Kailali

On the way to Dhangadi, we stopped at Kailali. This village was allocated land by the government. They had to leave their old homes because the river flooded. This land used to be barren. Then NGOs such as CDRA came and installed many water bores. They were able to irrigate the land and now most of the land is used for farming. CDRA also purchased many vegetable seeds and taught the farmers how to plant them. Now the families have rice and veggies to eat.

The village we went to was pretty far off the main road. We were on a dirt road for a while that was really muddy and full of potholes. We had to leave the car behind at one point because it couldn’t cross a river. After crossing the river via a small boat, we walked for about 20 more minutes to find a school. The school was funded by CDRA. We were there to check up on it and deliver a plaque. The old school was nearby. It had tiny tiny windows, no electricity, and was made of mud and hay. Inside, it was like an oven. It would be hard to learn in a hot, dark classroom. The newer school is made of brick and cement. There is electricity and larger windows so learning is more comfortable. The classrooms are also larger to fit the 175 kids that attend school there.

Crossing the river in style

Baby bananas

Guava plant

Inside the new school

Donors

New School

Old school. Tiny windows, small space, no electricity.

I really liked this village. Even though it was ridiculously hot, it was very peaceful. The houses were spread out and there were many paths that motorcycles or bikes could navigate. The people living there were Taru. Our contact was cha-cha Chaudary. “Cha-cha” means uncle in Taru. We went to his house and had some snacks.

Footpaths/Bike trains around the village. Very flat and peaceful

Rice, stored in huge mud tubs.

The boy is leaning against a large mud tub that they store with rice. It keeps the rice fresh and the bugs out.

Rubita, Anup, Rupak sitting on the Taru version of a couch.

Ashok with veggies he donated

Ashok with more veggies

After snacks, they showed us a water bore that had been donated. It took many tries to get the motor started. They had to pour some water down the pipe in order to get it to start spewing water. Water likes to stick to itself, so pouring water down the pipe sort of kick-started the process. The ground water had something to stick to and could more easily climb out. I’m kind of just making that up, but it makes sense to me. Once the pump got going there were some coughs of smoke and then a huge gush of water. They just let it flow into some channels that went out to irrigate the crops. People started drinking the water and a couple kids took a quick shower.

Trying to get the water pump to start

Taking a quick shower

Walking in the rice fields with Rubita, Anup, and Rupak.