Charity trek to Everest Base Camp

Hello friends Elicia here,

As some of you may know, I am planning to trek to Everest base camp in April 2015. There is a reason for this. Other than it being on my bucket list, I am fundraising to assist in building an orphanage for children in Nepal.

This trek will take 16 days, taking me to an altitude of 5160m above sea level. It will be extremely arduous and taxing on my body and mind. The risk of altitude sickness and other ailments is very real and likely. But I’m putting all that aside to do something for those in need.

Many of you may not know Nepal is one of the poorest countries in Asia.

Here are just a few facts:

• Nepal has a population of 27.8 million people with approx. 42% living below the international poverty line, earning less than $1.25USD per day.
• The average life expectancy is approx. 59yo.
• Nepal spends approx. $68 per person per year on healthcare
• There are almost 1 million orphans in Nepal or 3.6% of the population that are orphaned from violence, landslides, floods and poverty.

I couldn’t imagine earning that little and trying to survive. That’s not even the cost of a cup of coffee. In Australia we are very fortunate to have access to great health care. I know as I work to provide people with this access.

This might not mean much to you as you sleep in your warm and cozy bed and have a roof over your head, but to an orphan this is everything. This home will provide safety and comfort to those children going without the basic necessities of life that we often take for granted.

I really dislike the use of the hash tag #firstworldproblems. For example ‘I want to turn off the lights but the bed is too comfortable’. Well what you probably don’t know is that Nepal goes without electricity for about 12hours a day and many children have no beds to sleep in. This is not a problem for first world its luxury we take for granted, electricity, clean running water and a bed to sleep in.

While on my trek I will experience all these things, no electricity, no clean water. I will be reliant on iodine tablets to sanitize my water in the hope I don’t get sick. I probably will not be able to shower every day, I won’t be able to charge my phone or use a flushing toilet. All these basic things I am use to. I will definitely be going outside my comfort zone. The whole shower thing will suck, I will have to stock up on wet ones. But I am only living this for 16 days. Children in Nepal experience this for a lifetime.

So what I am asking of you is to donate money to help build a children’s home and give some of the children in Nepal a brighter future.

Whether you donate $1 or more. The amount does not matter. You can even donate for every metre I climb, especially if you think I can’t make it.

All the expenses for the trip are paid by myself. You are not donating to me. The donations go directly to the children’s home.

Also if anyone would like to join on this trek it is an open invitation. The more the merrier and the more we could fundraise for the kids. Dates are 11^th April – 26^th April 2015.

Just go to the link on this blog ‘Donate’, and help me make a difference in some kids lives.

Thank you for reading. And if you still think I am wasting my time or that your donation will not help, here is a short story that may convince you otherwise.

The Boy and the Starfish

A man was walking along a deserted beach at sunset. As he walked he could see a young boy in the distance, as he drew nearer he noticed that the boy kept bending down, picking something up and throwing it into the water.
Time and again he kept hurling things into the ocean.

As the man approached even closer, he was able to see that the boy was picking up starfish that had been washed up on the beach and, one at a time he was throwing them back into the water.

The man asked the boy what he was doing, the boy replied, “I am throwing these washed up starfish back into the ocean, or else they will die through lack of oxygen. “But”, said the man, “You can’t possibly save them all, there are thousands on this beach, and this must be happening on hundreds of beaches along the coast. You can’t possibly make a difference.”
The boy looked down, frowning for a moment; then bent down to pick up another starfish, smiling as he threw it back into the sea. He replied,

“I made a huge difference to that one!”