Another day of outreach

Random cool things!

Today on our way out to a school we came upon a group of women fishing in the canal next to the road we were traveling on. Gopal stopped to let me try to capture them. Ok….let me re-phrase. Capture them ON FILM. 

This fishing technique was really amazing! They used triangular shaped nets dragging along the bottom to capture fish and then carried their catch in baskets on their heads. I know….it had nothing to do with dolphins and saving them…blah blah. But…to “set the scene” I think it is a good idea to capture as much of the normal daily life as possible. I believe it is called “b-roll”.  And I LOVE b-roll! But must focus! Must focus!

Women fishing in canal next to road in rural Nepal (Photo: JLewis)

We went to see the children

Today we travelled to the same area as we were the previous day by motorbike but this time to a small school. Children from I believe two local schools pack the room. Kids are fabulous and listen intently to all that Gopal tells them.

Gopal teaches kids about the Ganges river dolphin (Photo: JLewis)

Afterwards we interview two of them (a girl and a boy). The little girl really affects Gopal. She has recently lost her mom from suicide, but she has worked hard to overcome this by spending all her free time on school work in hopes that someday she can make a better life for herself. Gopal discretely gives her some money and tells her to use it on clothes and books.

He tells me later of another story…that I did not capture on film (regretfully) ….about a kid who was working in a restaurant or something….who could not afford to go to school. This is the story of many kids in Asia…as I later discover. Going to school costs money. Anyway, Gopal worked to provide money for this kid to help him go to school…but I think as I understood it, the kids father stepped in and took away that opportunity. Upsetting Gopal considerably.

Election approaching

Nepal is gearing for an election. They have yet to pass a constitution and ….are working on it. Throughout my travels I see people demonstrating…even though we are in a totally rural areas. They do this by carrying the flag of the party they support and sometimes walking or moving about in cars talking about their party choice on loudspeakers.

Local villagers performing a peaceful demonstration to show their support for a particular
party in the upcoming election. (Photo: JLewis)

Today we see a group walking along the dirt road next to the school. It makes me slightly nervous…understanding the dangers about the strike. But not….tremendously….nervous. This is what I would consider a countries growing pains. I have never felt threatened by anyone here…Even though I stick out like a sore thumb and represent what is ummm…well…..sort of shit in the world. The over indulgent developed world. Speaking for myself here. I am the first to volunteer to unhappily feel responsible to wear that t-shirt. But with no pride.