On our last trip to Nepal we stayed at a small village of Gre, lost in the Himalayas..still pretty destroyed after the 2015 earthquake. During the trip my friend Katherine had an idea of a volunteering program to support Gre via our non-profit in Nepal Girls Empowered by Travel. And we created an idea (read below) of sponsoring local girls on a volunteering trip to Gre.
Guess what? Today the crew is on their way to Gre! 7 + hours by jeep on a bumpy bumpy road, then 3 hours hiking up to Gre in dark:) Good luck dream team!
Our project description on GoFundMe:
Sponsor a group of young Nepali women on a volunteer trip to aid a rural village in Nepal!
‘Girls Empowered by Travel’ needs your help to send female Nepali youth leaders to support a tiny, earthquake-rocked village in the Himalayas where enterprising families are working hard to establish sustainable homestay businesses. Your donations will support our mission to empower girls through travel and community service, while helping secure a livelihood for indigenous families.
Your donation empowers girls in Nepal by:
• Funding scholarships to send young Nepali women on this volunteer trip
• Creating an opportunity to support their community and promoting self-sufficiency in the developing world
• Giving girls the opportunity to take leadership in projects, develop skills and knowledge, and learn how to become powerful in all aspects of their lives
• Broadening horizons: Girls travel outside their hometown (often for the first time!), exchange ideas, and promote cultural understanding
Their volunteer work will help save a village:
• Gre village was hit hard by a devastating earthquake in 2015 — many families still live in temporary shelters and lack basic needs, like showers or toilets
• Local families are eager to launch homestay businesses but lack access to resources. They have requested the guidance and support of mentors who can show them the way.
• We can help them establish safe, sustainable business practices, build the soft infrastructure necessary to support tourism, and attract travelers
• Homestays = income = opportunity, education, health, etc.
• Local industry means families won’t need to move to the city or split up to find work — helping protect Tamang culture and heritage
