Tilahi Area Described

Tilahi is a small geographic area in Southeastern Nepal. The area is impoverished and is home to members of the Mussahar caste. An estimated 62 families live in the region. They live as squatters who for the past three or four generations have lived on property owned by private land holders. They have served essentially as slaves or indentured servants to the land owners. 

There are  levels of poverty in the third world and quite frankly, this area ranks as one of the lowest of the low.  Few government services are provided and discrimination against the area's residents is extreme.

 The Musahar are an untouchable caste whose members live in the southern plains (Tarai) region of Nepal. The people of the Musahar caste are known as the Musurey.  Like many other untouchable communities in Nepal, the Musurey suffer greatly from severe poverty and a lack of education. Musurey women work 14 to 16 hours a day (as sharecroppers) in the landlord’s fields and are still unable to buy enough food or clothing for their children or to send them to school. The people who benefit from the Musurey's labor are local high-caste leaders. Musurey parents want to educate their children and give them a better future. However, grinding poverty means that children are forced to work from an early age to help support their families.   

The area is a challenge to get to.  It is approxi mately XXXX kilometers from Kathmandu only accessible only by primitive roads / jeep paths or by air to a small airport XXX kilometers away from the area.