In Nepal, Kung Fu nuns climb Himalayas to aid needy
Traditionally, Buddhist nuns are expected to cook and clean. But a group known as the Kung Fu nuns has been delivering COVID-19 relief to isolated villages out of reach of traditional public health campaigns, on both sides of the India-Nepal border.
A Nepalese woman picks marigold flowers to make garlands for the upcoming Tihar festival in Kathmandu, Nepal, Nov. 12, 2020. The mountainous geography of Nepal has left some villages isolated and unaware of the risks of COVID-19, nuns said.
Niranjan Shrestha/AP
New Delhi
Trekking for hours in the thin air of the Himalayas, hundreds of maroon-robed Buddhist聽nuns聽are carrying vital aid 鈥� and health advice 鈥� to villagers left destitute and sick by COVID-19.
Nicknamed the 鈥淜ung聽Fu聽nuns鈥� because they train in martial arts, the women come from the Drukpa lineage 鈥� the only female order in the Buddhist monastic system where聽nuns聽have equal status to monks.
Besides hauling sacks of staples from rice and lentils to toiletries and face masks on their backs in the harsh mountain conditions, the聽nuns聽have been urging villagers to heed the threat posed by COVID-19.
鈥淭he biggest challenge has been explaining to people how dangerous this virus is,鈥� Jigme Konchok Lhamo said about COVID-19, which has killed about 1.57 million people worldwide.
鈥淧eople do not take it seriously nor the precautions seriously,鈥� she told the Thomson Reuters Foundation from Nepal鈥檚 capital, Kathmandu, via video call.
The villages receiving aid from the聽nuns聽lie on both sides of the India-Nepal border, and some 2,000 poor families have been supported so far.
Without regular access to television or the internet for information, the聽nuns聽said locals often dismiss the virus as 鈥渏ust a cold,鈥� and shrug off their training sessions on social distancing, hand washing, and how to wear masks.
In recent days, the聽nuns聽have been working round-the-clock to get food and hygiene items to a COVID-19-hit village in the mountainous Indian district of Lahaul, which is home to half of the global network of about 700 Drukpa聽nuns.
All of the village鈥檚 inhabitants have caught the virus, including some of the聽nuns鈥� own relatives.
鈥淲e are scared. ... But fear can鈥檛 stop us,鈥� said Jigme Yeshe Lhamo.
鈥淲e can鈥檛 change the whole world by ourselves but even if we manage to help one life, that鈥檚 a big success. We feel happy about it. We feel encouraged,鈥� she said.
Passion to help others
Traditionally,聽nuns聽are expected to cook and clean and are not permitted to exercise. But this changed about a decade ago when the leader of the 1,000-year-old sect, His Holiness The Gyalwang Drukpa, encouraged the聽nuns聽to learn聽Kung聽Fu.
鈥淭hey are a new generation of women who are not afraid to break century old taboos and stereotypes,鈥� said Carrie Lee, a volunteer and former president of Live to Love International charity that supports the Drukpa聽nuns.
鈥淭hey took their practice off the meditation cushion and into the world 鈥� often times against criticism and threats to their safety.鈥�
When the pandemic took hold, the聽nuns聽started working with their families in Ladakh 鈥� a remote Buddhist ex-kingdom in the Indian Himalayas 鈥� to sew masks for villagers.
They have been enlisting support from others, too.
Nima Sherpa, from northern Nepal, credits the聽nuns聽for her passion to help others. She bought essential items for 100 families when the聽nuns聽needed help with their distribution drives.
Nima, who like most Sherpa goes by her first name, said working on the ground opened her eyes to the kind of hardships villagers were facing as job losses left many unable to pay for groceries or utility bills.
Many of the mountain villagers work in road-building and construction, which came to a standstill due to lockdown curbs 鈥� decimating household incomes.
With schools shut and online classes now the norm, many children have been forced to miss a year of education without access to laptops or the internet.
For women, the pandemic has brought additional challenges.
鈥淲hen I spoke to my cousin, she said maintaining menstrual hygiene was very difficult because sanitary pads are not available and even if they are, they don鈥檛 have enough money to purchase them,鈥� Nima said.
The聽nuns聽said their next campaigns would focus on women鈥檚 health.
鈥淲e will not only teach about coronavirus precautions but also provide sanitary pads,鈥� Yeshe said.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a very big issue for women.鈥澛�
This story was reported by the Thomson Reuters Foundation.
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