COUNTRY: Nepal
PROGRAM: UniBreak Groups
PROJECT: Nursing
WRITTEN BY: Central Queensland University
Yo-Yo Ma once wrote “When we enlarge our view of the world, we deepen our understanding of our own lives.” already after only two days in Pokhara this could not be further from the truth. The Nepalese people are some of the kindest, warm hearted people I have ever met and most remarkably live the most simple care free lives, it is so inspiring!
After four plane flights, 10 buses and a stopover in Bangkok, the volunteers arrived in the magical little village of lakeside in Pokhara. The look on the local’s faces when we emerged from the international airport to check into the domestic terminal in Kathmandu will be something I will never forget!
There are 12 international volunteers on our trip and being nursing students we have amassed so many donated medical and educational items to present to the local hospitals and children. In total we had 22 checked bags with a total weight of 348kg! I was secretly doing the maths in my head as to whether the small plane could handle the load! Needless to say it did and it is one of the most visually gratifying experiences of my life! Once I realised (it took someone taking photos for me to actually work it out!) that the really white clouds in the distance were actually the snow covered tops of the Annapurna ranges I appreciated how incredible it is going to be here in Nepal and to be able to experience the environment and culture.
After checking into our hotel, the volunteers were invited to attend dinner with Soman, Kalden, Mr G and their families. It was wonderful to talk and learn from these remarkable families as to how they live their life and embrace their culture.
I will write again in a couple of days once we have had our orientation at the hospital!
Namaste.
Danielle
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