Volunteering in Nepal and A Mother’s Day Surprise
The end of the road arrives
Before Everest, I heard about a Nepalese school where travellers from all over the world volunteered. Volunteering was the last unchecked activity on my trip bucket list. It’s a common activity for travellers, offering the opportunity to integrate into a local community and do meaningful work.
For the last time on my trip, I put my faith into a vague recommendation. I travelled halfway across Nepal to this school. Once again, I proved leaps of faith create magical experiences.
Volunteering at Maya Universe Academy
Located in a rural mountainside village, Maya Universe Academy hosts 250 Nepalese students from preschool to high school. It’s a private school, but not like those in the West. Instead of parents paying tuition, they are required to volunteer twice a month to do work like agriculture and teaching. The curriculum includes international studies like English, which the kids speak well. The school is surrounded by lush greenery, majestic mountains, and scenic landscapes.
Travellers volunteer at Maya for anywhere from a week to months. There were about 20 volunteers when I arrived including Nepalese volunteers, some of which are graduates from the school. Volunteers either teach or help with construction and agriculture. I opted to do the latter given my shorter 2-week stay.
Each schoolday starts with “morning circle”. The volunteers, staff, and students stand in a circle holding hands. Everyone breaks off to give hugs to one another on their way to finding their place in formation. It’s all so adorable.
After the daily announcements, a few students do a performance for the school. Most sing, dance, or tell jokes. I did a performance with my French friend Victor on the competition between Messi and Ronaldo. The students’ cheers were so loud I’m not sure anyone heard my lines.
Each afternoon after class, I played football with the students (if you call it soccer, you get shamed). During a game on my first day, one of the students said I look like Hakimi, the Moroccan football player on Paris Saint-Germain. The other kids agreed. And so for my entire time as a volunteer, I was known as Hakimi to everyone.
I made genuine connections with many students. Together, we played sports, ate meals, and goofed around. I even tutored them during our spare time in classes like math. Always, I was Hakimi. I don’t even think they knew my real name.
The volunteers spent a lot of time together too. We worked together for hours in construction and agriculture. We hiked to the homes of local families for a nice meal as a thank you for our work. We played board games in our off-hours. Everyone was so down-to-earth, which is what you might expect from travellers who dedicate their time to help children.
My days were split between construction and agriculture. During construction, we worked alongside parent volunteers to build the walls of a new study hall. We mixed the cement with sand to make what the Nepalese call “masala” and then plastered the walls before smoothing them out. It takes a lot of work to build a wall. I appreciate walls a lot more now.
Maya is self-sustaining, growing most of their own food. When I worked in agriculture, we removed weeds, fertilized soil, and planted crops. I often worked with a group of Nepalese women who did not speak English. They would laugh at my poor weeding form and I’d attempt to defend myself with communicative hand gestures. The laughing only increased.
My 2 weeks volunteering at Maya were some of the most memorable of my trip. I felt integrated into a local community of a foreign country. I got to channel my camp counsellor energy playing with amazing kids. I made memories hanging out with volunteers from all over the world. It was the perfect way to end my trip.
Surprising My Mom for Mother’s Day
My Dad and I set up a surprise return for my Mom and brothers. They thought I was coming home on the Wednesday. In fact, I was coming home on the Sunday prior, which by no coincidence was also Mother’s Day.
On May 14 2023, I touched down at Pearson International at dawn. I rushed home to a quiet house where my Dad was ready to greet me. We then went one-by-one to my sleeping brothers’ and Mom’s rooms to surprise them.
Needless to say, they were all shocked. This was especially true of my Mom. She says I’m not allowed to post the video of her surprise moment on my blog.
After 7 months on the road, I am home.
It’s been a euphoric first couple days back with all the surprises and reunions. I’m happy to be back. New adventures await.
I’ll be continuing to publish blogs about my reflections on the trip and my future plans. Stay tuned.
In the meantime, I wish you all the best of luck with allergy season.
Loved this one, Noah!
welcome back, Hakimi!