I decided after visiting Nepal last year that I would like to return, not as a trekker, but as a volunteer, to help promote a sustainable future for this enchanting mountain kingdom and its beautiful people.
After doing my research I found an NGO in Nepal called The Kathmandu Environmental Education Project (KEEP). This project aims to encourage eco-friendly trekking, minimise human impact and encourage the Nepalese people to work within their environment. There are so many ways we can volunteer through KEEP and help make a positive change in Nepal.
Some of these are:
- Join in building projects in local villages, including constructing or improving local schools and surrounds.
- Teaching English to empower the local people, guides, drivers and other tourism workers.
- Teaching First Aid skills to local workers within the trekking profession.
- Assisting in the KEEP office.
When I return later this year I will be helping to paint a classroom and tidy the grounds of a school within a local village in the Annapurna region.
For more information on KEEP in Nepal, visit their website at www.keepnepal.org
About Sue Hile
Director/Founder of specialist travel company Adventurous Women, co-owner of Platonica Web & Graphic Design and travel writer. Sue resides in Perth, Western Australia with the three most important men in her life, her husband and their two teenage sons. You can contact Sue at her website www.adventurouswomen.com.au