Tuesday, November 7th
My second day in Patan marks the beginning of my 24th year.
This morning, Susan, who works on the rehabilitation program for exploited women, explains to us what the Shanti project is. This project allows us to help women victims of sexual exploitation to generate a stable income that guarantees them financial autonomy. Through vocational training, these women learn an income-generating profession, which gives them a sense of self-worth and confidence.
In the afternoon, Susan proposes us to go to the store "the Local Project" with whom Planète Enfants & Développement and its local partner Choori will sign an agreement for the sales of bags from the Shanti workshop. This store sells quality products made in Nepal and promotes the made in Nepal in the foreigners' district.
Back at the office, I'm working on some projects for the Paris headquarters and I'm finishing reading about the BFMC project.
In the evening we go back to the Durbar Square of Patan, where Véronique and I meet again a friend of mine that I met during my Master in London, and who has been in Nepal for more than a year. He tells us about his new Nepalese life and we take news of our friends from the Master, in one of the rooftop of the place. At the top of the bar, the view on the Durbar Square must be magnificent. Nevertheless, we only had a view on the darkness and on the few luminous points in the distance indicating houses. Indeed, electricity being expensive and sometimes scarce, the beautiful monuments cannot stay lit at night; and I can't help thinking that we are lucky in Europe to be able to admire every day the beauty of the Eiffel Tower or Big Ben illuminated in the night.
To be continued ...
