We eventually got to Thore after a morning/afternoon of organizing local widows to receive 20kg of roti (chapatti) flour, donated by some religious organization that were clearly in it for the publicity, too. The head and deputy of this organisation insisted that their banner was held up behind them as they handed over each bag of flour to each widow while having their photo taken with each widow … and their were a lot of widows and it was the hottest day so far, easily in the 30s.
While waiting, I discovered that Thore was actually visible from DMS. It's actually a few hundred meters further up from sea level and, from DMS, seemed like sparkling hundreds and thousands on a cone of grass ice cream. It looked much greener and so I was hoping much cooler. I'm so glad we decided against horse option! Well, that was before I went on the car journey: Eventually, our car came and it took about 1 hour along what can only be described as a road of rubble. It wasn't even the underlay of a new road! The poor 4x4 struggled, as did we. But, that wasn't the worst bit: the road became steeper, higher, narrower and the rubble turned into boulders at times. The scenery was breath-taking, but I found myself quite tense given that the journey was the equivalent of driving through, say, North Wales, on a poorly-made, single-track 'road' with no barriers and a muther-massive drop below. Needless to say, this road is a post-earthquake facility and um, just thank goodness nothing came in the opposite direction!! Especially as we made the return journey in the thick of the night…
Thore itself is a tiny village of approx. 75 families which means the total population is about 600 people strong because each family has about 8 kids each! The whole village exists on a mountainside, overlooking Muzaffarabad city (amazing views), but was badly destroyed by the quake so people are living in the familiar temporary shelters. Their school is an old UNICEF tent and their water supply really is crap. The picture is somewhat different to what I had previously understood: The current source of water is linked to by lots of people and is set at a lower altitude meaning water does not reach Thore. The new source is far from this lower current source and the Thorens would like a new tank at the new source which is linked to the pipes of the old source, thus by-passing the current tank. KYDS would provide any additional material and labour costs. So, it seems like a cheap project. The villagers explained that there was no water for the school children, for wudu (prayer ablutions), cooking or growing crops. They have a strong case for KYDS support.
Iftar was fantastic: pakora and samosa galore over a back drop of the sun setting over the mountain tops. As the sun disappeared, Muzaffarabad city below came to life with its sparce street lighting.
I spoke to my host about gaining government approval and she just laughed at me and said that the work will not be done if the government is aware of this work because they would try to control the project ie gain funds for themselves.
I went to bed quite angry with the state at which this village had been reduced to, but full of mineral water x
Saturday 27 September 2008
A possible water project?
Today, I met with the locals of a neighbouring village, Thore, who had heard about my planned work over the next few weeks. They have a 29-year old, poorly-maintained water supply system from the local Government and were asking me to consider updating it. The system provides such little water now because it is linked to other remote villages that Thorens (people of Thore, I guess) are still needing to either walk at least 1km to a shallow well in the summer or use snow in the winter. Of course, this is completely unacceptable. As the water system is provided by the government, it makes sense to go back to the government and highlight the problem, but I'm assured that this would be fruitless and that KYDS support would be quicker and more beneficial. I'm not sure about the legalities of essentially renovating a public facility, but I will find out. Anyway, the Thorens were keen for me to visit their village and, as they were offering pakoras and samosas, I simply couldn't say 'no' (so easy, I know!)
Thore is about 1hr by car from where I'm staying in Dhanni Mie Sahiba (DMS), but they don't always have access to a car so they have offered horse, taking approximately 4 hours! Now, if I wasn't fasting and it wasn't so hot, this would be a great idea. I'd be well up for that, but alas… The plan is to leave DMS at 8am for Thore, see the current system and check out the spot that a KYDS tank could go up in the mountains (mental note to self: wear walking boots and maybe take harness/belay!) and have iftar. Any plan that ends with food can't be a bad one!
Oh, and so you know the lift that provides the only access from DMS to the city. Well, it was installed and run by a private company that charges 5r (approx. 3p) for a single ride. Now, this sounds very minimal to us back home, but actually for people in a poor village where unemployment is 60%, this is a heck of a lot of money when you think about it costing 10r per person for a return journey for yourself and all your average 5 children (assuming you have a job and can afford to send your kids to school). Given that the average yearly salary in the country is about ₤4oo, this is highly unlikely. Anyway, the point of this story is to say that the lift is essential for access to work, education, health and provisions, but the private company that owns it have upped the travel costs to 7r meaning that it's now 14r for a return crossing and 40% greater than the original price, which, incidentally, is so NOT in line with the rate of inflation, which the company claim. I spoke to my host, who was absolutely seething, about this and she feels the only way to manage this problem is to talk to the local government officials. Not, given what I've recently heard about local government, I'm not hopeful and in airing my concerns, she feels there is no choice. Local papers would not print a paper because they wouldn't want to be seen as trouble-making and refusing to use the lift affects their lifestyle too much. She is currently rounding up support to see the Dep Commissioner at local government. She's really quite hard!
In Pakistan, choices are virtually zero and people are barely keeping their heads above water. As such, anything that affects the status quo means that people go under. Everyone knows this, rendering the people powerless. In many ways, at its core, existence here is very sad.
Enjoy your freedom and security x
Thore is about 1hr by car from where I'm staying in Dhanni Mie Sahiba (DMS), but they don't always have access to a car so they have offered horse, taking approximately 4 hours! Now, if I wasn't fasting and it wasn't so hot, this would be a great idea. I'd be well up for that, but alas… The plan is to leave DMS at 8am for Thore, see the current system and check out the spot that a KYDS tank could go up in the mountains (mental note to self: wear walking boots and maybe take harness/belay!) and have iftar. Any plan that ends with food can't be a bad one!
Oh, and so you know the lift that provides the only access from DMS to the city. Well, it was installed and run by a private company that charges 5r (approx. 3p) for a single ride. Now, this sounds very minimal to us back home, but actually for people in a poor village where unemployment is 60%, this is a heck of a lot of money when you think about it costing 10r per person for a return journey for yourself and all your average 5 children (assuming you have a job and can afford to send your kids to school). Given that the average yearly salary in the country is about ₤4oo, this is highly unlikely. Anyway, the point of this story is to say that the lift is essential for access to work, education, health and provisions, but the private company that owns it have upped the travel costs to 7r meaning that it's now 14r for a return crossing and 40% greater than the original price, which, incidentally, is so NOT in line with the rate of inflation, which the company claim. I spoke to my host, who was absolutely seething, about this and she feels the only way to manage this problem is to talk to the local government officials. Not, given what I've recently heard about local government, I'm not hopeful and in airing my concerns, she feels there is no choice. Local papers would not print a paper because they wouldn't want to be seen as trouble-making and refusing to use the lift affects their lifestyle too much. She is currently rounding up support to see the Dep Commissioner at local government. She's really quite hard!
In Pakistan, choices are virtually zero and people are barely keeping their heads above water. As such, anything that affects the status quo means that people go under. Everyone knows this, rendering the people powerless. In many ways, at its core, existence here is very sad.
Enjoy your freedom and security x
Thursday 25 September 2008
UN Ambassador Khan ... hmmm, not quite!
The UN meeting turned out to be one of those frustrating meetings where actions from previous meetings have failed to be met and nothing seems to have been agreed for the next meeting. However, they did talk about the 3rd anniversary of the earthquake and are planning to hold a ceremony of sorts. But, I left that meeting feeling really disappointed with the Kashmiri Government who seems not to have fully acknowledged the disaster's impact on all aspects of their state's living that I heard again remote areas are neglected of major rehabilitation work. There was also a sense of disjointed working between NGOs as a result of the Government's inabilities that I'm sure aids' efficiency is hugely compromised. Still, I got a sense of where work is currently targeted which was useful in that it was consistent with my previous findings AND I got to put my name down on the attendees list thus perpetuating my feeling of grandeur.
Other than this rather formal meeting, the last few days have been very quiet. They have consisted of getting measured up for my Eid dress, watching my tailor make the dress (he's my host's cousin so it's not as strange as it seems) and knitting a lot (I'm now on the green wool). I've been into the city a couple of times and I keep ODing on samosas and pakoras at iftar (break fast) time, including at Pakistan's best chain of hotels: Pearl Continental (treat of one of my host's contacts)
Eat well – I am! x
Other than this rather formal meeting, the last few days have been very quiet. They have consisted of getting measured up for my Eid dress, watching my tailor make the dress (he's my host's cousin so it's not as strange as it seems) and knitting a lot (I'm now on the green wool). I've been into the city a couple of times and I keep ODing on samosas and pakoras at iftar (break fast) time, including at Pakistan's best chain of hotels: Pearl Continental (treat of one of my host's contacts)
Eat well – I am! x
Tuesday 23 September 2008
Eid's coming
I'm very excited – I have my Eid clothes ready for, apparently, a week's worth of celebrating! Life surely does not get better then this!!
Actually, have to tell you about the my pap experience: Through charity links, I was asked to provide a live broadcast to a local Reading radio station on Sunday at luchtime BST. I'm thinking now if all this clinical psychology malarky fails/gets boring etc, I could be a media presenter. Let's face it there are always slots for muslims on Channel 4, it seems ;-)
Question: Is it wrong to have a religious figure write a poem about you?? Apparently, a religious type was in a meeting I attended and he spoke to my host here and said he liked me so much he wrote a poem about me!! I'm going to reserve judgement until I actually read this (obviously) work of art...
Oh, just learnt from home that I'm officially Dr Dr Khan. Yep, update your records, y'all ;-)
Snogs all 'round x
Actually, have to tell you about the my pap experience: Through charity links, I was asked to provide a live broadcast to a local Reading radio station on Sunday at luchtime BST. I'm thinking now if all this clinical psychology malarky fails/gets boring etc, I could be a media presenter. Let's face it there are always slots for muslims on Channel 4, it seems ;-)
Question: Is it wrong to have a religious figure write a poem about you?? Apparently, a religious type was in a meeting I attended and he spoke to my host here and said he liked me so much he wrote a poem about me!! I'm going to reserve judgement until I actually read this (obviously) work of art...
Oh, just learnt from home that I'm officially Dr Dr Khan. Yep, update your records, y'all ;-)
Snogs all 'round x
Monday 22 September 2008
Finally, some work!
Sunday was a lazy day, but because it was sooooo hot, I was grateful for just visiting people's homes and getting an idea about the impact of installing and having easy access to fresh water. The village overall is very pleased and I keep getting duas (blessing and prayers). This is a typical Pakistani tradition, to bless the givers of positive things, but I felt a tad guilty for receiving all these blessings given it not anything to do with me!! So, I've decided to keep some and give the rest back to the charity. Gosh, I'm so noble and fair :-s
I met some of my host's friends and managed a bit more knitting. It was a really nice, leisurely-paced day. I thing tomorrow will be harder because I plan to do some information gathering.
Heard about the Islamabad bombing – very sad and stupid. I also heard about BA's decision to halt flights in/out of Islamabad temporarily. Bummer, as Zahid, my brother's flying in on 3 October… we'll see what happens there. Not to mention that I'd quite like to cme home at some point, too :-s
Today, Monday, I went into the city to speak to a random slection of various NGOs to get a sense of what they're doing and what they think still needs to be done. So, I picked a few of the little ones, namely UNDP and World Bank ;-) and was invited to a UNDP meeting. I have no idea how that happened, but I thought I'd go anyway because it's a meeting where many NGOs eg Save the Children, UNICEF etc go. Maybe I'll meet some more people and they can give me some valuable information. And the meeting's in English – rock on!!
I did meet a local outfit which receives international funding and felt incredibly smug when the Deputy Director offered to hold a meeting for me and another related charity to help me determine where and how to install another water project. Surely, if this happens and it productive, my assessment work is essentially done?? Or am I getting ahead of myself. My host thinks I am because her 6 years of NGO experience in this area says that it's wise to listen, but not hope for too much. I shan't hold my breath then.
What else happened today? Oh yes, I saw 2 motor bikes crash into one another (thankfully, no-one was hurt and it couldn't have been more comical: I mean, it couldn't have been engineered any better), a man dressed up as a woman (a pretty one at that) and I saw a chicken get slaughtered as I sat in the courtyard of my host house (it's ok, I knew it was going to happen because the chicken sat next to me in the rickshaw taxi on the way home and was bought in my honour, somehow making it alright!?!).
Life goes on in Pakistan, slowly, but surely. I hope all's well at your end, too x
I met some of my host's friends and managed a bit more knitting. It was a really nice, leisurely-paced day. I thing tomorrow will be harder because I plan to do some information gathering.
Heard about the Islamabad bombing – very sad and stupid. I also heard about BA's decision to halt flights in/out of Islamabad temporarily. Bummer, as Zahid, my brother's flying in on 3 October… we'll see what happens there. Not to mention that I'd quite like to cme home at some point, too :-s
Today, Monday, I went into the city to speak to a random slection of various NGOs to get a sense of what they're doing and what they think still needs to be done. So, I picked a few of the little ones, namely UNDP and World Bank ;-) and was invited to a UNDP meeting. I have no idea how that happened, but I thought I'd go anyway because it's a meeting where many NGOs eg Save the Children, UNICEF etc go. Maybe I'll meet some more people and they can give me some valuable information. And the meeting's in English – rock on!!
I did meet a local outfit which receives international funding and felt incredibly smug when the Deputy Director offered to hold a meeting for me and another related charity to help me determine where and how to install another water project. Surely, if this happens and it productive, my assessment work is essentially done?? Or am I getting ahead of myself. My host thinks I am because her 6 years of NGO experience in this area says that it's wise to listen, but not hope for too much. I shan't hold my breath then.
What else happened today? Oh yes, I saw 2 motor bikes crash into one another (thankfully, no-one was hurt and it couldn't have been more comical: I mean, it couldn't have been engineered any better), a man dressed up as a woman (a pretty one at that) and I saw a chicken get slaughtered as I sat in the courtyard of my host house (it's ok, I knew it was going to happen because the chicken sat next to me in the rickshaw taxi on the way home and was bought in my honour, somehow making it alright!?!).
Life goes on in Pakistan, slowly, but surely. I hope all's well at your end, too x
Friday 19 September 2008
I'm like the Secret Millionaire, only I'm just a Thousandaire
I had a refreshing sleep last night so I was ready to hit the bank and see what I can do with this money I was carrying around. A grand doesn't seem like a lot to us, but when it translates into 100,000 rupees, you kinda need to be careful. So, in true Western "don't trust the brown man" style I had the money and my ID strapped so tight to my body with a body wallet that I could barely breathe. But, at least my riches were unnoticed ... until this is, I arrived at the bank and actually had to fish in my baggy shalwaar trousers for the goods. Not good when the bank security in Pakistan is a man with some rather large rifle, probably no training, walking around, bored. Now, as you can imagine, most of the worforce in Pakistan is male so rooting around in my pants to find the damn ID card was not very pleasant. Then, giving my title as Dr Khan completely confused the bank manager who was dealing with my case.
After signing 7 times - and I only completed 2 forms - I handed over my pennies and he then explained that I'd not get an ATM card or cheque book for 1 week!! Freak out time - I was under the impression that I'd get access to my money immediately so handing him ALL my money wasn't a good move. Anyway, once I got over the "shit, now what?" moment, the bank manager saab simply asked how much I thought I'd need for the week and I threw a random figure of 10,000 rupees (syeah, right - Brewster's millions springs to mind!). He simply reached into a draw and pulled out requested figure and said in true Goodness Gracious Me stylie ''you don't worry". No receipt, no log of this exchange, no nothing! Back home, even if my father was the bank manager, he couldn't do this!! Of course, I took the money and ran, but blimey, what the f*** was that!
I was later told that, other than the fact that I had just deposited a rather large amount of money which showed I'm good to return the money (how did he know it's real?), it's because he knows a friend of a friend of the girl I'm staying with!! Again, WTF!
Anyway, once I got over that incident, the money from which I re deposited awkwardly in my pants again (clearly, a glutton for punishment), we visited Muzafarrabad city for some grocery shopping. I also got a good tour of the city which showed off a couple of tent dwellings, damage and gave a good view of the landslides that happened.
The city has actually, for the most part been rebuilt and was, according to my host, up and running. This confirmed my earlier thoughts of help perhaps needing to be more latent or remote than the structure of the city suggested. In terms of the work I'm here to do, it's quite hard to know where the needs are for these reasons. In addition, this area is likely to experience another quake much like the one of 2005 – the villagers often explain that they have aftershocks and tremors leading to believe this prediction to be highly likely. It also begs the question of where to target support: on structural issues eg more water pipes in remoter villages where water is only obtainable from a springs a fair walk away or on skills that if another quake happened, survivors are more likely to build their lives outside of the poverty trap. Charity work seems to work on greatest need and maximum return, but this principle does not help me much. So, any theoretical thoughts about what you'd do would be most welcome.
Hope you're fab, too x
Ps Couldn't end the entry on such a serious note: A more fun note was that a snake about 1.5m long entered one of the neighbouring shelters which caused some uproar. Stupidly or bravely, I got well in there to see it, but apparently, it coiled up in the sofa. Once the local kids found out, they literally hit to sheds the furniture and eventually found and killed the snake. Nice!
After signing 7 times - and I only completed 2 forms - I handed over my pennies and he then explained that I'd not get an ATM card or cheque book for 1 week!! Freak out time - I was under the impression that I'd get access to my money immediately so handing him ALL my money wasn't a good move. Anyway, once I got over the "shit, now what?" moment, the bank manager saab simply asked how much I thought I'd need for the week and I threw a random figure of 10,000 rupees (syeah, right - Brewster's millions springs to mind!). He simply reached into a draw and pulled out requested figure and said in true Goodness Gracious Me stylie ''you don't worry". No receipt, no log of this exchange, no nothing! Back home, even if my father was the bank manager, he couldn't do this!! Of course, I took the money and ran, but blimey, what the f*** was that!
I was later told that, other than the fact that I had just deposited a rather large amount of money which showed I'm good to return the money (how did he know it's real?), it's because he knows a friend of a friend of the girl I'm staying with!! Again, WTF!
Anyway, once I got over that incident, the money from which I re deposited awkwardly in my pants again (clearly, a glutton for punishment), we visited Muzafarrabad city for some grocery shopping. I also got a good tour of the city which showed off a couple of tent dwellings, damage and gave a good view of the landslides that happened.
The city has actually, for the most part been rebuilt and was, according to my host, up and running. This confirmed my earlier thoughts of help perhaps needing to be more latent or remote than the structure of the city suggested. In terms of the work I'm here to do, it's quite hard to know where the needs are for these reasons. In addition, this area is likely to experience another quake much like the one of 2005 – the villagers often explain that they have aftershocks and tremors leading to believe this prediction to be highly likely. It also begs the question of where to target support: on structural issues eg more water pipes in remoter villages where water is only obtainable from a springs a fair walk away or on skills that if another quake happened, survivors are more likely to build their lives outside of the poverty trap. Charity work seems to work on greatest need and maximum return, but this principle does not help me much. So, any theoretical thoughts about what you'd do would be most welcome.
Hope you're fab, too x
Ps Couldn't end the entry on such a serious note: A more fun note was that a snake about 1.5m long entered one of the neighbouring shelters which caused some uproar. Stupidly or bravely, I got well in there to see it, but apparently, it coiled up in the sofa. Once the local kids found out, they literally hit to sheds the furniture and eventually found and killed the snake. Nice!
Thursday 18 September 2008
Not sleeping in 30 hours is not fun
Dear God! I really don't remember anyone's names! So bad, but hey, thank God for that apology yesterday. I was wrecked this morning so I did not go into town to sort out all those things I wanted to do (open up a bank account, get phone credit, bottled water, check the city out etc), but I managed to do some knitting (that blanket is well traveled!), practise my urdu, walk around the village and generally laze about, including doing some sun-bathing (topped up that Ibizan tan, but only on my feet and face – the rest of me is covered in apparently very unfashionable Pakistani attire!). Despite the lack of productivity, I feel better for resting. Tomorrow, I hit the bank and somehow begin my search for where the greatest need(s) is/are!
Hope all is well with you x
Hope all is well with you x
Wednesday 17 September 2008
I arrive after a sleepless night travelling...
After an embarrassingly tearful wait at LHR (which incidently, my brother handled very well), I departed London on a plane seat between 2 uncle-jis, who, thankfully, acknowledged my existence, though forcefully trying to make me use a shoulder to sleep against was a bit too familiar, even for my liking! Still, if he were the man of my dreams, that gesture would have been viewed very differently!
After I eventually got my baggage, I was met, as promised by my contact lady … AND half her village, it seemed!! She had 2 car loads of people accompanying her from her village 6 hours drive away that I felt very special indeed – completely unnecessary, but very appreciated. So, in my pigeon urdu and their limited English, off we set, stopping at Abbottabad to see my charity boss's brother-in-law, as well as randomly in a pine forest for a rest. Dictionary using aside to keep the conversation going, it was an amazing ride. From busy city streets to roads hugging the mountainside, I didn't know where to look. As the view became more hilly (and the roads insanely rubbly), it was clear that we were getting closer to Muzafarrabad.
The city is situated in a valley and given it's almost 1m inhabitants, it was surprisingly small, albeit somewhat sprawling. My initial impression was that Muzafarabad did not seem so ruined, but as we wound down the mountain, I realised how wrong I was! The main road in had a repaired split down the middle; there were still piles of rubble everywhere; people were living in semi-permanent homes or still in tents; the biggest evidence of this awful event, however, for me, was the clear land sliding that had happened on the sides of the enclosing mountains – smooth walls of rock existed alongside otherwise jagged rock face. From the shere volume of rock that must have slipped into the city, you really did not want to be there. Therefore, what I noticed from above was simply patchwork conducted by the charity organizations that have now left the city.
The village I am staying in, Dhanni Mie Sahiba, is literally next door to the city, across the Neelum river and was described to me as one of the worst hit places of all. It exists on what appears to be a large hill top now about 3/4 the original surface area because the earthquake caused massive land slides, taking with it the houses, shops, people walking etc. And destroying the bridge linking it to the main city across the river. So, for a while there had no easy to the city. A wooden slat bridge was made for people to cross, but wore away very quickly, but only after (thankfully) the cable car was installed to take bigger things across. As the wooden bridge is no longer in use (only through choice because the river beneath runs with such a strong force), we accessed the village with the cable car. It seems disrespectful to say the view as we traversed the river were stunning, but they truly were. They were just as beautiful from the village, but somehow easily missed because of the living situation some people were in. I don’t think I saw a single fully formed home. At least, thanks to KYDS Trust, they have had free, fresh running water only in the last year or so.
The villagers were so pleased to have a KYDS Trust representative stay with them that were was a welcome party as I descended the cable car and my host's entire family greeted me. All 22 of them!! Given my crap memory for faces and names, I apologised in advance for not remembering their names and smiles loads. They recognised my need to rest, wash, eat and then sleep so I suspect the real fun will begin tomorrow.
A big shout-out to all of you who texted me to wish me well – you'll make missing home that bit more delayed! I will try to complete a daily log, but this depends on access. Hope all is well with you x
After I eventually got my baggage, I was met, as promised by my contact lady … AND half her village, it seemed!! She had 2 car loads of people accompanying her from her village 6 hours drive away that I felt very special indeed – completely unnecessary, but very appreciated. So, in my pigeon urdu and their limited English, off we set, stopping at Abbottabad to see my charity boss's brother-in-law, as well as randomly in a pine forest for a rest. Dictionary using aside to keep the conversation going, it was an amazing ride. From busy city streets to roads hugging the mountainside, I didn't know where to look. As the view became more hilly (and the roads insanely rubbly), it was clear that we were getting closer to Muzafarrabad.
The city is situated in a valley and given it's almost 1m inhabitants, it was surprisingly small, albeit somewhat sprawling. My initial impression was that Muzafarabad did not seem so ruined, but as we wound down the mountain, I realised how wrong I was! The main road in had a repaired split down the middle; there were still piles of rubble everywhere; people were living in semi-permanent homes or still in tents; the biggest evidence of this awful event, however, for me, was the clear land sliding that had happened on the sides of the enclosing mountains – smooth walls of rock existed alongside otherwise jagged rock face. From the shere volume of rock that must have slipped into the city, you really did not want to be there. Therefore, what I noticed from above was simply patchwork conducted by the charity organizations that have now left the city.
The village I am staying in, Dhanni Mie Sahiba, is literally next door to the city, across the Neelum river and was described to me as one of the worst hit places of all. It exists on what appears to be a large hill top now about 3/4 the original surface area because the earthquake caused massive land slides, taking with it the houses, shops, people walking etc. And destroying the bridge linking it to the main city across the river. So, for a while there had no easy to the city. A wooden slat bridge was made for people to cross, but wore away very quickly, but only after (thankfully) the cable car was installed to take bigger things across. As the wooden bridge is no longer in use (only through choice because the river beneath runs with such a strong force), we accessed the village with the cable car. It seems disrespectful to say the view as we traversed the river were stunning, but they truly were. They were just as beautiful from the village, but somehow easily missed because of the living situation some people were in. I don’t think I saw a single fully formed home. At least, thanks to KYDS Trust, they have had free, fresh running water only in the last year or so.
The villagers were so pleased to have a KYDS Trust representative stay with them that were was a welcome party as I descended the cable car and my host's entire family greeted me. All 22 of them!! Given my crap memory for faces and names, I apologised in advance for not remembering their names and smiles loads. They recognised my need to rest, wash, eat and then sleep so I suspect the real fun will begin tomorrow.
A big shout-out to all of you who texted me to wish me well – you'll make missing home that bit more delayed! I will try to complete a daily log, but this depends on access. Hope all is well with you x
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