My first trip to Nepal was during my gap year in 2010, where I was volunteering for 3 months to build an extension to a school in a village called Lamatar. It didn’t take long for me to fall in love with the place or the people!

I stayed with a wonderful family for the duration of this project, with whom I’m still in touch with today. It was devastating to learn they had lost everything during the 2015 earthquakes, and I knew the only way they would recover from this is if I made it happen.

That same year, I needed emergency medical attention whilst in Nepal and the locals moved heaven and earth to get me to hospital. Bearing in mind the post disaster context, there was also a border blockade and a fuel crisis, I didn’t think I was going to make it. Well, thankfully I did, and then it was my time to return the favour…

With support from the contacts I had previously made in Nepal, and passionate fundraising efforts, the Ghimire family soon had a home again!

After such a successful trip, the reality was that there was so much more work to be done as many were still suffering. Involve Nepal was born.