Nepal, I (Really Do) Love You
Hope Amongst the Rubble
I am a fairly service-oriented person. I make dinner for sick friends, I help people move out of apartments into new houses and I always return my cart at Costco. But, one thing I did not think I would ever consider was a humanitarian trip (I’m not the camping type). That is, until my husband, Mark, pitched the idea to me. During our decision process we determined that there is no better time than now. We were going to do it! We selected Nepal as our destination because of its diverse and (let’s face it) exotic location. Two companies would lead our expedition: doTERRA, a local essential oil and wellness company, and Choice Humanitarian, a non-governmental organization that connects resources with motivated villages.
While I was preparing for our trip, Struck happened to be collaborating on a pro-bono campaign with the production company Camp4 Collective. The project, Nepal, I Love You, is a social campaign that promotes tourism back to Nepal, following the catastrophic earthquake in 2015.
For the project, I designed the brand influencer pitch kits that were sent to celebs like Jake Gyllenhaal, Jared Leto and Josh Brolin (influencers who had expressed love for Nepal). Note: I would be lying if I said I didn’t kiss Jake’s pitch kit before sending it off (sorry, Mark!).
I thought working on the campaign had adequately prepared me for our visit; after all, I spent hours searching for stock photography. During my research I found photos of gorgeous snowy Himalayan Mountains and colorful prayer flags marking sacred spaces. Try it for yourself: use Google to search “Nepal” and you’ll see similar images. The earthquake occurred exactly one year prior to our visit so I was optimistic the country had bounced back.
This attitude quickly dissipated after landing in Kathmandu. It was hard to tell the difference between earthquake damage and poverty — the chaos was staggering. The air was too polluted to see the Himalayan Mountains. The prayer flags were now buried amongst the rubble.
We started the hellish ten-hour bus ride to the village we would be staying in the next morning. The bus stopped a mile before the location of the new school that we were scheduled to finish. As we started the ascent to the site, the villagers came and stood alongside our path, filling our hands with petals and circling our necks with leis. When I say villagers, I really do mean the whole village. I imagined that this was what veterans felt like returning home from war. Each person bowed (a gesture representing the belief that there is a divine soul within each of us) and whispered Namaste (literally, “I bow to you”).
The feeling was overwhelming. I found myself in tears. I had finally experienced the beauty of Nepal: its people. They’re genuine, authentic, curious and couldn’t get over my 6’ 6” husband (I heard about it everyday).
Our time in the village consisted of cold bucket showers and holes in the ground passing as toilets (the term squatty potty means something different to you than it now does to me). We ate curry for breakfast, lunch and dinner (in 95-degree weather). Before the trip these things would have been inconveniences, but now I appreciate them. They helped me gain empathy for the Nepalese people.
We taught children how to throw Frisbees and instructed girls about their menstrual cycle (thanks, Days for Girls!). It is humbling when you teach a thirty-year-old female teacher about her period and, for the first time, she’s relieved to hear it’s the norm. The village came to help us sand, prime and paint the school we were working on. They wanted to be involved and were anxious to learn. It was extraordinary to see how motivated the village was to break the cycle of poverty, all on its own.
Communities in Nepal have had to rely on themselves for just about everything, especially after the earthquake. And yet, while the poverty in Nepal is overwhelming, so is the country’s beauty. Our time in the village ended with a five hour school dedication ceremony (you think I’m exaggerating), most of which was in Nepali. The last speaker translated his speech for the aid workers. He joked about how Nepalis celebrate for hours on end, whereas Americans top off at two hours. He also noted (more seriously) that the Nepali people have little to celebrate. So when they do find a reason, it’s something special.
During this ceremony, it dawned on me — the villagers and visitors were all working towards one goal: improving the lives of one another. After all, it takes a village.
Kirsten Rodgers is a designer at Struck. She loves snail mail and to do lists. And baking (her chocolate chip coconut cookies are out of this world). You can find her on Instagram, LinkedIn and at kirstenrodgers.com.
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