Fundraising Trek for disadvantaged children in Nepal - Langtang Lollipop

We are undertaking a fastpack trek in Nepal with Himalayan Adventure Labs and at the same time looking to raise funds to support Wide Open Vistas, an associated charity, that undertakes grassroots educational and health support for disadvantaged children in Nepal, with a special focus on helping girls at risk.

The fastpack we are undertaking is not one of the main trekking routes. We will leave Kathmandu on foot and return on foot 12-14days later after completing a 179km loop with about 13'700m of up and down along the way. The route crosses two major passes: the seldom visited Kanja Pass, our highpoint at 5130m and the more frequented Laurebina pass 4610m.

A fastpack is a faster version of a trek or tramp, done ultralight. Some days will be up to 30km long with more than 2000m of elevation gain and loss. A fastpack is often running some or all of the time, but in this case we need to carry technical and camping gear to ensure safety over Kanja pass, which is steep and likely to be snow covered. The day after crossing Kanja we will also need to camp, since it is too far to reach the next guest house. With all this, our packs will be a little hefty for running, but still ultralight compared to what most carry trekking or tramping.

Jo and I are Kiwis, who have lived overseas for many years and only returned home 5years ago. We've spent most of our free time in the last 25years tramping, ski touring, canoeing, packrafting and generally just getting out into the mountains of New Zealand, Europe and the US, but this is our first time in Nepal. We're joining Himalayan Adventure Labs for this fastpack, and also wanted to give something back, so are fundraising for Wide Open Vistas (WOV). We've paid our own way on the trip and all money raised will be donated to WOV. More about WOV below!

Wide Open Vistas

The mission of Wide Open Vistas is to help support the educational and health needs of disadvantaged children in Nepal. We turn donations into long term and sustainable outcomes. www.wideopenvistas.org

US Tax ID 46-4952663

What We Do

We help children attend school in Kathmandu. We do this through tuition, uniform, book, and nutrition subsidies. Parents also pay a portion and we check up on attendance and grades. We are focusing on girls in secondary education but we also fund boys. We fund every child in a family unit so no one is marginalised. We also support a girls running program and various ad-hoc projects ranging from rebuilding a girls bathroom after the earthquake to helping a vision clinic purchase paediatric vision screening tools.

Our Story

Wide Open Vistas was co-founded by Dorjee Sherpa and Seth Wolpin in 2011. During an Everest expedition they found a common interest in trying to help the ‘plight of the porter’. Many of the porters were doing backbreaking jobs at high altitude to help their children attend school in Kathmandu. Wanting to help these children further, and not trusting other organisations, they chose to start their own charity. Wide Open Vistas has since developed a Board of Directors, girls running program, thorough scholarship application processes, and added annual health care check ups to ensure our scholars are healthy.

Why We Are Unique

We have almost no administrative overhead and the vast majority of donations go directly to the projects. Unlike large organisation, we can show you exactly where your money is going and we can respond in a timely manner with deep connections to the communities where we work.