Supporting Our Community

How Himalayan Peace Treks Supports Nepali Children

Our ability to support local children is a hugely important part of why we do business. Ganesh, a founder of Himalayan Peace Treks, has been donating to the local schools in his small village for a decade. What we do as an ethical trekking company is a continuation of the years of improvements and relationships that have been formed within his community.

As of 2025, we have two main streams through which we support Nepali children, one is through donations to an orphanage in Kathmandu and the other is through donations to two schools in a small rural village.

As our company continues to grow, so will our charitable reach.

Booking a trek or tour with Himalayan Peace Treks automatically helps support our philanthropic endeavors. If you would like to give more (thank you!), then continue reading to learn other ways that you can contribute such as donating English books.

Supporting The Schools

The two schools that currently receive our support are located in a small rural village called Aatigaun in the district of Dhading, Nepal. From Kathmandu it is a 3-4 hour drive to Dhading Besi, the district capital, and then another 2-3 hours to the village. Many families in the area are quite poor and do not prioritize sending their children to school. It is our mission to remove barriers that prevent students from attending school by paying for children’s school fees and educating families on the importance of education for children.

Of the two schools in the village, one school is a small primary school with 20 students enrolled and the other school is a high school with 277 students enrolled. Eventually, the primary school will close and be amalgamated with the high school. Even after we have helped to enroll more students, attendance is still a problem. Another part of our mission is to make school a safe and engaging place for students. We have been helping to improve classroom comfortability, encourage involvement in sports, prioritize their English programs, and start to introduce modern technology.

How It Works

We have established a close, trusting relationship with the two schools in which they feel comfortable asking for what they need and we feel comfortable meeting those needs. The principles and teachers of the school will assess the needs of the students and staff and communicate with us. In Kathmandu we purchase the items they are requesting and send them via bus to the village. The items are received in the village by a local community member, usually Ganesh’s father, Yadunath, and delivered personally to the school. Whenever possible, we provide working opportunities for the village, for example we’ll send the material for student uniforms from Kathmandu, so that they can be sewn by a local villager.

What We Donate

We work directly with the schools to determine their most pressing needs at the time and try our best to meet them. We have provided everything from school uniforms to notebooks, sports equipment to laptops, and English books to shoes. During wintertime, for example, we will get requests for shoes, sweaters, long underwear, hats and mittens with a list of the student’s ages and clothing sizes.

When a new school year begins we will receive a list of the children who are unable to pay their school fees and we will pay on their behalf. This is usually the only time when we send money instead of items. During the monsoon season of 2024 when the classrooms were unbearably hot and damp, we installed ceiling fans. We also regularly supply the classrooms with everyday items such as pens, paper, notebooks, pencils, erasers, sharpeners, and math sets.

• Classroom supplies including paper, pencils, and notebooks
• School supplies including dustbins, fans, and surge-protecting power strips
• Teaching supplies including English books, laptops, and projectors
• Personal items including school uniforms, warm clothing, and shoes
• Sports equipment including volleyball nets and balls, badminton racquets and shuttlecocks, and footballs

Supporting The Orphanage

We are connected with a children’s home located in the very north of the Kathmandu valley. The home is a children’s care home called the Resta Foundation that takes in children who are orphaned or from families who cannot take care of them. The children live in the home full time and are cared for by the loving staff. The home is funded by donations.

How It Works

Similarly to how we operate with the schools, the Resta Foundation contacts us directly with specific needs and we try to meet them as best we can. The needs are always children-focused and they never over-ask. We go directly to the home and provide money for the children’s school fees, for the maintenance of the home, and for the children’s extracurriculars.

In an effort to help improve the children’s quality of life, we visit the children and do fun things with them! In the early spring of 2025 we visited the home and took the children out so that they could pick their own new pair of shoes. We also took them for ice cream! Upon request, we also paid for karate lessons for a number of the students and donated football shoes. Later that year we arrange a group visit to the Godawari Botanical Garden in Kathmandu.

How Can I Help?

As previously mentioned, simply booking your travels with Himalayan Peace Treks is an amazing way to show your support.

Some guests want to do more and we welcome your generous support. If you would like to donate money, then you can either bring cash in-person or contribute to our GoFundMe page online. The GoFundMe is operated by Yvonne, a beloved return-guest who has been instrumental in supporting our efforts. We have a system in which Yvonne sends a consistent amount money from the GoFundMe bi-weekly so we know that there is reliable funds to work with. This is our strategy to continue to support the children long-term.

If you would like to donate items, then please bring new or used English books or plan to purchase English books in Kathmandu once you arrive. We welcome a range of reading levels with books for primary to high school. Please choose books with simple language. The less-niche the reading material (and fewer made-up words!) the better for the children.

Here is the link to contribute to the GoFundMe: https://www.gofundme.com/f/donate-to-help-nepalese-children-access-education