AT WORK IN KATHMANDU

Luciano Lavizzari was my Program Officer at UNDP. His wife is a Thangka and Tibetan art specialist. After so many years, I met him at ESCAP a few years ago when he came for a donor meeting with Swiss aid.

This photo was taken at an evaluation meeting for a series of buyer-seller meetings for selected south Asian countries. The late Ms. Razon Haresco was a family friend, her daughter Prima Lee was a friend both of myself and my sister Delia, and her son Mike was a classmate at UP. She was working at ESCAP’s Trade Division at this time, and later went back to her post as head of Customs in the Philippines.

Dr. Sivali Ratwatte was my Project Manager in Kathmandu, the brother of Srimavo Bandanaraike, uncle of Chandrika Kumaratunga, both former presidents of Sri Lanka, and father in law of Upali Wijewardene, founder of the first Sri Lankan multinational company: everything from aviation to chocolates to newspapers to vehicles. He was in his private Lear Jet bound for Malaysia to inspect cocoa plantations when the plane dived into the sea, no survivors. Sivali had to resign and return to Sri Lanka to head up the company.

SIGNORE JAMES GIAMBRONE

Do you remember Thangka James? He had a shop in Thamel, specializing in Newari thangkas. He was supporting 40 families at one time with painting work. Now, he runs the Indigo Gallery located at Mike’s Breakfast House, and Mountain Biking in Thamel.

He was also the Manager for Phora Durbar, taking in the flak of complaints from customers, pepping up the waiters and cooks, ordering more popcorn for Flos. What a time!! Check him out on Facebook. He married Linda, an architect working with John Sanday at that time. They adopted two Tibetan children, one of whom will be attending university in the USA in the fall. James was Lincoln School commencement speaker last year. Yes, they do have K-12 classes now.

ANNAPURNA BASE CAMP TREK

David and I went on a week’s trek to the Base Camp. We hired two Sherpas, recommended by the Snow Lion Hotel in Pokhara. It was hard-going, during the dry season. We crossed some dry river beds and the stones were pounding our knees. The rest houses we stayed at were very basic: straw for mattresses, limited hot water, etc. but the sweet tea and dhall bahat tarkari were most welcome. And the views were so spectacular and in full Technicolor: the blue blue skies, green green valleys, starkingly bleached white snow capped Himalayas!

Dig into your Nepal files, and share your trekking stories!

WEDDING AT LINCOLN SCHOOL AUDITORIUM

I do not recall the names now, but a couple got married at the Lincoln School auditorium, Rabi Bhavan, just before the USAID compoound. He was with the Marines, posted previously in Bonn, Germany, the Filipina was visiting relatives working in Bonn. He was later assigned to Kathmandu and there was where they were married. Ingga, Pema's nanny, and Precy, Ed Canela's niece, were bridesmaids, Pema was a flower girl along with Cynthia's daughter Preeti. Cynthia in an aqua top, Manny with a moustache, Jo Dhungana in red tie, Tito Ed, and Gyanu, our Didi.

Do you have stories and/or photos to add to our Kathmandu Memory Marg?? Do send them in!!

AT BATTISPUTALI, OR THIRTY-TWO BUTTERFLIES

My first assignment in Kathmandu was to assess the information structure of the Industrial Services Centre at Balaju, for a UNDP-funded project of UNIDO. One of my recommendations was to send my counterpart, Prabha Thacker, to a library school for an MSLS - she did go, to Pratt Institute. Another recommendation was to send a Librarian to set up the ISC Library together with Prabha. The one chosen was Josie Dimatulac, Librarian of the Board of Investment of the Philippines. She boarded with Prabha at her home in Battisputali, between Pashupatinath and Dwarika Hotel.

Photo shows Josie and I, and two Filipinos I guess from Philrock, playing card games on a Saturday afternoon. (We worked on Sundays in the Hindu Kingdom).

As Ching would say, "Hoy, mga donya Kathmanduettes!!" - do send in your stories, brief or long, with or without photos to SHARE! Thanks. E.

Ching's nomination for CNN HEROES: Dr. Fil Olegario

Ching is truly a unique person. Her selflessness, humor, and determination has led to the nomination for CNN HEROES of a Filipino eye doctor who has retired from his lucrative practice in South Dakota, to work with our poverty-stricken and elderly folk in Pangasinan. These are some photos and a write-up as instigated by Ching. Our hats off to you, Madame Van der Veen!

Dr. Olegario

Eye Doctor Extraordinaire: Dr. Filemon Olegario

Nana Nita (“Nana” is a title of respect used for addressing older women) was orphaned at an early age. As far as anyone could tell in the small rural village in Mangatarem, Pangasinan (some 110 miles north of Manila), she had no living relatives – a highly unusual situation in a country whose culture is famous for having “extended families”. She makes her living by cultivating a small vegetable and herb patch whose produce she sells at the local weekly market.

She was getting older and her sight was slowly leaving her until she could no longer see what was in front of her. Eventually, she spends her time begging as she could no longer tend her patch or make her way along the rural road from her shack to the market which is a kilometer away. Her cataract was getting the better of her and her health was failing because she eats only during the few times her kind neighbors give her food. She insists she could still tend her garden only if she could get her vision back.

One summertime, a Filipino medical couple has arrived in town from the USA. Nana Nita learned that the couple were Dr. Filemon Olegario (nicknamed “Fil”), an eye doctor from South Dakota and Josie, his wife. She further learned that the Olegario(s) were going to conduct a mission in her village. On the date of the mission, Nana Nita asked her neighbors that she be helped to be brought to Fil at the mission site. When Dr. Olegario saw Nana Nita’s condition, he lost no time in subjecting her to eye examination. Having found her to have cataract in her eyes, he scheduled her immediately for operation at the Mangatarem District Hospital.

According to SEE International of which Fil is a member, cataract surgery “is one of the most cost-effective of all health interventions. Cataract blindness is readily curable. A volunteer SEE International surgeon can restore the sight of a person who has been blind with cataracts for 5, 10, or even 20 years with a local anesthetic and a 30-minute surgery. (http://www.seeintl.org/aboutus/default.asp).

The Mangatarem High School Class of 1959 Eye Medical Mission of which Fil is a member coordinates and seeks out the most needy villages (barangays) to be visited. Invitations are also received from the nuns at a nearby monastery, rural health workers, and barangay officials. For a “fee” consisting of simple lunch, the mission team goes into full swing and sets up make-shift eye examination rooms seeing about 180 patients a day. Those screened for surgery are scheduled for operation by a surgical partner, also a medical volunteer, Dr. Monina Posadas, at the town’s hospital. Dr. Posadas, who with her staff stay at Fil’s house in Mangatarem during the missions, takes over in making post-op follow ups upon Fil and Josie’s return to the USA.

The yearly missions which usually involve visiting seven villages (barangays) are not only confined to saving sights; while conducting them or after the team is done with them, Fil and Jose take time out to distribute clothes and canned goods donated by charitable groups in the USA and Canada. The beneficiaries are screened by them to be only those who are truly deserving to receive.

Fil and his team has been conducting free clinics to poor and needy people in the Philippines since the second half of 1980 decade. It all started when, as a resident in EENT at a hospital in Manila, he joined multi-specialty medical teams to different parts of the country. His exposure to the crying medical needs of the disadvantaged and impoverished villagers without access to vision care has moved him to organize the missions as a way of paying back the people and relatives from his town who nurtured him as a growing up kid. His effort deserves special recognition as so many have benefited from his services which he donates voluntarily.

Whatever Fil derives from his mission work, he doesn’t seem to get enough of it as he keeps coming back each year. Nobody knows how soon he tires of doing it but one thing is sure --- the opportunity is always there for him to get his satisfaction as there are always many Nana Nitas waiting for his return.