Worshipping the God of Wealth

On Monday we'd had the last of our working days, finalised our schedules, budget etc. for the rest of the project and discussed what conclusions we could draw, at this stage, from the data. A very satisfactory way to end the workshop. I'm working with a great team here - there's been no politics of any sort, just a group of people who REALLY want this work to end up helping children.  And by the end of the workshop we could see that this research will go some way to empowering children who've been sexually abused - just by the fact that the research highlights how they OVERCAME the terrible situations they found themselves in (most research highlights how they got into these situations or how they suffered in them). So, a good, strong ending to the work.

But on my last day in Nepal it was the festival Divali and I was deeply honoured to be invited back to the family home of Milan (the lead researcher in Nepal). At his home I helped cook puri (puffed up little pancakes) as well as a 'mandala' - a drawing on the ground outside the front door that is made of coloured powder with marigold petals all around it - all the houses have a trail of marigolds and mandalas from their gate to their prayer room - to allow Laxmi, the God of Wealth, to enter the house. I felt so honoured to participate in Milan's family's celebrations, his grandmother, mother, father, sister-in-law and two nephews were all there.  The ceremony bit started at the gate of the house, went through the courtyard, stopping of at the family shrine, then in front of the door (where the mandala was), another shrine by the door and over the door (everyone wants to make sure Laxmi comes into the house!!) and then up the stairs to the prayer room.  Along the way Writu (Milan's wife) and her sister-in-law performed ceremonies with a little tray of bits and pieces (powders and seeds it looked like), and they lit candles and the dad rang a bell.  Milan gave me a running commentary explaining the story of Laxmi and the significance of different aspects of the ceremony - for example, on the tray of bits and pieces there was a coconut which he smashed open and then sprinkled the coconut milk along the path of marigolds. Milan explained that they use a coconut instead of an animal sacrifice as the coconut milk is considered 'pure' - similar to the purity of blood. Milan let off a few fireworks (didn't follow the firework code of course like us safety conscious Brits!).  Then upstairs to the prayer room with lots of singing led by great grandma.  Before we ate I was given a tika blessing (red dot on forehead and marigold petals on head) and drank some special spiced milk (with my right hand). The meal was delicious but by this time I was starting to get twitchy about making my flight on time so had to make some rather hurried goodbyes, screeched in to the airport just in time for check-in (I was the last one!).  It was an amazing ending to my visit to Nepal...not particularly looking forward to facing the reality of all the admin and fundraising tasks I have piling up on my desk...thank goodness I've already worshipped the God of wealth, should have her on my side at least!

Overcoming challenges: logistic, academic and gastronomic

I've been in Nepal for 4 days and was going to do a video blog while I was here but the sight of the bags under my eyes and the serious difficulties in communication (14 hour electricity black outs every day) have prevented me.

So, a traditional blog instead...I was here 10 months ago with Jonathan investigating whether Children Unite could work in partnership with a local NGO here that works with child domestic workers - called CWISH.  And here I am now setting up a one year research project with CWISH on the concept of 'resilience' and child domestic workers.  Today we piloted the research methods (life-story interviews and focus group discussions).  It's been a bit of a logistical challenge because of the electricity black outs, the cold (and no heating) and also the strikes - there is a national strike tomorrow by students (due to a massive hike in fuel prices which affects the cost of pretty much everything in Nepal).  But the academic challenges we're facing are, to be frank, more interesting.  We've been training 6 adult researchers (teachers who are also counsellors) and two young researchers (one is currently working as a domestic worker and one is a former child domestic worker) and they are all used to the concept of child domestic workers facing difficulties (abuse, isolation, discrimination, violence etc.) but are struggling with the idea that in the face of these difficulties, something 'positive' can emerge.

This is resilience - it is a new concept and is particularly challenging for those who work with children 'in need' (such as child domestic workers) - as you have to shift your thinking about children from the welfare perspective (where children are often seen as victims and vulnerable) to a more 'positive' view of children.  Resilience is the ability to 'bounce back' in the face of adversity and we have been trying to find a hundred different ways of explaining this concept to the researchers, who, in turn have to explain resilience to the child participants in the research.  So far, we've come up with 'coping with or overcoming your problems'.

The other challenge the researchers are facing is NOT helping the children they are researching.  As counsellors their natural reaction, when a child tells them about an abusive situation they are facing, is to offer solutions.  As researchers, today, they found they had to stop themselves from doing this, distance themselves from the child and focus on getting the child's story (the data), not judging or analysing what the child was saying.  They said they found this hard.  But it was helped when we explained that we are undertaking 'action research' and that the findings will, we hope, help child domestic workers in the long term.

So, the challenges continue - mine are rather less severe - can I cope with curry for breakfast tomorrow!?  (Ah ha but I am prepared for this one and have brought my marmite with me!!)