As my peers in the US headed out to the beach for a vacation in July…I went the opposite direction to Nepal. Some questioned my sanity as they were acutely aware of the monsoon season and intense flooding. So with a heavy-duty umbrella and three raincoats, I took flight…from Charlotte, North Carolina USA to London to Delhi to Katmandu. My well-planned adventure went slightly astray with the cancellation of one of my flights, which added another day to enjoy the inside of airports, which is rarely appreciated.
My assignment was part of Om and Luna’s Women’s Empowerment Program helping in the micro-credit cooperatives. Oh and by the way…..all the cooperatives were up hills and some even looked like tiny specs on the mountains. It seems if one major word could describe the terrain it would be hilly as in “craggy, mountainous, elevated, rocky, rolling, rugged, sloping, steep and undulation. However, I come from terrain that is “flat, gentle level, mild, moderate and smooth.” One never appreciates the flatness of their homeland until they come to Nepal. There was a little hill, then big, then steps, and more of the same. I soon became envious of the mountain goats jumping with glee at the challenge of the next incline.
My local VIN liaison Rezina was my contact to what in the world people were saying. I learned my yoga training contributed quite well to my proficiency in greeting others with Namaste. Beyond that, it was a primitive form of sign language. However, I learned smiles are quite abundant in this country. Rezina probably should be nominated for sainthood after enduring my endless questions about Nepal for three weeks. We quickly gelled as a team and like the goats, made our way up the mountains come rain or shine.
Upon our initial visits with the groups, we found varied levels of frustration and optimism. After all, it was the rainy season and the ideal time to plant rice and they all had crops to attend too. Finally, the groups got their crews assembled and ready for a joint meeting of the minds. We found the women to be hard-working, creative, and fun! They took great pride in their work and their other team members. Interestingly enough the businesses were facing the same issues of businesses in other countries…a lack of awareness of helpful business practices and effective business development strategies. The good news is that can be rectified with some simple training, which will happen.
Over the course of three weeks, there were a number of successes in the area of organization, networking, sales, and social media development. What I learned is that every woman in Nepal has a powerful story to tell. We got one group to tell their stories on paper and pack into sold purses. This action seemed to provide them with agency, value, and importance. Maltz claimed that “Low self-esteem is like driving through life with your hand-brake on.” It just may be the hand-brake has been released for a few of the women. May their future driving be as easy as Nepali goats bounding up the mountains with glee.
Liz Johnson
Country: United States
Project: Volunteer & Trek
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