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Alison and Rowena’s Himalayan Trek to Annapurna Base Camp (ABC) at 13,500ft

WE DID IT!

Rowena and I are now back from our trek in Nepal and are pleased to say we successfully made it to ABC but it was hard! The day we reached ABC we walked for 8 hours starting at 4.00am but our reward was a magnificent sunrise over the Annapurna range.

Despite the fact that ABC is 13,500ft and we started at about 3,500ft we worked out with our guide that we actually climbed 22,000ft up and 13,700ft down. This was tough on the knees and hips and for me breathing when going uphill at over 3500m was tricky. It was definitely the most challenging walk I’ve ever done, not least because it was nine and half consecutive days hard graft averaging 6 hours walking a day. However there was a great sense of achievement and we are glad we did it.

A huge thank you to our generous relatives and friends as we have almost reached our joint fundraising target of £3,000.00 and as promised we toasted you at ABC with a mug of hot chocolate at 6.30am on November 23. We really appreciate your contribution towards helping Sangita and Gandira and, having now met them, we know how much this funding will mean to them.

Before we started the trek we visited the two girls in their homes and it was humbling to see their living conditions; Sangita lives with her family of 5 in 2 small rooms up a hillside near Pokhara with no mod cons but is the most delightful girl who I am sure will make the most of her Nursing course in Kathmandu. The 2 cows tethered beside the kitchen door provide a small income from their milk which, together with her father’s wage as an unskilled labourer and her mother’s income from domestic work, ensure the children are adequately fed and clothed.

Gandira and her family support themselves in a meagre roadside snack shack in Pokhara and it was good to hear how keen she is to become a Civil Engineer. She passed a very competitive exam and has been offered a place at Pokhara University where she will start her course this month. Both families are obviously proud of their clever daughters and I am sure will continue to encourage them in their studies. Row and I are so pleased to know that with the aid of our sponsors we have helped these two young girls to begin their path to a professional career and a better life.

Thank you very much for your faith in us and for being willing to support this good cause.

For anyone who was intending to make a donation but not yet got round to it ……...our Just Giving pages will be open for a few more days and we are still about 15% short of our joint target - press Control and click on   http://www.justgiving.com/Alison-Sykes3

Best wishes,

Ali & Row

 

Namaste! This is asking you to support us help some teenage girls in Nepal……please read on

Earlier this year Alison witnessed at first hand the real poverty of some of the Fishtail Fund students in Pokhara, Nepal; a family of 6 living in a single small rented room without their own water tap or toilet, a disabled widowed mother with no income or financial support existing with her twin daughters in an open tin shelter and a girl with a broken leg which had healed twisted owing to no funds for an operation. All very disadvantaged young people. 

www.fishtailfund.com was set up by Alison’s partner David and colleagues in the Rotary Club of Dronfield together with the Rotary Club of Pokhara Fishtail in Nepal 4 years ago with the aim of supporting clever and hardworking but very poor youngsters to stay in school until 16 or 18 to improve their prospects. Many of these kids have to leave school around 11/12 years old as their families need them to find work to put food on the table.

The first of these 50 students have now reached the end of school and there are two girls who are keen to go on to Higher Education. As in all countries, these courses are relatively expensive and without external funding there is no way the girls could hope to realise their ambitions and contribute to their country. Both girls have been offered places on 3 or 4 year courses and their individual Fishtail Fund UK sponsors have agreed to pay their course fees for at least the first year, which is a big commitment.In addition the girls will seek part-time jobs.

Gandira is a very hard working 18 year old girl with school attendance of 94% despite the fact that she also works in the family teahouse shack. She is keen to do a degree in Engineering which for someone of her caste, let alone a girl, is almost unheard of. Her parents would love to help her but it is impossible with their low earning power.

Sangita is 17 years old and she is desperate to become a nurse and put something back into her community. Her father works away in India, her brother had to leave school at 14 to earn money and her mother is a domestic servant for other people. Her family are very supportive but cannot afford the payments on a high interest loan.   

On November 14th mum Alison and daughter Rowena are setting off to do a 10 day trek in Nepal to Annapurna Base Camp which is over 4 times the height of Scafell Pike! This will be quite challenging physically as neither of us is used to long distance walking nor the altitude. However, we are both putting in ‘boot camp’ training and are determined to succeed. We have decided to use this personal challenge to try and raise £3,000 to help Gandira and Sangita who, apart from their course fees, will need money for textbooks, travel, hostel accommodation and living expenses away from home for the duration of their courses. To kick start this David and Ali are both donating their 2013 ‘oldies’ Winter Fuel Allowance payment.

We are particularly pleased that we are supporting two girls to become professionals as women in Nepal generally have a raw deal, rarely having education beyond primary school. The brightest are often to be found doing hard manual work on building sites, on the roads or in the fields, in addition to raising a family and running a home. 

If you would like to support us to help Gandira and Sangita - the cost to you of a bottle of wine or a modest  Take Away meal would buy the girls several meals or some study resources - please click the Just Giving link above. All the money raised will go to the girls as the Fishtail Fund Trustees have agreed to pay the bank transfer charges out of their General Fund and the funds to the girls will be managed by them on a termly basis. We shall of course pay all our own travel and trek expenses and will let you know you how we fared on our return.

We know how grateful these girls will be for any help you can give.

Nelson Mandela:
Education is the most powerful weapon that can be used to change the world: 

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