Anu Kashyap Volunteering in Nepal

For the last four months, I have been living in Nepal and volunteering with an organization called Child Haven International (www.childhaven.ca). I would like to share my story and pictures about this amazing life changing experience.

DAY 1
When I arrived in Kathmandu I was greeted by another volunteer, Sami, who brought me to CHI-N. It was a very hot and sticky day and as we drove through Kathmandu, it reminded of New Delhi. There were people, cars, buses, rickshaws and animals everywhere. We took a very bumpy unpaved road to CHI-N. Upon my arrival, so many beautiful children greeted me. All of them came running to the taxi with such curiosity. They asked “who are you, where are you from and what is your name”. At first, having not slept for what felt like days, I was completely overwhelmed, worried and scared, but my fears soon disappeared. All of sudden, I became Anu didi to 90+ little sisters and brothers from the age of 2 to 18. CHI-N is situated in the outskirts of Kathmandu in a town called Aaru Bari. In every direction there situated the greenest mountains and the bluest skies. At first, I was very scared about my new surroundings; my conversations with Bonnie, Fred and pervious volunteers had not prepared me for my first few days in Nepal. All the comforts of home instantly gone with a simple plane ride.


TREKING TO EVEREST
I had decided before leaving Toronto that I wanted to complete a trek in Nepal. Nepal is most famous for having eight of the world’s ten highest mountains. I headed off with Sami a few days after my arrival in Nepal to complete a trek to the Everest Base Camp. Our adventure started off with a flight to Lukla on a little 18-seater plane. The view of Nepal from the plane was completely breathtaking. Little villages situated amongst the various mountains with no paved roads connect various towns to one another. At that point, I realized how self-sufficient this country really is and how dependent it really is on its immediate surroundings. We started our trek and a short time into the trek I I began to feel ill. I had not completely adjusted to the time change, altitude and weather before leaving Kathamdu. I became ill and developed some symptoms of AMS (altitude mountain sickness). I decided after a few days that I did not want to risk my health at the beginning of my journey so I headed back to Kathmandu. I am very disappointed that I had to cut this part of my adventure short but I had to consider my health. The short trek I completed was nevertheless amazing. The mountains were truly mystical and challenging. I headed back to Child Haven at that point and was greeted with such excitement. Little did I know what the next few weeks would bring!