Every year we have a bunch of highly energetic, volunteer team coming to Nepal from University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia to work on rebuilding projects, teaching students of Bhairabi Primary School at Ratmate, Gorkha and many more. It is an absolute delight for both Ace team and Sambhav Nepal team (the local NGO that Ace has been supporting since 2008) for their generous approach and their positivity towards the development in the rural areas.
They have been coming to Nepal through Ace to help and share the work being done by Sambhav Nepal voluntarily at various villages of Gorkha district since the year 2011. They mainly prioritize in teaching the children subjects like Mathematics, English, and Science in the schools and also play outdoor games, help the local communities in their day to day lives, help the locals in rebuilding homes and many more.
So, what is Passports with Purpose?
Passports with Purpose is a name given to the Volunteer program by the students of University of New South Wales of Australia since the year 2018. Previously the program was termed as UNSW Global Village Team. The team works with the theme “Think Global. Act Local”.
Every semester, the Passports with Purpose program offers the students to travel to the remote areas and the disadvantaged communities of various developing countries, one of which is Nepal. The students reach out to the needy people with a helping hand, get in touch with the communities, teach in local schools and many more.
The program gives an opportunity to both the volunteers and the local communities to inter connect with each other, learn the culture and learn the way of lives. The children at Schools get to learn new things from the volunteers. The team of volunteers also get to grab the local lifestyle, the eateries, the culture, traditions, the landscapes etc. of the countries they visit.
The team also works in communities of India, Vanuatu, Sri Lanka, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, Fiji, and beyond. They work in a wide range of fields including education, construction, re-forestation, healthcare, gender empowerment, social justice, sustainable agriculture etc.
Whilst the focus of the trip is on the volunteering, the team also utilizes their time for fun and enjoyment. They make sure to spend quality time with the locals, absorbing the culture, take the opportunity to travel and experience the famous sites of the country they visit.
One of the team member in the program of 2018 said “while living in Australia, we were not aware about the struggles that people go through in the other part of the world. We were prone to complaining about the minor things every day. Looking at the people from villages of Nepal, we got to learn things that we would have never learnt otherwise.
They were happy in whatever little they had. They were excited and thankful with whatever little they got. This is a lesson for all of us who came here”. According to them, this was a once in a lifetime opportunity and the experience they gained shall provide them space for personal, social and mental growth.
Here are few photographs of the programs completed by the team since the year 2011 till 2018.
The volunteer team did not come in the year 2015 due to the massive earthquake in Nepal.
Ace the Himalaya since the day it was established has worked for the betterment of the rural areas in Gorkha district. Sambhav Nepal was born as soon as Ace took a pace in the business back in the year 2008. The team believed in uplifting the society that are underprivileged, help the children get their basic needs such as education and health, provide healthy drinking water to the communities and many more.
We believe it is necessary to give back to the community which is why our projects focus mainly on enriching lives and bringing positive changes in rural communities. As the saying “the more you give, the more you receive” prevails, this is also a call for all those generous individuals willing to help and boost the living conditions of the people living in the rural areas of Gorkha district.
