Aunt and her niece, cooking a meal

Aunt and her niece, cooking a meal
Janakpur, Nepal, October 21st, 2015

Urmila (in orange) and her niece Ram Kala work to prepare a meal.
Urmila is one of my friend’s maternal aunts, and Ram Kala is a cousin.

With the punitive months-long Indian blockade of fuel and supplies, cooking gas is almost impossible to come by and so meals are cooked over wood fires. Because of the smoke inherent with wood fires, families try to cook outside if possible. Cooking times are lengthened, and with only one stove “burner”, each part of the meal (lentils, rice, tea, et cetera) must wait it’s turn to be cooked.

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Though the small rectangular stool in the lower-left is only a couple of inches tall, it can make all the difference comfort-wise when one is squatting by the fire for an hour or more.

If you would like to donate to Mercy Corps’ Nepal Earthquake fund please click here.

If you would like to donate to UNICEF’s Nepal Earthquake fund please click here.

Ayusa and her mother

Ayusa and her mother
Balaju, Kathmandu, Tuesday, September 22nd, 2015

I was in the barbershop of Ayusa’s parents this afternoon getting my hair cut.
Ayusa, was playing on the weathered wooden chair by the door.
Her mother was close at hand, talking to her and lovingly tussling her hair.

If you would like to help people like Ayusa and her family,
you can donate to Mercy Corps’ Nepal Earthquake fund here 
or UNICEF’s Nepal Earthquake fund here.

Sukiyah widening the road

Sukiyah widening the road
Along the road to Dadagaun, Kathmandu 2005

Outside of a tea shop, a group of five men work with tools of wood and flanged metal; widening this dirt road that branches away from the city. Digging and moving tons of dirt, hacking away at a buried tree stump. The sun presses down, but the road's thin enough that the plants along the side provide for a bit of shade.

If you would like to donate to Mercy Corps’ Nepal Earthquake fund please click here.

If you would like to donate to UNICEF’s Nepal Earthquake fund please click here.

(Sukiyah’s image above was scanned from a 4x6" that I had had printed with a white border. As such, it's not quite a full-frame image; the image is a little tall for it's width, but I was hesitant to crop it any more)