Giving

My heart work is often integrally entwined with the country of Nepal and its people. I have found my projects in Nepal to be the most gratifying, fulfilling and rewarding work I have ever done. I often lead or organize events that raise funds for my non-profit work. I love utilizing my skills, from photography, writing and graphic design, to teaching, outdoor experience, and back country skills throughout the volunteer projects I undertake.

I am currently working to organize a small land owner in the tropical south of Nepal, as they build housing for temporary teachers. Funding in that area is so thin that there aren’t enough teachers to attend to the students. The government will not increase funding, so the local community, including this land owner is working to make a space for volunteer teachers to stay while they teach. If you would like to know more, or donate to this cause, please contact me.

IN 2016 I worked with the Northwest Sherpa Association to raise funds to send to Earthquake recipients. I organized and orchestrated a silent auction, and screening of the movie SHERPA, where I also served as MC, and translated between the Western guests and Sherpa guides who had been on Mt Everest during the earthquake. The event was a success and raised over $5000 for the NW Sherpa association.

In 2015, after a 7.8 earthquake hit Nepal, almost 9000 people were killed, and over 22,000 injured. Homes and buildings were destroyed and the aftershocks were felt for months afterwards, leaving many people to sleep outside, for fear of the next aftershock crumbling their home. I organized a supply of tents and tarps to be sent over to to Nepal, to aid people who needed it. We sent 10 tents and 20 tarps through 7 Summits Foundation, and they reached the people in high villages who had not been met with aid before 7 Summits arrived.

In 2014 I assisted two local photojournalists on their own projects. One was a human trafficking film called Leaving the Life, by Tim Matsui. I took an administrative and event planning role for the first first screening of his film in his home town, Seattle. I also worked in an administrative capacity for Peter DiCampo through The Everyday Projects, as they transitioned from small idea into a non-profit company.

In 2013 I traveled to a remote village in the foothills of the Himalayas and spent a week installing new infrastructure for their only school. Over 400 students and 20 teachers welcomed us. We taught the teachers how to use laptops, which was novel, since the village only has power for 110 homes and the school, and they only received it 2 years before we visited. I loaded 10 Kindle readers with 90 books each for the kids to read. Then we led the oldest kids through a trash cleanup program. It’s a challenge when there are no roads, no public trash cans, and no trash removal service. They were so gracious and thankful for our work there.

Also in 2013, I traveled with Nepal’s Minister of Education to a school site in Chitwah, a rural, tropical region in the south of the country, to help them negotiate adding classrooms onto a building that was only partially completed. The school was overflowing even including the classrooms that had been slated. Our goal was to double the rooms by adding a story to the building. Through our involvement with the local community and the negotiation process and site visits, we were able to agree on and raise the funds to complete the second level of the school.

And it all started off in 2011 when I was selected as the photojournalist on a NGO environmental awareness campaign along the Everest Highway with a famous Sherpa climber. I was embedded with a Nepali team as we trekked to Everest Base Camp and held high-elevation music concerts all the way down to Kathmandu. These events gathered large local groups of villagers, to raise awareness about glaciers melting in the Himalayas. I captured the event in over 10,000 photos and videos, and a 300-page memoir.

I am always looking for the next opportunity to immerse myself in the culture and give again.