An inspiring group of supporters joined me in Kathmandu for our 2018 Didi Aid tour. For 10 days the team walked in my shoes and experienced my Nepalese life and the town I call my second home.
Here is what we got up to:
- Showcased the new Didi Headquarters building site
- Visited the historic sites of Kathmandu – Bodhnath Stupa, Pashupatinath Temple and the ancient city of Bhaktupur
- With the children from Bright Future Learning Centre (BFLC) we walked through our town to Didi Headquarters, which was a photo mecca of brightly coloured saris, small vendors selling their wares and open butcher shops.
- An afternoon at BFLC for our annual birthday party and the distribution of my birthday ‘love letters’
- Lyn Thorpe handed over PUL Fabric, donated by Days for Girls Newcastle NSW. This fabric is waterproof and is an essential component in the manufacture of sanitary pads.
With the Didi Mobeel loaded up with educational resources, care packages, re-usable sanitary kits and medical equipment, we began the long, arduous and sometimes crazy nail-biting road trip to Ramechhap and Sindhuli. Regardless, this was definitely the most rewarding part of our journey when we delivered aid to highly disadvantaged schools; where a beaming smile on cute little faces made it all worthwhile. The tour finished with a lot of fun and adventure in Chitwan National Park and Pokhara.
Jan Pryor | Founder | The Didi Foundation
Reflections
The Didi Tour was one of my best travel experiences. It was very diverse and covered any traveller’s dream of seeing Nepal in its natural state. It was certainly value for money and we saw places that would not have been available via a tour company. Just loved the children and warm hearted Nepalese. EXCELLENT adventure and highly recommended for anyone who is looking at making a difference.
Lyn Thorpe OAM
2010 Senior Australian of the Year
Thank you for a wonderful trip. It’s great to see where the Didi Foundation support goes to and to get a real appreciation of the need for it on the ground in Nepal. I was happy to meet with the Didi Nepal team, Sudip and Deepak, who do so much good work to empower women in Nepal. Also, it was good to meet some interesting and caring fellow travellers. Hope to catch up with some of you in the future.
Cheers, Vik
