NOT JUST RIPOFFS

'Gap-year ripoffs' (#372) was indeed a collection of sour experiences of different volunteers. Following the recent celebration of 'International Volunteers Day' on 5 December, we the Volunteer Sending Agencies of Nepal, would like to take the opportunity to assure your readers that there are well-structured and well-defined volunteering opportunities in Nepal where the participants can make significant contributions to development. The international volunteers are placed all over Nepal with local partner organizations and work as facilitators for development while learning about Nepal. We would like to request your readers to seek established volunteer programs if available in their countries of origin and check the credibility (program history, local registration, agreements with the Government of Nepal etc.) of the organization/program they are coming with.

Volunteer Services Overseas (VSO)
MS Nepal - Denmark
Canadian Centre International Studies and Cooperation (CECI)
Deutscher Entwicklungsdienst (DED)
Student Partnership Worldwide (SPW)
Global Action Nepal (GAN)
United Nations Volunteers (UNV)

GPK and the NC

It is good to know that the press is catching up with the general public's views towards Girija Koirala ('Ceremonial prime minister' #378) and his NC. Koirala and his party never had the vision nor the leadership for Nepal. This editorial should have come at least two years ago when Koirala became the prime minister of Nepal. We Nepalis have to ask one question: why should Koirala be the one to lead the country when his leadership has failed so many times? It is time to say no thank you to Messrs Koirala, Deuba & Co forever, and probably the NC for a while. We need a leader who will lead by example, not by his or her valueless words. CK Lal, too, is getting closer each time to this issue. He is starting to get things right.

Pashupati Neupane,
Syangja

HYDROPOWERED

It is great to learn from Shailee Basnet about a local initiative that has worked so well ('Hydropowered education', #377). In a country where the government has not done much for remote areas, projects like these are definitely a solution. It saddens me to hear that the YCL is becoming a hindrance to this project as well. By extorting money from this unique scheme to pay for education from hydropower the group is only shaming itself and disgracing the whole country.

Vidhan,
email

. Nepal is a water-rich country where there are lots of prospects for electricity generation. We can turn our water into rupees for our villages where there isn't enough resources for local development, hospitals and schools. The people of Sankhuwasabha and particularly the colleges are doing a great job. This work sets a very worthy example.

Ram Bahadur Kuwar,
China

SCAPEGOATS

In his Nepali Pan column 'Scapegoats' (#371) Tirtha Bahadur Shrestha depicted unconscionable animal cruelty in Nepal so vividly and forcefully that I wanted to scream. And Nepal calls itself the land where Buddha was born. Nepalis need to learn compassion. Only then will this engrained outrage against innocent animals can begin to subside, hopefully.

Uday Lama,
email

CORRECTION

We wish to point out that the map of India accompanying the article 'Red Cresent' (#378) is inaccurate as it does not show the State of Jammu and Kashmir, which is an integral and inalienable part of India. Certainly, we would not have expected such a lapse on the part of your responsible and respected publication. We would request you to exercise care and caution in depicting map of India in your publications in future.

Gopal Baglay
Counsellor, Press, Information and Culture, and Spokesman,
Embassy of India.

MORE POLO

What I find surprising is that Adriaan Verheul (Letters, #376) responded to Frank De Lange (Letters, #375) suggesting that the latter misunderstood Verheul's motives for translating 'Elephant Polo' (#373). By quoting Elephant Polo, Verheul signals that he is smart enough to know that development does not work, suggesting that he is part of the solution, not the problem. However, Verheul does not answer De Lange's question: is Verheul part of the peace industry as described in the article titled 'Donor amnesia' (Guest column, #373)? By passing over this question, Verheul showed not only skill but also an interesting viewpoint which begs the question: to which extent can the inhabitants of aidland recognise themselves in the viewpoints described by Tobias Denskus ('Donor amnesia', #373) as spectators engaged in the sport called peacebuilding?

Mi Nerva, Leiden,
The Netherlands