Page 18 - Faraway Frieds

12 FARAWAY FRIENDS
dren’s story. I hope Dad will take a few photos to go with it, or maybe I’ll try my hand at some sketches.
“Yesterday, we visited a suburb some distance from downtown Kathmandu. We found a large school that’s run by Baptist missionaries. Many people here seem poor, especially those with menial, service jobs, or no work at all. Craftsmen and government employees make a better living, but even they some- times find it hard to pay for school fees, and girls are the last in line for education.” MaryCatherine sounded a bit like she was reading an assignment.
“Anyway,” she continued, “we met a girl near my age named Daya. She is determined to earn the money needed for school fees to help her mother, who is a widow. Dad and I took Daya home one day, and she showed us a carefully constructed pen out behind her house and two very fat pigs. The fe- male was about to give birth to a farrow of piglets. I helped get food for the two adult pigs and made sure they had water. I even helped clean up the pen. Yuk! Daya really knows what she is doing. The import- ant thing is that she has already sold 10 piglets and made enough money to pay for a year’s school fees in Nepali rupees — nearly $200 American.”
“That is impressive,” Brittany agreed. “Who’d have thought that pigs could be so valuable, and that a girl about your age could be so determined?”
“I’m hoping Daya can stay with us some weekend.