Trekking in Helumbu

Me with Frank, the wonderboy. He is 6 and has trekked Annapurna Base Camp and was completing his second spin on the Helumbu trek!

Karate session with some boys on the way to school.

Filtering water with cheese cloth.

The things we carry.

'Pharmacy' in the village.

My new friend, Nanu.

Walking 5 miles straight up a ridge to get to school....and playing ball along the way!

Llama girls at a bonfire party in the village.

Blizzard and sunset in the Langtang Himalayan Range.

This woman was at the top of a tree in the middle of no where. How in the world did she even get up there?

The intestines and stomach of a recently sacrificed goat.

View from Tharepati after the blizzard.

Sherpini planting beans.

A 'tree' with pair yellow rain boots makes its way down the path.

After trekking Everest, Annapurna and Langtang, I had one more region of the top 4 to explore, Helumbu. This region is the closest trekking region to Kathmandu and home to Helumbu Sherpas. Differing from the Sherpas in the Everest Region, this group speaks different languages, follows different cultural practices and cultivates different crops. Although all 4 of the main trekking routes offer something special and fantastic, this trek must go down as my favorite. Simply because of the people. The Sherpas, Tamangs and Llamas that live in this region are very friendly, hospitable and extremely hard-working (especially the amazingly strong women, named 'Sherpinis'). Continually I was in awe of the women and girls carrying 50 Kgs sacks of rice, large bundles of leaves and fodder for animals and firewood. Me with my ski poles, fancy trekking boots and first aid kit had nothing on these women, sometimes shoeless in torn clothing with bloody fingers and aged faces.

When we were trekking through the village of Tarkegang, a woman with a basket on her back full of tree branches approached me. She pointed to the athletic tape on my fingers (to prevent blisters from the poles) and then showed me her fingers. They were bloody with blisters, open sores and callouses from cutting through the brush day after day.

I pulled out my first aid kit and taped all her fingers. I gave her the rest of the roll and she was extremely grateful. Yet another inspirational encounter with the women in this country- through there determination and toughness. Her work is done out of necessity. Her livelihood depends on carrying loads to feed her animals (her greatest possession) and tirelessly roaming the hills for resources to keep her and her family alive. It is her blood and her heart that lives in those hills- I just feel blessed to have walked on the same path.

This trek follows through small villages, through small living huts sometimes and traces steep-hill ridges. We did it in 5.5 days, instead of the suggested 8. That meant 6-7 hour days blazing up ridges 800 meters and down 1,600 meters on the same day. It was exhausting, beautiful, and everything a trek should be. On the trail, we were time and again taking care of by people who showed us the way (we had no guide) and let us into there homes to wait out hail storms, blizzards and down-pouring rain. It was a great farewell to Nepal and another examples of why I love this place, its people and its spirit.

Ethniklashistan

This hilarious satire is from a 2001 "the Onion" article. It was worth a post!

source: http://www.theonion.com/content/node/28369?utm_source=EMTF_Onion

UNITED NATIONS–In a bold gambit hoped to resolve dozens of conflicts around the world, the U.N. announced Monday the establishment of Ethniklashistan, a multinational haven in the West Bank that will serve as a new homeland for Irish Protestants, Hutus, Serbs, and other troubled groups.


An ethnographic map of the new Homeland.

"For far too long, these groups have been locked in prolonged strife with their former neighbors, unable to achieve a lasting peace," U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said. "Now that these various peoples have a new homeland where they can find refuge, all the years of fighting and bloodshed can finally be put behind them."

Former Serbian leader Slobodan Milosevic, now presiding over a Serb settlement near the Jordanian border, was optimistic about the future. "All Muslim scum must die," he said. "Death to all enemies of Serbian purity!"

The various groups, transported to Ethniklashistan by a massive U.N. airlift, will share their new homeland with the roughly two million Palestinians and Israeli settlers who currently occupy the region. U.N. officials say the West Bank site was chosen for its centralized location, opportunities for tourism, and comfortable desert climate. These factors, combined with the already diverse cultural, ethnic, and religious composition of the area, offer "a unique opportunity for many international groups to live together in peace."

"This is truly a win-win situation," U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell said. "War-ravaged peoples from all over the world finally have a place they can feel safe. And, for the Palestinians and Israelis already there, the presence of additional ethnicities should reduce any pre-existing stresses. Arabs and Jews will enjoy exposure to a glorious, multiethnic stew, and they will, in turn, have the opportunity to lead by example, serving as role models of peaceful coexistence."


Hutu leader Kagabo Ndadaye, who between 1994 and 1996 personally oversaw the machete deaths of more than 10,000 Tutsi Rwandans, echoed the positive outlook. "The glorious Hutu are the one pure race," said Ndadaye, speaking from a Hutu settlement near Hebron while eyeing a nearby Kurdish settlement. "All inferior mongrel peoples shall be put to the blade."

Though hopes are high for Ethniklashistan–a name created by a team of linguists who combined 17 different languages' words for "sanctuary"–the establishment of the new homeland has proven rocky. Of the more than 500,000 people relocated there so far, approximately 97 percent have responded with violent resistance, swearing oaths of eternal vengeance against U.N. volunteers conducting the forced relocations.

Bloodshed also marred the "Festival Of Human Brotherhood," a weeklong, nationwide event celebrating the founding of Ethniklashistan. On Monday, 11 people were killed in a skirmish between Basques and Sikhs near Nablus.

The same day, six were killed and dozens injured on the streets of Bethlehem when Somalis and Greek Cypriots exchanged gunfire and grenades.

Dozens of shifting alliances have added to the confusion and chaos. In a pre-dawn border raid Monday, Burmese Karen rebels attacked a Tamil settlement. By late afternoon, the Karens were driven back by the Tamils, who were newly armed with Israeli anti-personnel missiles smuggled into the West Bank by Zionist fundamentalists who had allied themselves–some say only as a temporary ruse–with the Tamils.

On Tuesday, guerrilla fighters made up of an uneasy Palestinian-Papuan alliance attacked an Irish Protestant church near the Golan Heights, killing 121 Irish worshippers with nerve gas before being repelled by a nearby faction of Protestant-sympathizing Zapatista rebels from the Chiapas region of Mexico.

The violence continued that evening, when the severed heads of 20 Chechens were paraded through the streets of Jericho by Azerbaijani extremists. The killings are thought to be in retaliation for rocket attacks by a band of pro-Armenian Chechen rebels, who have thus far evaded Azerbaijani attempts to flush them out of their encampments in the hills with prolonged shelling.

Alarmed by the new nation's growing pains, world leaders have launched a large-scale international-aid effort to help Ethniklashistan get on its feet. Great Britain has pledged 12,000 peacekeeping troops, vowing to "pummel with rubber bullets, tear gas, and billy clubs anyone who dares threaten the Sons of Ulster." China has pledged 40,000 soldiers to supervise the 2,000-plus Tibetan Buddhists relocated to the region. Indonesia, Cambodia, Nigeria, and Afghanistan have also sent troops.

"There is always a period of transition and upheaval in the founding of a new government," President Bush said. "That is why an international humanitarian consortium of nations, including the U.S., France, Russia, Iraq, and North Korea, has pledged $2 trillion in military aid to the new nation. This way, all Ethniklashistanis, regardless of race, color, creed, or economic background, will have equal access to the state-of-the-art ordnance they need to defend themselves and their families during this initial period of instability."

Encouraged by such aid efforts, experts are confident that a lasting peace can soon be established among the rival Ethniklashistani groups.

"When you take that many long-suffering, war-torn groups and put them in the same place, how can you not have peace?" asked former president Jimmy Carter, who will lead talks among the various Ethniklashistani groups. "This hatred cannot possibly last long."

Women's Day Walkathon- Kathmandu

In a show of solidarity and to promote women's development in Nepal, Global Daughter participated in the 99th International Women's Day Walkathon in Kathmandu. Along with women activists, professionals, NGO representatives and Ambassadors, Erin walked to support women's rights and equality in Nepal and world-wide.

It was great to see women from all walks of life uniting for one voice in the early hours of Sunday March 8th. The event featured well-known advocates and dignitaries from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. It was also impressive to see the number of men and young boys participating in the event- walking side-by-side with their mothers and sisters.

The energy of the crowd and the speakers was quite moving. I was thinking it would be even more effective if events like this were also held simultaneously at the local level, in the districts and villages- where women's rights need to be most visible. Sadly, these type of events are rarely organized...but we hope for a trickle down effect from Kathmandu....as quickly as possible!
It was a proud day for Global Daughter. To be recognized by other women's groups and women activists in the country and represent a project that people know and trust. To walk around in the crowd and see women we work with and women's organizations that we are associated with- gave me the feeling that we have truly solidified a presence within the women's community in Nepal.

Good stuff all around as the movement keeps keepin' on......

"Realizing the importance of a consolidated effort for synergy and effective advocacy, this is a singular opportunity for women from all the eight countries to come together as a unified force to celebrate past achievements on the occasion of the International Women’s Day 2009, and work towards Millennium Development Goals for 2015."

The crowd grows...

Erin at the ceremony post-walk.

Banners of support wave on.

Teamwork.

An essential experience for any little girl.

Walk through Durbar Square.

A beautiful face for a beautiful cause.

A walk through Basantapur.

Does this need to actually be stated? The answer is yes, in Nepal it does.

Famous women activists speak to the crowd about lack of security for women in the country.

Traditional Musicians leading the march.

Bangladeshi Ambassador and the next generation of women's activists in traditional Tharu dress.

And The Winner Is....

Katie Super Excited about winning her Gold and Black Cleopatra Necklace in GD's First Giveaway!

Global Daughter was very pleased to have its first giveaway sponsored by Global Sister, Brianna. The givaway was conducted on Facebook as well as Brianna's personal blog. This month the item up for grabs was our very popular and beautiful Cleopatra Malla Necklace. This is just the first of many giveaways from GD. If you are interested in participating in the next one by either entering or sponsoring, please join our Facebook Group and check back on our blog for updates.

Congratulations Katie! We hope you enjoy your gift!

International Women's Day 2009!

http://www.internationalwomensday.com/

Annually on 8 March, thousands of events are held throughout the world to inspire women and celebrate achievements. A global web of rich and diverse local activity connects women from all around the world ranging from political rallies, business conferences, government activities and networking events through to local women's craft markets, theatric performances, fashion parades and more.

Many global corporations have also started to more actively support IWD by running their own internal events and through supporting external ones. For example, on 8 March search engine and media giant Google some years even changes its logo on its global search pages. Year on year IWD is certainly increasing in status. The United States even designates the whole month of March as 'Women's History Month'.

So make a difference, think globally and act locally !! Make everyday International Women's Day. Do your bit to ensure that the future for girls is bright, equal, safe and rewarding.

Global Daughter at Marybert Orphanage

Erin with grade 3 students.


Lining up for prayers before lunch.


Hopscotch on the play area.


Erin with Dipendra. Global Daughter is sponsoring his education at the school.


Sanuman sitting on his bunk in the boys room.


Preschool kids during reading time. "Brown Bear, Brown Bear what do you see?"


The ultimate ham, Prince, in his signature superman pose.


Who is this crazy lady?


A drink after recess. Clean drinking water.

Another trip to the orphanage! This time we got to see the kids at school, studying their hearts out. Thank you to Brianna and her children, once again, for clothing donations.

Marybert will be having a sports day in the next month and GD will be there for sure!

Lanjana, GD Designer, Gets Married!

Greeting guests with her mother (right) and sister-in-law


Erin enjoying face time with the bride.


Guests at the Party Palace


Congratulations, Lajana. Best wishes.


Erin with Ajit, GD producer, Sharada, from Federation of Women Entrepeneurs Associations of Nepal, and local designer.



Global Daughter Lead Designer and production whiz, Lanjana was married this week in Kathmandu. Her wedding lasted one full week (yikes, right?) with one day for an engagement party, then two days later a wedding party and then two days later the actual wedding. Her wedding week included many traditional rituals. She comes from an ethnic group, Newars, who have a unique style of marriage ceremonials. It is a quite an experience to witness the pageantry of weddings in Nepal!


I was so excited to attend and support Lanjana during her wedding party. Newaris love a good time and eat the tastiest food! That meant loads of buffalo dishes and local spirits (roxi). This marriage was arranged by her parents (they chose her husband) and she is looking forward to living the life of a married woman. She will continue to work (yipppeee!) with Global Daughter as well as with a felt workshop in the Valley.

Global Daughter NOW in Marlene's Market & Deli!

You can now head to Marlene's Market and Deli in Federal Way to pick up your Global Daughter handmade gifts! We are very pleased to have our products featured there as it is in line with our company values and fair trade principles. Both Erin and I have been shopping at Marlene's since we were kids so it means so much to us to be partnered with a local group. We are excited to offer our unique fair trade goods in a retail environment that promotes healthy living, eco-freindly lifestyle and general well-being. As a valued Global Daughter customer, we encourage you to shop at Marlene's for convienence... and, of course, to save on shipping!

Address:
2565 S. Gateway Center PL
Federal Way, WA 98003
(253) 839-0933

For ALL Women

Our dear friends and fellow activists, Stu and Jaco from Amsterdam have started a fantastic project working with the transgender and lesbian groups here in Nepal. They were funded by an organization in Holland to form a choir with the girls and perform concerts in Kathmandu. It is a great project that gives the transgender and lesbians in Nepal a place to come together, laugh, learn and sing their hearts out. In Nepal, these girls face social discrimination and many live in fear and sadness. The choir, with about 20 members, has been a ray of light in their lives and a platform to be themselves....all they have ever wanted to be.

Global Daughter is pleased to be associated with Stu and Jaco, the choir, and the brave girls that meet every Sunday to celebrate one another. Lesbians in Nepal are yet another group of women that live oppressed lives. It is important that they have a voice, as well, because the stories they have to tell are as heartbreaking as anyone elses. Global Daughter is for all women and we are excited to support the work of the choir and all the women/girls involved.

This project has had worldwide exposure, including an article in the BBC. It is truly an out-of-the-box idea that is making a big difference in the lives of many. Cheers to Stu, Jaco and their aunt, Anky!


Here is the article from PAGE Six in Kathmandu.

Kathmandu, Feb 3 (IANS) Bhakti Shah faces an uphill struggle to get her job back a year after Nepal’s army sacked the physical training instructor for being involved in a lesbian relationship with a trainee.”I have filed a case in the Supreme Court,” says the 24-year-old, who looks like a teenaged boy with her close-cropped hair and wiry frame.

“But the hearing can’t start until the army has completed its procedure and the army is deliberately prolonging it.”

Shah’s partner, who too was sacked by the army, has been disowned by her family for refusing to end her relationship. She now faces a harrowing time in college.

“I am studying management,” says the 23-year-old, who does not want to be named. “But I can’t attend class because the other students mock at me.”

Suman Tamang, 26, who comes from Nepal ’s tea garden district of Jhapa in the east, has a similar story.

Rejected by her family after she decided to begin a same-sex relationship, Tamang now works as a peer counsellor at Blue Diamond Society (BDS) in Kathmandu , Nepal ’s pioneer gay rights organisation.

“Sundays used to be the worst days for me,” Tamang confesses. “With the office being closed and nowhere to go, I used to have dark thoughts about how my family and friends treated me and I would become depressed.

“But now, I have begun looking forward to Sundays. They have become fun days.”

For nearly two dozen gays, lesbians and transgenders like Tamang and Shah, Sundays now have a new purpose, thanks to the first transgender choir that made its debut with a concert at a hotel in Thamel, the capital’s tourist hub, Sunday.

The choir is the brain child of a Dutch gay couple, Sjoerd Warmerdam, 21, and Jaco Van Dendool, 29, who first visited Nepal in February 2008, came in contact with BDS and decided to stay on.

Joined by a third tourist, 28-year-old Marloes Oudeman, the three set up a band, Poesie and the Fags, and began to play gigs in Thamel’s hotels.

“We saw how gays are treated in Nepal ,” says Sjoerd. “They are thrown out by their families and no employer would give them a job. We saw the interest they have in music and dancing and we thought of forming a gay band.

“It is meant to get together and have some fun afternoons.”

The transgender choir has also brought out its first CD.

“It’s not a commercial venture,” Sjoerd explains. “It’s more to create awareness about transgenders - that they have the same human rights as any others.”

Sjoerd’s aunt Ankie Warmerdam, a 63-year-old retired health educator, sponsored the first concert, from the roses presented to the members to the black T-shirts with a pink sun worn as the choir uniform.

“I am a bisexual,” Warmerdam says. “About 35 years ago, I faced a lot of problems in my own country. But now things have changed. My nephew didn’t have to go through my difficulties.”

She calls the transgender choir a community art.

“It’s meant to bring people together,” she says. “The members of the choir get food for self-esteem.”

Global Daughter on You Tube

We have set up a Global Daughter You Tube channel to give you an inside into some of our adventures. If you have a you tube account, make sure to subscribe to us so you can get updates on new videos!

http://www.youtube.com/user/globaldaughter

Enjoy yourself!

Pink Panty Protest!

In response to the events as posted in the latest blog....
Please join the Facebook group if you are interested, or just browse the group to get more information on this amazing story of modernization and women's empowerment.

Thousands of Indians, many fuming over a recent assault on women in a pub, are vowing to fill bars on Valentine's Day and send cartons of pink panties to a radical Hindu group that has branded outgoing females immoral.

A "consortium of pub-going, loose and forward women," founded by four Indian women on social networking Web site Facebook has, in a matter of days, attracted more than 25,000 members with over 2,000 posts about the self-appointed moral police.

The women said their mission was to go bar-hopping on February 14 and send hundreds of pink knickers to Sri Ram Sena, the militant Hindu group that has said pubs are for men, and that women should stay at home and cook for their husbands.

The same Hindu group was blamed for attacking women in a bar in the southern city of Mangalore in January, an incident that sparked a national debate about women's freedoms in India.

Collection centers have sprung up in several cities, with volunteers calling for bright pink old-fashioned knickers as gifts to the Sri Ram Sena as a mark of defiance.

"Girl power! Go girls, go. Show Ram Sena... who's the boss," reads one post on Facebook from Larkins Dsouza.

'Hooligans'

There is a separate campaign to "Walk to the nearest pub and buy a drink (and) raise a toast," that has found supporters from Toronto to Bangkok to Sydney, with even teetotalers saying they will get a drink on Saturday to show solidarity.

"Though I don't promote smoking or drinking for both sexes, we definitely don't need hooligans telling us what to do and what not. Best of luck!," reads one post from Iftehar Ahsan.

There are more heated discussion threads as well that range from the limits of independence to religion and politics, reflecting the struggle facing a country that has long battled to balance its deep-rooted traditions with rapid modernization.

Growing numbers of young and independent urban women have become an easy target for religious fundamentalists and aging politicians trying to force traditional mores on an increasingly liberal, Western outlook.

Not to be outdone, the Sri Ram Sena, which has cautioned shops and pubs in southern Karnataka state against marking Valentine's Day, has promised to gift pink saris to women and marry off canoodling couples to make them "respectable."

Women Assaulted in Indian Pub

MANGALORE: A fanatical right-wing group notorious for creating communal tensions and indulging in moral policing has struck again in Karnataka.

The activists of Sri Rama Sena entered the Amnesia Bar and Restaurant on Dr Shivaram Karanth Road on Saturday evening and threatened the women sitting inside. The men, who took objection to women drinking alcohol, pushed them outside, many women falling to the ground while they were being driven out.

Mangalore North Circle inspector Umesh G Shet said a group of 10-15 men entered the pub in the evening and started arguing with the guests. ``They got into an altercation with the women customers saying they were dressed indecently,'' he said.

The men also told the women that they would face dire consequences if they were seen in pubs again. The group left the bar after threatening its owner.

The incident drew instant criticism from various sections of the society, who strongly condemned the moral policing by members of the Sri Rama Sena, which was involved in violence during Karnataka's Cauvery water dispute with neighbouring Tamil Nadu.

Police have arrested 13 men in connection with the incident.

Police said those arrested were activists of Sri Rama Sena The arrested Sena activists claimed that they carried out the attack ``because of the attitude of the young women'', police sources said.

The Sena activists accused the women of ``involving themselves in immoral activities, including consuming alcohol, dressing indecently, and mixing with youths of other faith''.

The arrests came after police questioned the owner of the pub and customers present there at the time of the incident. ``The owner was initially reluctant to file a complaint, but relented after we assured him of police protection,'' said inspector Umesh Shet.

Police are looking for Shashidhar Shetty, a local Sri Rama Sene leader, and Preetham, a student leader, for issuing comments supporting the violent incident. Umesh Shet said they would be arrested on charges of conspiring with those who were involved in the attack.

Source: The Times of India

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