As the money from my dad’s internet fundraising campaign entitled “Toilets by Monty” or CRAPCAN—as spin off from RAPCAN (Retired Airline Pilots from Air Canada)—arrived quickly, sufficient funds were available to start work. Plans were drawn up by the engineer who designed the Stupa Saangha Hospital.
The construction on the toilets began last Sunday. There will 4 toilets, septic, and taps with water coming out of them. The brick work from the existing latrine was taken down and a new foundation was laid. Bricks in good condition are scraped and stacked for reuse.
The framing for the doors have been put up and the hole for the septic has been dug. Water is pumped in from a well and taps will spurt water for washing—drinking water will still need to be brought from homes—already boiled and filtered.
Everything is done by hand—the taking down, the putting up, the digging and the scraping—and yet moving along at a pace that the Nepali government bureaucracy could learn from (I renewed our visas and with the different departments, and the confusion that Kai’s birthday caused—she’s now 10 and therefore I have to pay but only for the time that she has been 10 which would be a percentage of the time for which I am renewing the visa which would be how much? Who should we ask? We have to wait for the supervisor to come and then the supervisor could ask another supervisor…Ma’am do you want chai?...Once home, I note that each stamp in each of our passports bears a different re-renewal date (?)). Ke garne? What to do? This is the Nepali National slogan, said with a head wobble that means “yes, no, maybe” to indicate that life overwhelms, and it is time to order chai again.
