Report on a visit to Nepal
May 2009 Steve Pearce, Partnership Coordinator – Asia/Pacific
Aims
· Attend General Assembly of United Mission to Nepal (UMN)
· Join an exposure tour to see the work of one of UMN’s seven regional clusters
· Visit Mission Partners (Wright family in Kathmandu, Smiths in Butwal)
· Visit four partner organisations
Nepal
Nepal was a Hindu kingdom until earlier this year when the monarchy was dissolved following a popular uprising and years of conflict with Maoist insurgents during which thousands of Nepalis lost their lives.
After elections last year a coalition government including the Maoists agreed on the appointment of a Prime Minister who, as I arrived, had just dismissed the chief of the armed forces giving rise to demonstrations and tension. The President reinstated him, as the action did not have the agreement of the coalition partners so the Prime Minister resigned paralysing the government and therefore the peace process. Strikes and disruption are common at the moment and the infrastructure and the economy are suffering, shortages of fresh food, petrol, water and electricity are normal. As I left there was still no agreement on a replacement government, this took several more weeks.
UMN
Christian mission arrived in Nepal 50 years ago, but was only permitted if it worked through one organisation and UMN was born with the Methodist Church in Britain a founder member, many Mission Partners have since served under its umbrella. The General Assembly of UMN members takes place every two years; this year it confirmed the appointment of a new Executive Director, Mark Galpin, following nine years service in the role by Jennie Collins and a new chair of the board, Andrew Quesenbery. It was a very informative, influential and useful time with much to bring back to the UK and share with others.
The Assembly
· engaged in a review of the current situation in Nepal and the way it affects UMN work
· heard reports on the new strategy of working in regional clusters partnering local community organisations
· reviewed the new ways of working with partners – building capacity rather than acting as a funding organisation
· heard how experience is nevertheless showing that providing grants* for the initial projects of some partners is necessary before they are successful in obtaining grants from other funders (this seemed an important piece of learning for the organisation)
· listened to first-hand reports of pieces of work and received valuable oral and visual reports
· discussed the concept of ‘integral mission’ and the way UMN sees its work relating to the (still largely local and independent) churches – an expression of Christian mission but never owned by one church or denomination.
· reviewed the serious financial implications for UMN of the current economic situation.
· celebrated and prayed for the work.
The Wright family
Paul and Sarah have been in Nepal for 11 years and I was able to stay with them in the home they moved into 18 months ago in Kathmandu with Jack (8) and Asha (5).
I was grateful for the warm hospitality extended by all four of them and for the wonderful guest room on the roof!
Paul and Sarah both work for UMN though Paul is seconded for 75% of his time to a local NGO, Nepal Christian Relief Services (NCRS), offering training and advice to enable local churches and groups to develop their capacity to cope with crises (flood, fire, landslides, etc) and also to prevent them. At UMN he works with the disaster management team and is currently working on UMN’s policy in response to climate change issues. Sarah undertakes a variety of widely appreciated pastoral functions including responsibility for the orientation programme for newly arrived mission personnel for four months this year.
This family is a very successful Mission Partner placement; their contribution in the community and to the work of UMN is effective and widely appreciated.
Allan and Andrea Smith
Allan and Andrea have been in Butwal for 7 years, working mainly in the Butwal Technical Institute (BTI). They will be retiring in August 2009 and we discussed their substantial achievements in UMN and in BTI. I was very glad to be able to visit some of the people they had worked with in the Institute and in their local church. I visited the building site where a new church building is being constructed by members of the congregation under Allan’s leadership. The church employs an impressive part-time lay worker living in one of the slum areas who visits where she acts as advocate for the marginalised poor in health and other matters; I met her in the slum area where she lives with her two sons – she sees her husband every two years as, like many husbands he works in the middle-east, in his case as a cook in a works canteen. Although she has bought the land for her house from the local government it sits in a very vulnerable area by the river with many families unable to access the riches of employment overseas. An orphanage initiated by Allan and Andrea was my final visit; it is now run by a local charity set up for the purpose with local Christian trustees. It is a homely, loving and well-ordered place caring for children recovering from tragic starts in life that is now managed by a church member who lives there with his family.
Recommendations and further work
Share the short films of UMN projects, presented at the Assembly.
Share the forgiveness and reconciliation pack with team members and Partner Churches.
Share the report on the UMN organisational change process with the Secretary for Team operations.
Share some concerns and reflections on the ‘new ways of working’ from Mission Partners’ perspectives.
*Consider a General Grant for a new piece of work on HIV/AIDS initiated by churches and UMN.
Establish (further) specific partnerships between UMN and districts or circuits.
Partner Organisations in Nepal
UMN acts as our ‘Partner Church’ in Nepal. Fifty years ago it was the only channel for Christian work in what was the Hindu kingdom of Nepal, but now that the country is a secular state and Christian organisations can apply for registration in their own right we have developed relationships with a small number of other Christian organisations.
FOCUS Nepal
This organisation was set up some years ago by Christian leaders and Church groups for the development of leaders in a variety of sectors in Nepal. It achieves its goal by sponsoring individual students for further study within the country; they must be Christians, Nepali citizens, have been recommended by a member church and from a family incapable of giving financial support. Females and students with disabilities are given priority.
The organisation is efficiently and creatively led and is well supported by the churches in Nepal and currently supports 168 students. There are plenty of examples of current leaders in Nepal who owe their success to FOCUS and the organisation is increasingly successful in encouraging donations from this source. A recent grant from MCB has enabled FOCUS to survive a difficult year of economic upheaval and build a supporter base within the country as well as extending its range of international partners.
ATEN
The Association for Theological Education in Nepal was formed to support the many Bible schools that have opened over the last thirty years. A MCB mission partner made a particular contribution to the development of its fine library. An attempt to initiate a BD course, which would have been the first in the country, failed in 2006. However, with the leadership of a member of staff who will hopefully return from Edinburgh with a PhD next year another attempt will be made. The organisation has worked on a ‘Forgiveness and Reconciliation’ training package with UMN and is developing a prayer network.
NCRS
Nepal Christian Relief Services brings relief in the form of supplies and assistance in the wake of disasters such as floods, fires and landslides, all of which are common in Nepal. Its efforts to help communities prevent and prepare for disasters are also important; these are carried out by working in partnership with local churches, developing a volunteer base and offering training and support. With the help of a grant from MCB, NCRS has been able to engage in a programme of work with Tearfund.
Prison Fellowship Nepal
This impressive Christian organisation works with children of prisoners, who would otherwise be homeless or forced to live in prison along with their parents. As I visited, two young girls were brought to live in the girls’ home, looking bewildered but encountering a loving welcome and the prospect of life in a loving home, albeit away from all they have known in the first five or six years of their lives.
A programme of rehabilitation provides skills training for prisoners nearing the ends of their sentences. A network of church representatives is being built to link each of the 75 prisons with local churches. Libraries have been established in 43 of the prisons so far. MCB currently makes an annual grant to Prison Fellowship.
Steve Pearce May 2009