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Alan and Megan Barker
March 2026
The Big Question
Greetings one and all
Since our last newsletter we have had the much awaited national elections following on from the 'Gen Z' protests that brought down the previous government in September last year. The result led to one party getting a landslide victory: something unheard of since full democracy came to the country in the 1990s! Many of you have asked us what it will mean. Well, we can't say now but what we do know is that we finally have a government with a majority who might actually be able to bring change. There is an air of hope. However, that is mixed with an air of caution as a significant number of those newly elected are young (many under 40) and, whilst well educated, they have no previous experience of being in politics, let alone running a country! They have a heart for change though and a great desire to stamp out corruption and bring in development, to make it a better country where young people can see a future for themselves.
The days leading up to the election were a little tense but passed off without any serious violence. The interim government declared a three-day holiday in the week of the election to allow people to travel to their home-town, which is where votes had to be cast. It is estimated that about 800,000 people left Kathmandu to return home, making the streets of the city nice and quiet but the roads out of town very busy! On the day of the election itself no motor vehicles were allowed on the roads (we're not really sure why). You'll see from the photos that it made for a very different experience when we went out for a walk. There was a heavy armed police presence around each voting station. The nearest one to us was on a local football ground in the open.
We also told you about the illness of our friend (Surkhet pastor's father), Pastor Buwa. Sadly he passed away shortly after we sent the letter. He is at peace now. Alan had the opportunity to meet up with 'pastor', whose name is Goman, for a cup of chiya (Nepali tea) when he was visiting Kathmandu recently. He was obviously still grieving and yet because of all the demands of church life, he hasn't had the chance to rest or process everything.
Also as mentioned, Megan did get out into the community during her time in Rukum along with the physio on the community team and, after a brief time at home, Megan then headed off to Bangkok, Thailand, to attend the World Federation of Occupational Therapists (WFOT) Congress taking place there. She enjoyed the experience and made some good contacts for her ongoing work.
Alan's health continues to be up and down but mostly up and the team were able to complete and submit the big proposal we spoke of last time. They are still awaiting final acceptance, after some back and forth between the partner in Germany and the team here. It is difficult for someone who has never been to Nepal to understand the situation here, especially in the rural areas, despite how much we try to explain in the various documents we have to submit. So much of the back and forth related to the team answering clarifying questions and juggling with budget figures!
Thanks to everyone that prayed for Megan as she was struggling with vertigo; a few days after the newsletter went out it stopped and hasn't returned again.
In the last few weeks Megan has been involved in a 'family retreat', where one of the organisations that she is connected to invites a number of families who have children with disabilities to a few days away in a local hotel. The team arrange fun activities for the whole family alongside sessions about caring for themselves and their children. This time there were a number of single mothers where the father had abandoned them once the child was discovered to have a disability. Many feel that somehow it is their fault that their child is disabled, something that is often reinforced by attitudes in society but something the retreat tries to dispel. One of the mothers shared, “My husband left when the baby was 6 months old. Since then I have felt guilty and alone. I don't feel guilty or alone now.” Another said, “I felt so ashamed I couldn't look at myself, so I got rid of all the mirrors in the house. Now I am going to buy a mirror.”
We'll be in the UK this year from mid June until mid August. Our church visits are already booked up, so we look forward to seeing some of you. We've included our diary so you can see where we will be and when during this visit.
Our requests for those that pray are:
Please continue to pray for good health for us both – neither of us are feeling 100% and refuse to admit it's due to us getting older!
Pray also for pastor Goman and the family in Surkhet in their grief.
For work, please continue in prayer for:
Megan in ongoing rehabilitation support and the travels involved to do that.
For the work Alan and team are doing to continue to support all the important work of HDCS.
Pray for us both for balance with the different demands on our time for our work in Nepal and for the requests for support from BMS partners in other countries that we are seeking to support in their capacity development.
For Nepal:
We give thanks for a peaceful election time and the promising outcomes. Pray for the new government as they settle in and that the hopes for change will be fulfilled.
As always we thank you for your love and support
Wishing you all the best and looking forward to seeing many of you soon.
Alan and Megan xx