LMF Newsletter 5

My Nepal Trip
by Christopher McCready
Living in Camberley, I was aware of the great work that the Lisa May Foundation has done to support those
affected by natural disasters and as an Officer Cadet at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, I am looking
to commission in to the Royal Gurkha Rifles and had been wanting to visit Nepal for some time. Therefore,
the next logical step was to get in touch with Cheryl to see if there was any way I could work with LMF in
Nepal. An itinerary was put together by LMF, flights booked, and I was off on a journey of discovery.
Armed with my camera, 10 footballs, 300 pencils, 50 colouring-in books, sweets and balloons, I was ready to
spend a week dropping off donations to schools in Nepal. I was to arrive in Kathmandu on New Year’s Eve and
then travel to a village called Ranchowk (near the epicentre of the earthquake at Barpak).Unfortunately, my
flight was delayed and I missed my connection to Nepal, having to stay in Istanbul until 2nd January and my
luggage had been mislaid. I arrived in Kathmandu late but in one piece, with supplies.
I was met by Ashish Ghimire, the MD of Shilu Metal Works. He designed and built the LMF shelter homes and school
halls. Ashish and Jeevan and Kamal were the perfect guides as they had all been instrumental in successfully
planning the logistics of the Nepal Earthquake Team 21 expedition. I soon realised that viewing these natural
disasters from the comfort of your home is distressing, but feeling the desperation and seeing how the people
of Nepal have created homes in rubble, ruins and obliteration was humbling and yet breathtaking. Their positive
attitude and love for life seemed to be able to put a façade on what they faced every single day. Never have I
experienced such optimism.
The final school was Vijaya Bhawani Higher Secondary
School in Makai Singh. It was here that I saw how people
from all over the world came together to help Nepal
recover. Every school I visited required more classrooms
but this school sought to fully restore itself to how it was
before the earthquake and with more funding is looking to
rebuild a library, playground, science room and a hostel as
its students currently have to make a 4-hour round trip on
foot simply to come to school every day. Once again the
determination to learn amazed me.
At each school the children and staff were all incredibly
welcoming and there was such a positive focus to educate
despite the tragedy that had come before. I was constantly
amazed by how the schools have adapted to the situation
they now find themselves in. Their ability to persevere
only serves as a heartfelt reminder of how much more
support they require and deserve in order to overcome the
difficulties they face.
I for one am determined to fundraise and support this
worthy project and I hope that my findings encourage
more people to help fund more amazing projects like this,
in such remote locations for the people of Nepal whose
resilience and positivity remain high.
So much more could be done to help these amazing children who are passionate to receive an education,
especially when all it costs is £40 to educate one pupil and £12,000 to build another School Hall.
Chris
The drive to the district of Gorkha to visit schools which the Lisa May Foundation continue to support was
probably the most beautiful journey of my life with every
corner revealing a different view of the valleys, rivers and
snow topped mountain peaks. I cannot imagine how hard
it was, to not only travel this terrain immediately after the
earthquake, but to take supplies and deliver aid under such
traumatic circumstances. I was in awe of Dr Rijal and Team
21 for their courage and resolve to help people in these most
remote locations.
Five hours later we arrived at Ratna Rajya School in the village
of Birinchowk where we were greeted by the Headmaster
who showed me around and talked me through the progress
they have made since the earthquake and the work they still
need to do to restore the school further. Given the altitude
and the freezing wind and rain it would be near impossible
to teach in these circumstances without a building tough
enough to stay up in this beautiful but exposed landscape. It is all relative I know but these children were eager
to learn and took every single second of their lessons with such passion.
The second school, Ramashwori High School, in the village of Bungkot, was once again exposed to the elements
with classes forced to be held in makeshift shelters. At both schools I was fortunate enough to see the buildings
which had been built thanks to the funds raised by the Lisa May Foundation and all those who support the
charity. It was particularly useful to have Ashish with me as he designed and fabricated the trusses which form
the skeleton of the new buildings. They had created hope when there was none and the resources to give the
community the opportunity to see there was a tomorrow.
On my last day we visited another two schools, the first being Bhagwati Himilaya High School in Gurung. Here I
was able to see the level of damage the earthquake caused as what was left of the old school building was visible
at the opposite end of the playground. The broken shell of this building was a clear reminder of the force that
shook Nepal in 2015.