Everyone always asks, “Was the 2016 Nepal Trip a success?” I always answer with a simple, “Yes.” However, an effortless, “Yes,” does no justice to the magnitude of this project.

The SIS Nepal Project gives our school community the opportunity to build a relationship with another school and work towards creating a sustainable world.

SIS’ involvement in Nepal is based in three areas. Providing for physical needs, including food and clothing, creating a healthy education environment, by supplying books and training teachers, and lastly, creating lasting and meaningful connections. This last one means attaching a human face to the help we provide, and that is what our trip to Nepal is all about.

As soon as the wheels of the plane hit the ground in Kathmandu, we could immediately feel our adventurous sides take over. Nepal is a country full of experiences and surprises.

Nepal itself has a lot to offer; we explored the streets of Kathmandu, hiked through the Himalayas, fed monkeys at the monkey temple, and prayed to the living goddess, so there was never a dull moment. But the real reason we were there was to form lasting connections with the students at the Shila Devi primary school.

The kids at the school had smiles that never faltered from the moment we arrived to the moment we left. These kids appreciate what they have even though it is very little.

As we did different activities with the kids, you could see how concentrated they were and the passion they had for learning. We painted with them, did arts and crafts, learned a little geography, English and much more. We also brought a hygiene pack and toys for each student.

After I came back from this trip, I realized that I learned more from these children than I taught them. I am forever grateful to these children, and this project that SIS has undertaken.

The real purpose of the Nepal Project is to create a lasting connection between our two schools. Both of us have a lot to learn from each other, and it is in no way just a one sided charity trip, the whole of SIS learns as much from the Shila Devi school as they learn from us.

The SIS Nepal Project is an amazing school wide effort that we will continue to work for in the years to come.

To learn more about what the Nepal Project is, why we are doing it, and to see how you can get involved, see the Nepal Project website, www.sisnepalproject.weebly.com

Hope to see you all at the Global Citizen’s walk next Sunday on the 17th!