When I met Gopal

I first met Gopal in 2010, the same year I met Hector, the same year my life fell on its head…
Gopal was the most unusual person to meet in Nepal, in a most unusual place and time in my life.
It was a year after my father died, and I decided to stop my university studies and travel the world.
My first stop was to Nepal as a Tevel Betzedk, an Israeli NGO working with rural and marginalized communities.
I offered my expertise in Theatre of the Oppressed to train volunteers, staff and give workshops in villages and worker schools.
Gopal was assigned to be both my Nepali teacher, workshop translator and guide, and that he did very well.
Usually, when working with a translator in workshops, there is an energy loss, but not with Gopal, he was actually adding energy to it! He was a great teacher, and I learnt some basic conversational Nepali ( I forgot by now), and he was a great guide in many ways.

He was the one that guided and made me aware of the international theatre festival that was going on and where I met Hector for the first time. Going up to the village ChukMuky, I remember his fast steps up and down the steep mountainside. He was (and is) a dreamer with an open heart, a peacefully Gorkah warrior and wise and funny Rasta Nepali men.

In 2018 he invited me to come back to Nepali, to run a workshop with the International Social Theatre Centre Nepal. Unexpected, magical and sometimes confusing experience which under sacred mountain not far from Kathmandu.
Gopal does not let borders or limits stop him and his dreams, He has travelled to Europe, Canada and the USA to train and teach, he even got to Senegal to one of the most unforgettable experiences of my life.
In the same manner and passion after getting his companies first big contract, he decided to but land and start a centre for Arts and Farming. A home for social artists to create and learn together.

Lukeko Gaun is the name of the place and is the reason I am writing to you today. Gopal and Lukeko Gaun needs our help as with the slowing down of theatre activities and projects it has not been able to pay on instalment on loan made by Gopal as part of initial investments made on the land and the centre. The loan is of 1 million rupees (less than 10,000 USD) and has a monthly instalment of interest of 18,000 rupees (about 150 USD) and with the last 5 payments missed the bank is threatening to put the land on auction to recover the loan.

If you wish to support and join Lukeko Gaun,  you can donate here: https://bit.ly/SAVE-LUKEKO-GAUN you can contact Gopal directly you could send him a message via lukekogaun@gmail.com if you prefer to use other money transfer services or have other proposals for collaboration and sponsorship.

So get involved and share the word
because we all need Nepal and Gopal to thrive!