Fort William

SHEANA FRASER transported her audience to Nepal when she gave a talk to Fort William Scottish Women’s Institute recently.

Despite some technical difficulties, she brought to life the people of that country which nestles in the Himalayas.

On her first visit, she travelled as a tourist to various place including Kathmandu and Pokhara, and rode elephants in the Chitwan Nature Reserve.

Mrs Fraser’s photographs showed a very poor but hard working people, most of whom are subsistence farmers. Many of the children attend elementary school often walking two hours to attend. The quality of the education is rudimentary with poor facilities and inadequate equipment. Few go on to secondary education, especially the girls who drop out at the end of primary school often getting married at a young age.

On the speaker’s more recent visit, she went out with a delegation from Kirriemuir Rotary Club, which has raised funds to rebuild and equip a school in remote village of Kusum Bhanjyang which was destroyed in the recent devastating earthquake.

The next meeting will be held on Monday March 5 at 7.15pm in the Montrose Centre. This is an informal evening when members will decorate twiddlemuffs for use by elderly residents in hospital and residential homes. The competition will be the best twiddlemuff.