Paul and Jean Dobbing(Photo: © Dobbings/CMS)Just two years ago, Nepal was full of optimism as the King abdicated, civil war came to an end and a new republic was declared. However, uncertainty remains and the country still has no constitution. Strikes, protests and road closures make life difficult.
But on a smaller scale, says mission partner Jean Dobbing, working in Nepal with her husband Paul and daughter Jennifer, life is changing for the better.
We have been working with a small Christian organisation in a poor community, formed a few years ago when some of the church members had a desire to reach out in practical ways but they had little experience of how to do so.
Our organisation has been supporting them in establishing themselves as an effective organisation and has been giving them skills for community outreach.
Specifically, they have established Non Formal Education classes, mostly for women who are illiterate or semi-literate.
Just a couple of weeks ago I asked about changes resulting from these classes. I could not have anticipated the answers. I was told: “The women are now not afraid to speak out and introduce themselves to strangers”, “They are more confident to go to the market and buy things”, “They put more effort into getting dressed up in saris”, “Some can write very simple letters and one woman has been writing to her husband working in the Middle East”, and “One Christian woman is able to read some parts of the Bible now.”
This has all been a positive beginning, but the community faces many challenges. There is much poverty, ill health, illiteracy (including very few books in the local language), many children do not go to school and there are virtually no toilets.
This little Christian organisation is now about to embark on a year-long project which aims to work in the community through the Non Formal Education classes. These classes meet not only for literacy, but also to develop their households and community in practical ways. There has been much talk about toilets and piglets. Yes, really!
The groups will gain more awareness about health, learn how to generate income through piglet raising and vegetable farming, and be actively involved in building around 20 toilets.
There has been much debate around which households should get the toilets and also much talk about piglet raising. The questions are around whether households should get a male and female piglet for breeding and if there should be an “incidence fund” in case a piglet dies.
I have been learning about pigs and piglets as well as about all manner of components and costs involved in toilet construction (things like pipes, pans, cement, bricks and tin). I am guessing that, like many mission partners, I am learning and doing things I never quite imagined…
Find out more about some of our mision partners in Asia >