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ication. One of the main bene ts of education is empowerment, and these women were not too shy to be frank about what else needed to be accom- plished. We le with so, so much to think about.
On one of my last nights in Nepal, we ate with a family who is close with Da- vid Daai. e mother, Gayatri, made us the most delicious dal bhaat and masa- la chai while we chatted with her two daughters, Susmita and Asmita. Sus- mita and Asmita were, unlike so many rural Nepali girls, getting an education and were openly discussing their career ambitions. When we le ,
David said that these girls were exam- ples of what can happen when families don’t just decide to value education, but to value girls and women in gener- al. e beautiful sisters were the excep- tion and not the rule. ere was, he re- minded us, so much more work to do. at was something the women took care to remind him of o en. And it’s something I think of o en as well, over the Canadian versions of masala tea at various GTA Nepali/Indian restaurants and sometimes over nothing at all.
No one from that remote part of the world is ever far from my mind.
Editor’s Note: This story was led before the tragic April 25, 2015 earthquake in Nepal. Our correspondent was not in Nepal when the disaster took place.
Ashley Newport is a freelance writer and journalist from Toronto (well, a city just outside Toronto) who special- izes in food, restaurants, business and lifestyle writing. You can see her work most frequently on insauga.com,
a lifestyle, news and entertainment blog dedicated to life in Mississauga. She also copy-writes for WELNepal and maintains their social media accounts.
www.welnepal.org
Twitter: @welnepal
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/welnepal/