An Auspicious Start....

…to our latest project in Nepal.

I realize that my updates have been sounding a bit matter-of-fact, lately. My apologies.

After woking around the world for 15 years rebuilding houses for disaster survivors, I forget how special it is to get deeply involved in an exotic (to us) culture and work so closely with the people and their customs—it’s amazing!

Nepal is one such place: a land of fascinating history and religion. As I’ve reported before, our work is often interrupted by the myriad holidays honoring the Hindu gods. Nepal is mostly Hindu, with a substantial, but minority, Buddhist population.

Before we start any construction, a Hindu priest comes to bless the site, the tools, the materials, and the workers. The day for that “puja” ceremony is specifically chosen by the priest, as well.

Since we just cleared a site of the old, damaged house, in preparation to build a new one for our beneficiary family, we recently had our puja ceremony.

Before I start showing you construction photos, I thought you might like to see these.

Our beneficiary family was there… as were many of the neighbors, who themselves signed-off on the project with the municipality.

We are working in the ancient town of Bhaktapur, down an alley off this street. Buaktapur is one of the old capitals of Nepal, and is now a historic-landmark World-Heritage town. There are many aesthetic rules we must follow while building there.