Nepal Now: On the Move
We're talking with the people migrating from, to, and within this Himalayan country located between China and India. You'll hear from a wide range of Nepali men and women who have chosen to leave the country for better work or education opportunities. Their stories will help you understand what drives people — in Nepal and worldwide — to mortgage their property or borrow huge sums of money to go abroad, often leaving their loved ones behind.
Despite many predictions, migration from Nepal has not slowed in recent years, except briefly during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic. About 1 million Nepalis leave every year to work at jobs outside the country. Tens of thousands go abroad to study. Far fewer return to Nepal to settle. The money ('remittances') that workers send home to their families accounts for 25% of the country's GDP, but migration impacts Nepal in many other ways. We'll be learning from migrants, experts and others about the many cultural, social, economic and political impacts of migration.
Your host is Marty Logan, a Canadian journalist who has lived in Nepal's capital Kathmandu off and on since 2005. Marty started the show in 2020 as Nepal Now.
Nepal Now: On the Move
Training teens on mental health
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In a country where mental health is often talked about in whispers — if it’s discussed at all — I was surprised, and happy, to recently see a photo of a new counselling room set up in a high school. It is one of two rooms established in schools in Melamchi, close to Kathmandu.
Other rooms should be completed in coming months in Baglung District, says my guest on today’s episode, Ranjita Maharjan from Sambhavya Foundation. The three-year-old organization is already counselling students in 13 Nepali schools and aims to put a dedicated room in every school. A spike in mental health issues, and suicide, among Nepalis during the Covid-19 pandemic accelerated plans.
“It’s about making students feel safe,” says Ranjita, “whether it’s a counselling room or a classroom or a playground.”
We would love to hear your feedback on this episode. It’s the first one we’ve recorded in a studio rather than online, so we hope you can hear an improvement. Thank you to Gobinada Khadka at the Community Information Network for making that happen, as well as to the Association of Community Radio Broadcasters.
Share your feedback with Nepal Now on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. You can write to me at marty@martylogan.net. Also, don’t forget to follow, like or favourite the show on any podcast app, including Google and Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Radio Public and Anchor.
Resources
Kathmandu Post report on suicide during lockdown
Nepal Now social links
Thanks as always to Nikunja Nepal for advice and inspiration.
Music: amaretto needs ice ... by urmymuse (c) copyright 2018 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial (3.0) license. http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/urmymuse/57996 Ft: Apoxode
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Music by audionautix.com.
Thank you to Himal Media in Patan Dhoka for the use of their studio.
