To read my article written for a UN women's magazine entitled
"BEING DISARMED BY DISABILITY" Click HERE

Following my recovery from breast cancer I decided to follow a dream, both literal and metaphorical, to visit Nepal. In the autumn of 2002 I found myself on a plane heading towards Kathmandu for 6 weeks. The main reason for my visit to Nepal to was to trek in the mountains but my lasting impressions of the country lay more firmly in memories of the people I met there; a people who despite  profound poverty and political instability have maintained a tradition of hospitality and warmth unknown in most Western countries. Returning after my 6 week visit I was unable to stop thinking about my experiences of Nepal and decided to return there 3 months later for a 5 month stay. I wanted to be more involved with local Nepali people and to give something back to the country I had fallen I love with. A friend who was a trekking guide introduced me to the New Life Centre for 30 physically disabled children. He was a founder member of this organisation which had at that time been operating for about 6 years. Asking if there was a way to help I was welcomed there with open arms as the first foreigner to volunteer at the centre. 

The children were friendly, but rather formal with adults. They were all dirty and wearing ill fitting tattered clothes. They smelled as if they hadn’t bathed for a long time. They looked thin and many had poor skin and dark rings under their eyes. Their cramped living conditions were extremely primitive and pretty shocking to a western eye. After my first day I remember crying all the way home in the back of a taxi to my guest house and well into the evening wondering how on earth I would be able to bear working with such deprivation. But very soon I saw past the dirt and poverty and found a remarkable group of children, responsive and hungry for attention, and also full of charm and humour. I spent my time with the children doing whatever they were doing – helping with homework and teaching English, accompanying them to hospital, playing games, going on outings, and helping with basic medical care. With minimal staff to care for them, I quickly realised that it wasn’t just what I was physically able to do but  my being there in a way that made them feel wanted and special that was every bit as important. The children reciprocated with boundless affection and a wonderful welcome every time I walked into the centre. 

After 5 months my departure was painful for all of us. I returned home with stories of what I had been doing and thoughts of going back to Kathmandu for a more extended period. Friends and family generously began fund raising funds for the centre and so nearly a year later I returned to Nepal once again for an open ended stay. It became clear that the money we had raised could start a building fund with which to buy land where a new purpose built home for the children could be provided. As a donor I was invited to become an honorary member of the board of the New Life Centre which is composed of local Nepalis who give their time to help run the organisation. I am now here for an indefinite period and therefore in a position to help make decisions about the day to day running as well as the long term planning of the centre. The enormous support and generosity of people in the UK has since made it possible to set up a UK based charity, The Nepali Children’s Trust, to continue supporting the centre. We have now raised enough money to buy land and have launched a building fund. We hope to commence the first phase of our new building by the end of 2007. In addition we are continuing to support the day to day needs of the children by providing funds for improving their education, medical care, diet, clothing and accommodation. 

I am in a unique position to be able to channel money raised through the Nepali Children’s Trust directly to the centre and to oversee how the funds are spent. In Nepal, a little money goes a long way and so it seems miraculous to me that in such a relatively short time we have been able to do so much. Some of the stories about how the centre has transformed children’s lives are very inspiring (see ‘Case Histories’). Many friends and family have been out to visit the children to offer hands on support and all are welcome. I am deeply grateful to everyone who, in different ways, has given so much in terms of their time, effort and expertise both in Nepal and the UK. It’s been a very rewarding experience for us all. Apart from the Nepali Children’s Trust, the New Life Centre has received invaluable support from other individual donors and organisations (see donors). We are all working together to coordinate and maximise our efforts, and so any suggestions about other charities and organisations we could approach for assistance would be greatly appreciated.