Spending the day with Nilan and Suman

Women are walking to and from the temple near by the office with small plates of sacrificing gifts and candle lights. We meet at the office, Nilan, Suman and I. The time is 6.25 am, and we pack our bags and start our journey Taiwa to have an IHL dissemination. It's a bandha (political strike), only a few bikes and motor cycles are on the road, so we start walking.




30 minuets - tops!
Are you sure it only takes 30 minuets?, I ask when we have walked for 15 min and are hardly out of the city center. Nilan and Suman have insured me that it is not so far ever since we started walking, but I have my doubts. Eh, actually, we have never walked here before, so we don't know, Nilan says, as we pace along the quiet streets of Kathmandu's outskirts. The hour and 40 min we use to come there gives us though very good time to prepare mentally for the task and gives a good energy in our threesome of IHL dissemination first-timers.




Autonomy + Youth = can it work?
We arrive Taiwa Youth Circle only 30 min late and of course not everyone from their groupe have arrived, so it gives us 10 min to make the last preparations. As this is a Red Cross Youth Circle, we start with a round of feares and expectations. I find this method a good one to make everyone comfortable talking in a group and for us it is very important to inform the participants of what they can expect from our presentation and maybe we need to do some changes in the presentation. There were a lot of expectations on learning about Norwegian Red Cross Youth, so we included this under the part about National Societies. For me this was perfect, as I love to talk about how Red Cross Youth in Norway governs themselves and that they choose their own focus and activities.






Rules of war in peace time - why?
Nepal Red Cross teaches about international humanitarian law (IHL) in peace time to prevent major violations in war time. We as Youth in Nepal Red Cross Society are, as I understand, the most important parts of the Red Cross puzzle to spread information and knowledge about the rules of war - both for international wars and armed conflicts and for civil wars. The issue of civil war in Nepal is a part of the youths recent past, and they are curious about what rules actually applies at what point. An interesting discussion in the group of 26 youths between 14 and 23 years is on the difference between Human Rights and IHL. Nilan, Suman and I does our best to facilitate the discussion.






The value of a walk
Due to the bandha, we dad to walk back again to town. Nilan and Suman had just finished their first IHL dissemination ever and I mine first in Nepal. We were bobbling over with enthusiasm the frst half hour, and our walk towards Kathmandu continued, we used the time to evaluate and reorganize a bit of the program for next time. It was a very useful time to both give positive feedback and to get into details that they were confused about. So thanks to the bandha (the pro-monarchy party demanded a referendum on constitutional monarchy, a Hundu nation and federalism, before the new constitution is promulgated by May 28th 2010), I think we made great progress in our dissemination package.


Tea, eggs and dhal baat tarkari
We started the day at 6am an around 1pm we was almort back in town, when Suman invites us for a combined breakfast and lunch in his home. So we went there, had tea and biscuits in his room before his mother and sister invited us up to the kitchen for what Nepalis eat every day several times a day: A lovely plate of rice, bean sauce and vegetables.

So, who want to put on a condom?

20 youth at one of the public schools in Patan paid more than expected attention at this days HIV orientation.

Emil, my co-delegate, has the main responsibility for the orientations related to HIV/Aids and sexually transmitted diseases and he did a great job making the youths understand both how it transmitts and how to protect yourself. In Nepal, about 1,600 cases of AIDS are documented and 10,546 persons with HIV infections. UNAIDS estimates that approximately 75,000 people in Nepal are HIV-positive, but due to stigma and discrimination and lack of knowledge, they either do not seek counseling or go to a doctor to check out their symptoms. One of the important jobs Nepal Red Cross does, and what we as Youth Delegates can assist them with, is spreading information and focusing on protection in everyday life.

And then it was my turn. This was my first condom demonstration ever, and I was quite nervous. But I think the participants in the orientation was even more nervous then me in the beginning, and after a while, we all relaxed. They were between 17 and 21 years old and right in the middle of our target group as the biggest group in risk of being affected by the HIV-virus. And after some giggling, they were very eager to try for themselves.

Training for Teacher Sponsors

In Nepal Red Cross, Teacher Sponsors are one of the most important puzzles in the school based work. This week is a five days refreshing training for them in Lalitpur District, focusing on School Based Disaster Risk Reduction.




What is a Teacher Sponsor?
There is one teacher at many of the schools that have a special responsibility who coordinates with the teachers, the students and Nepal Red Cross Sub Chapter and District Chapter. They initiate activities and coordinate happenings. The students are active in their Junior Circles and some months ago, Emil and I participated in one of their street drama and demonstrations.



International cooperation
Finnish Red Cross and EU is funding the project to prepare the children for disaster. This can be earth quake, landslides and flooding. A round around the table gave an interesting view of what the project has done for both the Red Cross at their schools and for their disaster preparedness in the society in general. One of the women told that they need to learn more about first aid, another told a story that they had a big fire at their school while they had a training, and what they had learned by the Red Cross in this project was absolutely crucial for them being rescued out. As a Red Cross volunteer, it is very good to hear that these kinds of international cooperation also seem to inspire students at grass root level to participate in both Red Cross and their own future.



Can we come visit you?
One of our goals while we stay in Nepal as Youth Delegates, is to disseminate about Red Cross and International Humanitarian Law (IHL) and give orientation on Human Trafficking and Sexual Health. This was a perfect occasion to meet the Teacher Sponsors of 11 of 30 schools in our district. We spent some hours with them and had a good talk, inviting us to their schools.