So finally everything has worked out and it’s now just over 2 weeks until I set off for Kathmandu Nepal (Eek!?). So I had a couple of important questions first of all; 1: Where is Nepal? See helpful map below 2: Why Nepal? And for that one the VSO sum it up rather nicely I feel so, quoting VSO;
“Home to the most extreme geographic and climatic range in the world, Nepal is also the poorest and most unequal country in south Asia. Since 2006 the country has successfully maintained peace after 10 years of insurgency, yet is still beset by many of the factors which made it a fertile ground for conflict and the recruitment of combatants. Almost half of the working-age population are unemployed or underemployed, while the average adult literacy rate is below 30% in the poorest districts. Although 92% of primary-aged children are enrolled in school, keeping them in the education system remains a significant challenge compounded by poor education management, quality, relevance and access. Many rural communities lack access to safe drinking water or primary health services and 39% of children are malnourished. Poor infrastructure isolates communities from markets while their livelihoods are increasingly affected by the impacts of climate change. All of this comes in a context of frequent natural disasters, including floods, landslides, major earthquakes, drought and famine.
VSO has worked in Nepal since 1964, initially addressing the need to deliver key services in remote districts. Today, we are building on the success of this earlier work to increase local organisational, managerial and civil society capacities to address poverty. One of our key strengths is our ability to work directly at both community level, where the needs are greatest, and at central level for scaling up impact. We share skills strategically with people and organisations to effectively contribute to and sustain development in Nepal.”
And so that’s what I am going to try to do!? More on that soon…
Where in the world?
Jessica in Nepal 