Wasps, Wakas & Wallabies Nepal Update Getting ... - Canoe & Kayak
Wasps, Wakas & Wallabies Nepal Update Getting ... - Canoe & Kayak
Wasps, Wakas & Wallabies Nepal Update Getting ... - Canoe & Kayak
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White Water<br />
Himalayan River Girls<br />
– Showing power!<br />
Susmita learns raft guiding<br />
skills on the Seti river, <strong>Nepal</strong><br />
by Inka Trollsås<br />
It has now been a year and a half since I met Sita and<br />
Mona next to Fewa Lake in Pokhara, <strong>Nepal</strong>. They had never<br />
been in a kayak before and I can not believe how much has<br />
happened since that day these <strong>Nepal</strong>i girls asked me to teach<br />
them kayaking.<br />
Paddling Means Freedom<br />
Thirteen <strong>Nepal</strong>i girls are now employed with local white water rafting<br />
companies. Becoming a river guide in <strong>Nepal</strong> is very hard work,<br />
challenging and possibly dangerous. Not only do guides bring tourists<br />
safely down big and technical rapids, they spend day after day in wet<br />
clothes, setting up camps in rainstorms and carrying heavy equipment.<br />
But what kayaking ultimately means to these amazing ladies in <strong>Nepal</strong> –<br />
is freedom.<br />
Girls in <strong>Nepal</strong> want to do so much but just don’t get the opportunity<br />
growing up in a totally male dominated country. Through paddling these<br />
girls get a chance to get a profession, a chance to become independent,<br />
make choices about their own future and to enjoy life!<br />
So How Did It All Happen?<br />
Well, a lot of hard work and incredible help from the fantastic whitewater<br />
community around the world! Wonderful people such as kiwi Sophie<br />
Hoskins who came to <strong>Nepal</strong> with equipment and woman-power last year<br />
and helped achieve results we could only dream of:<br />
The Results<br />
Three girls competed as the first female competitors in the<br />
4<br />
Peak UK Himalayan White water Challenge.<br />
4 One girl, Susmita Rai, is going to the world championships in<br />
Europe, competing in freestyle and slalom in Sep 2009.<br />
4 A full five-week guide training program for 10 girls has<br />
been accomplished.<br />
4<br />
4<br />
A kayak club has been set up in Pokhara.<br />
We have proven to <strong>Nepal</strong> and its rafting industry that girls can paddle and<br />
can become appreciated river guides and do well in competitions.<br />
The United Nations of <strong>Kayak</strong>ing. Girls from all around the<br />
world join together to share paddling skills and knowledge.
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