New Arrivals - BROTHERS!!
Saturday, January 25, 2020
Just a few weeks ago, at the start of the new year, we got notice from the government about looking into the case of two children in a rural district in our region called Dolpa. I had only heard of Dolpa from people going up to trek there at a famous glacial lake. I didn’t know much about the region or how to get there and I definitely couldn’t place it on the map. Our team was briefed on the case and we told the government that as part of our own process we also needed to get up to the village where the kids were to conduct our own investigation.
We started planning a trip up there with a few team members but then the rain came and all the roads were blocked by snow. We learned that the only way for us to get there was to fly up to a small landing strip to a place called Jalpa and then trek the rest of the way to the village. Top asked me if I wanted to go and I said yes, kind of forgetting about my fear of flying and without thinking twice about it. I was mostly just eager to meet two new prospective kids in our family and get to know them and find out how we could help their situation.
We woke up at the crack of dawn with our little day packs, loaded up with tea and headed to the airport. We were told that because of heavy winds that pick up late morning and just a small mountain pass difficult to fly the flight needed to take off before dawn.
We got really lucky for a direct flight at the airport in Surkhet due to the fact that some other government parliament members and ministers were also going for work they had up there. We felt lucky to tag along with them and also hear story after story about the place they came from and how much they loved it. We came to learn that Dolpa was famous for its mountain apples, corn and potatoes.
While we wait for our plane to take off there was a lot of delay and a lot of commotion. The airline was trying to make a decision if it was safe to fly with the winds, recent snow, and getting through the pass. I felt a feeling of fear setting into my stomach. I was ready to pack it in with my backpack and get back to our jeep to go home and have a normal day at the office. There was a lot of deliberation, one second we were going, the next we weren’t. Finally it was decided that the pilots would do a quick test flight, to do a break check and see how things looked. The test flight when fine, the plane landed and really quickly we were getting on the place. Top and I looked at each other. We both have a little fear of flying and active imaginations. Should we both be getting on this flight? We asked each other. If we both don’t go, who goes and who stays? Two minutes later we were all on the plane, the engine and propellers were blaring and the flight attendant was handing out cotton for our ears on a very little plane. Everyone had a little bit of apprehension.
The flight took off and minutes later we were headed up into the mountains. Moments later we were flying through the most beautiful snow-covered majestic mountain pass I’d ever seen. When we made it through the pass the woman I was sitting with from parliament let out a little cheer and I knew we were almost there. She pointed out the window at the village she grew up in and was smiling so wide.
We landed on this little mountain air strip on a mountain top and everyone clapped and cheered. And all I could think about was how glad I was that I didn’t know what the airport and air strip were like because I never would have gone. I was proud of myself for being brave. The second I stepped out of the airplane I did a 360 and was staring at the most beautiful landscape I’d ever seen. I started to cry.
Before we knew it we were loading up the Jeeps. In this region there are just a few vehicles and we felt really lucky to have a ride down the mountain top. We passed by lots of horses and donkeys on the way carrying goods from one village to the next. We made our way down the mountain towards a beautiful blue rushing river that cut through the mountains. Normally I would be scared on a Jeep ride like this but I was just so happy to have the flight behind me. I was in the car with some locals who told me story after story about the history of the place, the people, how they only had a growing season for 3-4 months of the year, how it was an 8 day walk down to the nearest city, how the Jeeps we were sitting in were helicoptered in and how the airport was built for food drops to this region.
We were hungry when we reached a small trading post town and found a place to eat lunch. Our team all looked at the clock and looked at each other and as we were finishing up our plates decided that if we wanted to make it to the village, we really needed to start walking ASAP. You might know this if you ever go trekking but when you ask a local Nepali person how far away a certain place is, they give you answers all over the board. Some say 4 hours, some could say 1. Some were saying it’s a straight shot, others were saying it’s all the way up there at the tree line through the mountain pass. We had no idea what we were in for but found a guy willing to take us part of the way and show us the trail head.
We walked beside the river for a while, and eventually we crossed a stream. I realized how silly I was not to bring my real hiking shoes. I was in my purple adidas and got my socks a little wet. Big trekking no no. We were heading up higher and higher towards the mountain and I was starting to get out of breath. I had been running a little bit but not enough to hang at high elevation going straight up. My water bottle was also almost empty. Just then some women came up behind us. They were all ages and carrying babies and chilli peppers on their backs. Top struck up conversation and they looked at me in wonder as we started to talk to Nepali. We found out that they were from the same village we were headed to. They told us they would take us the rest of the way. The women and I started walking together. We struck up conversation. I told them how out of shape I felt and how strong they were. You must be the strongest, fittest people in the whole world I said. They were so strong. A nearly impossible walk for me was like a leisurely walk in the park for them. They slowed down their pace to keep up with me so we could talk. “Stay with us for a month and we’ll get you strong like us they said.” I thought about how that wasn’t a bad idea. I’d stop now and again each twenty or 30 feet up and they’d say “just a little bit further, now you’re at the snow, now we’re at the pines. I looked up and saw the sun setting down between the peaks in the difference and the moon starting to rise.
I started to explain why we had come and they started to share different stories of children who had lost their parents in the village. They knew exactly the two kids we had come to check in on. We don’t share the personal stories and tragedies of our children. We feel like they are theirs to share when/if they decide to when they turn an appropriate age, but I will say that every single detail and story corroborated with what we had been told and the women we were walking with filled in color and details that brought tears to my eyes. We also talked about life, and motherhood, and I kept stopping in awe to take in the beauty. I felt like we were united by a special bond as women and mothers. I marvelled at how similar we were despite our differences. Before I knew it we turned a corner and far in the distance I could see the village with smoke coming out of the houses and into the sky. “Just a little bit further now” they all said.
As I came into the village I saw simple flat roofed home with beautiful yellow flags on top. As the sun hit the surrounded mountains they glowed orange and I thought about how I always say my favorite color is himalayan sunrise. We came to the village and everyone looked startled to see us. I was struggling to catch my breath when an old man said, “You should have told us you were coming, we would have sent a pony for you!”
We meandered through the paddy fields and little homes and eventually made our way to a little hut with the most perfect little boy I’d ever seen. I asked where his brother was and the villagers told me he had gone up to the top of the mountain with an animal. They went to go send for him. He later emerged and came and bravely sat down right next to me. I told the two boys what was happening and explained why we had come. They nodded and just like that the three year old came and plopped down right next to me. At this point the sun was still going down and I realized how cold it was. It was really bone chillingly cold. I had my good jacket and 8 layers on and couldn’t believe that the kids we wearing just a layer, t-shirts, and flip flops. Their skin had hardened from the wind and cold and I wondered if it gave them a protective layer and they had acclimated to the climate there. It was like the cold didn’t affect them one little bit.
We sat on the rooftop and were offered tea. We talked to the villagers about who we were and why we had come. They explained that the minister had also told them we might be coming but they hadn’t known when. We tried to gather some paperwork and more details about the boys. They needed a few documents that were missing and we asked a few of them to meet us the next day at the government office. We went around to some surrounding houses and got more information on the boys and some other cases in the village. Then Top reminded me that we needed to get going so we didn’t have to go down in the dark and just like that we were on our way.
We made our way down the mountain just as the sun was setting and made a plan to meet up in the town down the mountain the next morning. We did the final hour of walking in the dark tracing our footsteps. This time the path was familiar and we knew where to go. I got to my room in the little guest house, peeled off my sweaty layers, got a hot jug of water, covered myself in layers and layers of blankets and tried to get warm. I woke up in the middle of the night a few times with a sore throat. The air was so cold it hurt to breathe.
The next morning we woke at sunrise and headed to the government office. The next few hours were all about paperwork and working with the ministry to document every part of the process and make sure we could assume legal custody of the boys. They arrived eventually and I thought about how their lives were about to change and how one day they would look back on this day and I’d share the story. I stared at them and tried to take in each and every bit of them. We got new pants and some warm clothes for the travel down.
Hours later we rushed back up to the mountain to catch the flight. We made it with minutes to spare. The flight back was bumpy, there was some throwing up, but the boys were so so brave. Just a half an hour later we were home sweet home. They jumped out of the car and onto their bicycles and it was like they’d been home all along. I’ve never seen two happier boys We let them practice riding bikes for the first time for a good few hours. It was nice because the other kids were still at school. Little did they know they would soon have to share those bikes with dozens of other kids. For a while they had them all to themselves. We made a big meal and prepped baths. I went to the market to buy some more clothes and essentials.
The kids came home from school that day and yelled “Brothers!!!! Finally you brought us brothers.” They all played soccer and games late into the night. It was so sweet to see the other kids show them the ropes.
Just like that, two more new members to the family!