Three months with Nepal's orphans

Sandra Moon spent three months working with orphans in Kath-mandu in what was more of an adventure than she bargained for — an experience that has provided the material for her first photographic exhibition.

As I got my taxi into Kathmandu, Nepal, from Tribhuvan Airport in April last year I didn't know that this uncontrollable, death defying, full speed mission that was as friendly and exhilarating as it was alarming and dangerous, foretold the next three months of my life better than any clairvoyant could have. We sped, horn honking, through the narrow streets swerving to avoid cows, police and truckloads of military. Everything rushed by so quickly. It was exciting and scary and despite telling the driver to slow down in Nepali he pushed his way through a wedding celebration marching through the tiny streets, hit one of the crowd and continued to hurtle through them without even looking back. His smile that I'd thought was friendliness now seemed a little crazy, as I'd soon learn to view the smiles on the staff at Hopeful Home Orphanage.

I had an inkling that things had gone awry after I had volunteered there a year and a half before, when a friend, (who volunteered there after me) told me that all was not what it seemed. I found it really hard to believe and to give both parties the benefit of the doubt put it down to cultural differences. After all these were people who I'd loved and trusted: good people, or so I thought. However the longer I stayed and the more I got involved it became apparent that things were really Dickensian and mounting evidence pointed to the corruption and cruelty that was going on. I was in a position stuck between what were seemingly two modern day witches and beautiful adorable children. I was incensed, disappointed, confused and grief stricken.

When faced with this Oliver Twist scenario I started to question the big things in my life. Who will look after these kids if they aren't in this orphanage? Won't other places be just as bad? Am I prepared to give up home and dedicate myself to this work forever? I met plenty of foreigners there who had done exactly that and held them in awe and admiration. Yet is it for me? I'm still not sure but I am going back to explore just that for I have never felt and received so much joy and love as when I worked with the children of Nepal.

As I tried to hang in for the sake of the children I became involved with another orphanage run by my language teacher, Nabin Karki. Small and quiet, Gurans Bal Uddhyan, lies on the outskirts of Kathmandu and proved itself to be everything Hopeful Home was not. Safe and comfortable, free of caste discrimination, lies, corruption and abuse, I began to put in more time there and now continue to support them.

Nepal is such a fantastic, vibrant country that despite its political problems is still calling me back. I'm proud that it has served as the inspiration for my first photographic exhibition in collaboration with Rainbow Thanka Gallery, Kathmandu, Three Months
in Nepal, at Photo Gallery Espoir, Ishibashi Now that the King has declared a State of Emergency I can't imagine my next taxi ride. As the Nepalese say “The past is history, the future is a mystery.”

Three months in Nepal (in conjunction
with Rainbow Thanka Gallery, Kathmandu)
Photo Gallery Espoir, Hankyu Ishibashi
See Art for details.

Text: Sandra Moon