A stitch in time
When I travelled the first time to Nepal it was to join the creative and colourful Wendy Moore and a small group of Australian women on A Colourful Journey. I was so excited but so nervous. I was in my sixties and had never been out of Australia without my husband of 45 years. My first holiday without him was to a country I had only seen on a map. I was actually terrified if I speak the truth.
There were so many highlights in that 2 weeks; too many to mention. I was mesmerised by the countryside and the people. It was a better adventure than I could have wished for. I thought I had seen it all but then we arrived in Birtamod and met the women at the Samunnat refuge, I was overwhelmed with feelings. I didn't know at that moment that the rest of my life would change. What Kopila has achieved with the help of her committee and wonderful husband Binod touched me deeply, so much that I knew I had to help in some way and I had to return to Nepal.
Some of the women at Samunnat have been making wonderful polymer jewellery for years so I didn’t think that they needed my help in that area. But…. I could see how I could help the newly established sewing group. They were willing to learn and just needed some training and guidance.
I offered my services. They were accepted by Wendy and Kopila bahini and I have returned twice so far. I now feel self assured and confident when travelling alone and Nepal is becoming my home away from home just as Wendy said it would. I know I have achieved my goal of helping the sewing ladies of Samunnat to become established and I have given them the skills to become employed as seamstresses or start their own small businesses, however in return they have unknowingly given me much more. [Ed: Even COVID hasn’t stopped Janice and now the sewing women are delightedly using her fabulous You Tube training videos. They have, now, done another training course teaching other young women some of the skills that Janice has taught them!]
They have shown me you don't have to talk the same language to understand each other. They have taught me that it doesn't matter what you have: it's what you do with it that counts. They have encouraged me to step outside my comfort zone, and not to accept things as they are if you can change things.
These women and many more like them in Nepal want to learn - they want to make a better life for themselves and their children. They don't want handouts, they just want a little support to take that first step. They have opened my eyes and my heart. A day doesn't go by without me thinking about them in some way. I cannot wait to get back to Birtamod and the women of Samunnat . Yes I have achieved what I set out to do..... but hopefully this is just the beginning of the rest of my life adventure that includes beautiful Nepal.
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