Meet Kanchi Nepali! You might notice Kanchi's interesting surname. "Nepali" is the name of the sewing caste in Nepal, and we found her sitting cross-legged on the "front porch" creating a beautiful dress with her old hand-cranked sewing machine. Kanchi is a traveling seamstress from a nearby village, who is currently living with the family that we visited in the mountain village of Dumre. She resides with the family for a time, doing sewing for local families and then returns home or moves on to another location. She is paid in rice only after the crop is brought in. Being a member of the seamstress caste, a lower caste than the family we visited, Kanchi is not allowed to enter the kitchen during her stay. However, she spent the day laughing and chatting with the women of the family and playing with the children and appeared to be quite at home. If Kanchi were to suffer an illness, our visiting home healthcare workers would care for her just as they would the family members.
Michelle Mahlik
Philosophy Department, University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee
BOD, HealthEd Connect (www.healthedconnect.org)
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