A good weekend

The past weekend saw some developments in our project that we wanted to share with you. First, let us introduce you to the people we are working with in Nepal, at this point.
First, there is Bobby Adhakari. He is a Nepali native who runs an orphanage while also being an travelling evangelist. He is one of the most energetic people we know and Laurie worked with him in 2007 when she went to Nepal with her old company/organization to set up an orphanage/adoption program in Kathmandu. He is highly capable and very knowledgeable when it comes to Nepal, its customs and laws and how to provide care for children in need in Nepal. He has volunteered to help us with anything we need and has already been of tremendous help.
Second, there is Bobby's cousin, Indra Adhakari. He is a lawyer in Kathmandu that works with exactly these questions. He is very well versed in Nepali law and the requirements for starting an orphanage. Laurie has worked with him as well and he has volunteered to help us in any way we need help. He has also been of much help already as we investigate all the details in starting an orphanage.

Currently, from what we learned this weekend, there are several places where we could start the orphanage and several partners we could work with. We had Bobby meet up with a prospective partner and we learned a great deal about how to understand the culture of Nepal. Also, we learned that the most important thing are the many advantages of registering the orphanage with the government. We had always planned on this but now we know more about why this is important. For one thing, it makes sure that everything is done "by the books" and that we have accountability and transparency (which means that everything from the children to the finances are audited and inspected regularly). Also, we might not be in Kathmandu but in another district of Nepal. We will know more about this in the coming days and weeks.

In the last post we promised to tell you more about what kind of orphanage we have in mind. Yes, technically this is the next post, but we felt we wanted to share about the weekend and the local Nepali people we are working with. We will be back with our thoughts on the orphanage as soon as we can.

Until then
Andreas and Laurie