Jai Nepal!

Two of the people I spend the most work time with are Sharad Babu Shrestha, Country Director of READ Nepal (left), and Indra Bhujel, Program Officer. This week I have been working with Indra on a proposal to Rotary International for training and deploying Auxilary Nurse Midwives in 3 of the rural districts in Nepal. Indra knows very little about maternity health and I know very little about rural Nepal so we are a very good team ;-)!
Also, Indra gets my sense of humor so that helps me alot. Last night the three of us attended a Rotary Club meeting and "high tea" at a swanky hotel. There also was Shanti, a woman entrepreneur who has befriended me. She started, with Oxfam and UNICEF funds, a women's fair trade and handicraft cooperative called Sana Hastekala. (www.sanahastekala.com). They sell to 10,000 villages worldwide. Shanti's business is the production of this beautiful fibered Nepali paper. She has opened a number of factories in Nepal, helping the rural communites to improve the economy and quality of life for it's citizens. Check it out! Namaste!