A Himalayan Education

What an epic last 3 days in the mountains watching as massive #monsoon #thunderstorms and lightning approached, accompanied by #hiking through jungles when the rain let up and amazing views of the #himalayas. #Nepal #annapurna #eco-village.

A moment of reality when distributing solar lights at an IDP camp today #Nepal #Nepalearthquake

What classrooms have become in the rural regions of Nepal.#Nepal #Nepalearthquake #ignepal #education

It was about 95 degrees when i took this. Villagers sort through a fallen home in Gumdi. #Nepal #ignepal #Nepalearthquake

Felt so good to get out to the remote #Dhading village, Phulkarkha to deliver Tin sheets and #solarlights. #Nepalearthquake #aid #disasterreleif. #ignepal

Followed by these young ones taking the reigns atop what is left of an ancient temple. #Nepal #Nepalearthquake #durbarsquare

A memorable moment as the man on the bottom left marched through the ruins of Durban square today. #Nepal #Nepalearthquake #durbarsquare

The sun rises on a wounded #Boudah #stupa. #Nepal #nepalearthquake #handsinnepal

Some of the groups and villages, organizations such as HANDS and LOGGED ON are working hard to support.

Meeting with teachers and principals in Fulkharka to discuss projects

Fulkharka school with HANDS constructed classrooms

Fulkharka library built by HANDS in Nepal

Children enjoying the library in Fulkharka

Over the course of the past 5 weeks I have had the opportunity to experience Nepal through acting as a field manager for HANDS in Nepal. On the eve of my departure, reflection seems almost innate. The vast rivers, lush hills and immense mountains have a way of making and impact on the self and altering ones perspective. The landscape demands respect yet offer comfort in the beauty and just as the white tipped Himalayas are reflected in the steel blue waters that trace their foundation, the people and culture are reflected in my experience. The people whom I have had the opportunity to meet and work with are numerous and benefits are a plethora. This myriad of characters are all fabrics upon which organizations such as HANDS in Nepal hope to create a blanket of opportunity, and amidst the patchwork, aim to offer some solace and warmth for the underdeveloped, the impoverished and uneducated youth of Nepal. People such as Kelsang, who work tirelessly to be the ‘hands’ for HANDS in Nepal, or Bishow Adhikari, whose social leadership is reflected in the attention he receives upon speaking yet kindness is echoed in the bellow of a laugh, or Mark Pinoli, whose vision to provide digital literacy to rural villages can only compound the labor of HANDS. Combined with the selfless pursuit of teachers and administrators, who make in a month what many in the western world make in a day, yet walk kilometers of hills and valleys,6 days a week, the vision to uplift rural educate Nepal shows pure scope and clarity. This clarity is most easily seen in the children’s smiles, their eagerness to learn, their willingness to listen and desire to succeed. In a rural area of Astam, I asked a group of boys what they wanted to be when they grew up. Scientist, Doctor, Engineer, Teacher. It seems their strong ambition reflects the concrete surrounding landscapes. There is no reason why such futures should be hindered by geopolitical of sociological factors, In one of the least developed economies, yet most diverse geography’s in the world it might appear ambitious to sustain rural education in these remote villages and towns. Yet In an economy where roughly 70 percent of the population relies on agriculture as means of living it proves necessary to focus on such areas. Doing so helps keep children in school and away from statistics, such as the 30% child labor rate, or the numberless trafficking incidents and drug addictions that go unaccounted for but are well observed int the streets of the cities. While lofty, ideologies such as HANDS are not mere dreams. I have seen the effect a library, a classroom, a book, can have on these scholars. As Robert Kennedy once said “Let no one be discouraged by the belief there is nothing one man or one woman can do against the enormous array of the world’s Ills- against misery and ignorance, injustice and violence…Few will obtain greatness to bend history itself; but each of us can work to change a small portion of events, and in the total of all those acts will be written the history of this generation.” It just takes a helping HAND and compassionate heart to achieve such.

A group of elders look on as #loggedonfoundation hands out scholarships at a school in dhital, Nepal. The fishtail peak looms in the distance. #Nepal #education