A Hong Kong Girl Survived from the Nepal 7.8 Earthquake And Participating In Earthquake Relief Work

(Apply Daily) Pink is from Hong Kong. She has not had a full-time job for ten years, but instead has been travelling to and from a tiny land in the Himalayas – Nepal. After surviving the disastrous 2015 Nepali earthquake (which had a magnitude of 7.8), Pink felt that “It was really good to be alive”. She then established a non-profit organization to support earthquake victims.

Today, she spends more than half of her time travelling in various places in Nepal every year.

The 2015 Nepal earthquake made Pink emotionally attached to the country. “I was in a bookshop and suddenly I felt the earth quivering. I was wondering “Is it an earthquake?” But I continued to read because I didn’t think that was possible. The quivering quickly became much stronger.”

Although after getting out of the jeep, volunteers on the “Light On Your Path Journey” walk for one hour with their luggage to the site of the rebuilding project, many Hong Kong people are still willing to come and experience.

Pink compared the situation with an “extremely strong wave” on a ship. After the earthquake, she slept overnight in an outdoor car park in Kathmandu and reunited with her Nepalese friends the next day. Pink and ten-something Nepalese friends shared a tent for a few days, and experiencing the multiple aftershocks with different magnitudes throughout the month.

Pink did not take a flight back to Hong Kong. “I heard news of increasing casualties, but I was staying in that tent. I had food and shelter, and it was safe. I was so annoyed. Why am I in such a safe place, while others can only sleep on the street, not even having a tent? That’s why I really wanted to contribute something.”

Within only two months, she raised about four hundred thousand HKD on social media, and transported eight tons of supplies to the earthquake epicenter, Gorkha. “Experiencing the earthquake made me realize that being alive means happiness.”

After she returned to Hong Kong, she established the non-profit organization, Light On, to support rebuilding projects in Nepal. “If we build houses, we can only build about two for a few hundred thousand dollars. We think it is better to build public facilities instead, so we decided to rebuild schools.”

The Nepalese people like to introduce their country as “Never End Peace And Love (NEPAL)”.

Recruiting Zhigong (volunteers, 志工, lit. “will-workers”) to participate in school rebuilding, Pink hopes “Hong Kong people can show solidarity to the Nepalese.”

After visiting various sites affected by the earthquakes, she chose the sites for rebuilding schools, and recruited Hong Kong people to participate in the school rebuilding projects. ‘The name of the project “Light On Your Path Journey” implies my hope for the participants getting enlightened.’ Pink said.

Volunteers from Hong Kong have to fly six hours, and drive an entire day to the project site. (The cost is actually higher than using donkeys to transport building materials.) ‘I organized these projects because I hope the volunteers can show solidarity to the Nepalese.’ She hopes that Hong Kong people (who are relatively lucky), do not perceive this trip as “helping others”, but rather cooperating with the local people.

The stem “vol” of the word “volunteer” originates from the Latin word “volition”, meaning “will”. She thinks the term used in mainland China and Taiwan zhigong (志工 “will-worker”) is more appropriate, because it implies that it’s the volunteer’s own will to do this, while the Cantonese term yigong (義工, “responsibility-worker”) implies action out of mercy, which “sanctifies” the action and implies hierarchy.

Apart from participating in rebuilding projects, volunteers also teach and lead activities at the local school.

Woman Who Travels Around As a Full Time Volunteer and Big Sister to 12 Nepalese Kids

(Apple Daily) Being a big sister to 12 Nepalese children, Hong Kong volunteer Pink Lee has travelled to this small Himalayan country for 7 years on the income of various part-time jobs.

Pink survived the 7.8 magnitude earthquake that hit Nepal in 2015.  Happy to be alive, she established an NGO (Editor: Light On Charity) to support earthquake victims.   Nowadays, she spends half the year in Nepal.

Pokhara is the 2^nd largest city in Nepal and is a famous tourist destination.  Its centerpiece is the Phewa Lake: surrounded by Himalayan mountains, in the evening the sun casts its red fire onto the still waters, slowly disappearing behind the green mountains.  This is scenery best viewed at the right time of a year: March to May and October to December. In winter and during monsoon, it is rare to meet foreigners and some shops in the tourist districts are closed. 

7 years ago, Pink, by accident, visited Nepal during monsoon to enjoy rains.

If you close your fists you have just a little, if you open them, you have the whole world

10 years ago, Pink heard this saying in Tibet and decided to quit her job and travel around the world.  In the 3rd year she arrived in Nepal. By this time she had decided that instead of simply sight-seeing, she wanted to do something significant.  The long term bonding between Pink and Nepal began from the moment she saw a torn English advertisement pasted on a lamp post in Pokhara, recruiting volunteers. 

It was an advertisement from a children’s home called “Edventure Nepal”, which was established by a 26-year-old Nepalese called Amrit.  Pink recalled how surprised she was when she met the young man who was willing to put the life of 4 children on his shoulders.  Helping Amrit was a single mum called Tulasi: these two adults were responsible for the care of 4 children’s daily life and tuition fees. 

The Nepalese Government provided no financial support for children’s homes. So Tulasi and Amrit worked to earn all expenses.  “At that time, Edventure Nepal had been set up for only a month and apart from the enclosure walls, there was nothing, not even a bed,” said Pink.

At first the Edventure Nepal children’s home was located in rural area. To get there, Pink would take an hour-long bus journey from the city centre early in the morning and then walk for 45 minutes to arrive at the children’s home just on time to take children to school.

“Big Sister” Pink is a full-time volunteer for Edventure Nepal.  Since 2011, she has visited her sisters and brothers every year.

Call to support the children

To improve the situation at the children’s home, Pink recruited travelers who wanted to serve the local community. Communicating online, she invited people to bring clothes, stationery, furniture, and cooking utensils. The quality of public education was low, with teachers being unreliable, so she began collecting donations for private schooling. 

Since her early three month volunteering period, Pink has returned more and more often to Nepal to visit her “brothers and sisters”. 

She said: “It has been astonishing to see the changes in those children, whose hair had to be shaved because of lice, who didn’t smile, were so small and always scared of the past. They’ve grown up to be clean, always smiling and can now speak English.  It shows the importance of a good education, proper care, sufficient nutrient and love.  The love that Tulasi and Amrit gave them, helped them grow up healthily.”

Pokhara surrounded by snowy mountains.  Nepal’s second city is famous as the starting point for trekking in the Annapurna mountains.

“Uncle” Armit and “Mummy” Tulasi are taking good care of all the children, at the same time they are all positively influenced by their “Big Sister” Pink.  A few months ago, 13-year old Prakash said to Pink that he wanted to be a social worker to help her.  Pink felt so touched that the children wanted to help others and society.  She replied to Prakash, “I will wait for you but you have to finish college first.”

7 years on, Edverture Nepal has moved into the city and now houses 12 children.  With Pink’s help, the organization has developed a self-sustaining operational model, working with an NGO from Hong Kong to host “workcamps” for volunteers who come to the children’s home to carry out cultural exchange.  Part of the program fee is in the form as donations.

Pokhara city is in a valley.  Many years ago, Pink had to take an hour-long bus ride, followed by a 45 minute walk to reach the mountainside Edventure Nepal.

Although children call Amrit “Uncle”, he is actually more like their father.

A year ago, Pink and Amrit rented a building that they now run as a hotel in Lakeside, Pokhara – a social enterprise from which 20% of the revenue is put into Edventure Nepal with the aim to be the financial support in the future.

Everything was going well until the Nepalese Government changed the rules. Now, all children’s homes need to fulfill certain requirements in order to continue operation.  Edventure Nepal had to rent a house (instead of an apartment) and must provide a library, playground, a psychologist and social worker – all this with no funding from the Government. 

Pink and Amrit immediately set about fund-raising.  Luckily (at the time of interview) 70% of the target sum amount HK$350,000 was reached (Editor: and they had reached the target after 6 months of fund-raising).

Pink put her time on rebuilding Nepal and established an NGO called “Light On Charity”.

Internet Free, Volunteers Enjoy Offline Life in Nepalese Mountains

(AM 730) Urbanites are now so used to clinging onto their smartphones.  28 CityU students volunteered in the Nepalese mountains for 8 days.  Some of them stayed in a remote mountain area for 5 days.  Without access to internet, they were cut off from the rest of the world.  The students said that the experience of a life without internet changes how they spend time with family and friends.  They learn to put down their phones, and enjoy the interactions face to face. 

CityU has been running the Servant Leadership Training Program (SLTP) since 2015.  The program encourages students to serve the community, care for others and develop a sense of empathy.  This year, the students were sent to the mountains in Nepal to help in rebuilding the school and in teaching.  In addition to servicing and caring for others, they experienced much more.   Suri Chan, a 2^nd-year Economics and Finance student, said that she could not get used to a life without internet in the beginning.  Very soon, she realized that there is no point complaining.  She found that happiness could easily be found in the beautiful views and wonderful time spent with the locals.   Michelle Kan, a 3^rd-year Marketing student, recalled that because of the lack of internet, everyone could gather on the grass to watch the stars and chit chat.  They even spotted shooting stars!

Dr. Wong Chi-tim, CityU’s Director of Development Services, explained that through the program, students learn that leaders need to set an example by rolling up their sleeves to work and to care for others.  

“Living In the Moment” Through Helping In Nepal Disaster Areas

(Oriental Daily) Living in affluent Hong Kong, our basic needs are always fulfilled.  Indeed, buying the latest phone or travelling to Europe are often seen as part of the basic needs by many youths.  However, having abundance in materialistic terms does not necessarily translate to spiritual fulfillment.  Earlier on, a group of CityU students participated in the Servant Leadership Training Program (SLTP) and went to Nepal.  They volunteered to rebuild the disaster area, teach, farm and fund-raise.  Through these activities, they experienced a life back to basics, and understand the importance of “being in the moment”. 

Demolishing Collapsed Structures

Affected by the 2015 earthquake in Nepal, many buildings near the epicenter were badly damaged.  Rebuilding the school at the disaster area became one of the important tasks for this trip.  The school is located at the Lamjung District, in the south of Manaslu Mountain.  To get there, it is an 8-hour journey from Kathmandu by car, followed by a long walk uphill with luggage.  To these young students, it was certainly a challenge, yet they had no regrets doing the trip.  Frankie, a 4^th-year Policy and Politics student, and Kelvin, a 4^th-year Architecture student, emphasized the importance of helping out in the rebuilding of the disaster area.  “It has been 2 years since the earthquake.  Yet, the disaster area is still in a mess.  The rebuilding work has been slow.  With our help, we hope that the community can be up and running again soon.”  The students were responsible for demolishing the collapsed buildings, from the roof to the walls, to allow for future reconstruction.

A life without smartphones

In addition to rebuilding works, the students were teaching and helping out in the farm.  Through these activities, they had a cultural exchange with the local community there.  They had home stays with the locals.  Supplies are limited uphill.  People live a simple life.  They did not have access to WIFI; they also did not have enough water for showers.  To a young urbanite, this is a real challenge.  Michelle, a 3^rd-year Marketing student, had a different perspective.  “Without WIFI in the mountains, everyone had to put down his phone, and we got to communicate more.  After our work and our meals, we could leisurely sit on the mountains to appreciate the views, watch the stars, and chit chat.  The locals are friendly.  Even though they know very little English, they used their body language to communicate with us, and we had a lot of fun trying to guess what each other means!”

Learning to treasure the moment

From the mountains, the students head to Pokhara, the second largest city in Nepal.  They visited a children’s home among the snow mountains, and held a Fun Fair at Hotel Love and Light (a social-enterprise which supports the same children’s home) to raise funds.  They invited tourists and trekkers to join the Fair and raised HKD5,000 in a day.  The trip ended with this exciting achievement.

In the 8-day journey, the 28 students experienced a simple life without WIFI, without showers, and observed the frugality of the locals.  Natalie, a 4^th-year IT student, and Suri, a 2^nd-year Economics and Finance student, said that “to be contented (with what we have)” is their biggest reward from the trip.  “In Hong Kong, we are advanced in our transportation system, in our medical facilities, etc.  But in such an affluent city, people are not happy.  There is an air of complaints.  Perhaps these complaints stem from our endless desires.  After the trip to Nepal, I learn to live in the moment, and treasure every little thing in my life.  I find life more meaningful.”

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. 

Volunteer to “Save the World”?

Students from the school being rebuilt by Light On

--Translated by Sandy Chu 

“You can do no great things, but small things with great love” It is from Mother Teresa and it is my life motto.

My first volunteer experience was in an orphanage on a Mongolian grassland, I was 25. I didn’t bring any sweets or presents, yet a mind full of curiosity. I would not have expected, after two weeks, the volunteer experience would allow me to feel the endless love from the children.  On top of that, I had also seen the most unforgettable starry sky with Milky Way in my life.

The unforgettable smile from Jagaa, a Mongolian boy

I quit my job after one year of my Mongolian trip and started my globetrotting. I tried to look for volunteer opportunities in every place where I was going. I wish, through volunteering, I could know some locals and local cultures. Throughout two years of travelling, I served as a care-taker in a Colombian orphanage, an English teacher at a community center in North India, a barista, a dish washer and a rubbish recycling helper in a South Indian ashram.

Children from Tibetan region in North India

 I was back in Hong Kong after two years of travelling, then an idea of pursing my career in non-profit sector came to my mind. Thankfully, I soon got an interview chance as a Project Officer in an International charity.

I still remember the whole interview even now. The interviewer asked, “Why would you like to take a position at back-end as you have much front line experience?”

“When I was in the orphanage in Colombia, I was the only volunteer and there was a dozen of children for me to take care. When they saw me, they all came up for my attention. I then realize that only a pair of hand was not enough to embrace all the children at once. As a result, I sincerely hope that through your charity’s platform and resources, I can do more in the future.” I replied.

Energetic children from the orphanage in Colombia

She looked into my resume again and told me, “I hope you can understand that not everyone is suitable for a frontline job, some people desperately want to work at frontline but cannot, and therefore they can only take the supporting roles behind for the same goal.”

Her words had sparked off something in my mind.  “Yes, we always want to do something ‘big’!”. At that time, I thought working at an International charity would be “bigger” and more efficient than volunteering in the frontline independently. The interview conversation had made me understand Mother Teresa’s words quoted earlier, it is not a must to do some “great things”, but instead, I should follow “Do small things with great heart”.   Since then, I have decided to devote myself into volunteering services instead of turning it into a career.

Lessons learnt from doing a small thing with great heart such as picking up cow shit

“Everyone is like an incense stick. When we can, we should ‘burn ourselves’ the most to spread the beautiful fragrance for the world.” I learnt this sentence from Amma, an Indian spiritual leader.

Now, volunteering is my life. My journey to becoming a full-time volunteer was greatly inspired by Amma’s words. “Selfless Service”, a term I learnt at the ashram in South India, means to help, to give and to contribute unconditionally with lots of love. Everyone, most likely, may serve voluntarily with different reasons, for examples, simply to help others, to get some merits, to have some good rewards or even to acquire something new practically. If the reasons of volunteering are purposeful, then the service is no longer “selfless”.

Within the following five years, I went back and forth this ashram in South India and learnt the true meaning of “Selfless Service”. I had realised that the most enjoyable things from volunteering was just to focus on serving and not to think about the outcomes. After this realization, I now only care if I feel happy from the participation, I do not care about any results.

By the time I served, I had started to understand that we always expected a certain outcome when doing something. I also had some similar experiences. I wanted the children from the orphanage could have more opportunities and be successful in life. I wanted the Tibetans from Tibetan area in North India to get job easier after acquiring knowledge of English. Or even for myself, I wanted, through dish washing as a way of meditative practice, to learn how to gain inner peace.

From learning to enjoying: a month of dish washing at the ashram in South India

However, expectations of outcomes usually make us walk further away from the essence of why we do things. The expectations have put our focus to the future but not this moment. Just do it if you want, forget about how you can influence others, don’t think about “saving the world”, volunteering is not about this.

I was in Nepal when a 7.8 magnitude earthquake occurred in April 2015, after knowing more than three hundred thousands houses had collapsed and more than twenty thousands people injured or dead, I had a strong feeling that “I have to do something no matter what.” even though at that time, I had no clues or plans on how much fund I needed or how many houses we needed to rebuild. For this reason, I started to raise the fund and, with the power of social media, I had received 300,000HKD within one month and so managed to send 8 tons of emergency materials to the epicenter area.

When I was handling the relief work in Nepal, meanwhile my plan of rebuilding schools was in the initial stage, people around me all suggested me to set up a non-profit organisation (NPO) in order to facilitate the resource allocation. Fortunately, with the help from a good friend who is a lawyer and other professional friends, Light On, a new NPO, has finally be founded. (Our official webpage: www.lighton.org.hk)

A recent project of rebuilding a school in Nepalese mountainous area

If you ask me, what is my plan for future? To be frank, I have no idea.

But I deeply believe that “Everyone is like an incense stick. When we can, we should ‘burn ourselves’ the most to spread the beautiful fragrance for the world.”

This has motivated me to continue on my volunteering.

We Manifested a Hotel in Pokhara

Life is always full of surprises, It happens that I opened the “Hotel Love and Light” with Amrit.

It was six months before the 7.8 mag earthquake in Nepal.  I was in the Edventure Nepal Children’s Home (ENCH), in Pokhara, Nepal.  At that moment, sitting in a room overlooking the backyard, I was chit-chatting with the ENCH Chairman, Amrit.

I was still living mobile between India and Nepal.  I remembered, I had never told Amrit the following dream, a dream that probably every traveler has had.  So I told him, “I always imagined I’d stay in a place I like and open a guesthouse one day.”  I had dreamt about this so many times since I first quit my job and traveled around the world: the Inca town in Peru; the beach in Argentina where I saw whales migrating; the little Colombian town where I volunteered for a month; the Mexican town where I met encountered indigenous people; the Tibetan colony in Northern India.

Guanajuato in Mexico.  One of the examples of the fairy-tale places I’d love to set up a guesthouse.

This dream had faded as I moved around the globe year after year.  There were too many enchanting little places in the world, how could I just choose just one?  I couldn't do it because I was too greedy.  So how about opening guesthouses in all the places I like?  I couldn’t do that either because I couldn’t be distracted.

So that day at ENCH with Amrit, I was lamenting the fading of my dream.

Most of the time, if other travelers heard me pitying myself like this, they would probably join me, “Yes, me too…”  This is a common dream indeed.  But that day, Amrit’s response was very different from what I expected, “Are you serious?”

He surprised me by asking the question.  I felt that there was more meaning in his words.  I sat straight up on my chair, shot my eyebrows and asked him, “What’s up?”

He said, “I have a friend who is constructing a new building, he wants to rent it out as a hotel.”

“Erm?” I thought, I was merely sharing a dream, it hadn’t been a suggestion.

Amrit was getting excited. With a glint in his eye he asked me, “Would you like to have a look?”

With an open mind, I said, “Why not?”

We went to this construction site of his friend (It was indeed a chaotic construction site with dust rolling around).  Upon seeing the basic foundations of this building, I couldn’t help voicing my thoughts, “If you break this wall, the cafe area would look more spacious.”, “Why don’t you connect these two rooms and make it a dorm?”, “These two rooms can be changed to common bathrooms and toilets.”, “The rooftop could be used as a meditation and yoga room!”

Soon after, I heard all these comments had been accepted by the owner.  And without me noticing, it seemed like I was partnering with Amrit to run this hotel project!

There is a saying in Chinese, “An unintended willow’s seed grows in the shade”.  And this is absolutely true for me.  Although I didn't plan to have a hotel, a hotel had come into reality anyway!

From that time onwards, it required a lot of time to turn this construction site into a proper hotel (especially I had to factor in the Nepalese pace), so I put the dream aside and went to live in India.

I came back three months later to lead the fourth work camp of Edventure Nepal.  I planned to wait until after the end of the fifth workcamp before sitting down and discussing this hotel project in detail with Amrit. 

However, on 25^th April, 2015, a once in a lifetime earthquake struck Nepal.

Nobody expected that the earthquake struck Nepal, and nobody expected that I set up Light On Charity after the earthquake.

 After the earthquake, I started to fund-raise on social networks, delivered relief materials, established a non-profit organization, “Light On” and started school rebuilding…However, in September 2015, a border blockage kicked in Nepal, trebling petrol price.  As a result, our hotel’s construction came to a pause.  So I turned my focus again to the fund-raising activities of Light On.

In March this year, the petrol crisis finally ended and the hotel building resumed.  As I was busy leading “Light On Your Path Journey” in Nepal, I then invited architect friends from Hong Kong to do the interior and exterior design.  At the same time, I also invited like-minded Hong Kong people to invest in this social enterprise hotel project.

From the beginning, ENCH has always relied upon regular or irregular donations.  Three years ago, they started a workcamp project with a Hong Kong charity, but the profits were limited.  Also after the earthquake, the workcamp has been stopped for a year.

In order to support the children all the way to university, ENCH has to have a sustainable income source.  This is the reason why Hotel Love and Light comes in existence.

20% of Hotel Love and Light’s profits go to ENCH (there are 12 little angels) as operational and educational fund.  We believe, charities cannot only rely on traditional donations anymore, they have to find ways to self-sustain themselves. 

In such way, not only we can give more flexibility into ENCH’s operation, we can also let them to preserve their dignity.

The 12 little angels of ENCH.

Besides, “Hotel Love and Light” also put emphasis on employing disadvantaged Nepalese people and pay them a decent wage.  For example, the first cleaner employed by “Hotel Love and Light” is a single mom who escaped her violent husband with her 4 years old daughter. 

In addition, if the children in Edventure Nepal would like to learn more about tourism industry, this hotel will be a perfect stepping stone for them too.

In the middle of September, the installation of all the furniture and related stuff started.  In early October, I came to Pokhara and started to install all the other hard and software with Amrit.  From choosing cushion materials, buying plants, designing name cards, establishing a website, even about which food we shall provide on our menu etc. 

Installing solar panels on the rooftop.

Choosing flowers from the nursery.

Adding Dhal Bhat (curry vegetable and rice) into our menu.

“An unintended willow’s seed grows into a shade”: this willow tree is called “Hotel Love and Light” (hotelloveandlight.com).  This name originated from a volunteer workcamp I named, “Love and Light Action--to orphans in Nepal”.  This name also reflects our project goal: we hope to bring more love and light into this world.  We believe, we are all the embodiments of love and light.  As such, we all have the capacity to radiate love and light to people around us and to the world.

Hotel Love and Light ‘s cozy Cafe.

We believe, everyone is the embodiments of love and light.

Compared with other hotel in Pokhara, “Hotel Love and Light” social enterprise project would definitely be a piece of good news for visitors, as they can contribute to good causes by staying in this hotel.

Next time, if you come to Pokhara, the city at the foothill of the Himalayas, please visit us.  We also welcome you all to give us any valuable new ideas or potential cooperative opportunities, such as yoga and meditation or to volunteer as a chef in our cafe etc.  Our contact is info@hotelloveandlight.com

Last but not least, the fact that this hotel has come to existence is thanks to many people: the Aona architect team, Charles, Ricky and Yuisze.  Besides, there should be special thanks to Amrit brother-in-law, who acted as our driver, as well as the “porter” for every single day!  Last but not least, I am really grateful that Fiona helped us to collect stuff from Hong Kong, and she also carried the huge framed photos all the way to Nepal!

Nepal One Year On: The Light On Your Path Journey

Me and the local Nepalese volunteers undertaking school rebuilding work (By Hazel Chow)

(Article translated by Elaine Ng)

In February this year, our “Light On”  school rebuilding work finally started. In connection with this, the “Light On Your Path Journey”, in which international volunteers are led to do the rebuilding, also began officially.

The long delay was due to the coming of the rainy season shortly after the 7.8-magnitude huge earthquake in Nepal on 25 April last year, making the laying of foundation impossible. While we planned to start the rebuilding in September, the fuel crisis arose and last for half a year, leading to a surge in the costs of materials and transport.

In January this year, the school located in Gorkha (the epicentre) and which Light On had been planning to rebuild, suddenly received donations from other large international organizations. We therefore transferred the project to another school that was more in need – a secondary school in Lamjung.

This secondary school in Lamjung became a dangerous building after the earthquake (By Hazel Chow).

Meanwhile, the Light On Your Path Journey, taking place in February during the lunar new year, commenced at the same time as the rebuilding work. The first batch of volunteers helped to pull down the school damaged by the earthquake. They also mixed with the children, sharing happy times playing games. They helped the villagers weed the fields as well; and were lucky to have been able to take part in a wedding in the local village and experience Nepalese traditions.

Pulling down the dangerous building (By Hazel Chow).

Volunteers took a break and mixed with the children (By Hazel Chow).

During this time, Light On made an agreement with the school and the Village Development Committee to pay only for the “bricks”, while they will take care of the costs for labour and transport themselves. My many years of volunteering in Nepal has taught me that, “giving” may only create the opposite effect in terms of truly empowering the local people. The best way is to let them make use of their own abilities to obtain what they deserve to have, and to establish their sense of belonging, so that they will treasure what they get.

At first, both the school and the villagers expressed concerns. I understood that it was because they were used to being dependent. I was not worried but felt assured – I knew that they would come up with a solution.

Just as expected, our paying only for the “bricks” unleashed their potential. Not only did the villagers secured free big lorries to transport the materials, they also mobilized the villagers of the entire village to make time to be volunteers. In April, when we ran the second “Light On Your Path Journey”, the volunteers and the women of the village “hammered stones” together. Not only did the women not complain about the hard work, they enjoyed it and livened things up, mixing with the volunteers.

The Light On Your Path Journey

American volunteers “hammering stones” with the women.

Hong Kong volunteers using a shovel to flatten the rubble at the original site of the school.

Volunteers of “Light On Your Path Journey” and the local women volunteers.

“The Light On Your Path Journey” emphasized on personal internalization – we hope to make use of rebuilding Nepal and immersing in Nepalese lives to let participants attain real internal happiness.

I myself am a volunteer of “The Light On Your Path Journey” project, with no income, and sometimes even had to contribute. “Why do something for no money?” I do something wholeheartedly because just doing it makes me happy! And when I saw the smiling faces of the school children and villagers, and the exchange of love between the volunteers and the villagers, I deeply felt the values behind doing this.

(Remember to turn on the subtitle function in youtube to get the English subtitles)

Leeon, Volunteer of “The Light On Your Path Journey” in April, shared on Facebook:

“It rained in Nepal; tried wearing the specially made raincoat and it felt interesting. The weather changed quite a lot in the village, perhaps because of the high altitude. The rain was often heavy, and then it hailed, the hailstones hitting the bed in the middle of the night. According to the customs, if someone worked the day after hailing, the whole village would lose the god’s blessings. So, we could not return to the school for the rebuilding work the next day, but went to the villagers’ homes to plant corn.

I felt better and better in Lamjung. I really liked the villagers caring for each other here, and even the loud coughs of the man across at 5a.m. each morning. I also liked the sheep, the cows, the chickens, the dogs, the cats, the flies at lunchtime, the mosquitoes in the toilet of the house at noon, the trails, the horrifying shortcuts, the dim lights in the house, or even the nights without electricity, watching the stars at night in the village with everyone else – all these I liked.

Actually, when I came here to be a volunteer, I did not think of helping others, but believed that coming here would be eye-opening. I tried to have an open mind, and did not bring any presents (you all, on the other hand, became my dears). I did not have any particular expectations, and only thought of figuring out each step after having booked the flights. I had neither plans nor preparations, and it felt silly. There was a small accident on the way, and was a bit disappointed at myself, but I trusted that the difficulties made me learn to persevere. Luckily I got to know friends who always cared about child education and school rebuilding, and so I went to the village.

What I encountered today made me learn so much – I have learnt to appreciate, to encourage, to put aside my ego, and to regain love.”

What is “The Light On Your Path Journey” all about? Please watch this short video: