Nepalese Schooling Fundraiser

When I was nine years old, I was fortunate enough to go on a trip with my brother and father to Nepal. On this trip, we hiked to Everest base camp with our guide, Kalu and his company of porters. This was not an easy trip, especially for younger kids. I was the youngest person to complete the trek that year. Kalu made the experience a lot more enjoyable and memorable for me.

What I remember the most about Kalu is how caring he was. About halfway through the 15 day journey, I became very sick with an unknown illness in the middle of the night. We were in a remote mountain village,, and the only clinic around was several hundred steps up rough rock stairs to the top of the village. I was unable to walk, and my father struggled to carry me at the high altitude. Kalu carried me in the icy rain up the slippery stairs the whole way and knocked on many doors waking people up until he found a nurse to treat me. Kalu's caring has stuck with me, and I will never forget his sense of urgency to help me even though he had only known me for a little over a week.

Less than a year after we completed the trek, a massive earthquake struck Nepal, killing thousands and destroying more than 600,000 homes. When Kalu was finally able to communicate with us, we learned that he was donating his time and money to provide temporary shelter for remote villages, and we helped Kalu raise funds to rebuild villages.

Fast forward 8 years from our trek, and Kalu is still in the trekking industry. During the first two years of the pandemic, the trekking business was non-existent, and Kalu was again raising funds for Nepalese people - this time his porter and guides who were struggling to feed their families as well as other trekking companies' employees. My brother was able to raise thousands of dollars to help Kalu's efforts.

Unfortunately, Covid has had a lasting effect on Kalu's business, and he has not been able to financially recover due to the lack of trekkers. Although business is very slowly returning, and Kalu is able to feed his family and provide some funds to his employees, he is unable to pay to educate for his daughter who is just starting school. The public schools are very poor and still inconsistently running after the lasting impacts of the earthquake and Covid. The only way for Kalu to ensure his daughter gets a reasonable education is to pay for a private school away from his village.

I feel as it is only right of me to make sure Kalu's family is taken care of as he took care of me and my family 8 years ago and as he has cared for so many other Nepalese over the years. All proceeds go to Kalu, and any donation is greatly appreciated.