Volunteering in Nepal

During the summer of 2018, alumna and international humanitarian Linda Cruse, led a 16-day expedition to Nepal where a team of Sixth Form students set about helping some of the poorest people in the world.

The girls spent time in Kathmandu before visiting a remote village in the Himalayas. They worked in pairs to visit families, with interpreters, to identify those most in need. They then had to decide, as a group, where they could make the most impact. Careful budgeting followed as the team then decided how best to support families sustainably. Next they headed off and bought goats, tools, chickens, cooking utensils, seeds and even a dairy cow which they delivered themselves to the villagers.

The team also unearthed urgent medical cases leading to nine villagers being transported to the city hospital in Kathmandu. These included a father with uncontrolled epilepsy, who could not even afford the bus fare to see a doctor, and a young mum who received urgent medical care for an incisional hernia that was about to strangulate. 

There was also a family living very precariously in a hut under constant threat of a mud slide that the girls were determined to help. Unfazed by these added challenges, and to meet these unforeseen costs, they set up a Just Giving page and raised an additional £3,000 in less than five days.

In a jam-packed schedule the trip also included a visit to Setu Nepal an incredible organisation which helps women with HIV, and Maiti Nepal who rescue between 3,000 to 4,000 trafficked women and children each year.

Aims

One of the main aims of the project was to gain a deeper understanding of humanitarian work, budgeting, planning and prioritising to help families in need. In addition, the trip enabled our students to become more international minded and introduced them to being global citizens.

Background

Linda Cruse is an alumna of Redmaids' High and has worked as an international humanitarian for the past two decades.

Pupil Involvement

This trip was for Sixth Form students at Redmaids' High

Frequency

Linda has committed to leading two overseas voluntary trips each year for Redmaids' High students. The next trip to Nepal was planned for July 2020.