Solukhumbu, December 24

A group of school students from Colorado in the US has been constructing foot trails in Khumbu area of the Everest region in Solukhumbu.

Under the initiative of Hike for Help Nepal, the youngsters have been working hand-in-hand with local communities to construct

the trails.

According to Lhakpa Sherpa, convener of the organisation, the annual programme had been designed for volunteers of different schools in Colorado that offered them a vacation trek to the Mt Everest region.

“The team also distributed about 400 pairs of shoes imported from the US for select low income families in the Khumbu region,” Sherpa who also runs the Sherpa House in Colorado, said.

Similar volunteers have contributed a lot in the region in the past three years, according to Nim Dorjee Sherpa, local manager of the project.

The total cash contributed by the volunteers for different projects as of today is about USD 130,000, excluding their time and donation in kind, Lhakpa said.

According to him, the projects include construction of a hostel building for Pema Chholing Primary School and initiation of Dalit Cultural and Handicraft Workshop, among others. “Hike for Help Nepal has also partnered with Mcbride Honour Programme of Colorado School of Mines to set up a cultural and handicraft workshop owned and operated by a Dalit along the main trail to Mt Everest, near Lukla,” he informed.

Besides running different relief programmes, including construction of quake-resistant and energy-efficient school buildings post the 2015 massive earthquakes in the district, the organisation had also conducted a medical camp in Hewa village of Thaksindu-6 that benefited over 650 households.