The main motivation for embarking on this journey is to look at getting involved again with rural communities in Nepal. I want to see if there is a way I can help the people help themselves to a better life.
One of the main ways I believe this can happen is to focus on education. According to the most recent Nepal Living Standards Survey (NLSS-III 2010-2011), Nepal has an adult literacy rate of 56.6 per cent, with a huge variation between males and females. The literacy rate in Nepal is 71.6 per cent for men and 44.5 per cent for women. This contrasts sharply with the developed world where a literacy rate of nearer 100% is the expected norm.
Although Nepal is one of the poorest countries in the world, with about 25% of the population living below the international poverty line of $1.25 a day, there is considerable potential for tourism and hospitality. In fact, according to a World Bank report released in 2011, over 600,000 international tourists visited Nepal in 2010. Having a better education, with a good understanding of English could, I believe, enable the people to tap into this resource and successfully find their way out of poverty.
I won’t be easy, but this is the area that I plan to focus on going forward and hopefully support through volunteering and fundraising. My aim is to spend time during this trip identifying how best to make this happen.