as they have since 1990. These poor and unaware villagers are used as tools and in some cases are bought with pay offs by political parties.

We recently went to the Terai to observe the campaign of a woman candidate in the Mahottari District. She is the only woman candidate up against 19 men (this lopsided ratio is representative of most districts across the country). I have connections with her through the NGO I work for in Kathmandu. We wanted to see the process and be a part of this historic period for women in Nepal and the country as a whole. We had to be escorted by police security as we walked through the villages because some splinter factions of popular parties (basically thugs) are terrorizing and beating up anyone associated with rival parties. We actually met up with one of these groups as we went door to door with the candidate to observe the process. We were told to return to the secure jeep and stay there in case a brawl ensued. Nothing came of the meeting, but the two different political party vehicles, adorned with party flags and supporters, parked side by side for hours. This creates such an uneasy feeling in normally peaceful and docile villages.

We urge you to follow the election in the next few days through the media. The Kathmandu Post online is a good resource: http://www.kantipuronline.com/. We also recommend Al Jazeera online, they cover events in detail: http://english.aljazeera.net/.

The conditions here could change at any minute and we will try to keep you posted on the blog. The outcome of the elections will change the course of history in this incredibly fragile place. Like Nepalis here and abroad, we hope for the better.

Important Security Announcement for American Citizens in Nepal


This is what we just received from the US Embassy in Kathmandu:

The Embassy has received information that 5 bombs have gone off in the Kathmandu Valley with the past few hours. The locations of those bomb blasts are Kupondole, Maitighar, Bansheswor, Ratna Park and Tripeshewor. American citizens are urged to exercise extreme caution in these areas and to refer to news reports for further information. (We live outside of these areas, but can here the blasts. The bombs target election candidates and are basically scare tactics. A few people have been injured, but there have been no deaths.)

In the run-up to the Constituent Assembly elections scheduled for April 10, the Government of Nepal has taken certain steps which will affect the ability of American citizens to receive services and to move freely throughout the country. The Government of Nepal has declared a national holiday from April 7th to April 11th. Saturday, April 12th, is the typical weekly Nepali day off. As the Nepali New Year is on April 13th and another Hindu holiday falls on Monday, April 14th, all governmental offices are effectively closed for 8 days. In addition, the government will close Nepal's land borders for three days (April 8-10) and has imposed a transportation ban for all vehicular movement throughout the country starting the evening of April 9 through election day, April 10. Only vehicles with government issued passes will be allowed to travel on the roads. Domestic flights will also be grounded on April 10. The U.S. Embassy will be closed on April 10 and only essential personnel will be reporting for duty on that day. All other personnel have been instructed by the Regional Security Officer to remain in their homes on April 10. American citizens living and traveling in Nepal are strongly encouraged to stay off the streets during election day and to exercise extreme caution in the days before and after the election, as the potential for demonstrations and increased violence between competing political parties exists. American citizens are strongly urged to avoid areas where demonstrations are taking place.

Tuesday, April 8, 2008

The Streets (photos)




















Put People On The Map Who Have Never Seen a Map


All girls school. Global Daughters.





The sweetest touch of life.


Dalit women and children. Dalits are "untouchables" in the Nepali caste system. People do not take water that they serve or interact with them socially or in schools. They are treated like animals.




School in the village. Crammed into a hut with two teachers. Schools are the most important resources in the community. The future.

We needed security going through the village. Rouge political parties campaign in the area and harass villagers for votes. They said under no circumstances we could take pix of them. Oops.




Married women in the village rarely come out of the house. If they do- they cover their face as not to be seen by people other than their husband.

They had never seen a Ritz cracker before; they were scared to death. (I am sure my white skin had nothing to do with it)

The village elders- leader is on the right. 95 years old. Respect.



Kids, kids, and more kids. Family planning does not exist in the far flung villages.



To preface this blog, we would like to say how blessed we are to be here doing what we are doing. There is no where else in the world Global Daughter would rather be.

In our recent visit to the Terai we took a couple days to observe the up-coming election campaigns. We followed along with a woman candidate in one of the 75 districts in the country. She is running against 19 men and she is the only woman. We wanted to be apart of her campaign as she campaigned for support in the far flung villages in her constituency.

We journeyed by jeep about one hour from a small highway town to visit three villages in the plains region of the district. These people have never seen foreigners and only see vehicles during election time when politicians come looking for votes. They mostly live in adobe huts and if they are lucky own at least one cow, buffalo, or goat. They marry their girls as early as 15 and some don't have schools or road access to get there. Their water source (usually a deep well) is deteriorating and their rivers are drying up. The most common cause of death is diarrhea- mostly from dirty water. Women are expected to have kids as soon as possible so they can collect dowries for their sons. Child labor is at every corner. We saw two year olds carrying water jugs on their head or firewood on their backs. Really. In this case it might not be considered labor- it is a survival activity. If this child can't collect water his family will suffer. It is a cycle that, from our observations, does not look to be changing in the near future. They live off the land- potatoes, rice, corn and mutton. Most families have only enough resources to eat once a day. Many children have descended bellies from malnutrition and they have symptoms of dehydration. Many children had skin disease on their face or arms and as they are barefeet all day, their feet are as dry and cracked as rocks. Women stay in the hut as they are not to be seen by others after marriage. Sanitation is exactly what you would think- non-existent. Children and adults will urinate and often defecate in the roads or in the bushes. Our eyes have never.

This was so much to take in at once. Never before had either of us seen such intense environments. It was like stepping into the National Geographic Channel. We were so honored to be there, but at the same time, it was painful to see the conditions of life in such a beautiful place with such beautiful people. We were greeted with smiles and namastes as we walked along. People were laughing and staring and the two white women, one with bright blue eyes and one with white hair. A few children touched our skin and ran away just to see if we were real. The women and children were stunningly beautiful and the simplicity of life was both jarring and authentic.

The hardest part about going there, was having to leave. We might not ever go back to these places and we might not ever be able to help these people. We came in so fast, snapped photos, played with the kids, and then we disappeared. Part of it felt wrong and self-serving. We don't want to be those foreign people that came in a big Jeep- the outsiders who pretended to care. But, what we can do is share what we saw with you, in this blog. Because we do care. We want to put these people on the map. We want the images to be as real as the feelings we both felt walking with these people.

We both had these amazing feelings of interconnectedness. Although we have never known poverty and we are from a country so far away, we are responsible for the future generations of the world. As Jeffrey Sachs says, "The end of poverty will require a global network of co-operation among people who have never met." We are not here to preach- but what we have seen will change our lives personally and professionally forever. We hope our experience inspires the courage in you to be a part of that global network of cooperation- in whatever form that may be.