Scotch College

Community service ...
... and philanthropy in Nepal

On Monday the 28th of December the Scotch College Nepal '99 Expedition flew out of Tullamarine airport bound for Nepal.

Our group consisted of forty-seven students, five fathers, Drs Costello, Cullen, Rome, Tibballs and Walpole, seven staff, Mr Davenport, Mr Janse van Vuuren (second in charge), Ms. Leong, Mr. Mason, Mr. Muller (teacher in charge), Ms. Scarff and Mr. Runting and World Expeditions tour leader Ian Williams. Once in Kathmandu, we headed into Thamel, the tourist area of downtown Kathmandu.

Kathmandu is genuinely third world. Some parts look as if an earthquake has recently hit and the community is trying to rebuild. The city itself is an incredible culture shock. From the clamour of porters at the airport, all wanting to carry our luggage and the street side vendors, selling everything from 'fresh' cauliflower to cigarettes, to the mobile hawkers, following us for blocks, trying to sell Tiger Balm, the city verges on chaotic. There are shops that look as if they have been there for a thousand years. The doors are barely five feet high and the streets look to be rising up to engulf them and there are thousand year old temples in the middle of the hustle and bustle.

The endless people on bikes, in bicycle rickshaws, cars, busses and trucks just keep streaming through the streets, alley ways and squares, spending most of their time on the roads and some of it on the footpaths.

Donation of $US 1000

After an early rise, 4:45 AM, the next day we flew to Phaphlu in the foothills of Mount Everest, had lunch and made the first of our donations of US $1000 to the local hospital, which sees up to 160 people per day, all for the princely sum of a ten cent registration feel. We then headed off on a hike to Junbesi, the site of our 'trust work'.

We stayed in Junbesi, at an altitude of 2363 m, for three nights and we acclimatised whilst completing our Himalayan Trust work at the local school. The school has approximately 300 students enrolled, some of whom walk or jog for up to one and a half hours to and from school each day.

The boys sanded, painted and varnished the school, both inside and out. All the sandpaper, paint brushes and paint was paid for with money raised at the Nepal Dinner. When the boys finished we were guests of honour at a special ceremony, where the President of the School Council and presented us with prayer/good-luck scarves and served milky tea and biscuits. The boys responded by letting forth with the Scotch war cry and haka.

The next six days were spent walking, talking, eating, reading, playing cards and sleeping. The boys soon appreciated the incredible job the sherpas do. They carried loads of between fifty and one hundred kilograms (up to twice their bodyweight) along the same steep, winding and sometimes slippery paths, all for less than two dollars per day. As I noted in my diary, 'it is so demoralising to think you are fit, and having spent a considerable amount of money on the right gear and expensive boots, you get passed by a fifteen year old porter wearing sneakers'. We were able to repay them with generous tips of money and extra clothing, at the end of our trek, as well as some medical assistance from our trusty doctors, along the way.

A major stop along the way was Namche Bazaar. 'Namche' is at 3440 metres and is the traditional trading centre of the region. It is the meeting point of the lowland and highland peoples. The trek up to Namche is via a pretty tough 'hill'. How tough? Try walking steeply uphill (six hundred metres vertically) for between one and a half and two hours, non-stop, with your heart rate anywhere between 130 and 160 beats per minute covering a total of, at most, five kilometres, and you are getting the picture of what it is like.

Later that afternoon, standing on a small hill behind our campsite, we were rewarded for all our hard work with a spectacular view of Mount Everest changing colour as we watched the setting sun along the valley which we had just spent days hiking up.

We stayed in Namche for two nights to acclimatise and then walked up to the 'ceiling' of our trek, Thyangboche Monastery. It is at 3870 metres and is the religious centre of the Sohlu Khumbu Region. We were lucky enough to time our night at the monastery with a brilliant sunset, followed by our first snow. After a visit to the monastery we set out for Namche. It was the coldest day we had on trek and it began snowing that afternoon.

Our second donation

On the way back we detoured via the Khunde Hospital and made our second donation, this time US $2000, which would be used to buy quality western medical supplies. This is the largest hospital in the whole Everest region and is run by volunteer western doctors recruited through the Himalayan Trust. 'Locals' will walk or be carried for days to get medical attention at the hospital.

After three more days of trekking we arrived in Lukla and caught a plane out to Kathmandu the next day and back to a warm room and a soft bed. Two nights and one day in Kathmandu, full of sight seeing, visiting a number of significant temples and religious sites, and shopping and then it was off to the Chitwan National Park.

Although only one hundred and fifty kilometres from Kathmandu, the drive took six hours to the Jungle Lodges. Most vehicles stay on the correct side of the road, although any part of the bitumen is fair game. We spent three days in the Lodges, going on walks, canoe and elephant rides. We saw wild pigs, deer, monkeys and plenty of bird life, but unfortunately no rhinoceros. Then it was back to Kathmandu.

The next morning we flew out of Kathmandu and headed for Melbourne, where we were warmly greeted with hugs and the odd tear.

In the weeks that followed, as the boys, dads and staff were settling back into life as usual, I'm sure they reflected as they took a hot shower, drank water straight from the tap, slept in their own comfortable bed or sat around the meal table talking to the rest of their family, on how fortunate we are in Australia. The Nepal expedition is one of those rare occurrences in life when you realise the vast number of opportunities available to us. We will continue to benefit from the experience for the rest of our lives.

Mr Andy Muller

Great Scot
June 1999

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