A sincere thank you to all the students, families and staff who supported the Walk Everest in a Day Fundraiser on Sunday 23 October in Belair National Park. Over 100 walkers joined in – despite the pouring rain – to raise funds for the Bhadaure Medical Clinic and the fit out of the Junbesi Library. Many smiles were witnessed as individuals and groups crossed the finish line to the ‘summit’. Thank you to the Year 9 Amaryllis girls for their assistance with advertising the event in our community and for doing a brilliant job at creating signage of mountain heights, which people passed throughout the walk.

Reconnaissance Trip to Nepal

On Wednesday 12 October, I had great pleasure in presenting the ‘Judy Dyson Scholarship’ to Anita B.K. at a ceremony in Bhadaure. Anita B.K is in Year 12 at Bahadure School, and this scholarship will pay for her tuition so that she can complete her Year 12 studies. She hopes to continue studying Medicine at university in Pokhara.

Judy Dyson was Head of Upper School at Wilderness for a number of years, and her family were keen to continue Judy’s support for education of young women; she was instrumental in setting up our connection to Bhadaure.

The ‘programme’ celebrated the close relationship Wilderness School – and the wider Wilderness community through WIN (Wilderness in Nepal) Ltd – has built over the years, since students first met the members of the Bhadaure community on the first trek in 1998.

I was able to open the new ‘Wilderness Bhadaure Medical Health Post’ and meet the Health Assistant, Dr Chewang Sherpa. The fundraising events that students organise and participate in raise the funds to pay the salary of Dr Chewang, as well as the salaries for Year 11 and 12 teachers (the school only receives funding for teachers up to Year 10).

I was also able to meet the students at the Wilderness Bahadure Boarding School. Three of them are orphans, while another walked three days from her village in Ghandruk to board, as the school in her village has closed. She wants to be a scientist, so I was very keen to meet her.

The world is opening up again after COVID-19, and this was a ‘testing of the water’ for when we can resume school trips to Nepal. It is still a real disappointment to the 65 girls who were planning to visit the Bahadure School and to trek in the beautiful Annapurna range of Nepal, but from my observations, Nepal is ready and safe to receive visitors again. I will be organising a four-day WIN medical clinic at Bhadaure in the first week of the October school holidays in 2023, with the option before and after to trek or take advantage of different tours that Keep Walking Nepal can make happen. Please contact me if you are interested in attending the clinic, either as medical personnel or as a helper. You can visit the Wilderness in Nepal website as well as the Keep Walking Nepal website.

Dr Sally Nobbs, OAM
Wilderness in Nepal Chairperson