Greetings from Kathmandu!  Life is back to normal in the capital after two weeks of Dashain celebrations and clear skies (due to no traffic on the road).  There are lots of exciting happenings within the Umbrella Foundation, I have had the pleasure of meeting our new country director Kyle Mohamad.   Kyle has taken on the role from Caroline Scheffer who over the last few years has achieved much for the organization especially during the earthquake period. It’s a new start and we hope to build further with rural community projects, education and our women’s Day’s For Girls program.  

Yesterday Tracey (back from her Annapurna trek) & I attended Next Generation Nepal (NGN) Wisdom Wednesday, a program which host’s a guest speaker who speaks on or around the subject of the orphanage business & voluntourism in Nepal.  Yesterday’s speaker was of particular interest to us as it was his Excellency Glenn White, Australia’s Ambassador to Nepal.   

Glenn spoke about how ‘doing good sometimes causes harm’ and the problems that occur from a diplomatic prospective within Nepal.  Australia’s consular commitment to Nepal includes travel advice, go to: https://smartraveller.gov.au/ (it is advised you register if travelling to Nepal) humanitarian & development work in Nepal.  It is interesting to note that Australia’s international aid commitment to Nepal has not been reduced with the Australian government supporting many projects such as Autism, eye clinics & education programs here in Nepal.

We have also heard from our fearless patron Gavin Vickers who is currently climbing Cholatse, (6,440m), first ascended in 1982, Cholatse is located in the Khumbu region & is a serious mountaineering undertaking with 20 pitches of difficult ice climbing.  We have had contact from Gavin and he has also promised to do a blog for us….stay tuned.

Namaste                                             

Linda