Local Profiles

We see so many interesting women and can’t help but wonder about their stories. We don’t however always feel comfortable approaching them as they seem so much more private than the men who are always up for a conversation. Also, their English is usually not up to conversation level. We still aim to obtain a variety of insights into local women’s lives and share them with you here.

NEPAL

Dechen

Deschen is a 32 year old refugee from Tibet. She approached us in such a polite and charming way we couldn’t resist sitting down with her by the side of the lake to have a look at her shop-in-a-bag. She was more than happy to share her story… a story that is the same for so many Tibetan refugees. Deschen’s name means big happiness but she says she is not very happy, she is content. She lives in one of four Tibetan refugee camps in Nepal and comes into Pokhara with the bus every day to sell jewellery. The variety of beautiful tibetan stone and yak-horn necklaces and bracelets is made by the women living in her camp. She earns enough to provide her family with three meals a day and they are content. Deschen has one son. He is seven and goes to an SOS boarding school across the valley and comes home once a month for a weekend holiday. Her husband left them for another woman when the boy was nine months old. They don’t know where he is and have no contact or help from him. She doesn’t want to get married again, sees no point in it as she has her son. When asked about freedom Deschen speaks about Tibet. ‘If Tibet is set free we are very happy’ she says and flashes her beautiful smile. She has never been to Tibet for if she did she would be tortured and then shot. She is born in the refugee camp and doesnt feel like she has a home. Her education is better than her parents who ‘don’t even know the world is round’ and she understands the importance of a good education for her son. If he gets good marks he can go on to get a higher education. Deschen’s wish is that her son grows up to get a good job so that he can provide them with a better life.

Kamala Thapa, her sister and Ása

Kamala Thapa runs the store Supermarket on Lakeside mainstreet in Pokhara. We wondered about this beautiful woman we so often buy our water from so we asked her for an interview. She was very shy to begin with but agreed to an interview without a photo! We then managed to persuade her afterwards. Kamala is 33 years old and lives with her three children in the back of the shop. Her children are a 16 year old boy who wants to be a teacher, a 13 year old girl who wants to be an air hostess and a 10 year old girl who wants to be a doctor. Her husband works in a supermarket in Sweden and has been away for 2 years. He sends money home to his family. Kamala’s English is quite good and definitely better than she thinks, but her sister helped us out a lot. Her hearing has been damaged so we wrote some of the questions down and she translated like a professional. Kamala’s wish is for good business.