2. Project Report 2025

We arrive in Tatopani by Jeep in the morning; we have landed in a subtropical garden from Jomsom in less than 3 hours. The lush vegetation feels good now, and I enjoy the bougainvilleas. Dawa wants to go to the hot springs immediately and wash off all the dirt; a mass bath like this in Nepal is not for me. Tatopani means Hot Water (Tato = hot, Pani = water); there are places with this name all over Nepal. In the mountains, there are some places where hot springs emerge from the ground, usually used as public baths. This means concrete basins and many people. Dawa later tells me that they also sit and chat together in rooms. So, it’s very much like our thermal baths, but I still prefer a shower at the hotel. After that, I do not want to go back in my dusty and sweaty clothes; even my Lowas annoy me. It's summer here, and I want clothes that are clean and lighter. So, I first go shopping.

There is a shop with tourist souvenirs, including clothing, which is just short of the batik pants of the hippie tourists. But they are clean, and there are no jeans in town. So, I buy myself a grey fabric pant with colorful stripes on the outer seams and move on. Yes, T-shirts and shoes are available at the other end in 'Fancy Tatopani' – the name gives hope. So, I walk down the street and find the mentioned shop; a T-shirt is quickly found. There are also socks; I don’t want to wear my hiking socks anymore – and now I still need shoes. With hands, feet, and few words, I clarify what I'm looking for, and the shop owner looks at me completely horrified, shaking his head. 'We do not have that size, not THAT big!!' Well, excuse me, I do not have such clown shoes either! Size 40, which is still below Dawa's size of 41; surely, there must be some sneakers available. The owner rummages around a bit and comes back beaming with a pair of white sneakers 'Only pair'. White. Well, the color won't last long, but they are wonderfully light and comfortable and fit. I look at them, NOKA sneakers. I can't help but smile; they are from China. Here, copies of all big brands are made, which, by slightly changing the brand names, are no longer copies. That’s why so many Nepalis are walking around in Mammut, Arcteryx, or the Summit Series from NorthFace. Upon closer inspection, they turn out to be Arcterix, Mamut, or Norht Face. By using the known lettering, the letter transpositions don’t stand out at all, and so, I am just a proud owner of NOKA sports shoes. No matter, I feel very good when I can slip into fresh and, above all, light clothes after the shower. Dawa laughs; he finds my pants – well, remarkable. How much did I pay for everything? I tell him the price; he finds everything outrageously overpriced. 'I told you to bargain!' Yes, I did. I paid what I deemed appropriate; I also reduced the price by about 1/3, but I cannot haggle over the last 100 rupees. For me, that’s not even a euro; for a Nepali, that's an entire lunch. I don't have to swell my chest with pride down to the pain threshold and think that this way, each of us has preserved our honor. When I explain this to Dawa, he looks friendly. Later at dinner, he tells me that I might actually have a little bit of a point.
From Tatopani, we head to Pokhara. The second-largest city in Nepal with about half a million inhabitants lies by a quite large lake at about 800m elevation and is considered a starting point for many hikes, the most famous of which is probably the Annapurna Circuit. The lake with the white mountains in the background and the colorful pointed boats is a well-known photo motif – it’s not my city. It is a tourist city with many souvenir shops, trekking agencies, and bars and nightclubs; the people are a somewhat colorful mix of middle-aged trekking tourists and hippie party people. It is loud and not very clean; I prefer other places in Nepal. We sit in one of the countless 'German Bakeries' by the lakeside in a tropical garden; that is quite nice. While enjoying cake and coffee from the espresso machine, we wait for the tourist bus back to Kathmandu. We had come from Pokhara by overland bus, the backpacks were strapped to the roof, and it shook and wobbled as usual. Then it continues in the air-conditioned, well-padded bus with upholstered seats; we are on the road for almost 8 hours along the Pokhara-Kathmandu Highway. Well, whether 'highway' is an appropriate term, I leave undecided; I have often complained about the road conditions, but the bus offers significantly more comfort. Nevertheless, upon arrival in Kathmandu, we are initially worn out and take a taxi to Dawa's apartment. Sonam, his niece and the daughter of Pasang and Tashi, my hosts from Khamjing, is already expecting us. Today, there are momos, so we sit in the kitchen and prepare dinner. After that, I go straight to bed. I am sad that the Mustang adventure is over; Dawa has made it an extraordinary experience for me, and I look forward to Khamjing, and I am very, very tired.

The next day, we do some errands in the morning; among other things, I would like to buy a motorcycle helmet. We ride motorcycles to Khamjing; I do not want to do that unprotected. Moreover, Dawa needs fabric to have a prayer flag sewn – almost all you can buy are Chinese products made from synthetic fibers; the Lama, however, requests cotton – my travel bag should be stored at the hotel until I return to Kathmandu and fly home; we need meat and some more. In between, Dawa quickly takes me to a monastery right in the city, beautiful as always, but also completely unexpectedly, just around two corners. I think I celebrated the Holi Festival here in the area two years ago with Frank; I haven’t seen this monastery with its considerable stupa yet. At noon, there are still some momos left over from yesterday, and then it’s already time to go, this time (with helmet 😎) to the Himalayan Kingdom School; the meeting with Tsewang has indeed worked out after all. I am warmly welcomed by the head of our secondary school, and for about an hour, we exchange thoughts about the girls. Are they doing well, where can we support, and how is the family doing? As a farewell, Tsewang would like to invite me to dinner; it would make him and his wife happy, today is Nepali New Year. 'Dawa, do we have time?' I’m not going there alone, so Dawa is automatically invited. 'Yes, of course, we do!' Dawa eats very happily and often and is looking forward to it. What kind of food do I prefer, Nepali, Korean, or better Chinese? I let Tsewang choose and am curious what will be served in the evening. In the late afternoon, Dawa then receives the address and clicks his tongue. 'This is really an expensive place, Simone, he really means well!' Well, great, we are going to eat expensively, and I have dirty sneakers, jeans, a T-shirt, and a softshell jacket that is staring at dirt as my outfit. Everything else is in the hotel in my travel bag. So, we are out in the evening again and stop in front of an expensive mall across from the royal palace; I have been here before. On the top floor is a restaurant, 'Himalayan Coffee'; it seems to serve Nepali food, great. Upon arrival, Tsewang greets us in dress pants and a shirt, and his wife in an ironed blouse with beautiful gold jewelry. I push my sneakers under the seats; they are no longer white, and I take off everything except for the T-shirt, which feels fresh and a bit nicer. And then the menu comes, and I hope that my disappointment is not too obvious. There are burgers, pasta, and pizza. My hosts and Dawa find this great. 'We thought you might like some European food, you must have had so much Dal Bhat by now!' 'Very thoughtful, yes, of course, what a nice idea,' I lie. However, the evening turns out to be very nice, and Tsewang talks about his travels and family; I share about Mustang and my daughter, and Tsewang extensively praises NepalAid’s approach to work in a small area with a project that genuinely helps people. 'It is good the children are in the mountains first. They need to grow roots before they can spread their wings!' I like Tsewang very much; we often have similar views and approaches, and the evening is truly pleasant despite the chicken burger.
And then finally, we go to Khamjing! 'I have a surprise for you at home!' Aha, what is it? I want to have a meeting with Dawa and Pramod, our Childhome manager, and Dawa's representative, and I also want to meet Mayor Syaphru Bensis, nothing more. My children are still on vacation, and they should remain so; it is important that they spend as much time as possible with their families. So, we take the motorcycle back up the mountains; I have my trekking backpack on my back with spare clothes for 4 days. After a few hours, it does get quite heavy; my knees hurt, and my back could use a break too, so I am glad that we take our lunch break in Trishuli about halfway. Dal Bhat, and no, I won’t get tired of it, and I am delighted with a delicious meal again. In the early afternoon, we reach Dhunche; now I know my way! When we then arrive in Syaphru, we pass by the house of our driver Baisano, who is just standing in front of the door and waving; I wave back. Nothing has changed; how nice - or has it?! At the northern end of the town, there is now a large golden Buddha statue, which is new! Then we turn off the highway and go up the mountain, just one last bend, and we finally arrive in Khamjing; I am very happy. Pasang and Tashi greet me warmly as expected and first bring me a milk tea. 'You like that, right?' Yes, I enjoy it very much and am a bit moved that it has been kept. Dawa comes 'You stay here, I come at 5pm. Have a shower and relax.' Um - okay. And Kami, Dawa's wife? And Pramod? May I say hello quickly? No, I should shower. Pfff, then I’ll shower.

At 5 o’clock, Dawa comes to pick me up, grinning. We walk down the stairs, around the corner – and I see all my children! I almost cry, 'But they are on holidays! And look, all the big girls too!' 'I thought you would be happy when the children are here; we will celebrate Nepali New Year together for one night.' Yes, the surprise is more than successful; I am completely moved. For one day, Dawa has taken the children from their families; I am first greeted in Nepali – with a scarf and all properly – then the children dance for me. I let it all wash over me and wait patiently, then there is tea. I now sit down on the bench with the children and can talk to them; it doesn't take long before I have the first ones in my arms, and everything is as usual. We have a wonderful evening with Dal Bhat (yes!) and games, with conversations and a Bollywood film, and then I go to sleep. The next morning, we begin preparing momos. 6 kg of meat, a huge mound of dough – we are a total of 22 people and sit accordingly long at the preparation. In between, I talk to my children, play with them, and hug them. I praise and admonish them for what I have heard over the year and am very happy that the children are still so close to me, even after not seeing me for the whole year. The momos taste great to all of us; after that, the children set off again. Baisano, our driver, takes them down to Syaphru, from where their parents will pick them up. The farewell is very heartfelt; at first, we stand as a 'bunch' on the terrace again, then I hug each child individually once more. It is so beautiful to see how they develop, grow older, and also how I can speak with them more and more as they progress in school. I shed one or two tears at the farewell and am grateful for my sunglasses when everyone is gone; I can’t fool Kami though. She laughs at me and says something in Nepali, and Dawa and Pramod shake their heads wildly. 'Kami says you are sad, crying?' 'A bit, perhaps...' Complete incomprehension from the two boys; we had a great time, right?! Yes, well, I won’t see the children for another year; I already miss them, but the surprise was so wonderful; I am very, very grateful! And happy.
Now, the meeting with Dawa and Pramod follows; I want to hear how the last year was and exchange thoughts about the future. I explain German perspectives from time to time, justify specifications, and listen to the Nepali side; where can we meet? I appreciate their ideas and try to rein them in where they may be going a bit beyond their goals, just as they do with me. 'We are in Nepal, Simone, how do you expect us to do that?' Hm, true, some things are just different than in Germany. I usually enjoy these meetings; I learn an immense amount about different perspectives, question my upbringing, and appreciate it every time we find common ground. And we usually do; in the worst case, simply because Dawa does me a favor and begrudgingly accepts that he adapts to us.

Finally, I meet the mayor for lunch – yes, Dal Bhat – I want to ask for some support. Yes, of course, whatever I need, he will try to facilitate. However, he can unfortunately do nothing for us financially; his resources are entirely exhausted for the next 2-3 years, but he is very happy that we are so actively supporting his community. Nevertheless, he gives me some tips that will help us, and we say goodbye here too with 'See you next year'. Then my stay in Khamjing is already over; the day after tomorrow, I have a flight to Frankfurt. Actually, I am not quite ready to say goodbye yet; I felt incredibly comfortable again. But my family in Germany is waiting; Easter is just around the corner. And so, I sit with Dawa on the motorcycle, and we head toward Kathmandu. I enjoy the ride as always; it becomes warm after Kalikasthan; we are out of the mountains. We take a few breaks for tea and a restroom, for lunch, and just to rest; the last few days have been quite demanding. Finally, there’s one last turn, and then comes the first view of Kathmandu; finally, we arrive at the hotel. I organize myself for the next day, and after a very early breakfast, Dawa picks me up. At the airport, I hand him my motorcycle helmet 'For next year' and say goodbye. In several conversations, I was able to advance various projects a bit, I hope; more importantly, I was able to strengthen the connection between NepalAid and project partners. It is always good and right to engage in conversation, to exchange ideas, and to gain understanding for each other to then find the commonalities together. Thus, I board the plane not feeling dissatisfied. I can't help but grin at the announcement 'Due to an expected high number of departures, we will be delayed by 1 hour' – flight plans are made in advance; the departures cannot have been that 'unexpected'. Nepali planning ❤️