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Alan and Megan Barker
May 2026
Earthquake or Monkeys?
Hello everyone.
We were sitting in a local café recently and the telephone pole outside started shaking violently. We both tensed momentarily as it could have been the start of an earthquake but then, realising that nothing inside the café was shaking, we relaxed again. The alternative explanation, and the correct one it turned out, was that the monkeys were back. Over the last several months there has been a family of monkeys that pass through the area, clambering over roofs, swinging on telephone wires and even sometimes stopping to play on our neighbour's swing and trampoline. There are a lot of monkeys in parts of Kathmandu but until recently they have been rare visitors in our area. They might look cute but we keep well away because they're sometimes not that friendly and can also carry rabies.
Since our last letter Megan has reached the milestone of 65 years! We were able to spend her birthday and the Easter Holidays in South Korea with our daughter Gemma and her family. It was a lovely time, made even more special as it was 'cherry blossom time' in Seoul as well. Across the whole city the cherry blossom trees were in bloom, clothing many parks and walk ways with pink and white blossom. Quite magical!
Since returning from South Korea Megan has been on the road again. She spent another week in the Chaurjahari hospital in Rukum in the west of Nepal where she has been a number of times recently. To avoid a two-day road trip, part of the journey to get there is by plane. There's choice of two airports to go via to get to Chaurjahari. One of those is Surkhet, where we used to live, and so on her return journey Megan also spent a few days in the Surkhet rehab clinic, supporting the rehab staff there and catching up with old friends, before returning to Kathmandu. It was good for her to be able to share her experience by supporting the rehab staff in both places and also to enjoy the beauty of creation out in the countryside and away from the smog of Kathmandu 😊.
Alan has been busy with the partnership team at HDCS, our BMS partner here, working on a small flurry of project proposals. There's been an interesting range of opportunities that they have been offered but they all seemed to come at once and so it meant working into the evenings and even on a national holiday to make sure that all the deadlines were met. Installing solar panels to reduce costs and make the most of the plentiful sun here in Nepal; supporting the public health system in two remote districts of the country with emergency response and disaster preparation; supporting and training people in healthy lifestyles and improving livelihoods in remote regions; seeking to strengthen the mother and child health system in rural areas. These are the four main proposals that Alan has been working on with the team over the last few weeks. Each one needs lots of background information, talking with people 'on the ground', making sure we have the right approach and, of course, that we have our sums right with everything 'dotted' and 'crossed' to satisfy the various funding partners. 'Situational background', 'Theory of Change', 'log frame', 'impact', 'outcomes' 'outputs', 'direct costs', 'overheads' and many other such words and phrases are staple diet at these times! But what we have to be careful not to lose sight of, in all the wads of paperwork that have to be filled in, (well, it's all digital these days) are the people that these projects are trying to help. The young pregnant woman who lives a day's walk from her nearest health post where there might not even be the right equipment or staff to help her if she is struggling. The subsistence farmer who is losing his crops more often because climate change is affecting the seasonal weather patterns he relies on to produce enough to feed his family. The girl who doesn't go to school because her family can't afford to educate all the children and so the son is given priority every time. And the host of other people who could be helped if we just get everything right on those proposal forms.
We mentioned the new government in the last newsletter. They seem to have started well. They were elected on the platform of stamping out corruption in government and in the last few weeks they have already started to remove people in senior government jobs that were in post because of political allegiance, not because of merit. Several people have jumped before they are pushed apparently. Also, in the past, the Nepali equivalent of GCSE exam results took many months before they were released but this year the new government promised students they would change that. The results were released in a month after the exams. Some things are changing!
It's not long now until we'll be in the UK. We arrive on 12th June and stay 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 pray that we will be well prepared as we get ready to return to the UK and in the busy-ness leading up to our departure.
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:
Pray for the new government as they settle in and that the hopes for change will be fulfilled.
For all those people who are in need of better healthcare and better living standards and all those we are working alongside to try and make this happen for some at least.
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