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Soon Christmas #excited She wonders if she will get a present or if there will be something to eat... "Christmas is doing a little something extra for someone" Charles M Schulz #xmas in #southsudan #africa 
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 NEW START…NEW LIFE…NEW YEAR For English scroll down ASKEPOTT-HISTORIEN Dette er historien om Askepott Juliet, den fattigste av dem alle i Kigungu. Hun gikk i søppelhaugene og lette etter mat til barna sine, hun bodde i et lite skur og hadde hverken mat eller klær til seg selv og barna. Hun fortalte meg at hver kveld når hun la seg til å sove, håpet hun at hun ikke ville våkne igjen morgenen etter...for da måtte hun starte kampen om å finne mat til barna igjen. Jeg bestemte meg for at jeg ville hjelpe henne til å få et bedre liv… permanent. Hva ville vell ikke gjøre situasjonen bedre enn å ha sitt eget sted uten husleie og med jord som kunne dyrkes? Jeg startet den lange prosessen med land-kjøp. Først måtte jeg bli kjent med hele prosessen med hvordan en kjøper land i Uganda. Så måtte jeg finne ut av alle fellene…og dem er det mange av. Og det er nok av de historiene om folk som har kjøpt “luft”. Mange selger nemlig land som de ikke eier…ja, jeg ble også forsøkt lurt to ganger… Jeg måtte også sette meg inn i hvordan vi kunne sette opp en kontrakt som var gyldig og som ikke tillot en ex-mann å komme tilbake og kreve å få overta eller være medeier i eiendommen. Det var en kronglete og lærerik vei, men til slutt fant vi et stort og flott stykke land med et lite 2-roms hus på, samt toalett. Eiendommen ligger flott til med utsikt til Victoriasjøen og flyplassen. Det er en fruktbar eiendom med flere store trær, blandt annet avocado, mango og jack-fruit. Jeg kom nettopp tilbake fra en rask tur ned til Uganda fra Sør Sudan for å besøke dem. Og Juliet har vart så driftig; hun har plantet bønner og mais-planter. Hun gleder seg, gutta gleder seg, ja alle gleder seg De har flyttet til et nytt liv, til en helt ny start i et nytt år. Tusen takk til Jorunn, Erling, Kristine, Margrete og Vegar som var med på å gjøre dette mulig!
ENGLISH The Cinderella story This is the story of Cinderella Juliet, the poorest of them all in Kigungu. Every day she had to search in garbage bins for food for her children, she lived in a small shed and had neither food nor clothes for herself or the children. She told me that when she went to bed in the evening she wished she would not wake up to another day of struggling to get food for her children. I thought, “I can do something”! I decided to help her get a better life ... permanently. What could be better than owning your own land with your own house? I started the long process of land purchase. First, I had to get to know the whole process of buying a land in Uganda. Then I had to figure out all the traps ... and there are many of them. I have heard plenty of stories about people who have bought "air". Many sell properties that they do not own ... And yes, twice I had to back out of deals because it was not real land. I also had to find out how we could set up a contract that was valid and did not allow any ex-husband to come back and claim to take over or be co-owner of the property. It was a bumpy road but I learned a lot and in the end we found a large and beautiful piece of land with a little house and outhouse. The property is so beautiful with a view to Lake Victoria. It is a fertile property with large trees; avocado, mango and jack fruit. Last week I went down to Uganda from South Sudan to visit them, and Juliet has been working a lot on the property. She has planted beans and corn plants. She has already harvested avocados and sold at the marked. They are all so happy about their new house, their new life!!! Many thanks to Jorunn, Erling, Margrete, Kristine and Vegar who helped to make this possible!   FOR ENGLISH; SCROLL DOWN Dette er skolen hvor Enocke og Ntabazi går. Nå har jeg vært på besøk der flere ganger, og har lyst til å dele med dere hvordan det er på denne vesle skolen. Tidlig tidlig på morgenen drar Enocke og Ntabazi hjemmefra på en liten motorsykkel-taxi som vi kaller “bodaboda”. De kjører avgårde på støvete og humpete veier i allslags vær. Den støvete veien går over i en hardt trafikkert vei som går fra flyplassen, gjennom Entebbe og videre ut til hovedstaden Kampala. Det tar dem cirka 40 minutter å nå skolen, og her starter de hver mandag til fredag klokken 08. Skolen har cirka 70 elever hvor 43 av disse bor på skolen (internat). Det er ganske utrolig å prøve å forstå at 70 elever med spesielle behov går på denne bittelille skolen som bare har 4 klasserom, og at det faktisk bor 43 elever her når de bare har 2 sovesaler, et hønsehus, et utendørs kjøkken og disse 4 klasserommene hvorav ett har en knøttliten TV. Men de har til gjengjeld en deilig stor hage med noen slitne lekeapparater og et fantastisk stort mango-tre. Når jeg kommer blir jeg alltid møtt med smil og rop og sang og glede. Det er deilig å møte dem og være hos dem. Forrige gang jeg kom samlet dem sammen alle elevene og sang en velkommen-sang for meg. De danset og lo, det var ekte glede. Og de har så veldig veldig lite. Jeg tenkte; ja her har vi jaggu mye å lære! Undervisningen på skolen er ganske enkel da de ikke har mange hjelpemidler. Det går ut på å få barna til å lære noe som er enkelt men som de muligens kan overleve på. Som for eksempel å lage mat eller å dyrke jorda eller å lage armbånd som de kan selge. Det er få lærere på skolen, og det er mange individuelle behov, så det er vanskelig å tilrettelegge for den enkelte.
Og nå vil jeg fortelle en ganske utrolig tilleggs-historie; Jeg har jo fortalt mine kollegaer her nede i Uganda om familien i Kigungu og om Enocke og Ntabazi. To av mine kollegaer drog til Entebbe Children’s Wellfare Primary School og besøkte barnene. Min danske kollega Thomas gikk så hjem og startet å søke på nettet og fant ut at hans bestemor var med å grunnlegge organisasjonen Verdens Børn som nå er hovedsponsor til denne skolen. Er det ikke ganske utrolig…hvilke tilfeldigheter…at min kollega sin bestemor har vært med å grunnlegge organisasjonen som nå er hovedsponsor til skolen hvor Enocke og Ntabazi går. Og at Enocke trengte fadder, - noe som min kollega Thomas og hans kone Jessica nå har tatt på seg ansvaret for. Tusen takk Thomas og Jessica! Verdens Børn (www.verdensboern.dk) er en liten organisasjon i Danmark som holder sin beskyttende hånd over denne lille skolen. Det er mulig å støtte dem i deres arbeide ved å bli fadder eller ved å støtte til selve skolen med drift og materialer/bygging. Jeg anbefaler på det sterkeste denne organisasjonen. Jeg har vært i tett kontakt med dem og er trygg på at hele bidraget (jeg vet hvor mye kostnaden er her nede, og hvor mye det koster å være fadder gjennom Verdens Barn, og det er ingen mellomlegg her) vil gå direkte til skolen eller barnet du er fadder til. Tusen takk til Verdens Børn for arbeidet dere gjør! Og tusen takk til alle barnene på Entebbe Children’s Wellfare Primary School som på en så hjertelig og enkel måte forteller meg hva som virkelig gir oss glede her i livet.   ENGLISH: This is the school where Enocke and Ntabazi are attending. I have been visiting them several times, and now I wanted to share with you how it is at this tiny little school. Early, early in the morning Enocke and Ntabazi leave home on a motorcycle-taxi which we call “bodaboda”. They drive along the dirt roads in all kind of weather. This bumpy and dusty road leads in to the heavily trafficked road that runs from the airport, through Entebbe and on to the capital Kampala. Their journey takes about 40 minutes before they reach school where they have to be at 8am every Monday to Friday. The school has approximately 70 students, of whom 43 are attending the boarding school. It's quite amazing to try to understand that 70 students with special needs go to this tiny school with only 4 classrooms and that there are actually 43 students living here full-time when they only have 2 dorms, an outdoor kitchen and the 4 classrooms one of which has a tiny TV. But they do have a lovely big garden with some well used toys and a big mango tree. When I arrive, I am always greeted with big smiles and songs of joy. It's so great to visit them. And last time they gathered al the students and song a welcome song for me. They danced and laughed, it was so nice to see and feel the joy in their song. And they have so very very little, but express so much happiness. We do have a lot to learn from them! The teaching program at this school is simle, as they do not have a lot of assets nor do they have many teachers or specialists. So it's about getting the kids to learn something that's simple but useful for their survival in this harsh world. They do learn a kind of sign language, and they learn basics, but they also learn how to cook or to take care of their chickens, and how to make simple bracelets which they can sell at the market. Let me add this rather amazing story; I have told my colleagues here in Uganda about the family in Kigungu and about Enocke and Ntabazi. Two them went to Entebbe Children's Wellfare Primary School and visited the children. My Danish colleague Thomas went back home and started a online search and, believe it or not…. he found out that his grandmother was one of the founder of the organisation “Verdens Børn” which is the main sponsor of Entebbe Welfare Primary School. What an amazing coincidences ... that my colleague's grandmother has been setting up the organisation which is now the main sponsor of the school where Enocke and Ntabazi goes. Enocke was one of the children who needed sponsors, …but not anymore :) Thomas and his wife have decided to be his sponsors! Thank you very much Thomas Verdens Børn (www.verdensboern.dk) is a small NGO in Denmark. Please check out their web page and consider a donation or become a sponsor. I can strongly recommend this organisation. I have been in close contact with them and am confident that your entire contribution (I know how much the cost is down here and how much it costs to be sponsors through the World Children, and there is no intermediate here) will go straight to the school or the child you are sponsoring. Thank you very much to the Verdens Børn for the work you do! And thank you to all the children at Entebbe Children's Wellfare Primary School, whom in such a warm and simple way tells me what really gives us joy in life. 
Ja tenke seg til…her er jeg midt i Afrika, og hva er det som dukker opp; jo BANFF den mest prestisjetunge internasjonale fjell-film-festivalen som er en årlig konkurranse og presentasjon av dokumentarer og kort-filmer som omhandler fjellklatring, frilufttsliv og miljø. Festivalen startet i 1976 og holdes årlig i Banff, Alberta Canada, hvor den har sitt utspring. Ja da må man jo bare få tak i billetter og dra! …og slik be det :) Jeg drog sammen med to venninner på BANFF filmfestival i tjukkeste Afrika. Først tok jeg lokalbussen fra Entebbe til Kampala, og det er jo en historie for seg selv i lukt, lyd og bilder. Det tar også gruelig lang tid på grunn av utallige stopp og mye merkelig “veiarbeid”. Vell fremme, møtte jeg mine venninner og vi hoppet på hver våres “bodaboda” som er motorsykkel-taxi og suste avgårde forbi all rush-trafikk til vi kom til film-teateret hvor BANFF Festivalen var. Nå skal det sies at det var på et utrolig fint kino-lokale i Ugandas hovedstad Kampala, men det er allikevel ganske finurlig og sitte i varme Afrika og se på fantastiske ski-filmer.
Yeh…can you imagine? ... here I am in the middle of Africa, and what's happening? BANFF is !!! The most prestigious international film competition and an annual presentation of short films and documentaries about mountain culture, sports, and environment. It was launched in 1976 as The Banff Festival of Mountain Films by The Banff Centre and is held every October in Banff, Canada. Oh yes, I only had to get tickets and go! ... and so I did together with two friends of mine who are working in Kampala :) I took the local bus from Entebbe to Kampala, and that's a story of its own …the smells and the sounds and how crowded it is… It also takes a terrible long time due to countless stops and a lot of strange "roadworks". I arrived alive and met my friends and we jumped on “bodaboda"s which are motorcycle taxis and drove off passing all the rush traffic. We reached the cinema theatre in time for the BANFF Festival. Now I really have to tell you that this was an incredibly nice cinema in Uganda's capital Kampala, but it's still kind of strange to be situated in the middle of Africa and watch amazing skiing movies.
 ...yes, of course I have again become a mother of some animals....this time twins!!! Two adorable puppies! I just had to save them; I found them only 2 to 3 weeks old with 5 young boys who wanted to sell them for 5 USD. I asked them where the mother-dog was. And they said she was dead....yes sure..so many changing storries when I prodded and asked. I wanted to find the mother-dog, because this two puppies needed milk and warmth and care from their mom. ...so the stories went on; ...the mom died during birth...yeh sure; this puppies were well fed and 2 to 3 weeks.... ...the mom was poisoned... ...the mom died of injuries... Who knows... Bottom line; I took them and the boys didn't make any business on them. And now 3 weeks later, and many sleepless nights and enless cleaning of pee and poop, they have grown up to be two adorable banditts whom we have named Crash and Eddie :) And I have managed, with the help of my dear friends Camilla and Elise here in the UN camp, to find a lovely home for them here in Uganda :) ...but they will stay with mom (me) as long as possible :)
 Christmas Shopping in September FOR ENGLISH; SCROLL DOWN En liten historien om en stor handletur….. Ja for hvordan føles det egentlig å vite allerede i september (ja kanskje helt siden forrige jul) at du som mor ikke får anledning til å kjøpe julegaver til dine barn…? Det er nok ganske umulig å forstå hvor viktig skoene til skoleuniformen er…Skoene som hører til uniformen, og som alle elevene egentlig skal ha…ja det er muligens det viktigste. Og skoene gir status!! Det viser på en måte at en kommer fra “et møblert hjem”, det er symbolsk… det betyr så mye mer enn hva vi kan forstå. Det er vanskelig for meg å forsøke å formulere det jeg opplever når jeg ser hvor viktig skoene er og hvor mye det betyr for dem. Det betyr liksom ikke så mye om du ikke har hele uniformen, så lenge den er ren og at den er pent lappet sammen. Mange av dem har bare en skjorte, og ikke korrekt bukse…men skoene!!! Juliet (deres mor) hadde en drøm om å gi alle sine 4 sønner sko til jul, men hun visste også at hun aldri ville få muligheten til det… hun ville aldri klare å skaffe nok penger til å få råd til de sorte lær-skoene som hører til en korrekt skoleuniform. Se hvor GLADE de er for å få nye sko!!! En julegave i september!
ENGLISH: A little story about a great shopping trip…. Yes, how would it actually feels like knowing that you (already in September) will not be able to give any Christmas presents to your children…? It is difficult for us to understand how important shoes are to the school kids who wear (are supposed to wear) uniforms. It kind of gives them status and if they have enough money to get shoes….it is symbolic…it means so much more then we can ever imagine. It is so difficult for me to put this into words because I have seen and felt how important shoes are for this kids. It doesn't matter if you dont have all of the uniform as long as it is clean and repaired, maybe you only have the shirt and not the propper pants…but the shoes!!! Juliet (their mother) had a dream; she wanted to give all her 4 boys new shoes for Christmas, but she also knew that she would never get the opportunity …she could never manage to get enough money for buying the black leather shoes which are the propper shoes for school. This is how HAPPY they got!!! A Christmas gift in September!!   I could have looked the other way I could have continued my run FOR ENGLISH; PLEAE SCROLL DOWN Den lille fisker landsbyen Kigungu Juliets historie Her er historien om en bitteliten fisker-landsby som det egentlig er rart at jeg fant. Den ligger gjemt på en halvøy utenfor rullebanen til Entebbe Internasjonale flyplass. For å komme dit må man passere gjennom utallige både militære sjekk-poster og politi vakttårn og sjekk-poster, helt til man kommer til den siste politi-stasjonen som nesten er som en inngangsport til landsbyen. Men jeg skulle jo løpe rundt flyplassen, og det hadde jeg jo bestemt meg for, og så ble jo min oppmerksomhet fanget av lille funksjonshemmede Ntabazi, og siden den dagen har jeg vært på besøk i landsbyen mange ganger. Hvordan er det så på denne lille plassen, så avskåret fra resten av verden? Hvordan har egentlig Juliet’s familie det, og hvor stor er den egentlig? Hva lever de av, og hvilken rolle spiller politiet her?…de patruljerer jo svært ofte i sine skinnende pickup’er… Her skal jeg prøve å gi dere et bilde på hvordan det er i en sikkert ganske så normal liten landsby litt avskåret fra det meste utenfor allfarvei i Uganda. Juliet’s søster Mastula, tar meg hjertelig imot når jeg kommer på overraskende besøk en lørdag formiddag. Barna Enock og Eric kommer løpende mot meg og hopper opp på meg; for en hærlig velkomst! Ntabazi og Edrine sitter inne i skuret bøyd over fulle tallerkner, de kikker opp og gliser med munnen full av bønner og ris. For et nydelig syn; de sitter midt oppi fillene i det falleferdige skuret og er lykkelige over den store tallerken mat de har fått. det gjør meg så inderlig glad! Mastula forklarer meg at Juliet har kokt mat til dem alle, og er nå hos deres mor for å gi mat til henne. Det er utrolig flott å se hvordan samfunnet her tydeligvis er vant til å dele på det lille man har. Det ligger virkelig i ryggmargen deres; Juliet hadde allerede startet sitt lille bakeri, og foran hennes skur stod det nå et vaklevorent bord med en sprukket plastbøtte med smult-boller oppi. Disse var til salgs for 40 øre stykket. Jeg kjøpte 10 stk og delte dem ut til barna. Og det var så utrolig flott å se hvordan de delte opp sin egen lille smult-bolle og gav de små bitene til andre barn som ikke hadde fått. Her tror jeg det ikke bare drypper på klokkeren, men det fosser ned på klokkeren når det regner på presten. Og nå som Juliet hadde fått ris og bønner, så kokte hun til hele stor-familien, og til naboene.
Juliet kom løpende nedover den støvete grusveien med åpne armer for å ønske meg velkommen. Hun viste meg stolt hvordan hun hadde delt opp små hauger av kull som hun solgte foran sitt lille skur. Hun fortalte at hun hadde solgt både brød og smult-boller hver dag nå. Søsteren brøt inn og forklarte at “det er litt avhengig av hvordan situasjonen til fiskerne er”. Hmmm… dette måtte jeg få litt nærmere forklart. De pekte på en pickup fullastet med bevæpnet politi og gav tegn til at vi skulle prate om det senere. De spurte om jeg heller ville bli med og besøke bestemor; ja, klart det! Vi trasket nedover den røde, støvete veien mens pickup’en med politi suste forbi oss. Mastula, er 15 år og har gått ett år på “highschool”. Hun er litt mer frittalende og startet å fortelle om politiets rolle i landsbyen. Kort oppsummert: politiet har full kontroll på dem og “money talks”. Når fiskerne kom inn med fangsten tidlig på morgenen, stod politiet og kontrollerte fangsten. Det varierte fra dag til dag hvilket “ mål” eller vekt som var akseptabelt. Og politiet fant alltid en grunn til å beslaglegge fangst, båt eller fengsle fisker. Og ingen eller ingenting ble løslatt uten at penger ble betalt, penger som gikk rett i lommen på politiet. Mastula fortalte også at politiet slo fiskerne, og at det var grunner til at flere av barna i landsbyen ikke hadde fedre. Her var det visst mye som foregikk uten at noen satt et kritisk blikk på deres situasjon. Vi kom frem til bestemor, som satt og solgte garn-staur til fiskerne. Hun satt der med tre barnebarn kravlende rundt seg. Det var jentene til Juliets andre søster, Namale. De var 5 måneder, 3 år og 5 år. Bestemor forteller meg at hun har 5 jenter. To av dem er gift, har barn og bor med sine menn utenfor denne landsbyen. Her bor hun sammen med Namale (27), hennest tre jenter og Mastula (15). Hun viser meg et bittelite krypinn i et murhus. Her er en trippel-køye og en seng, og det er alt. Ikke et vindu engang. Men en dør full av hull, og ingen elektrisitet, bare et bittelite stearinlys. Egentlig bodde Juliet og hennes fire gutter her også, men bestemor’s helse klarte ikke det lenger, så hun ba Juliet om å flytte ut, og slik var det jeg bumpet oppi Juliet og hele denne historien. Min neste oppgave nå blir å få til et møte med jurist for å få klarlagt et ryddig kjøp av et lovlig stykke jord, samt få satt opp et lite hus til hele stor-familien. Bestemor er satt på saken med å finne et stykke jord, og prisen på det. Hun er lur, og har forstått at her skal Muzungu (=“hvit mann”) holdes utenfor slik at vi får mest mulig for pengene. La oss se hva vi får til, jeg har et håp om å kunne gjøre en forskjell for dem :)
The small fisherman's village Kigungu Juliet's story Here is my story about the small fisherman’s village Kigungu. It is nearly strange that I found it as it is hidden on a peninsula outside of the runway to Entebbe International Airport, Uganda. To get there, you have to pass through countless military checkpoints and police watch towers and checkpoints, until you reach the last police station which is almost like a entry gate to the village. But I wanted to do my run around the airport, and I had decided to do so, and then my attention was caught by little disabled Ntabazi, and since that day I have been visiting the village many times. But how is it here; this little place so cut off from the rest of the world? How does Juliet's family really do, and how big is this family really? How do they survive and what role do the police play here? ... they patrol very often in their shiny pickups ... I will try to give you a picture of what this life is like here, in a most likely normal village, but totally cut off from the rest of the world, and totally off the grid. Juliet's sister Mastula, warmly welcomed me when I came on a surprise visit last Saturday morning. The kids Enock and Eric came running towards me and jumped onto me; what a wonderful welcome greeting! Ntabazi and Edrine were sitting inside the shed bowed over their plates, they look up and grinned with their mouth full of beans and rice. What a beautiful sight; they sat on top of some worn out blankets in the middle of this ramshackle shed and were so happy about the big plate of food they had received. This sight made me so happy! Mastula explained that Juliet had cooked food for all of them, and was now with her mother to give her food. It's amazing to experience how this community is used to share every single little thing they get. Juliet had already started her little bakery, and in front of her shed there was now a little table with a plastic bucket full of donuts. She sold them for 5 cent per piece. I bought 10 pieces. I paid triple price…I told them I had to pay “muzungo-price”. They laughed!!! I did what I just had learned by seeing how they shared everything, so I gave them all away to the kids. And it was so amazing to see how they split their own little donut and gave the little pieces to other children again. Juliet came running down the dusty dirt road with open arms to welcome me. She proudly showed me how she had divided up small piles of charcoal which she sold in front of her little shed. She told me that she had sold both bread, donuts and charcoal every day now. The sister interrupted and explained that "it depends a bit on how the fishermen are treated." Hmmm ... I had to dig a little deeper into this. They pointed to a pickup full-load with armed police and signalled that we would talk about this later. They asked me if I wanted to come with them and visit grandma; Yes of course! We walked down the red, dusty dirt road while the pickup with the armed policemen drove slowly past us. Mastula started talking again. She is 15 years old and has spent one year at high school. She is a little more bold than the others and started telling about the police's role in the village. Briefly summarized: the police have full control over this village and "money talks". When the fishermen are coming in with the fish early in the morning, the police are standing at the harbour and controlling the fish. And it varies from day to day which size or weight that is accepted. And nearly every day the police found a reason to confiscate the fisherman’s catch, their boat or imprison a fisherman. And nothing or no-one are released without money being paid. And this money goes straight into the pocket of the police. Mastula also told me that the police are hitting the fishermen and that there is a reason why some of the children in this village have no father… There is certainly a lot going on here without any critical eyes monitoring this situation. We arrived at Grandma’s place; she was sitting outside her little shed selling long wooden sticks used by the fishermen to put out their net. She sat there with three grandchildren crawling all around her. These were the girls of July's second sister, Namale. They were 5 months, 3 years and 5 years old. Grandma tells me that she has 5 daughters. Two of them are married, have children and live with their husbands outside this village. And here she lives with Namale (27), her three girls and Mastula (15). She shows me a tiny room where they have made their home. Inside the room is a triple bunk bed and a single bed and that's all. Not even a window. No electricity, just a tiny little candle, and a door full of holes. In fact Juliet and her four boys also used to live here, but Grandma's health couldn't bear it any longer, so she asked Juliet to move out,… and that is how I bumped into Juliet and this whole story. My next move now will be to arrange a meeting with a lawyer to find out how to be sure we have a legal agreement about buying a piece of land and write legally applicable contract, so that no-one can come and question her property. Yes, I will try to buy a piece of land and make sure they also get a little house for the big family. Grandma is determined. She is working together with me and will find a piece of land, and find out the price of it. She is a clever old lady, and are keeping the Muzungu (= "white man") out of this so we get best value. Let's see what we get and where we go, I hope to make a difference.  The mother was beating her disabled child I could have run past, I could have looked the other way... I didn't. I stopped and got the story; Follow my blog and get their story And remember my mom's wise word; "there is always a reason" 
FOR ENGLISH; SCROLL DOWN
 The mother was beating her disabled child I could have run past, I could have looked the other way... I didn't. I stopped and got the story; Follow my blog and get their story And remember my mom's wise word; "there is always a reason"  FOR ENGLISH: SCROLL DOWN Jeg stoppet. Jeg var ute på min daglige løpetur. Denne morgenen hadde jeg bestemt meg for en rolig langkjørings-økt rundt flyplassen. Denne turen går forbi et dusin av politivakter og militære kontrollposter før den strekker seg ut langs rullebanens gjerder. Politiet og soldatene er like overrasket hver gang jeg løper forbi dem; løper du? hvor skal du? hvor langt skal du uten motorsykkel? ... de syns nok jeg er et veldig merkelig fenomen. Veien fører ut til en liten fisker-landsby som ligger på sandbanken utenfor flyplassens rullebane. Jeg løp gjennom denne lille landsbyen da min oppmerksomhet ble fanget av en skrikende gutt. Han lå i skyggen av et lite skur mens en kvinne slo ham med et sopelime. Jeg stoppet og gikk over til den lille gutten som raskt ble etterlatt til seg selv gråtende i skyggen. Han gråt voldsomt. Da jeg satte meg ned for å trøste ham, skjønte jeg at han ikke var som alle andre barn; han var en funksjonshemmet liten gutt. Jeg begynte å synge for ham ... en norsk godnatt-vise ... den eneste jeg kunne huske akkurat da. ..da begynte han å gråte enda mer. Flere barn stimlet rundt oss ... enda en funksjonshemmet gutt kom og klamret seg til meg. Et av barna som kom; en gutt som ville bli kalt Jackson, snakket bra engelsk. Han fortalte meg at de to funksjonshemmede guttene er brødre. Og han som ble slått, hadde stjålet en tomat fordi han var sulten. Jeg forsto at denne historien har flere nyanser, den er dypere enn hva man ser på overflaten. Som min kjære mor alltid sier: "Det finnes alltid en grunn" Den lille gutten som snakket engelsk, Jackson, viste meg veien til guttens mor. Hun så veldig sliten ut. Hun hadde gjort et forsøk på sette opp håret sitt i noen fletter samtidig som hun stod bøyd over en enorm klesvask. Hun var svært medtatt, og deres lille hjem; ja jeg er ganske sikker på at ingen av dere ikke engang ville plassert sykkelen deres der over natten. Det var et lite lite skur av grove planker med masse hull i både veggene og taket. Hun hadde ingenting, men hun hadde sine fire gutter, to av dem funksjonshemmede. Og alle skulle jo egentlig ha mat hver dag, og kanskje litt klær, og transport til skolen, og et lite stykke såpe slik at de kunne få seg et bad… Jeg satte meg ned og snakket med dem. ENGLISH I stopped. I was out on my daily run. This morning I was running the long run around the airfield. This run goes passing through a dusin of police and army check points before it stretches out along the airfield. The police and army men are so surprised every time I pass them; are you running? are you going far?…they think I am very strange. The road leads to a tiny little village settled on the sandbank alongside the airfield. I was running through it when my attention was caught by a screaming boy. He was laying in the shadow of a little shed while a woman was beating him with a brom. I stopped and I walked over to the little boy left alone in the shadow. He was crying. I sat down to comfort him then I realised he was not like all other children. He was a disabled little boy. I started singing for him…a Norwegian lullaby …the only one I could remember right then. ..he started to cry even more. Some children came gathering around us…another disabled boy came and clinged around my neck. One of the children, a boy who wanted to be called Jackson, spoke good english. He told me that the two disabled boys are brothers. And the one who were beaten had stolen a tomato because he was hungry. I understood that this story is not a shallow one. As my dear mom always tells me: “there is always a reason” The little boy who spoke english, Jackson, showed me the way to the boys mother. She looked so tired and she was trying to put her hair into something like braids at the same time as she was doing the laundry. She looked like a mess…and their little home was less than a place any of you would place your bicycle overnight. It was a tiny little shed with plenty of wholes in the walls and a leaking roof. She had nothing But she had her 4 boys, 2 of them disabled. And all of them should have food every day, (where supposed to be fed) and maybe some clothes, and transportation to school, and a little piece of soap so they could have a bath. I sat down and talked with them.   Today we spend our last day in Kathmandu before we are heading for the mountains tomorrow morning. We have had some memorable days here; visited Swayambhu (the monkey temple), Boudhanath (the big stupa), Pashupatinath (Hindu temple), done some shopping in the busy streets of Thamel, been to The Department of Tourism and got our permit (for my coming climb) and squeezed in some time with good friends. We had a lovely time with all my dogs at KAT Center (Kathmandu Animal Treatment Center http://www.katcentre.org.np) and we visited Shaheen (Local Womens Handicraft http://www.lwhnepal.com/about/) and her family and enjoyed a delicious meal at her home. Now we have packed our bags and are ready for the flight to Lukla Sunday morning. We are looking forward to start our adventure in the Khumbu Valley. Photo credit: Magnus Börjeson  Come with me on a wonderful and meaningful journey in the mountains of Helambu: Please read my story below the slideshow For NORWEGIAN text, please scroll down HELAMBU, A MEANINGFUL TREK One week in lovely Helambu! What a nice trip. We started out one early morning from Kathmandu; an already busy city with lots of roadworks due to new water pipes laid from Melamchi ... and that's where we are heading out. We arrive Shermathang in time to enjoy the sunset over the mountains. So beautiful, so quiet and serene. We move into the corrugated iron shed, the temporary shelters made after the earthquake. We feel so lucky !! Next day starts in the best ever possible way; after breakfast we get a visit from the poorest families in the village. Our dear landlady sent for them because we wanted to deliver out warm clothes, shoes and little teddy bears brought with us from friends in Norway. It's so amazing to see the gratitude in the modest lovely people, who are showing such an amazing strength and joy even though they have lost everything after the earthquake. After this great start to the day, we begin our journey; we walk through rhododendron forests, over landslides and past Stupas until we arrive TharkeGhyang. Here we enjoy our dinner together with the family on the dirt floor around the open fire. All the children are spread out on the floor doing their homework, or they are helping in the kitchen. It's so great to get so close to the culture and the people that we are visiting. Next day after waiving goodbye to the school children we descend 1,000 meters and then up 1200 meters to MelamchiGaoun. We stay here for two nights and settle in with the local life in this small mountain village. The guys use the day playing football with the locals in between rain showers. Their football field is in the ruins of a temple. We also visited a poor family and handed out clothes. We visit the school and a holy cave in a "forest of prayer flags." Fifth day we wake up to a beautiful view; the landscape is covered in white, and we start on the 1100 meteres steep hill side up to Tharepati. We see the tiger's paw tracks in the snow, we build a snowman along the way and get some snow showers on the way to the top. At the top we enjoy the breathtaking view, and of course start building snow castle, have snowball fight, enjoying many cups of coffee! The night is so clear and the sky is full of stars...and it feels like they are so close! At 06 o'clock the morning after, the earlybirds are up to watch the sunrise over the Everest mountainrange. It is amazing!! After a delicious breakfast we start our walk toward Kutumsang where our beloved guide (and my nepali brother) Laki comes from. As we approach Kutumsang, it is great to see that the village has started to rise again from the earthquake in 2015. It's so great to be back with my Nepali family again. Here in Kutumsang I feel at home !!! This evening we are all sitting in the temporary shelter on the dirt floor and eat dinner; our extended family is gathered, and the little ones fall asleep in our arms around the fire while Lakis brother tells about how it is to live as a monk in a monastery far away from home. The morning after we visit one of the schools I got built after the earthquakes. The teachers and the students welcomed us warmly and we joind some of the classes before we went over to the construction site; the new permanent school will be finished during this year. We also visited one of the health posts which I was happy to got build after the earthquake. I am so happy to announce that they are almost finished with the permanent building which is funded by CAN (Comunity Action Nepal). The nurse said that the tent which we donated just after the big earthquake, has been used as a delivery room, and 20 children have been born here, only one died. They have had between 5 and 25 patients daily so she was very grateful for the temporary buildings they have had these two years. After this wonderful morning, we start our little hike down to the jeep that will take us back to Kathmandu. It has been a memorable trip in fantastic surroundings. We have made new friends, we have seen progress, we have supported some of those who needed it the most, I have monitored my projects, we have visited family and old friends. and above all, we have enjoyed wonderful nature, culture, friendship and contributed to a better life. HELAMBU, EN MENINGSFULL VANDRETUR Vi startet en tidlig morgen fra Kathmandu, en allerede travel by med masse veiarbeid pga at nye vannledninger legges helt fra Melamchi...og hit skal jo vi. Etter noen morsome timer på vaskebrettvei tar vi en lunsj-stopp på en gate-restaurant med svale-rede i taket. 3 små nebb fylles til stadig med insekter fra en travel svalemor. Morsom lunsjunderholdning. Vi ankommer Shermathang i tide til å nyte solnedgangen over fjellene. Så vakkert, så stille og fredfult. Vi flytter inn i bølgeblikkskur. Vi føler oss så heldige!! Dagen etter har vi den beste start på dagen; etter frokost får vi besøk av de fattigste familiene i landsbyen. Vår kjære husvert har sendt bud etter dem for vi vil så gjerne dele ut masse varme klær og litt bamser som vi har vært heldige å få med oss fra Norge. Det er så fantastisk å se takknemligheten i de beskjedne flotte menneskene som viser slik en fantastisk styrke og glede selv om de kun har hullete gensere, ingen sokker og dårlige sandaler. Etter denne fine starten på dagen, vandrer vi videre gjennom rhododendron-skoger, over jordskred og forbi stupaer til vi ankommer TharkeGhyang. Her nyter vi også middagen våres sammen med familien på jordgulvet rundt grua. Alle barna sitter rundt oss og gjør lekser eller hjelper til i kjøkkenkroken. Det er så flott å komme så nær kulturen og folket som vi får besøke. Sara blir dessverre dårlig i magen og neste dag hjelper Jimmi og Tashi med å bære henne ned de 1000 høydemeterne til bussen som vi tar opp til MelamchiGaoun. Her besøker vi sykestua og Sara får kyndig tilsyn av sykepleieren som kommer på "hjemmebesøk". Vi blir her to netter slik at Sara kan bli rask igjen til resten av turen. Og ikke minst slik at vi også får opplevd livet i denne lille fjell-landsbyen. Gutta bruker dagen til fotballkamper mellom regnbygene. Fotballene de spiller med blir gitt til gutta i landsbyen med STORE smil som takk takk. Vi får også besøkt en fattig familie og levert ut klær. Vi besøker skolen og en hellig grotte i en "bønneflagg-skog". Femte dagen våkner vi til et nydelig hvitt snødekket landskap og vi starter på de 1100 høydemeterne opp til Tharepati. Vi ser merkelige potespor i snøen, bygger snømann underveis og får både sol og snøbyger på veien opp mot toppen. Vell oppe bygger vi snøborg, har snøball-kamp, nyter mange kopper kaffe og ikke minst nyter vi den fantastiske utsikten! Natten er stjerneklar og morgenen etter er de aller ivrigste oppe kl 06 for å få med seg soloppgangen over Everest. Det er fantastisk!!! Og etter en deilig frokost går turen nedover mot Kutumsang hvor vår kjære guide (og min nepali bror) Laki kommer fra. På veien ned går vi innom Lakis onkel, hilser på og spiser lunsj hos han. Vi kommer lavere nå og snøen blir borte på ca 2800m. Når vi nærmer oss Kutumsang blir det mere liv. Her spilles det volleyball ved stupaen og det er fantastisk å se at landsbyen er i fred med å reise seg igjen etter jordskjelvet i 2015. Det er så flott å komme hjem til min nepali familie igjen. Her i Kutumsang føler jeg meg hjemme!!! Og det er så trivelig å denne gangen ha med venner hjem. Vi sitter alle på jordgulvet og spiser middag; hele stor-familien er samlet, og de små sovner i armene våre rundt bålet mens Lakis storebror forteller om hvordan det er å leve som munk i et kloster langt hjemmefra. Morgenen etter våkner vi til fuglesang og vi spiser frokost ute på gressbakken før vi drar på besøk til en av skolene som jeg fikk bygd opp etter jordskjelvene. Vi blir tatt så godt imot og vi får bli med på noe av undervisningen før vi går og ser på byggeprosessen av den nye permanente skolen som vil komme opp i løpet av året. Vi rekker også å besøke helse-stasjonen som jeg satt opp etter jordskjelvet. Her er de nesten ferdige med den permanente bygningen som er finansiert av CAN (Comunity Action Nepal). Sykepleieren forteller at teltet som vi skaffet like etter det store jordskjelvet, har blitt brukt som fødestue, og 20 barn er født her, bare en døde (på grunn av at babyen lå feil vei). De har hatt mellom 5 og 25 pasienter daglig så hun er veldig takknemlig for at de har hatt de midlertidige bygningene disse to årene. Det har virkelig vært bruk for dem. Nå har vi bare en liten to-timers vandretur ned til jeepen som skal ta oss tilbake på vaskebrett-veien til Kathmandu. Det har vært en minnerik tur i fantastiske omgivelser. Vi har fått nye venner, vi har sett fremgang på landsbygda, vi har støttet noen av de som trengte det mest, jeg har fått monitorert prosjektene mine, hilst på familie og gamle venner. Ikke minst har vi nytt natur, kultur, vennskap og bidradd til en bedre hverdag.   MAKALU 8463m Makalu, the world's fifth highest peak rising to 27,765 feet (8,463 meters) situated just 14 miles east of Everest in the Khumbu region. Its size alone is impressive, but its perfect pyramid structure with four sharp ridges makes this mountain all the more spectacular. It is interesting to note that the summit ridge is the demarcation point indicating the border between Nepal on the Southern side and Tibet to the North. The name of the mountain was probably taken from the Sanskrit word Maha-Kala, which means Big Black and is a by-name of Shiva - one of the most important gods of Hinduism. Shiva is sometimes an evil, cruel destroyer but at other times he tends to be gentle and kind-hearted. The mountain has another name in the local dialect - Kumba karna, which means The Giant. Makalu has proved to be a challenging climb, as only five of its first sixteen attempts were successful.There are no easy routes on the mountain with the South East Ridge being one of the most dramatic and challenging. At over ten kilometres long and with much of the ridge knife-edge, it presents a challenge to rival any on the 8,000m summits. In 1970 a Japanese team were the first reaching the summit via the South East Ridge. In 1976 a Spanish/ Czech team climbed via the South-West buttress and continued along the South East Ridge to the summit. Madison Mountaineering with Garrett, myself and our sherpa will climb parallel to a british team at the mountain. This is a bigger team which we are dependent on especially in terms of logistic. We will follow their rhythm at the mountain. The approach to Base Camp will involve an internal flight from Kathmandu to the airstrip at Tumlingar (510m) followed by a 7-10 days trek through the rugged and remote foothills of the Makalu-Barun region. So begins the all important acclimatisation process, gaining height steadily until Base Camp is established at 4,800m. Once at base camp, several days will be spent acclimatising before an Advanced Base Camp (ABC) is established on the ridge at 5800m. From here we will get our first views of the route ahead as well as the peaks of neighbouring Tibet. Three further fixed camps will be established as we move up the mountain, the highest of these being at the col at 6700m. Beyond this point we will climb alpine style, carrying sufficient provisions and equipment to support an extended period above 7000m as we push for the summit. Guarding the route to the summit at 7500m is the Black Gendarme; a steep and formidable rock buttress that straddles the ridge. It is the key to the ridge and summit slopes beyond. Here we will be exposed to freezing temperatures and the full force of the unrelenting winds, resting only at two high altitude bivouacs before climbing the final ridge that rises steeply to the summit at 8463m. We will be posting regular dispatches to http://madisonmountaineering.com/makalu-2014-launched/ : Makalu 2014 expedition dispatch page with text, audio, real-time RainOn expedition tracking, and photos during our journey. Stay Tuned!  Sending some greetings from Lebanon. After my first week at the university I took the weekend off and traveled to the south of the country. Here are some glimpses of the weekend's "Out n About Tour" in the south of Lebanon. Visiting interessting places such as Crusader castle, former IDF position, Roman ruins, the Souk and the impressive Hezbollah museum.  KAT CENTRE (more information in text below)
Greetings from my lovely friends at Kathmandu Animal Treatment centre (KAT centre). It is so good to be back!!! I had a fantastic day helping out at KAT centre today. Thank you Arne Skotte and Beate Egeland for your donations. If you want to support KAT in their important work, please follow this link: http://www.katcentre.org.np/help/donate.html Would you like these heroes keep helping animals in need? Please read their story and share it: Over the past 11 years the Kathmandu Animal Treatment (KAT) Centre, only through the support of donations, has been tirelessly working to help animals in need. Before KAT’s existence, the Kathmandu Municipality attempted to control the street dog population by poisoning more than 10,000 dogs a year with strychnine and their toxic, decomposing bodies were dumped in the rivers that are the city’s main water supply. KAT Centre, at its inception in 2004, offered to the authorities a more human and effective alternative: a persistent, proactive animal sterilization program. Until now KAT has sterilized more than 19,000 street dogs, vaccinated over 27,000 dogs against rabies and treated 8,500 sick stray dogs and cats in Kathmandu. With your help we will be able to continue with our work and steadily expand our vaccination and Animal Birth Control Programmes, so as to reduce the suffering of street dogs and cut down the threat of rabies to the people of Kathmandu. Please help KAT to survive, ANY CONTRIBUTION BIG OR SMALL WILL MATTER! Follow this link to donate: www.katcentre.org.np/help/donate.html If you can help, or know individuals or institutions that might help, or for more details, please write us or contact: KAT Centre: +977 1-4377729, Dr.Pushkar Pal, Project Manager, email: katinfo@katcentre.org.np, Phone: +977-9843766143, or Jan Salter, MBE, Founder KAT Centre, email: jsalter@mail.com.np, Phone: +977-14420526 A WARM THANK YOU FROM ALL THE KATHMANDU DOGS!  KOPILA STAR: HOME FOR STREET CHILDREN
I am so happy to bring you the latest news from the boys home Kopila Star: They have now got warm clothes for the winter!! They all got 1 warm jacket, 1 pair of pants, 1 pair of shoes, 1 sweater and 1 pair of socks. And we were able to bring them out shopping so they could pick their own color and size....and that is like an adventure of its own for them :) A huge thank you to Knut Einar Haug, Erling Bekkestad Rein, Ine Haugen, Monika Otterlei and Arild Andre Karlsen for your generous contributions! And thanks to Camilla Furuseth for donating all the socks! I couldn't have done it without you all!!!  OPERATION TEDDY BEAR:
Look how happy the children got when they received a teddy bear! At Kanti Children's Hospital in Kathmandu I visited the pediatric ward for cancer where they have 26 beds. Here we delivered out teddy bears to all the children thanks to Camilla Furuseth and her children who sent with me so many! And a huge thanks to Chillout and Emilie Nyman for donating money from the charity coffee. That made it possible to buy extra teddy bears to make sure all the children got one. Photo credit Sudip Shrestha  THE STREET CHILDREN OF KATHMANDU
How you can support the children: see below Background story: see below KOPILA STAR: the boys home for former street children At time being there are 12 boys living there. They are given full time care, education and a chance of a better future. This hostel has not got a long term support yet. Earlier we have supported with food supply, new school uniform shoes/socks, backpacks, a big dining table (table tennis after dinner), medicine, mattresses, blankets, pillows, flip flops, footballs, badminton and cricket. The joy and smiles in each and one of the children Is such a wonderful experience. I’m so happy to be able to support this fantastic project. If you want to support them: I package with winter clothes (1 jacket, 1 pair of pants, 1 pair of shoes, 1 sweater) costing 440 NOK per child. One month of food supply for one child costing 330NOK Vipps til 90683685 Kontonummer: 9856 05 16967 (Admin: Vibeke Andrea) BACKGROUND STORY: There are more than 10,000 street children in Nepal. They survive on child labor and begging. They all got dark destinies, some has run away from home because of abuse, and some are sent to the capital to earn money for their poor families who lives in rural areas. These children are often as young as 3-4 years of age. They are often seen at tourists spots, sitting on a street corner begging for money. Life on the streets is hard for these poor souls. They face a brutal reality filled with drugs and prostitution. I often see them with a bag of glue stick to their face... For about 4 years ago, Monika Cevis, from Croatia started a project called CHILD Street-to-School (CSTS). This was the start of the "drop-in" center in Kathmandu, where the children have a free place to come and go as they wish. Here they can eat, sleep and be taken care of by adults. This developed into two new hostels where the children are sent to after being stabilized: Kopila Filosophika (the girls home) and Kopila Star (the boys home) At the hostels they are given the possibility to start school and live in a safe and caring environment. Koplia Filosophika are lucky to have donors to support them with everything they need to keep going. Photo credit Sudip Shrestha KOPILA STAR orphanage: This is how happy the children got when I gave them 3 footballs. I will give you more info on them and how you can support them later tonight.  Hi Peeps!!! We are on our way to find new homes in Nepal!!  Thanks to Camilla Furuseth and Inger&Hans Kraft-Johansen for donating toys and clothes. Everything is now packed and ready to come with me to Nepal to find new owners!
....so now I just have to pack. I suppose I need my tooth brush.... 10.08.2016 UPDATE: Islamabad, Pakistan Greetings from Islamabad! Now I have had 3 days on the move down from the mountains and the beautiful northern corner of Pakistan. Here are some of my notes about the last days at Diran; We tried 3 times to go for the summit, but she (Diran) clearly told us that she didn't want us to do so. The first two attempts we had to returne due to bad weather and storms coming in. So at our last attempt, we had only a surtain amount of days left. We calculated food and gas (which we also were running low on), packed our backpacks and went for it. The cerac wall which we wanted to do in one+ day, took us three+ days: a labyrinth of deadly overhanging ceracs and hidden crevasses. Unfortunately we also got more snow (20cm) and the trail breaking slowed us even more down. Wednesday last week we had reached right below the ridge (sadle) and had now put behind us the most dangerous and challenging part of the climb. We were ready to use the few days we had left effectively; Thursday push to about 6400m and Friday go for the summit and back to the ridge. That would have left us with two days for the descent. Good plan! Thursday we woke up to more snow and high temperatures. :( Despite this snowfall, we packed up our camp and sat off! After short time climbing we had a huge crack in the snow right in front of us. And then an avalanche right below us.....warning enough! The whole face we were climbing could easily slide off... We had to return and admitt that the snow conditions were too dangerous to continue climbing. We sat camp under a cerac at 5600m to wait out for safer conditions. And now we had no choice; running out of time, running out of gas and running out on food: we had to use the better climbing conditions to descend. Sadly no summit of Diran (4 years since last summit of Diran: two japanees) but fantastic climbing in majestic surroundings. Some frostbite richer and kg poorer I will reach for the next adventure. There will always be so many happy memories, so much to learn, see and explore! New adventures, new dreams Keep on dreaming, even if it breaks your heart! (Eli Young Band) |
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March 2018
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