Namaste, It is my second to last week in Nepal and I am trying to squeeze in as much as possible before heading back home. In my last blog post I forgot to mention that I attended the ANZAC Day memorial service organised by the Australian Ambassador at his residency @ the Australian Embassy on April 25. Anzac Day is a national day of remembrance in Australia and New Zealand that broadly commemorates all Australians and New Zealanders “who served and died in all wars, conflicts, and peacekeeping operations” and “the contribution and suffering of all those who have served”. It was an interesting event to take part of in Nepal.
This week I have done some interviews as well as been touristing around a bit. On Saturday I attended the Le Sherpa farmers market which is where a lot of the expats go every Saturday morning. It is a nice place to grab a coffee and sit down on the lawn and chat to people. On Sunday I attended the Yellow House farmers market in Patan which was also really good. I ended up buying two shirts that are designed and made in Nepal.
I got to meet the next batch of Australia Awards Nepal Short Course on Inclusive Education in Practice Awardees heading off to Queensland University of Technology in Brisbane. It was lovely to meet the scholars at their Pre-Departure Briefing held in Kathmandu just two days before they were off to Australia. My project in Nepal is in interviewing alumni from this course (2016 and 2018 participants), hence very interesting to attend this event and learn more about the scholars selected for 2019.
I had an interview with Australia Awards Nepal alumni Mr Ganesh Kc and Ms Jamuna Subedi from Independent Living Centre for Persons with Disabilities, Kathmandu (CIL-Kathmandu). It was such an inspiring meeting! CIL-Kathmandu promote and protect the rights of people with disabilities through advocacy, peer support, and awareness raising of the concept of ‘Independent Living’ in Nepal. www.cil.org.np
“The right to participate in every aspect of life” “The only special need that I have is to be loved and accepted just the way I am”
I also had a great meeting with Mr Lakpa Sherpa, Principal at the Laboratory School (Lab School), and how he works with advocating for inclusive education. The Lab school is the first public boarding school in Nepal (established 1956) and is a successful integrated school where visually impaired and sighted students share the same classroom. www.laboratoryschoolnepal.com
And I also had an interview with Mr KP Adhikari and team at the National Federation of the Deaf Nepal (NDFN). I learned so much about inclusive education and the development and challenges within deaf education. NDFN is the national umbrella organisation of the deaf community in Nepal working for policy intervention on such as deaf rights, sign language, telecommunication facilities, awareness raising and training. www.deafnepal.org.np “I can talk with my hands. Can you?”
