“Namaste” and “Hello” from some of the children who will take The Long Walk Home
So,summer holidays are almost over and autumn is blowing its way across the British countryside already. But I wonder if you already have plans for Christmas and New Year? (This is not a Christmas appeal!!). What will you be doing in the time between 21st December this year and 16 January 2015? How will you celebrate Christmas Day? With family and friends? On a holiday? With lots of food and sweets? And how will you bring in the New Year 2015? Take part in a city event with full fireworks display? Have a big party with friends or people who want to celebrate? For most of us I can guess we will, during some of that time at least, be with our closest family. Some of us may even take lengthy journeys to be there. Some of us may host ‘everybody at our house’ with all the work and fun that involves. Sounds great. Enjoy!
For the children of one orphans home in Nepal those are the dates set now for “The Long Walk Home” when some children who have lived in the city for more than 10 years will make a gruelling trek to visit their families and villages high up in the snowclad Himalaya Mountains. Here is the plan: 12 children, staff and support team, will take a microbus to the border with India and as soon as weather permits take a flight to the mountain edge airstrip high in the mountains. Four of the children will be met by relatives who will take them home for the holidays. The other 8 will trek for some days to their different valleys and villages, where they will be met by relatives and family friends. The children have lived in the city for economic, education and family reasons but our co-worker affirms that all are awaited with great expectation. For three consecutive years the trek had to be postponed because of insurmountable difficulties but this year everything is coming together in a very hopeful way.
Holiday treks to Nepal from the UK cost on average £2000 to £5000 for just one intrepid adventurer. Our coworkers have estimated that this trip, taking 12 children and the required support team will total £4000 – for everybody! Already £3000 has been raised, including fundraising efforts by PovertySwap friends, which leaves only £750 plus gift aid for us to reach our target. That doesn’t seem insurmountable when I expect the average spend for a family this Christmas will make that sum look fairly paltry!
Would you help us to get those kids over those final mountains and back? When I travelled in Nepal I was always met at my destination with wonderful welcome and hospitality. I can therefore easily imagine the delight of mums and dads, grandparents, siblings, aunts and uncles, indeed whole villages as news gets around that their son, their daughter is so close to home. I imagine a lot of laughter and tears.
Donations marked “Long Walk” can be made by bank transfer to the PovertySwap account Sort Code 77-56-09 Account No 1570678, or click on our website donate button, or by cheque to 7 Belle Vue, Cockermouth CA13 0NT. Donations can be gift aided for those eligible. As always 100% of your donation will go directly to the specified use for this project: Transport Costs, Clothing,Food and Medicine en route, Team Support Costs (like porters) and whatever it takes to help those children get home. Thank you so much.
