Other highlights of their time in Kathmandu included visits to the Boudha Stupa, one of the holiest sites in Tibetan Buddhism, and the Swayambhunath, a stupa nicknamed the “Monkey Temple” due to the presence of plentiful primates, and another international school, the Lincoln School, where Ms. Coolidge, one of the teachers on the EDGE trip, previously taught.

 

The real challenge of the trip was the trek to Pemba’s home village of Nar. Said to be the highest village in Nepal, Nar is perched at a lofty 4,280m (14,042 feet) above sea level. It took nearly five days to get there from Kathmandu: a day and a half of driving and three days of trekking. During the trek, the group stayed at teahouses, basic lodges that offer accommodations and meals. They gained elevation slowly to allow for acclimatization and checked in with each other constantly, but were still “absolutely winded” when they got there.

 

Nar is a 17th Century village consisting largely of stone houses and inhabited by subsistence farmers – about 65 families year-round, and up to 100 in the summer when some return from lower elevations where their animals have been grazing over the winter. Pemba’s family and members of the village met the group with a beautiful welcome, and the Shawnigan students hosted a feast for the entire village. In order to let everyone know about the feast, they had the loudest person in the village stand on a rooftop and announce it. The students had to buy the food in Kathmandu, along with some basic first aid kits that they distributed to the villagers, and hired about a dozen donkeys to transport it to Nar.

 

“Providing food to the villagers gave them a bit of reprieve from their chores and allowed them to spend time together, celebrating, singing and dancing,” said Ms. Coolidge. “It had been years since they had been able to do something like that. The moment when the head of the village thanked Pemba and the team and said it was an honour to have a daughter of the village give back to the community was so beautiful.”

                                                                                     

“I felt very proud of what we accomplished,” Pemba reflected. “Seeing the villagers happy and proud meant a lot to me. As someone from Nar, it made me especially happy to do something meaningful for my own village.”

 

During their time in Nar, Markellan K. and Solly J. interviewed villagers for a documentary they are working on about young people going to Kathmandu to get an education and not returning to their villages, and the conflicting feelings their parents have about wanting the best for their children while at the same time wondering what will happen to the community.

 

After four days in Nar, it took the group four days to get back to Kathmandu, benefitting both from going downhill and also being acclimatized to the altitude. During the time they spent trekking to and from Nar, and their time in the village, the students also benefitted from being disconnected, there being no wi-fi on the trails and in Nar, although it took some getting used to. “The big joy of the day was when you won at cards,” Ms. Coolidge laughed.

 

In the end, all the students – and teachers – went through a transformative experience, not only seeing places they hadn’t seen before, but engaging with the people there in unique ways.

 

“The EDGE program provides a real opportunity for growth,” Ms. Coolidge said. “Each of the six grew in their own way, and they reflected on what’s shifted in each of them.”