This guest post is by Viktoria Barna. This is Part 2 in a beautiful series of articles chronicling her experiences as a volunteer in a Nepalese orphanage and trekking through the Himalayas which gave her a new start in life. Read Part 1
An Orphanage in Nepal
My duty as a volunteer was to look after 33 orphans’ health, clean their sores every day, take them for dental check ups, stay with them in hospital when needed, make sure the –not very nice- manager gives food to them, and buy fruits and vitamins from donations.
They were 3-17 years old. Some of these children had parents, but they lived far away and were very poor, so they would pay the manager of the orphanage to take care of their child, and send them to school (which they couldn’t afford). Now, sometimes the managers’ heart is truly in it, and they do everything to make the children’s life better and happier.
BUT, there are managers who would save money on buying food for them, or would sell the pretty girls in India. The later was true to the manager of the orphanage I was placed. Our lovely manager, Emma was on the case. Her goal was to take over, and move the children to a better home.
I spent the first day in the orphanage in shock. It was dirty, smelly, and the children’s little bodies were full of infected sores from scabies, and head lice was common too. I went home feeling angry, sad, disappointed and ashamed to be a human. How can we let this happen!???
The next day I went back and saw these children smiling, getting ready for school. They were happy. They don’t know any better. This is the life they know, and they just get on with it. They don’t demand anything! They didn’t have anything…when a volunteer bought a football for them, they would jump around with joy, and take it to the fields as soon as they could. It was so much fun playing with them. They loved flying kites too.
I gave them two dried dates each one day, which I brought with me from Oman, where I spent a few days staying with a friend before going to Nepal. Those children were savouring them for 10 minutes…and there we go. Umm umm umm….a whole box gone in a minute. It was amazing to watch them enjoy every little bite they took.
After a month and a half spent in Nepal, it was time for my exciting adventure. Everest Base Camp Fundraising Trek, which was organized by VSN and the money fund raised was going towards a new home for the children I was looking after, as soon as VSN took over from that horrible manager.
A group of 12 of us from 7 different countries met in Vaishali Hotel, Kathmandu and took an early morning flight to Lukla on 2nd October 2006. It was a scary flight with a breathtaking view. The tiniest plane, flying through the Himalayas landing on a 100m long -or short in this case- landing strip, which is built into the mountain side. Crazy!
After a tea and a cheese sandwich in Lukla (2840m;93117 feet) we started to make our way to Everest Base Camp. We stopped walking in the afternoon and spent the evening playing cards, drinking endless amount of tea, reading and chatting. These were the activities for most of our evenings.
After waking up, we saw the most spectacular snow capped mountains, what weren’t visible when we arrived. At this point we didn’t know each other too well, but we all had a twinkle in our eyes, which said. This is going to be such a fun adventure!
The second day was the most difficult one, simply because it was the steepest climb, and we had reached the altitude where ‘altitude sickness’ can kick in. We left Phakding (2610m;8563 feet) after breakfast and walked through forests and passed many suspension bridges. One of the many rivers was roaming below, giving a lovely background noise throughout the trek.
We were stopped by the Maoist and we had to “donate” some money. Lucky we were with guides, and that it was a fundraising trek, otherwise we would’ve had to “donate” much more.
We arrived to Namche Bazaar (3440m;11286 feet), which is the last town before Everest therefore a major stop off point for those trekking to Everest Base Camp.
Some of the porters we saw on the way made our jaws drop to the ground. They carry all sort of stuff from food to metal wires wearing flip flops, taking us over. And there goes the German guy with his full on gear huffing and puffing. Sorry, nothing against Germans, it’s just they are probably the most prepared bunch out of all nations, right?
I got to taste my very first deep fried Mars bar here, which I think was the last one as well.
This story continues tomorrow as Viktoria reaches Everest Base Camp and prepares for the Annapurna Circuit Trek.
To follow up on this inspirational volunteer story please connect with Viktoria Barna on Facebook
Credits for the images in this article about voluntary work in Nepal and getting fit for trekking in the Himalayas belong to Viktoria Barna. To view more of Viktoria’s images visit everest base camp | orphanage | annapurna circuit trek
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CrazyJourney Community comments on travel in Nepal
I’ve just done a 100 mile run in himalayas in indian/napal border. Amazing. Heres my race review | www.johnnysultrablog.co.uk
I trekked the Annapurna Himalayas last year – SO amazing, fell in love, want to go back and do Everest Base Camp.
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Never Nepal, but yes to Rockies, Appalachians, Andes, Alps and several mountain peaks in the Caribbean. All exciting and fun
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Not for luxury travellers, for most it is beautiful, people are friendly, take your shots before going, drink bottle water. jimsswong.yolasite.com
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