When I decided to come to Nepal I wanted to do a volunteer programme. I had time to dedicate to a cause and thought it would a good experience for both me and whatever organisation I decided to help. I chose Volunteer Initiatives Nepal as they seemed to offer what I was looking for and I liked what I had read about them. I picked the Women's Empowerment Programme, this appealed to my interests and I was very interested to learn about how women live in Nepal. F...

It was my Bahini (little sister's) birthday today, her name is Singetia and she is 15 years old. Like many of the children here in Nepal she looks younger than her years. I'm not sure if this a genetically Asia trait or a result of poor nutrition, but it certainly makes age determination very hard here. So it appears that birthdays here are only celebrated in the evening, so Singetia has to wait all day to receive her birthday gifts. When we arrive back at the...

For my placement I am to be living at Saila Dai house in Tinpiple, about 11km north of Kathmandu, up in the hills. About a 20-30 minute local bus ride from Belaju where the VIN office is in Kathmandu. Let's start with the building, the house in on the side of the hill, on one of the main roads out of Kathmandu. Due to the poor road conditions in Nepal this means that with the constant stream of traffic passing during the day, there is dust thrown up everywhere...