Harvey Scholar Travels- Grace in Nepal

Grace- Nepal 2013

I spent nine days in Nepal with the Invictus Initiative, an organization that focuses on sustainable projects based on building relationships with locals. Our team was a mixture of Mines and DU students.

 The original plan was to spend only a few days trekking in the Himalayas and reconnecting with the trail building project that Invictus began in 2011. However, the clouds rolled in and we ended up waiting out a storm the likes of which, according to the locals, hadn’t been seen for 17 years!

The storm didn’t stop us from experiencing many of the wonders of the Himalayas. Between the clouds we caught a glimpse of the tallest mountain in the world.  We shared in the local culture, and at every turn we were greeted with the kindness and hospitality of the Sherpa people.

When at last the clouds cleared enough to allow the helicopters to land, we returned to Kathmandu, and the next day we traveled several hours by bus to the school in rural Nepal that had been the original focus of our trip.

We helped with painting and other renovations. We played with the kids at the school—apparently patty cake and the Macarena transcend language barriers. We toured homes and visited drinking water sources. Standard of living for even the most prominent members of the community is fathoms below anything I had ever seen before.

Even though this trip didn’t go in the direction any of us anticipated, I am extremely grateful for the opportunity to travel, experience vastly different cultures and do my best to help people. This trip has fanned my desire not only to see the world, but more importantly to be an agent of positive change.