WMT newsT H E N E W S L E T T E R O F T H E W I L K I N S M E M O R I A L T R U S T

WMT Newsletter Summer 2007

This year is the 15th anniversary of the PIA plane crash and the

deaths of Andrew, Helen, Hannah, Naomi and Simeon Wilkins.

Thanks to the ongoing help and donations from WMT

supporters, the memory of the Wilkins family lives on in the

work of WMT in Nepal. WMT has projects in education, health,

conservation and income generation. We continue our support

for ECCA’s environmental education project in schools in

Southern Lalitpur. WMT supporters generously donated to the

library appeal allowing ECCA to purchase more books for the

schools’ fledgling libraries. Aparna is expanding the SRC’s

health projects and has recently opened a purpose built clinic at

Bhotechaur. CBRS continues its excellent work with disabled

children and their families. They have been able to purchase

their office building, helped by a generous donation from a

WMT supporter given in memory of David Hicks, the late

husband of our Hon.Treasurer, Melanie Hicks. VLTA trains

villagers in traditional leatherwork and shoe making and, more

recently has extended its training programmes to take in cotton

bag making. Two of our students, Aruna and Kishore, have

completed their first degree and MSc courses respectively;

while Rosna is studying hard for her School Leaving Certificate.

News from Nepal

In November 2006, there was a peace agreement

between the Nepal government and the Maoists that

gave the country hope for the future –along with an eight

party coalition government. However, there is still

conflict in Nepal. On the Terai, the political unrest has

turned into ethnic conflict. There are about nine factions

representing the Madheshi ethnic groups who want

more autonomy for the people of the plains. These

people are ethnically of Indian origin and have felt

discriminated against by Nepalis from higher castes. The

Madheshi have organised strikes and protests, closing

schools, businesses and transport, and have been

involved in violent clashes with the Maoists. The Young

Communist League has been in the news recently both

in the fight against fraud (they arrested a corrupt

businessman, who was being protected by the

Government and broke up a sandalwood log smuggling

network) and for stoning the US Ambassador’s vehicle.

Refugee camps in Eastern Nepal still hold many

Bhutanese of Nepali ethnicity who fled their homes after

ethnic cleansing in Bhutan. Some are returning to

Bhutan; sadly a number have been shot as they crossed

India. It is believed that Indian forces were responsible.

The effects of global warming are being felt in Nepal

and many Himalayan glaciers are retreating. The melting

ice-fields are expanding glacial lakes and there is a risk

of these lakes bursting with resulting devastation of

mountain communities. There is growing wealth

amongst some sectors in Nepal, with new luxury homes

and many 4 x 4 vehicles evident in the cities but this

wealth is in the pockets of the few. The majority of the

population are extremely poor, the cost of living is

escalating and there is no free health service provision

nor any social security net. Tourists are returning to

Nepal and business is slowly improving in the tourist

areas such as Pokhara with a growing number of

visitors coming from India, China and Japan.

Glossary

CBRSCommunity Based Rehabilitation Service – a Pokhara based

charity working with and for disabled children.

CBRS RFCBRS Rehabilitation Facilitator – trained in physiotherapy and

rehabilitation, works with disabled children and their families in

the community.

ECCAEnvironmental Camps for Conservation Awareness – a school

centred conservation and environmental education project.

NGOsNon-Governmental organisations.

PIAPakistan International Airline – the PIA plane crash on 28th

September 1992 was in Southern Lalitpur, on the flight to

Kathmandu. There were no survivors.

PWMTPitchford and Wilkins Memorial Trust – a Trust run by Helen’s family.

RosnaRosna was orphaned at birth, deserted by her family

and, as a sickly baby, was nursed back to health by

Helen Wilkins. She has been adopted by a Nepali lady,

Santi Gurung. Support of Rosna’s education is a joint

WMT-PWMT project.

Sarkileatherworker – a low caste, untouchable or occupational

cast of people who traditionally work with leather.

SRCSelf-Reliant Centre – an NGO that aims to bring affordable

health care to poor communities and promotes cheap and

effective herbal remedies.

VDCVillage Development Committee – a local government –

similar to our Parish councils.

VLTAVillage Leather Training Association – an income generating

project working with the Sarki caste.

In January of this year, WMT Trustees, Sarah Wilkins

and Daniel Burrows, went to Nepal, along with

Paul,a friend of Daniel, and visited the projects. This

Newsletter is a pictorial account of that visit.

The Wilkins Memorial Trust57 Forest Edge, Buckhurst Hill, Essex IG9 5AE. Registered Charity Number 1038323

The Wilkins Memorial Trust was set up following the death of Andrew and Helen Wilkins and their three children,Hannah, Naomi and Simeon, in the PIA plane crash on 28th September 1992.

NO 19

AUTUMN 2007

ECCA – Environmental Camps for Conservation Awareness

The WMT-ECCA project operates in schools in the

villages in the district of Southern Lalitpur. The

programme educates children about environmental

issues and supports Nature Clubs, libraries and small

income generating projects. Southern Lalitpur is a

mountainous region south of Kathmandu extending to

the inner Terai. It was here that the PIA plane crash

occurred in 1992. The villages closer to Kathmandu

have been visited by WMT Trustees on previous trips.

This year, Sarah, Daniel and Paul, accompanied by Binod

Shrestha (ECCA Director), Ram Suran (WMT Field Co-

ordinator) and two porters, went on a four day trek to

the villages of Malta, Pyutar and Ashrang in the more

remote south western part of the district.

ECCA TREK, JANUARY 2007

Our journey started on the local bus, with a three hour drive

up into the mountains of Southern Lalitpur.

Southern Lalitpur bus

Plateau and hills around Malta

Welcome at Malta School

Paul, Sarah and Daniel with students at Malta School

Zebu cattle alongside the Bagmati River

Short-cut to Ashrang by crossing the Bagmati River

Ashrang School

Welcoming dance

Daniel teaching Class 10

Accommodation in Pyutar

Ram Suram, Paul and Daniel enjoying dal bhat (rice and lentils)

From the bus stop, we walked over the hills and down to the

village of Malta on a plateau in the valley of the Bagmati River.

We were warmly greeted by the students of Malta School with

garlands of flowers and entertained with a welcoming ceremony.

From Malta, our journey took us across hills and valleys to Pyutar

where we stayed overnight in the home of one of the teachers.

After visiting Pyutar School, meeting with the nature Club

members and inspecting their tree plantation, we continued on

our trek, following the Bagmati river to Ashrang.

Ashrang is in the inner Terai and is much warmer than the

mountainous villages of Dal Choki, Bhatti Danda and Shanku,

closer to Kathmandu which Trustees have visited previously.

In Ashrang, we stayed in the home of the Headmaster,

Krishna Kumar K.C. The teachers and students of Ashrang

School gave us a very warm welcome. The welcoming

ceremony included traditional dance. We also participated in

classroom lessons, inspected the library and visited the

coffee plant nursery. Coffee production is one of the income

generation ventures in this area.

Inspecting the coffee project

White rabbits – our presents from Ashrang School

Paul and Sarah are welcomed to Bhotechaur Clinic

Danuwar girls outside their hostel in Ducchachap

WMT provides the salary for some of SRC’s health workers.

We are also paying for urgent repairs to the roof of the clinic,

needed before the summer monsoon rains begin.

In Ducchachap, a village south of Kathmandu, SRC has

established a hostel for girls of the Danuwar caste. The

Danuwar are low caste people, traditionally fishermen. The

Danuwar of Ducchachap are very poor and mostly

uneducated. While families will let boys go to school, they

are reluctant for girls to receive secondary education.

Aparna has established a simple boarding hostel for girls.

Her students attend local secondary schools and receive

additional tuition at the hostel in the evenings.

Taking an early morning cuppa at the teahouse on theridge between Ashrang and Bhatti Danda

Bhotechaur Clinic

Bhotechaur Clinic

Aparna at the clinic

Women’s group meeting in the grounds of Bhotechaur Clinic

From our visit to the schools and from talking to the school

children and teachers, we were impressed with the

enthusiasm of the students, especially Nature Club

members, and their wish to improve their communities. We

were also pleased to see how keen villagers are to expand

the libraries so that they become community libraries as well

as school libraries. We hope to raise more money to

purchase books on agriculture and income generation topics

as well as educational and environmental subjects.

Ashrang School proved to be a very positive and friendly

place with very enthusiastic teachers. Krishna KC

accompanied us on the first part of our trek back to the

road. This journey is the only way that villagers have to get

out to shops and involves a very steep four hour climb to a

mountain ridge, two hours down to a river then two to three

hours up to the road and bus stop followed by three hours

by bus to the outskirts of Kathmandu. We broke our journey

at a very basic teahouse on the mountain ridge.

SRC - Self Reliant Centre

Under the leadership of Aparna Bhatta, the SRC runs health

clinics and camps, health education projects and promotes

women’s groups in poor rural communities where there are

no medical facilities and little provision for the education of

women. With funding from Rotary International, Aparna has

built a clinic in Bhotechaur, a village lying 3 hours drive north

west of Kathmandu. We visited the clinic in January and met

staff and members of the community. Daniel, Shanti, Sarah, Rosna and Aparna in a palacecourtyard in Bhakturpur

Rosna and Shanti at a café in Bhakturpur.

Rosna

Rosna, the school girl rescued as a baby by Helen

Wilkins, is now studying for her School Leaving

Certificate. Support of Rosna’s education is a joint

PWMT and WMT project.

In January, Rosna and her adoptive mother, Shanti,

joined Aparna, Sarah, Daniel and Paul for a trip to the

historic city of Bhakturpur.

Aruna

Aruna has now finished her degree in electronics at

Kathmandu Engineering College, part of Tribuvan

University, and is looking for a job.

Paul and Aruna at a restaurant in Thamel, Kathmandu.

Sarah holding a goat kid

CBRS – Community Based Rehabilitation Service

CBRS works with and for disabled children and their families in the Kaski and Syangja districts ofNepal. CBRS has its Headquarters in Pokhara and, recently, a very generous donation given inmemory of David Hicks has helped the charity to purchase its office building ending a series of movesfrom one rented office to another. As well as this, and providing some funds for the main programme,WMT has also sponsored income generation projects (IGPs) and child-to-child clubs.

In January, Sarah spent a day with CBRS visiting some of the families in Pokhara and Kaski Districtwho have benefited from the income generation programme.

CBRS Office in Pokhara

Shova Kandal with her father and niece. Shova has cerebral palsy and learning difficulties

Sarah with Shova’s niece and a goat kid. The family received a giftof goats as part of the IGP.

Santos Lama with his grandmother and IGP goats. Santos hasan non-correctable dislocation of the hip.

Salina B.K.’s mother has an IGP shoe shop on a pavement inPokhara City. Salina has a severe learning disability.

Surya Lama’s mother also has an IGP pavement shop selling vegetables which makes a reasonable profit.

We left Kathmandu before dawn to visit one of the Sarki

leather working villages. The road took us through old

temples and plunging valleys, often bounded by a sheer

drop on one side. Any sense of vertigo I had, however

was overcome by a stunning sunrise over the

Kathmandu Valley. Furthermore, as driving in Nepal

requires running a gauntlet of cows, chickens and

children along narrow roads, I was very glad when we

arrived at the Sarki village.

The Sarki people are traditional leather workers, making

shoes, bags, and carrying thongs for fellow Nepali’s .

They make the leather from cows which have died from

natural causes and are therefore tainted with the stigma of

working with the carcass of a holy animal. Hence Sarkis are

an ‘untouchable’ caste, barred from many walks of life.

Since the advent of

modern textiles, native

demand for leather has

plummeted and many

Sarkis lost their

livelihoods. They were

trapped making leather

goods by the caste

system, even though

the demand was

non-existent.

The Village Leather Trading Association (VLTA) works

with these communities to retrain them in leather

working and to teach them new designs for the western

market. This provides a valuable source of extra income

for the family away from the harvest season.

Because of the Sarki’s caste status, it was not

permissible for our guides (who were of higher caste) to

eat or drink in the village and so they had brought food

from Kathmandu. They insisted that we left the village to

eat, lest our food became sullied. Although I felt rude

leaving the village to eat, I was eventually persuaded.

This is a question often facing westerners in Nepal;

how much should you push against tradition and

custom centuries old? I felt rude leaving, but I am

sure that everyone (Sarki or not) would have felt

awkward had I insisted on staying. In Nepal,

hospitality is often overwhelming, so it was noticeable

that we were not offered anything in the Sarki

village, though their welcome was extremely warm.

I think they would have considered it discourteous of

our status to even offer.

During our visit, the villagers showed us the traditional

leather tanning process. This complicated and labour

intensive process requires around 3-4 months. First the

villager must forage for dead cows, since it is illegal to

kill a cow in Nepal. During the collecting trips he hopes

to collect 4-5 good cow hides. These are then pegged

out to dry, soaked in lime pits, worked with his feet for

suppleness, and carefully scraped and oiled. Finally he

has sheets of high strength, but rough leather.

The villagers had a simple way of life and certainly

they were some of the poorest people I have met,

with an adult lucky to make 80 pounds a year, but like

so many communities in Nepal, they were rich in

heritage and family.

Visit to VLTA working village