In all truthfulness, sitting down to write this blog post took me a while. I was not sure how to put my experiences of the last two months into words. My mind-opening journey to Kathmandu began in April. Through a friend, I was given the opportunity to volunteer as a mental coach in a school for children from remote mountain villages in the Himalayas. These children have very little if any access to education, electricity, never mind the life of luxury that westerners are accustomed to.
Kathmandu itself was very different from what I had imagined. I perceived it to be a quiet town in the middle of the mountains, surrounded by old historical buildings, at the foot of the Mount Everest embossed by Buddhist culture. Not quite. With close to a million inhabitants, Kathmandu is the largest city in Nepal, and its infrastructure consists of a combination of western-inspires buildings surrounded by polluted air and organized chaos.
I had my first culture shock once I landed. The air was a heavy thirty degrees, filled with murk, dirt and noise. My ride from the airport to the hotel (www.dwarikas.com) made me question my decision to come, but somehow I quickly got into the Kathmandu buzz where cows, dogs, cars, rickshaws and goats seem to all have the same rights as the people pacing the chaotic streets. Overwhelmed by my new surroundings, I didn’t leave the hotel the first day. I tried to prepare myself both physically and mentally. The following day I walked out of the quiet and pristine hotel into a busy, vibrant main street, filled with bright colours, unfamiliar smells and an unexpected vibe of peace.
Every morning, to get to the school, my friend and I would take a cab to the Stupa Gate. The stupa that we always passed was in Boudanath, which is one of the most holy Buddhist sites in Kathmandu and one of the largest in the world. With its magical spiritual energy, we’d catch ourselves captivated at the entrance, overwhelmed by a feeling of bliss and gratitude.
According to Buddhist spirituality, you are only allowed to walk around the stupa clockwise. There were wooden prayer rolls, which you spun whilst walking around it. A busy yet relaxed vibe was in the air as many monks and nuns walked around it praying and chanting. It was an interesting fifteen minute walk from the stupa to the school. People were selling sage, birds, tiny apples, sheared chicken, meat and fish - name it and they had it.
If you traversed the smaller roads, you might be encompassed by the scent of incense, but only if you were lucky. Most of the time, there was a whiff of garbage, burnt plastic or exhaust gases. We usually covered our faces with a scarf or wore masks to protect ourselves from the pollution.
I was lucky enough to meet an eccentric mix of expatriates during my stay. These included people from the Swiss Embassy and employees of UNICEF to Danish backpackers and army pilots. There were also all the teams that were on their way to climb the world’s highest mountain, the infamous Mt. Everest.
It was fascinating to see them leave or return from their treks.
We worked at a Buddhist school called SMD (http://www.himalayanchildren.org), where children from impoverished families were given access to education and a place to sleep. Many of the students traveled for weeks to reach Kathmandu from their remote mountain villages in the Himalayas.
Hearing their stories and life experiences was definitely an eye opening experiences and one of many wake-up calls during my stay there. One of the girls had lost her mother and was rejected by the father’s new wife. When she arrived in Kathmandu, she ended up in the hands of human traffickers and was sold to one of the many sex brothels in India. Luckily, the school managed to track her and bring her to safety.
During my time in Nepal, I was able to learn a lot about the dire situation that the country is in. Meeting Tibetans in exile was also a very touching experience. My encounters with various people in numerous different situations taught me valuable life lessons that have been incredibly useful in shaping my future. Slavery, sexual abuse and human trafficking are dangers to the human race and need to be combatted on every possible front. The importance of protecting our human rights, women and children is second to none.
Doing what we can, no matter how little or large does actually contribute to the greater good.
Helping out your neighbors brings about a reciprocal feeling of joy. Being active in society, be it half way across the world or on your own street, teaches you how to make a difference. My experience gave me insight into how donations to different charities are used to benefit those in need. I am very keen to return but for a more specific project.
An example of what effects donations are able to have is shown with the example of Roxy.
Roxy was kind enough to donate many different items such as wallets, banana bags, hats and pencil cases to all the children at the school. The biggest hit though, was the stickers. Within a few minutes of their distribution, the children posted the stickers all around the school.
Travelling to one of Asia’s poorest countries definitely brought me a certain amount of awareness and gratitude towards my comfortable life here in Gstaad. If you get the chance to go on such an adventure, or you want to volunteer in a country where there help is needed, feel free to contact me via Quicksilver for women and I will be happy to give you all the required information.
I thank my parents, friends, Roxy and Quicksilver for Women, Switzerland for helping me shape who I have become. Not to mention my extreme amount of gratitude towards Christine Walther who has been a great inspiration. Her encouragement towards my projects has proven that I have much more ahead.
