Orphans, gods and Rajendra's wedding

Allan Aistrope of San Francisco first visited Nepal nearly twenty years ago on a trekking adventure.

Once he became aware of the tremendous number of orphaned children living on the streets, his life was forever changed. Allan began by helping one child with lodging, food and education. His humanitarian effort has grown to the sponsorship of 40 boys and plans to build a hostel for 24 orphaned girls. Thus far, Allan has written one book, titled “Orphans, Gods and Rajendra’s Wedding.” It’s a fascinating story about the first orphan Allan lifted from the streets of Kathmandu, and it recounts a trip to Rajendra’s first home, a remote mud hut in the jungle.

Excerpt: “His grandmother accepted my meager offerings with a nod and a bit of embarrassment. But I noticed that she placed them in a corner of a small, dilapidated shed, presently occupied by a large female water buffalo. Rajendra was equally puzzled and followed his grandmother inside the structure, while I meandered just close enough to peek into the dark entrance to discover a truly disturbing scene. In the back reaches, strewn out on a muddy, dung-laden floor, was a worn, dirty, cotton-stuffed mattress, a bundle of cotton cloth and a couple of plates. Rajendra’s grandmother had been relegated to the shed since the day his grandfather had returned home with a new wife.”