Nepal. What can I say about Nepal? First off, it’s beautiful. My dad described it as the most beautiful country he’d visited and I can see why. The hills seem to stretch up to heaven and prayer flags adorn the streets. Whilst Kathmandu is populated with temples, in the countryside, cicadas, frogs and birds shriek all night long. Everything here is so foreign to me.
I will be here for two and a half months. I have been selected to take part in a Voluntary Service Overseas project. VSO is an organisation that has been working in developing countries since the fifties and only sends volunteers to communities that request help. I will be working in a sustainable and inclusive education project in rural Western Nepal. We aim to live and work in the community to raise awareness of issues such as sanitation, women’s education, sexual and reproductive health.
This all sounds very noble and, whilst I would like to transform the community in just three months, I must remember that my primary objective is personal development. The program is set up so that young people can learn as much as possible about the language and culture of the place in which they work.
And I’ll be sharing all this learning here! I want to write about the wildlife, the wild environment, the wildly unusual journey into Nepalese culture I am having and the remote wilderness of the community in which I am living. My days have never been so wild lol