Side-benefits of Trekking in Nepal

One thing we really appreciated about how Erik Richardson organized our ISKL trekking experience was the opportunity we had to visit sites that represent a significant improvement in the social or medical situation in an otherwise very poor country. With Sir Edmund Hillary's death within the past few months, media attention has rightly been focused on the immense contribution he and his foundation made in the Everest Valley. For example, Nancy is standing by a sign that points out that Hillary was responsible for establishing the Pangboche School at an elevation of nearly 13,000 ft.
In our visit to the school the ISKL students in our group had brought with them arts-and-crafts projects that could be shared with the kids in the school apart from the kids knowing English! In gratitude for what our group had done, teachers at the school presented each of us with ceremonial Nepalese scarves of appreciation.

At an elevation of 11,200' in Namche Bazar -- the place where we spent our second and third night in the high country -- there's the "World's Highest Dental Clinic" operated by a Nepalese dentist who received her training in Canada.
People literally walk for days to reach her clinic and can have a tooth pulled or a cavity filled for as little as 100 Nepalese rupees ($1.40)! When we arrived to tour her clinic as a group, an ex-pat on a trekking expedition was just leaving who presented her with $20 for having his teeth cleaned. He announced that he visits her clinic every year!

When we returned to Kathmandu for our flight out of the country, we had time to visit orphanages in the city established by "The Umbrella Foundation" (www.umbrellanepal.org).
Jackie Buk from France, the Country Director, has a passion for children in Nepal who are often left in the lurch -- or worse -- by poverty. As many as 70-80% of these children are not orphans but come from homes where there's not enough resources to feed and clothe them. Through charitable donations the Umbrella Foundation has been able to rent large homes that house 40-50 boys or girls and provide nourishing meals, schooling and recreational opportunities. Visiting these kids was a moving experience!