Goats for Grang

We left Kathmandu at 6 a.m. in the morning.

The “Nepali Highway” winds along the hill ranges. After about 50 km we turned towards Langtang Valley. The next 60 km should now be on roads that are no longer so good. Unfortunately, after a relatively short drive, a landslide blocked the road, so we had to take the alternative road between Bidur and Betrtawoti Bazaar - which actually no longer deserves the name road. The path was narrow and unpaved. Just clay and gravel. Thanks to the rainy season there were lots of deep puddles. As a result, our progress was very slow. We finally reached the village at 1:30 p.m. The fog was deep, so visibility was very limited. The picture that presented itself to me was a bit sad. Since the earthquake, perhaps three or four families have been able to afford to rebuild a stone house - the rest still live in corrugated iron huts. A table had already been prepared at a larger group of houses. And no, Coca Cola is not a sponsor of our projects - Cola is one of the few luxury goods they afford and they wanted to share it with us as a thank you. That's why the two bottles are on the table. The banner we had produced in Kathmandu the day before was put up and more and more villagers gathered. Lots of children, an incredible number of children, were standing around. My heart became a little heavier because I already knew that I had brought far too few children's clothes with me.
Of course we were viewed with skepticism, some a little suspicious.

But the older people in particular had incredible gratitude in their eyes when our eyes met. These looks, saying so much without words, is what I experience again and again in Nepal. Now the names were called out from the list and the people proudly presented their animals. The breeding ram was also presented. Some also expressed thanks - but everyone showed in their own way that this animal means a lot to them. After the ceremony the Clothes distributed. From Bhumesthan, Narayan and I are used to children lining up obediently and waiting until something their size is picked up; but due to the limited choice, some mothers rushed forward and took what they needed straight from the table. I could understand it - and at that moment I decided to send more Clothes to the village - some cost-effective way will be found.
Afterwards we were invited to different houses.
Apart from boards that serve as beds, there was absolutely no luxury here. On average, eight people live in the two rooms. Then we went back again.

We reached Kathmandu at around 7:30 p.m. Dead tired, but also content and happy. In my opinion, Narayan has once again done a very, very good job!

I've already been to a few corners of Nepal - people everywhere are in need of help. Of everything I have seen so far in Nepal, Grang is one of the places in great need.

We sat there for a while and talked about our “work”, which we have been doing together for 7 years now; also about the fact that it would be very nice to support a needy village with animals every year or every two years. And so the Grang goat project became a long-standing goal of “goats for needy villages”...