This is my friend Parsu and I about 13 years ago, in front of the college campus where we worked in rural Nepal. While I was a Peace Corps Volunteer, we taught English together, wrote grants for new classrooms, and started a grassroots non-profit…which we’ve collaborated on ever since. In addition to being a university-level lecturer in English, Parsu is the Executive Director of our non-profit and its sustainable agriculture programs. He has run the tea program from inception to factory; overseen a variety of forestry, health, and income generation programs; and is now launching our new organic almond project.
I’m thrilled to tell you that Parsu is coming to America in September!! His visa was approved today by the US Embassy, and we’ll be taking him on a tour of organic farms in northern and central California to see farming technologies. He’s also presenting about his work at the University of San Francisco and UC Davis, as well as meeting with our donor foundation in Tahoe.
I dug up this photo (from back in the age of print) to celebrate! We’ve worked together for 14 years, I’ve stayed in his home more times than I can count, his wife and I joke about him, I saw his son the week he was born–and now he’s coming into my world for a visit. (This is going to get interesting.) I am super excited, but not quite as excited as Parsu. As he was exiting the U.S. Embassy and talking to me on the phone, he sounded as close to giddy as I’ve ever known him to be!