Almost as soon as we arrived at the Fairmount Hotel at Pokhara, we went in to lunch where we struck up a conversation with an elderly American woman at the next table. She had just returned from her first and only day on trek, having enormous difficulty negotiating the big steps on the trail! She planned to spend the next two weeks whilst she waited for her trek group to finish their trek just pottering around Pokhara going on day trips more suited to her "almost 80 year old body."
Later in the afternoon when Smithy and I were returning to the hotel after a huge spending spree, I spotted the "American Lady" walking down the street with a man, but didn't wave or call out as they were deep in conversation. Minutes later, there was a huge cry of horror, and hundreds of people rushed to the intersection behind us. It seemed that someone had been hit. Smithy decided to stay out of it, despite her nursing expertise, because there were just too many people to battle through. We were looking through some greeting cards when the shopowner's sons came running back from the melee confirming that someone had been hit and that it looked as if their leg was broken and they had gashes on their face and hands. We continued on our way and I said to Smithy " I hope it's not the American Lady." I don't know what made me say that, just the coincidence of seeing her in the street just before the accident, I guess.
Half an hour later we had to go back down the street cos we'd forgotten to buy coffee. There was still a huge crowd outside the supermarket and 3 ambulances! At least whoever the poor bugger was, they were getting medical attention. It was only at dinnertime that we discovered, to our horror, that it was the American Lady who had been hit! She had been hit, knocked down and run over by a vehicle that had swerved to avoid her companion and hit her instead. The poor thing had a broken leg and pelvis. Luckily, an Israeli doctor had been right on the scene, so Margaret, as we found was her name, was well looked after until the ambulances came. The driver's company was really good, paying for the ambulances and sending a liaison person to the hospital to look after all her needs and one to the hotel to help organise her evacuation to Kathmandu and later the States. We never did hear the final outcome for Margaret as we left Pokhara on 1 November, but plans were underway to fly her to Kathmandu and her son was on his way from the States. We hope she's going to be alright.
As I mentioned in the previous post, Smithy and I visited the three children we sponsor through World Vision on 31 October. After a bit of driving around in circles whilst the taxi driver tried to find the WV office, we were treated to a slideshow presentation of the office's work and a tour of the building before taking another taxi out to Begnas Tal, a lovely lake, to meet the children and their mothers. Smithy's two children, S.B. and P.G. arrived shortly after we did and gave us lots of mandarins and some flowers. Smithy gave them each a bag of presents - colouring books, pencils, soft toy and a T-shirt - and we all stood around grinning shyly at each other. We couldn't get a word out of the kids! I finally had the bright idea of bringing out my mini album of family photos and showing them to the mums and this broke the ice and we were able to "chat" with the kids and their mums. I handed out slices of rather melted birthday cake and we all took photos whilst waiting for my boy A.B. to arrive. It turned out he had come, but since no-one was there, was taken back to the fields by his parents. A couple of WV staff were sent off to get him back and we were just making alternative plans to meet him later at the office when he arrived with his mother, sister and grandmother. More shy smiles and photographs and then we got the frisbees out and had a great time playing together. All too soon it was time to leave and amid repeated questions from the kids and mums about when we would come back to Nepal and visit again, we made our goodbyes and caught the taxi back to the WV office.
Even though it was a little awkward to begin with and communication was difficult with our very limited Nepali, it was an absolute buzz to meet "our" kids. We love getting their letters and to see them in the flesh, looking healthy and happy, and to know that we are in a small way helping to improve their lives and that of their community is humbling but uplifting.
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