I was fortunate to be able to travel to Nepal previously and I immediately fell in love with the country. Nepal changed me and I found a great deal of who I am and want to be there. I loved the history and culture but mostly I fell in love with the people, especially the children. While there I passed out small gifts such as candy, pens, and cheap dollar store trinkets. The girls whose photo I have posted were my girls who were begging for money from tourists outside the monastery guest house I was staying in Kathmandu. I gave them chapstick and slipper socks from the dollar store and a person would have thought that they won the lottery with how happy and overjoyed they were. They gang hugged me and wouldn't let go, to be honest I went back to my room and became misty with how beautiful they were. One girl spoke English very fluently and told me she had gone to school. She said this with much pride as it is not a right for every child to go to school it is a privilege and only for those with money. She said she had to quit because she lost her sponsor who was paying for her to go and her family were too poor for her to go back. I also met a woman who was living in a camp with her baby. She was being assisted by an organization to learn a trade with making jewelry and woven textiles to support she and her baby as she was displaced and had no home or family.
The people I met had absolutely NOTHING and probably lived day to day not knowing how they would eat in a week but they were the happiest most genuine people that I will never forget and I am grateful for the lessons I learned in how appreciative I am for my life, health, and good fortune. I have dreamed of returning to Nepal since and wanted to recapture the personal growth I found there in hiking in the Himalayas. I could have gone with a different company that I would not have to raise an extra $1000 on top of my costs but I chose this one so that I could dedicate my trip for a purpose other than just myself. I am dedicating this trip to the benefit of others.
The Volunteer Services in Nepal (VSN) organization is a nonprofit that provides assistance to disadvantaged low income Nepali communities and focuses on destitute and orphaned children. One project of theirs is running the Shinning Stars Children's Home who provide education, health, food, utilities, clothing, and housing for children who come from difficult and deprived backgrounds.
http://www.vsnprojects.org/programmes-childrens_home_vsn.html
This trek is a wonderful introduction to the mountains of Nepal. It is a stunningly beautiful trek, taking us up through ancient rhododendron forests, to what feels like the face of the mountains themselves, as we get up close and personal with Annapurna South, Hiunchuli, Machhapuchhre, Gangapurna, Annapurna I and Mardi Himal.
And better still we will be helping the local community! Shining Stars is currently home to 18 children, 6 girls and 12 boys, aged around 15 – 22 and studying in classes 9 – 13. We also have 3 kids with Down’s Syndrome who attend a local daycare facility.
All of the children have grown up with VSN and VSN has been their main family for the last 11 – 13.5 years. Those who were once toddlers are now amazing young adults with strong personalities and dreams of what they want to achieve with their lives, and its people like us who are helping make these dreams come true.
All of the children have some family. Some have just a mother, others are from remote and backward districts of Nepal, but all have come from difficult or deprived backgrounds. It is VSN’s policy to promote as much contact as possible between the children and their family members in order to ensure relationships are maintained, as upon completion of their class 12 education, they will return to live with their families or relatives to either go on to higher education, or work and live once again within their own family unit.
Every donation is greatly appreciated and the money raised by this trek makes a considerable difference in the lives of these children and young adults. Each trekker commits to raising a minimum of $1000 toward this cause. This fundraising page will be available for 2 weeks post-trek for participators to post and view photos of the trek, and to share the page with friends and family before we close the fundraiser.
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