Saturday, June 6, 2009

Leadership Training - Jhuwani Community Library


When I arrived at Sauraha bus stop, a guide from the hotel was waiting for me.
He took me to the hotel where Pratima and Biwas were staying: Eden Jungle Resort.
A lovely hotel with a very well cared courtyard garden. I dropped my backpack in my room and went to meet Pratima at the library. I was looking forward to visiting another library and watching the training.

The hotel guide drove me to Jhuwani library and, along the way, I enjoyed the new scenery.

The Terai region is very diferent from the rest of Nepal.
It is unbelievably flat!
You can see a mountain range in the distance, but everything else is flat. Almost every piece of land is cultivated, mainly corn and rice.
The dwellings are also very different, and as the guide explained to me, this region is mainly occupied by Tharu people, one of the many ethnicities that make up nepalese society.
The Tharus are the older occupants of this area specially because they have a natural resistance to malaria. This area has always been infected by malaria and the Tharus were the only people that could survive here.
It was only after 1950's, when there was a special effort to erradicate malaria in the Terai, that other ethnicities were able to settle here.


At the library, I found a very lively and enthusiastic group of people, around 20, all involved in several activities and breakout sessions.

They were in the middle of the fourth day of training and it was a really hot day! But it seemed as if none of that mattered... Their participation and eagerness to learn were amazing.
All the training was in Nepali so, despite all my effort to follow what was being said, most of the time I just had no clue...

Some of the powerpoint slides and activities helped me have an idea of what was the topic being discussed, but that was it!
Once more I was really sad I did not speak the language.

The bright side of it is that it allowed me to focus all my attention on observing how each member of the community interacted with each other and how they were participating in the program.

Nepalese people are very dedicated and interested in learning!
They also work well in small groups.
Most of all they are a fun loving and vibrant people! At times I wasn't quite sure if I was in a training session or a party!

I really enjoyed the experience! Nepal and its people never cease to amaze me!!

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