As she put down her paintbrushes, sophomore Selina Yang watched while the children surrounding her ran circles around the school grounds, their eyes shining with admiration as they watched away their once dirty, white-plastered walls turn into beautifully colored murals.
Starting from the summer of 2015, students from all over California have been able to travel to Nepal with an organization called IvyMax with its Global Philanthropy Leadership Internship Program, aiming to provide students with a chance to explore creative ways to impact the society and global environment in the developing world.
This year, Yang decided to participate in a 10-day project, where she would refurbish schools and donate supplies to schoolchildren in Nepal, figuring she would rather spend her otherwise uneventful winter break by taking part in a meaningful experience.
On Christmas night, Yang met 17 other high school students from all over the country at San Francisco International Airport and boarded a flight to Guangzhou, China. From there, the group met seven other volunteers and flew to Kathmandu, Nepal. They stayed with a host family that taught the students all about local cultures and respect for their customs.
The cultural difference between Nepal and America initially surprised Yang, who said that even the most insignificant aspects to daily life were starkly different.
“Pedestrians like us had to be extremely careful just walking along the road, because sometimes cars or motorcycles would come up so close that they literally brushed you,” Yang said.
Every morning, the students began the day at 6 a.m. by taking yoga classes on the roof from a local instructor. They would then leave at 8 a.m. and take an hour-long bus ride to a small village school outside the city to begin their volunteer work.
Upon arriving, all the school children gathered at the entrance, curious yet eager to welcome the volunteers. The children showered them with a plethora of flowers, even having created garlands made from Kathmandu’s native Marigold flowers for them to wear as a symbol of their hospitality.
Senior Catherine Zhang, who went on a similar trip over summer, gathered a group of five students to paint their creative visions. While some groups painted abstract art, Zhang’s group decided to combine the different aspects of American and Nepalese culture, showing how they intertwined. The 15-foot wide mural detailed the Golden Gate Bridge and Hollywood hills transitioning into Mount Everest, with the U.S. and Nepalese flags overseeing the entire scene.
“I’ve never done anything like this before,” Zhang said. “I’m proud of my group for creating such a large piece of art is just one and a half weeks. It was a really great experience, especially because we got to form relationships with the students who would come outside during their breaks to paint with us.”
Other students helped paint the school walls in various colors while adding inspirational messages on every building in hopes of creating an encouraging learning environment for the village students.
The Nepal school children were extremely grateful. On one particular occasion, the group visited a small school on top of a mountain.
“We each personally delivered jackets to each student there, and the thanks we got was overwhelmingly emotional,” Yang said. “A few of us teared up.”
After seeing an item as simple as a jacket create so much joy in the children’s lives, Yang re-evaluated how wasteful America is. During the trip, Yang found it difficult to adjust to third-world living standards — unclean tap water, reoccuring power outages, spotty wifi and a lack of air conditioning or heating.
“It really made me appreciate the things that we have here that we don't even think about or just take for granted,” Yang said.
Even though these children lived and studied in hardscrabble conditions, their bright and light-hearted outlook on life gave Yang a more grateful attitude.
“The energy and enthusiasm of everyone there was nothing I’d experienced before and was incredibly inspiring,” Yang said. “I am definitely going back in the summer.”
