Students From City University Experience Authentic Life Volunteering in Nepal

(28 Students from City University of Hong Kong (incl. from left Kelvin Wu, Natalie Chan, Michelle Kan, Suri Chan, Frankie Lee) travelled to Nepal to help in rebuilding the community and experienced life without WiFi and hot water shower for a few days.)

(Sing Tao Daily) Carrying over 10kg of luggage as they climbed uphill, washing their hair outdoor in the coldness with their down jackets on, 28 CityU students joined a volunteer programme in January this year.  They went to Nepal to help in the demolition of buildings collapsed during the earthquake.  Students said that without WIFI coverage, they put down their smartphones, lay down on the grass to watch the stars, and enjoyed the silent moments rarely experienced in Hong Kong. 

　　A troupe of 28 students from CityU participated in the University’s Servant Leadership Training Program (SLTP).  They went to Lamjung District of Nepal in January to help the locals to demolish the secondary school building that collapsed during the earthquake, including taking off the tin sheets on the roof, removing nails on the wooden beams and clearing away stone pieces. 

　　Water runs in scarcity on site.  Students were often covered with dust head to toes.  Despite the coldness, Natalie Chan, an Information Technology student, washed her long hair out in the open air at the playground.  She said, “It was only two degrees Celcius.  I still cannot believe that I had that determination to wash my hair!”   At last, they had a chance to take a shower after the left the mountain and came down to the big city Pokhara.  They waited outside the bathroom for half an hour for hot water, but when their turns came, the hot water had all been used up by the students before them.  Natalie said that she was dumbfounded with disappointment.

　　Rebuilding the school was not the only physical challenge that the students experienced.  Because here was no transportation, they had to carry their over 10kg of luggage uphill. As some of them were worried that they would not be acclimatized to the water there, so they even brought kilos of drinking water from Hong Kong and were carrying them uphill with their luggage as well.   However, the serene nights in the mountains bring back fond memories.  Without WIFI coverage, Michelle Kan, a third-year Marketing student, put down her smartphone, lay on the grass to watch the stars, and enjoyed a moment of silence.  She even caught a shooting star! 

　　A life without WIFI and without showers allows these students to reflect on their own lives.  Suri Chan, an Economics and Finance student, said that she quit looking at her smartphone the whole time and letting her phone takes the “first bite” of each dish that is served. She now values her time with family and friends more.