What are you doing?

Well, I thought I'd post a little bit about what we're actually going to do in Nepal...

Nepal is one of the poorest countries in the world (ranked 142 out of 177 by UNDP) with low household incomes and stark inequalities between urban and rural communities. A strict caste system, a 10-year conflict and strong gender bias has left the majority of Nepali people without access to basic education and health services.

UMN seek to serve the people of Nepal in the 'name and spirit of Christ' focusing on poverty aleviation through integral mission and social action. UMN are emerging from a period of transition where they have moved from implementing development projects to supporting implementation by Nepali partner organisations. UMN believe this is key to ensuring greater equity and sustainability of development activities in Nepal.

So what does UMN's Strategy and Development Policy Director actually do?

As far as I can gather at this stage, I'll be working with UMN’s Leadership team to deliver the current strategic plan, develop a new strategic plan, support development policy dialogue and assist the annual planning process.

UMN work from 7 clusters across the country so much of my time will be spent visiting each area to help build up a picture of the local issues communities are dealing with. As part of UMN's advocacy role, and to inform development policy I will hopefully be involved in national policy debates for Nepal. I'll also be put to task to build strong relationships with institutional donors to support longer term financial stability for the organisation.

George has been offered a number of roles within UMN however her primary focus is to get the kids settled into their new school and life in Kathmandu. After that she will undoubtedly get involved in a project or with UMN.

But before all that starts we've got a period of 5 months 'Language and Orientation' training, so we'll be speaking Nepalese and writing using the Devanāgarī alphabet! (Yeah right!)

I hope this gives a slightly better picture of what I'll be doing but it's early days though so things might work out a little differently... we'll just have to wait and see.

More information about UMN and their work can be found on their website...

Up hill struggle

Aaarrrgghhhh!



We've only got 8 weeks til we leave Bangor! Having found out a little bit about our future house in Kathmandu we've decided to arrive a little earlier than expected. This will give us time to get basic furniture ~ beds, fridges and cookers etc ~ in time for the kids to head off to school...



We are now officially panicking! We're off to England in 2 weeks to say goodbye to family there and when we return it's a case of packing and storing. Between now and then we've got to lift every single thing in the house and decide whether it's coming to Nepal, being thrown out or stored for 4 years! I think I'd better get to know the guys at Bangor dump!



On the house front - DIY central seems to be OK. The roof is in better shape and the pointing is nearly finished... only the shower, front door and garden to sort out!



The commissioning service (15th June) is shaping up - it'll be an informal affair at the 11.30am service - hopefully with a Nepali themed lunch after. Then the formal commissioning service in the evening - don your white collars and robes!



OK, I'm now off to look for some blue barrels - you've no idea how hard it is to source these guys! Especially when we're asking for them for free!

Preparations

It's starting to kick off...


I've finished my course, we've been confirmed as candidates in mission and UMN are now progressing our Visa application with the Nepali government. There is no turning back!


We're hoping to leave Bangor in the middle of July and take a couple of weeks in Scotland and England to say good-bye to friends. But before we can do that we have got a lot of preparation to do:

Christmas presents for the kids...
Shoes / clothes (essentials) for 2 years...
Techie things like water filters, battery charges, inverters etc...
Blue barrels - regulation missionary kit - all personal items to be shipped in blue barrels - main difficulty is finding them and then collecting them as they are big and bulky!
DIY - lots of - around the house to make sure it is still standing when we get back...
Clearing and dumping rubbish - it is amazing what you collect...
Packing...

Not to mention the speaking engagements and 'meet the missionary' type stuff.

This week we have been getting our roof fixed and brickwork repointed to make sure the outside of the house is in good shape before we go... next week I've got to fix the shower and paint the front door and kitchen...

Ah well it is all good fun.