Over the last 3 weeks I have had the pleasure to have been involved in this year’s Action Trip to Volunteer in Nepal. As a group over our time there we volunteered in two schools in the Helambu region of Nepal, an area still substantially affected by the numerous earthquakes in recent years.

During our time in the first school in a village called Gunsa we spent our time painting classrooms and painting the children’s desks and chairs, in total covering two classrooms and 15 desks and chairs. Our time in Gunsa was very special especially staying with host families we felt really immersed in the village and village life, the children would come outside our house after school had finished to play with us, their personal favourite English game was ‘duck, duck’ goose’. I’ll always remember the children for how happy they were, how grateful and how full of life.

The second school we were based at during our time in Nepal was in another small village called Nakote. This school was considerably larger and doubled as a hostel for some students. During our time there we were able to paint a total of 7 rooms 5 of which were children’s bedrooms and 2 of which, classrooms. I really felt painting the rooms particularly that of the children’s bedrooms made a big difference as previously their walls were plain concrete with just their beds for furniture.

The money we raised for the charity was put to good use in both schools paying for 33 desks and chairs in Gunsa and for furniture for the children’s rooms in Nakote as well as electricity for the whole school. As a result in Nakote each child staying the hostel now has a painted bedroom with cupboards to be able to place their belongings in as well as a light in their bedroom. All the classrooms, kitchen and bathrooms are also equipped with lighting making day to day tasks far easier to carry out and opening opportunities for more to be done at the school even after dark.

At the end of our week in Nakote the teachers and children also put on a leaving show for us with dances from students, songs sung by teachers and speeches given, they made us feel so welcome and the program made for a fantastic end to our time volunteering.

Outside of the Action projects we did some sightseeing in Kathmandu during the first day of our time out in Nepal going to see sights such as The Monkey Temple, Nepal’s Palace and many beautiful Stupa’s. During our last few days we were also able to spend some time in Chitwan and Pokhara as well as going white water rafting. In Chitwan we stayed in a fantastic hotel called Sapana Lodge where the complex backed straight onto an elephant park, while we were there we took part in elephant bathing, went out on safari and long boat riding, it was an incredible few days. We then moved onto Pokhara for our final day during which time we went paragliding and kayaking, the paragliding was both terrifying and magnificent the views were breath-taking, it was a truly magical experience.

While the adventurous days at the end were incredible my personal highlight was getting to know the children during our time in Gunsa they accepted us straight away into their lives and for the village itself to host us while we were there was so generous.

The trip has given me a new outlook of what is really important and that often those with less are richer in other ways, through the kindness and generosity they showed us.

Overall the trip was an incredible experience which I would love to repeat and I would highly recommend to anyone seeking to make a difference.

Megan Lincoln B720540

m.lincoln-17@student.lboro.ac.uk