Hope for the Hinterlands of Nepal

Namaste. My name is Vipin Sangwan.

At 24 years old, I became the first person in my family to step onto Nepalese soil in January 2021. For the next two and a half years, I walked. I walked and walked, and today I can say that I have been to every corner of this beautiful, stressed, and complicated country. I have visited 77 districts and 293 municipalities, been to the Base Camp of every Mountain above 5000 meters, walked beside every river, seen every National Park & Conservation Area, and visited every place of significance from tourist hotspots to markets to monuments. Most importantly, though, I have spent true time with every community in Nepal.

My heart is overflowing with all of the memories and feelings. I wake up and sleep with them.

Over time, I lost nearly 20kg of weight and walked through six pairs of shoes and boots!

I used to mark the places on a map, which I always carry with me. Now it looks like this :)

During my travels, I saw the condition of mountain villages, and the families and girls residing in the remotest sections of the government-forsaken Himalayas. I felt that I had no option but to try to do something for them. At this point, Dr. Lauren Biermann came into my life to help with administration and resourcing, and she is the reason so many girls and families across the Himalayas are going to bed with a smile on their faces.

Together, Lauren and I created this Gofundme page in July 2021, in the earlier days of the pandemic when the world was fighting Covid and back-to-back lockdowns. Thanks to supporters who shared what they could spare, I was able to reach out to hundreds of destitute families and help them in various ways with:

- Food supplies for elderly and vulnerable people (Flour, Rice, Oil, Salt, etc)

- Online education Materials for the girls (Mobile Phones, Tablets, Stationery Items)

- School Fees

- Financial Support

- Medical expenses

Nepal is one of the poorest countries in the world and Climate Change is making things so much harder, especially for girls and women in the Himalayas. In particular, CHILD-MARRIAGE is still prevalent and on the rise in the mountains. The link to girls dropping out of school and entering child marriage as their perceived "only option" is a direct one, and we offered hope of a different life through continued education.

From January 2022 to March 2023, I reached and delivered hope and L.C.D Writing Tablets to more than 1000 school girls in 45+ remote villages, situated in 13+ mountain schools, spread across more than 10 districts of Nepal (Dolakha, Khotang, Taplejung, Siraha, Banke, Bardiya, Kalikot, Bajhang, Mugu, Humla & Bajura).

Please don't take this 1000 as just a "Number". Behind every figure, there is a young girl with dreams, her family's aspirations, and the region's hope for a better and prosperous future.

My future plans:

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As I have been to every section of Nepal, I have insights and lived experience on which areas need the most attention. I know what needs to be done to save families from starvation, and girls from child marriage.

1. Speed

I am making use of my learned experiences around logistics, resourcing, and transport to be more efficient. I'll try to reach around 500 girls every month to provide warm school clothes including socks and shoes, and basic school essentials including a backpack, notebooks, and all the stationery items. In the areas where I will be providing for the girls, I'll request the local communities to collect the funds for the boys, then I will manage the rest for them (visiting the factory, making the orders, packing sacks, and transporting everything to the schools).

2. Advanced Stoves

The use of traditional energy sources such as indoor wood fires causes poor quality air in the home and exacerbates health problems. From my personal experiences, I have seen that almost all rural households use traditional biomass cookstoves that are inefficient and generate a lot of smoke. Even in the developed world, we know that reduced indoor air quality on less intense scales from closed wood burners and gas-fired stoves can lead to stroke, ischemic heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, pneumonia, bronchitis, and even lung cancer.

I tried to look for a solution, which took time. Eventually, I found this amazing stove. It weighs only 15 Kilograms (easy to carry) and doesn't have any electrical components, making it a viable and realistic alternative for remote settlements.

To test its credibility, around 6 months ago I successfully sent one stove to a family situated in Solukhumbu District. It has changed their lives completely. Compared with their former (traditional) indoor biomass cookstove, this alternative uses 70-75% less wood and emits almost no smoke. At the same time, it provides a strong flame and more than halves cooking time. It is also safe and easy to handle or move, the compartments inside it work as a secondary heater for other foodstuffs, and the emitted heat serves to warm the home itself.

I am planning to provide this to around 100 destitute mountain families every month. Until I can find a local source, I am importing it from Rajasthan, India. I am very hopeful that soon I will find experts who can make it inside Nepal to save on time, transportation costs, and customs duty.

This will also decrease deforestation and the children can focus more on their studies as they don't have to go for collection of firewood as frequently as before.

3. Flour-Making Machines

I will try to keep on distributing these life-saving machines to as many families as possible.

I understand they are costly, and there is no option but to import them. Still, I will try my best to show the mountain people "what can save their lives" and I am very much hopeful that the people returning from India and other countries will bring these machines in as a priority.

4. Hiring Teachers

There is an urgent need to put teachers who love to teach in classrooms across the Himalayas. Teachers who chose the profession as their calling; knowing that teaching really matters. I am planning to hire some young people who are full of energy and enthusiasm, The Nepalese government pays their employees every 3 months, which adds to debt and uncertainty. We will pay our teachers every 2 weeks. If possible, I would also like to try to install interactive panels and electric voltage stabilizers in the schools that have solar panels. Along with that, I will provide one mobile phone and a tripod stand to each teacher, so they can record and share daily videos of their teaching.

5. School Renovations

I will try to refurnish and rebuild as many schools as possible in Far West Nepal, so that children can stay safe in the care of their teachers.

6. Carpets and Utensils (Plates & Spoons)

This is the most cost-friendly and efficient way to attract students to the school. I will endeavour to distribute and implement this system in various schools across the hinterlands

7. Vital supplies

I will keep on sending parcels containing vital and educational supplies across Nepal to all the destitute families that we helped earlier. I will also keep adding more families to this list, no matter how remotely they are situated.

So far I have worked extensively with the communities of Kalikot and Bajura districts, now slowly and steadily I am planning to expand my work in the nearby Humla, Mugu, and Dailekh districts.

My deepest gratitude to each and every kind soul who supports our efforts and dreams of a better future, where education helps to end child marriage and grinding cycles of poverty. You all are walking with me, from village to village, mountain to mountain.

Namaste (＾◡＾)っ♡