So we have now left India and are heading to the western
parts of Nepal near the Karnali river (one of the last places where the Ganges
river dolphin can still be found in Nepal).
We are moving to this location because this is where one of our
characters grew up. Gopal. And it is where his family still lives. On the farm
where he was once born.
Western Nepal, rural western Nepal, is an amazing place. It
is simply stunning. Fields of green and yellow with enormous mountains in the
distance.
Fields with yellow flowers of mustard seed plants make even wintertime beautiful in rural Nepal (Photo: JLewis, TDRF) |
One of the reasons we felt it was important to go back to
Asia, was because we needed to tell the story from a more personal level. That
included getting to know the families of our characters if we could. We were
very lucky because we got to spend time on this journey with Gopal’s younger
brother and his parents.
Having this perspective provided a much deeper understanding
about where students in this region of the world come from. Almost everyone, no
matter what, has parents that were farmers. Existing off their own land. What
did this mean for these students? Well for one, it meant that many of them had
to figure out a way on their own to pay for school (scholarships). It also
meant that while trying to develop a new skill set from their education, studies
had to be put aside also regularly to help the family survive. Gopal still
returns to his natal home twice a year to help harvest the crops.
Gopal greets the new calf on his families farm in western Nepal (Photo: JLewis, TDRF) |
It also means there is pressure to locate a job…any
job…immediately upon graduation, so care can be given for the elder members of
the family as they become unable to tend to fields. And the first job
available, may not be one in conservation. So there lies the next in a long
line of struggles for these students. The need to care for their family,
weighing against their own desires to locate lower paying hard to find
positions in conservation. This could be the biggest struggle of all.