Yesterday turned out to be a very productive day thanks to a chance encounter with Bagman the evening before. I found him and his wife manning their little stall out the front of Centremart in the middle of Thamel as always. We chatted for a while about the latest happenings and I was particularly relieved to hear that his first grand daughter, born very prematurely when we were in Kathmandu in January, had finally gained enough strength to be released from hospital. Now she is a smiling little bundle of joy and Bagman could not contain his relief and pride. I do recall that during the ordeal it took a great toll on the family as he wanted to be with his son and daughter-in-law in the hospital but also had to run his stall to make the money to cover the enormous medical expenses. It is just another example of how much more difficult life is for the average people in this country.
Anyway, I was happy to see Bagman again because I had a small business proposal for him. We wanted him to make around 100 small cloth bags, similar to library bags, that we could use to distribute materials for our training courses and other projects. I explained the basic design and dimensions to him, we discussed fabric type and colour, and he confirmed it would be no problem. He asked me to visit his house (room) the next morning and he would show me the sample. I was a little surprised that he would have it ready so soon and began to wonder if he had understood my description!
So I arrived at his place the next morning (Tuesday) and was stunned to find he had produced exactly what I had asked for. I was really excited and so asked him if he could stitch ‘Mitrataa Foundation’ on the outside of the bag and he confirmed this would be no problem as well. He would have it ready by this afternoon! We agreed on quantity and price and I left him some money to go and buy fabric. He was obviously very excited by this project and I guessed it wasn’t often he had the opportunity to make such a large lump sum of money.
I returned that afternoon to find that he had completed the stitching perfectly to spec as well! He also informed me that he would have 130 bags completed by Sunday, in time for me to take them back to Shanghai with me! I stressed to him that there was no hurry and he must eat and sleep but he insisted that this blessing was sent from God and he was excited and honoured to do it. This also presented another interesting fact about Bagman and his family, they are Christian. I don’t know the figures but almost everyone in Nepal is Hindu (maybe 80%) or Buddhist (maybe 19%) and all other religions each make up less than 1%. Bagman had previously told us the sad tale of his being alcoholic which eventually led to some brain damage which is why his speech is somewhat impaired. He was shunned as a monster and mutant by his village, strictly Hindu, and so escaped to Kathmandu where he found a small Christian church that helped him and his family get back on their feet. I had never heard of such a story like this in Nepal, its quite amazing.
Anyway, the day ended with two missions accomplished – I had given Bagman some much need work and I had found someone to make our bags for us!
Anyway, I was happy to see Bagman again because I had a small business proposal for him. We wanted him to make around 100 small cloth bags, similar to library bags, that we could use to distribute materials for our training courses and other projects. I explained the basic design and dimensions to him, we discussed fabric type and colour, and he confirmed it would be no problem. He asked me to visit his house (room) the next morning and he would show me the sample. I was a little surprised that he would have it ready so soon and began to wonder if he had understood my description!
So I arrived at his place the next morning (Tuesday) and was stunned to find he had produced exactly what I had asked for. I was really excited and so asked him if he could stitch ‘Mitrataa Foundation’ on the outside of the bag and he confirmed this would be no problem as well. He would have it ready by this afternoon! We agreed on quantity and price and I left him some money to go and buy fabric. He was obviously very excited by this project and I guessed it wasn’t often he had the opportunity to make such a large lump sum of money.
I returned that afternoon to find that he had completed the stitching perfectly to spec as well! He also informed me that he would have 130 bags completed by Sunday, in time for me to take them back to Shanghai with me! I stressed to him that there was no hurry and he must eat and sleep but he insisted that this blessing was sent from God and he was excited and honoured to do it. This also presented another interesting fact about Bagman and his family, they are Christian. I don’t know the figures but almost everyone in Nepal is Hindu (maybe 80%) or Buddhist (maybe 19%) and all other religions each make up less than 1%. Bagman had previously told us the sad tale of his being alcoholic which eventually led to some brain damage which is why his speech is somewhat impaired. He was shunned as a monster and mutant by his village, strictly Hindu, and so escaped to Kathmandu where he found a small Christian church that helped him and his family get back on their feet. I had never heard of such a story like this in Nepal, its quite amazing.
Anyway, the day ended with two missions accomplished – I had given Bagman some much need work and I had found someone to make our bags for us!
