Mary Davis in nepal
SSE&G partner, Mary Davis, spent three weeks of December in Nepal. Mary visited the Village of Thingan, a remote village southeast of Kathmandu. The church that Mary attends funded a microloan program for Thingan through ServLife International, Inc. (http://www.servlife.org/) The first loans were distributed in July and included two water buffalo, 2 goat herds and a general store.
Mary, along with her translator, lived with a family while traveling up and down the mountain slopes to visit the loan recipients. The second set of loans was distributed while Mary was in Thingan and included 4 water buffalo and the expansion of a tailor shop. There is no electricity or running water in Thingan. Mary was selected to make the trip because of her experience in wilderness backpacking.
Mary rode in a jeep, a truck, a motorcycle and a rickshaw, but mostly she walked. “I thought that I was a pretty good hiker, but climbing mountain slopes with Nepali men half my age was a humbling experience. They alternated between a good-natured kidding about how comparatively slow I was and a genuine appreciation that I would do something that was so difficult just so be able to meet the families that had borrowed the loans.”
“Our church wanted to have a personal relationship with the people of Thingan and I was happy to take this first step. I learned a lot about hospitality from the people of Thingan who live as subsistence farmers and yet were very generous in sharing their homes, their food and their time. It was a privilege to share their lives for a little while and I am very grateful for their generosity.”
Click photos for larger High Resolution versions.
Mary with loan reciepient & her family |
Mary washing clothes |
Local store started with a Hope Fund Loan |
Some children from Thingan |
