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After our Christmas break it was back to work at the Habitat build. We spent all of Monday mudding the walls. It was hard to believe how quickly we were able to get the mudding finished. By Monday afternoon the walls were finished and the contractor was putting on the roof.
The same day we were informed that Lakwa (the husband) had been given a job in a factory in Qatar and he was leaving that day. The family was happy but also very sad. He was going to be in Qatar for 5 years and would probably only return once to visit. The happiness came from the fact that they would be saving $2000 a year which was 10 x what they save being tea laborers.
They had a religious tradition that every member of the family and community paste rice in a red die on the forehead of the person leaving to wish them luck. We were invited to participate. We felt a bit in the way and intrusive for Maili (the wife) as she was losing her husband for over 2 years, yet we were there and the house needed to be finished.
Throughout the 2 weeks we met many women who's husbands were working in another country. A lot of them were in Qatar but some in India and the UAE. It was very sad to see all these women raising there children on there own. The money saved is very substantial but it was hard to see if it really was worth it.
We had a chance to go to the local public school where we took them some soccer balls and books. Being a public school they were very poor and were very grateful to receive supplies. The school went from year 1 to 10 and there were over 250 students enrolled, class sizes were between 30 and 40. The biggest challenge the school had was having the students there consistently. Some of the kids from the community did go to private schools and I think the quality of the education was much better. Unfortunately not everyone can afford to send their kids to private school.
The kids swarmed us and were amazed by their photos on the screen They exchanged a cultural dance while we sang the 12 days of Christmas and O Canada.
Tuesday brought us back to the house to finish the floor. This consisted of taking river sand and covering the floor. Then straw is put down and then a layer of mud. When the mud dries it will harden and create a concrete type consistency. We finished by early afternoon so after lunch we helped the ladies at the village bank work on mudding the walls of the bank office and meeting space. Being that it was located right in town we got a lot of observers and a few that thought we needed lots of advice!
Our last work day was short all we had left to do was paint the front of the house so it would look good for the pictures. The paint we used came in a powder form that we mixed with water. It was more like a white wash than a paint. We also tore down an old house in the yard and leveled the ground to make the space more livable. That afternoon we were entertained by the village bank with some dancing. We were all a bit exhausted and really didn't want to participate but they didn't get the point. It was also one of our team members birthday so they had a cake and gave her small gifts. It is surprising to see people with so little still be willing to give.
Our last day with Habitat consisted of the house dedication and saying our goodbyes. It was a sad day to be saying goodbye to the community but also very rewarding to know that Maili and her family had a safe and secure place to live. We flew back to Kathmandu and got to see Everest on the flight. Over the next few days the team members started to leave. It was hard to see some of them go as they were great to work with...fortunately we are all from Canada and visiting is not hard to do.
- comments
Erin Harder Hi guys! I loved this post...purely for the fact that I meet many of these "husbands" in the UAE and I always think about how hard it must be for them and their families. It was "nice" to hear the other side and put a real family's face to the thousands of men working in the UAE. I always try to tip them a bit more hoping it will somehow make its way back to Bangladesh, India and now Nepal! Miss you guys!!
Phanindra Dahal Dear Jen and Dave, Thank you for your great support for the people of Prithvinagar. I am also a member of Prithvinagar. I am very happy reading this blog and very excited to get connected with you. From my side I am trying my best for the upliftment of the rural poor of Prithvinagar. I also learn from your experience while you were in my village. Since I am now in Kathmandu and I entered Kathmandu for my Master's degree, I did not know in your work period. I am hopeful that we will be contacted.
Phanindra Dahal I want to learn from your experience sorry for mistake in the previous comment. Thanks.
Suraj Labung Hello, as a local from prithvinagar. I express my gratitude and ask you to feel some contents to my blog just at this email address- [email protected] my blog is www.Prithvinagar.Blogspot.com and in twitter search prithvinagarfrn WITH BEST COMPLIMENT TO HABITAT TEAM