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Update on Our Students in Nepal – Pattie Moon’s Visit in November, 2025
Dear Friends of the Sherpa Education Project,
Following is a Trip Report from Pattie Moon’s recent Nepal trip. But first, a bit of history: For the past 15 years, the Sherpa Education Project has been supporting education in the Everest region of Nepal. A distinguishing aspect is the individual support, program oversight, and personal involvement in the students’ lives provided by Pattie Moon, our Project Director. She has been the heart and soul of this effort through nearly annual visits (except during the pandemic). Her journeys include working with our in-country administrator, Pemba Sherpa, who manages the project. We share here Pattie’s personal account to illustrate the extent of her involvement and its impact on the girls’ lives. One piece that is omitted, however, is the tremendous commitment and effort in making these trips. To get to the Solukhumbu region, Pattie travels over thirty hours each way via airlines, small prop planes, and jeep. She then treks up and down mountain trails for a couple of weeks with Pemba working as her guide and interpreter. Accommodations are basic guest houses scattered along the way, and the monastery’s bunk rooms. By now she is a fixture in the region, and she is honored and embraced as Pattie “Mum”—someone who listens, cares, and provides tangible and loving help to the students we sponsor.
2025 Trip Report
As always, I thoroughly enjoyed my recent trip to Nepal (November-December 2025) and the chance to breathe in the exhilarating air of the Himalaya and especially, to visit with the SEP students and their families. These young people, and their parents, express so much gratitude for our support of their education. Below you’ll find a sampling of students’ answers to my questions: Why is education important for you? What is your favorite subject and why? And, what do you want to do in the future?
Most of the students have now studied enough English that we can converse without the aid of a translator. All of their classes are conducted in English, with the exception of reading and writing in Nepali, the national language, which is in fact, a “foreign” language to our students whose first language is Sherpa (which is similar to Tibetan). This year some of the girls have initiated conversations with me on WhatsApp, enabling me to learn about their studies directly and provide ongoing encouragement.
On nearly every trip, I visit the Chyangmiteng monastery in Mera, the village where we first began providing help to families for their daughters’ education. The monastery takes in young boys as monks in training, many of whom come from families who cannot afford to take care of them. These boys are educated until they reach 18, at which point they choose whether to continue their Buddhist training in India, or to leave and seek employment. A special fund from a couple of contributors (not our regular SEP fund for girls’ education) supports their teacher and books. The boys are enormously fun to spend time with—see the pictures below.
Our oldest girls (now young women) are in college in Kathmandu. I visited with two of them, Pasang Dikee, who is in her third year of pharmacy school, and Dali who will soon graduate and begin work as a medical technician. There are three others in post-secondary programs who I didn’t get a chance to visit but I learned that all are doing well and expect to graduate. Our funding has ensured that they will be able to support themselves AND send funds back to their village families. The first example is our student Mingma Doma, who has worked in Dubai for two years and, by sending money home, has improved life for her family in Mera.
Nepal and the work of the Sherpa Education Project has profoundly influenced me. Sherpa lives are simple, yet gracious and so full of joy. I’ve never seen anyone complain, a tenant of Buddhism. Their extraordinary “gaiety of spirit,” as one writer describes the Sherpa people, is like a balm for my soul. I can’t thank you enough for your confidence in our project to improve the lives of students and families in this remote part of the world. It is indeed an honor and privilege for me to work on their behalf.
Why is education important for you?
– Education is important for me because it makes our lives easier and helps in the development of our country too. In every moment of life, we need an education, otherwise we can’t do anything. It is the main key for success.
– Education is important to understand our values, norms, culture, and health and to be able to achieve our dreams.
– As we know, education in the most important thing in our life. It helps us to think more clearly in every aspect. Without it, we can’t survive financially in this economy. In order to get a good job and to learn new things, education is really important to me.
What is your favorite subject and why?
– My favorite subject is Accounting because I want to work in the banking sector and in finance in the future.
– My favorite subject is English because it gives us more opportunities in the future and makes is easier to find work.
– My favorite subject is Social Studies because we can learn about the world, our country, and we can also learn how to develop Nepal and help the society.
What do you want to do in the future?
– I want to do many things. I want to learn science for different opportunities. I want to be a nurse. I want to help others and give patients care. I want to make people healthy and strong.
– In the future I would like to be a chef. To cook different types of food and travel around the world.
– I like all fields but I love chemistry and want to be a wonderful chemist. I want to make those medicines which make people strong for their whole life.
– I want to be a teacher in my future life and I want to teach in my school.
– In the future, I want to learn music because my aim is to be a singer.
Pattie Moon, Project Director
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Winter 2025 Appeal Letter
“Girls’ education may be the best and cheapest leverage we have to change the world.” Nicholas Kristof, Pulitzer prize-winning journalist
Dear Friends,
For the past fifteen years, the Sherpa Education Project has been funding girls’ education in the Khumbu region of Nepal (the northeast corner of the country, embracing the Sherpa people and the looming Mount Everest). We’re delighted to share that four of our students graduated this year and have moved to Kathmandu to further their educations, two in business and two in medical fields.
We celebrate this in the midst of political unrest in Nepal. A few months ago, simmering discontent over corruption, unemployment, and nepotism erupted in Kathmandu after the government imposed a ban on social media. Protests turned violent, government buildings were burned, and reigning government officials deposed. Some of you have asked how this has affected our work, and thankfully we can report that little has changed outside of Kathmandu.
The upheaval does point to the ongoing need, perhaps more important than ever, to support education. Many issues stem from the government’s negligence toward minority communities, including the Sherpa people of the high Himalaya and other ethnic minorities who are underrepresented and unable to access government support. Villagers, especially girls, often face discrimination and are too often abused. But they potentially bring skills and stability to rural areas and to the country as a whole.
We do see encouraging breakthroughs in the students we sponsor. One example is Dali, pictured here. She comes from a broken and abusive family but has not only graduated from high school, she is now finishing a medical assistant degree in Kathmandu. She’s eager and ready to return home to bring needed care to remote communities.
We very much appreciate your interest and support for these efforts, that make for a better country as well as expand and enrich individual lives. To donate, please visithttps://sherpaeducationproject.org/donations/ or send a check to: Sherpa Education Project, PO Box 770659, Steamboat Springs, CO 80477.
Thank You, Happy Holidays, Namaste,
The Board of the Sherpa Education Project: Ed Gondolf, President; Carol Wert, Vice President; Pattie Moon, Project Director; Warren Luce, Treasurer; Valerie Davia, Secretary
PS: Kanchha Sherpa, the last surviving member of the first successful Everest climb, died last month in Nepal. We are fortunate to have Kanchha’s extraordinary life and the country’s history recorded in Pattie Moon’s book, Tough and Cheerful: The Life and Times of Kanchha Sherpa, available on Amazon. ALL PROCEEDS FROM THE BOOK ARE DONATED TO SEP. Here’s a PBS story on Kanchha: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/kanchha-sherpa-last-surviving-member-of-history-making-mount-everest-trek-dies-at-92
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Spring 2025 Update
There has recently been a teacher strike in Nepal, but things are now getting back to normal. The government schools will be opening soon. Pemba will soon distribute the SEP money to the schools. He also spoke with the girls who are currently in Plus Two and they are now wanting to continue their education with a bachelor degree. This would be similar to what Dali Sherpa is doing in her advance program. Hers, however, is a 3 year commitment and theirs would be 4 years. This additional education would have to be taken up with the board, as it is an expense that has not been considered.
Tourism is down overall, except for the Everest climbers, but even that has changed. Drones have been introduced this year to ferry the metal ladders, oxygen tanks and other heavy items up to the higher camps on the Everest. This helps the doctors at the icefall and the guides that carry over, and above the icefall, but it also takes away some of their seasonal earnings. Also, fewer helicopters are being used in the Khumbu, as per a government change that was made last summer saying that they are meant only for health emergencies.
The Mera Monastery renovation is complete. Currently the monastery is in need of new books for educating the young monks. Pemba will determine the monetary needs for purchasing the books and get the information to the SEP board for consideration.
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Thame Village Detroyed by Devasting Flood
A World Torn Apart
Thame is a small and serene village in Nepal in the northwest corner of the Khumbu region, which is most famous for Mount Everest. Thame was settled by Sherpa people from Tibet, which lies directly to the north. Like the rest of the Khumbu, the Sherpas (Shar pa, meaning “from the East”) migrated to this region about 500 years ago. The village is set in a valley above 12,500 feet, that affords vegetable and potato growing as well as an abundance of large fields for yaks to graze. It has been a trekking destination for decades. Climbers and tourists come from all over to enjoy the Sherpa hospitality, and stunning views of the mountains.
The village is also known for “growing” legendary Sherpa climbers: Tenzing Norgay (who, with Edmond Hillary, was the first to reach the summit of Mount Everest in 1953); Apa Sherpa, the first to have 21 ascents of Everest), Kami Rita Sherpa (who recently completed his 30th summit of Everest in May, 2024) to name a few.
Sadly, all this changed on the afternoon of August 16, 2024. In the late morning, a glacial lake burst about 6 miles up in the mountains. A torrent of water and boulders rapidly gained momentum as it scoured the upper valley and ravaged the lower fields and houses. The villagers quickly realized the situation, grabbed what they could save, and ran to higher ground.
Along with teachers and parents, Thame’s school children also rushed to the top of a ridge. Their schoolhouse was lost in the flooding, but the children were safe. Boulders the size of houses were soon crushing everything in their path.
What’s Down the Road?
In the entirety of the Khumbu, there actually are no roads. If you want to get around it has to be by foot, horse, helicopter, or being carried on someone’s back. The area therefore does not have any mechanized equipment to help the villagers clear the damage and see what is salvageable. This means that help would have a difficult time getting to Thame, it also means that, almost a month after the disaster, none might ever be sent.
A week or two later, even though the flood had destroyed most of the houses and guest houses, the local people joined together to collect and save the remaining materials: windows, metal roofs and plywood that will be useful in the future. Doing this is priceless because in order to replace these materials, they would have to be purchased from Kathmandu and then carried through the Khumbu by porters or yaks.
I trekked to Thame on September 11th, almost a full month after the glacial lake catastrophe. We started from Namche, the Sherpa hub of the Khumbu at 11,000 feet.
Accompanied by my friend and longtime guide, Pemba Chhiri Sherpa, we hiked along the Bhote Koshi river gorge that had taken all the debris from upstream. We found it horrifying, but nothing like when we finally crested a butte six hours later to get to Thame. The village as it was, was simply no more.
We listened to so many stories of the river and its effect on the now forever changed village.
One woman, Ming Phuti, began by describing how a village man first saw the flood from about five kilometers away, and then ran to the village to tell them to get to higher ground. He described the noise that came from it: like a gun blast and a growling sound.
Everyone was terrified and went up
on the ridge. Miraculously, everyone in the village was alive. However, needless to say, everyone was very afraid, especially the children. The children were all taken to Khumjung, about 8 miles away, to stay at the hostels and attend classes for three months at the first school built by Edmond Hillary.
A month later some villagers have stayed to try repair their homes, but their children still have to live and go to school in another village. Others have already left with no intention of returning.
The local government has dispatched tents, food, blankets, and some money, but there is a long way to go, especially considering that winter will be on its way. Even so, I have no doubt that a handful of people from this amazing village will try to make it whole again. The Sherpa traits of kindness, acceptance and cheerfulness will prevail.
In the meantime, our Sherpa Education Project continues to support Sherpa people, especially girls’ education in the region. This now includes helping to finance Thame’s children’s move to other area schools and assist their parents in rebuilding a village and a home for them. Your donations to this aim are eagerly welcome and appreciated. Please give as you can to the www.SherpaEducationProject.org and mention the “Thame Children’s Fund.” Thank you!
Pattie Moon, September 13, 2024
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Fall 2024 Update
Visit to Nepal — September 2024
Pemba (SEP’s in-country Project Manager) and I first spent a week in Namche, the heart of the Khumbu, and the initial acclimatization stop on the way to Mt Everest. We stay at the Nirvana Home Hotel, where Kanchha Sherpa lives with his family. Visitors come from all over the world to meet Kanchha, at 93 years old, the last living survivor of the first ascent of Everest by Edmund Hillary and Tensing Norgay. He tells them about the many changes he has seen in the Everest region. (You can read more about this in the book Tough and Cheerful, the Life and Times of Kanchha Sherpa. Available on Amazon. ALL PROCEEDS SUPPORT SEP.)
While based in Namche, we trekked seven hours to Thame, a village settled by Sherpas from Tibet about 1500 years ago, and in modern times the home of many of Everest’s champion climbers. It is also the village that was recently devastated by a glacial lake that broke and destroyed everything in its path for miles and miles. We stayed with a family whose house had been spared and learned about their problems. (SEP has started a fund for their children who no longer have a school, please see the attached “A World Torn Apart” for more information.)
Pemba and I always travel to visit all the students that SEP supports. (See attachment with their recent pictures.) There are now four in Kathmandu who are in “Plus Two,” the equivalent of our 11th and 12th grades, however they study a specific area, geared to their employment interests. We also visited the students in the Everest region. Some of them live at home and go to the Hillary School, one of Edmund Hillary’s first projects after his successful summit. The others come from Mera, a remote village; those girls board with a family in a larger town, Salleri, and attend school there.
The three girls in Salleri walked about two miles to the place where Pemba and I were staying. All of them, ages 11, 15, and 17, work very hard and are at the top of their classes. They are also responsible for cooking their own meals, cleaning, and studying without any help. I could see that living away from their home village is difficult and lonely. Their parents have no education and can’t relate to what they are doing. School is hard enough without the resources we take for granted. The girls were shy and a bit nervous about talking with me, so we decided to walk with them back to their boarding homes in Salleri.
While walking, I took the hand of Lhamu and squeezed it; then Dali came around and took the other. Finally, Lhakpa put her arm around me and we walked for a long time in this little ball. Like puppies, they relaxed and smiled and then started crying. So we all stopped and had a group hug. Smiles appeared on every face. Once they arrived at their lodgings, I hugged each one again. Eventually, Pemba and I turned and walked back to our guest house. It was then that tears started streaming down my face. I realized that my work in Nepal as Project Director for almost 15 years is not just about educating girls and giving them the opportunity to have a future; I am also their cheerleader, auntie, and personal friend. What better title could one have? Thank you so much for your interest and support of SEP.
– Pattie Moon
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Spring 2024 Update
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Updates from Pemba Sherpa – March, 2024
Over the next couple of years, the Sherpa Education Project will have 4 students who may want to continue their studies past Plus Two. We will also have another three who might be attending Plus Two in a couple of years. Then there’s the remaining eight students who will be in regular school (up to Grade 10), with the last ones ostensibly looking at Plus Two as late as 4 or 5 years from now. Amazing! May we all stay in good health.🙏
Pemba will go to the Solu in the spring to distribute funds.* He will also speak with each family, in particular to learn if any of their daughters want to attend post Plus Two studies. We have discussed that this is not college attendance, which can be very expensive. Rather it is their attending a “skill-based” training program so they can get work.
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Thanksgiving Appeal – November, 2023
Dear Friends,
As you may already know, the Sherpa Education Project (SEP) has been sponsoring girls’ education in the Everest region (the Solu-Khumbu) since 2010.
A group from our board traveled to Nepal in March and met the families of the students we sponsor. In one encounter, with the help of one of our older students as translator, I listened to a mom talk about how she felt about her daughter’s schooling. With tears streaming down, she told me that, being illiterate, she had no options in life, and that giving her daughter the promise of a fuller life meant everything to her. We all had tears in our eyes by the end of that conversation.
When we educate a girl, we give her the tools to make her own life choices. And we protect her from the suffering that can result from no education—lack of income, child marriage, or worse, potential sex trafficking.
The work reminds me of the adage about the child throwing beached starfish back into the sea—someone approaches and asks why, that it can’t possibly make a difference. The child picks up a starfish, tosses it into the water, and declares, “Made a difference to that one.”
Thank you for being part of SEP’s efforts to make a difference. Please help us continue with a donation of any amount. You can give directly at sherpaeducationproject.org or send a check to Sherpa Education Project, PO Box 770659, Steamboat Springs, CO 80477. ALL contributions go to supporting education; travel and administrative expenses are always donated.
We wish you a joyous Thanksgiving and holiday season, full of gratitude not only for our own good fortune, but for what it enables us to share with others.
With thanks,
Valerie Davia, Secretary, and the SEP Board of Directors: Ed Gondolf, President; Carol Wert, Vice President; Warren Luce, Treasurer; Pattie Moon, Project Director
PS: Please visit www.sherpaeducationproject.org to learn more and see photos. Want to know more about Sherpa life? Check out Pattie Moon’s recent book, Tough and Cheerful, The Life and Times of Kanchha Sherpa, Last Living Member from the First Ascent of Mount Everest. Available on Amazon. Your purchase price directly funds the SEP!
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Commendation for Pemba Sherpa SEP Nepal Project Manager:
Pemba’s extraordinary ability to take an idea and really make it into something much bigger. We see him doing this more and more, which really is the whole point of our organization. He knows the culture and the people, and we want to acknowledge his participation and creativity.
Pemba was the key lead organizing the computer classes which were held in his mother’s house. He hired the teacher and has extended the program the include Excel, Word and design certifications for the students taking the class. The children love coming to class.
A young boy named Tshering who is handicapped and is awkward with the use of his hands attends class and has enjoyed the interaction with the teacher and other students. Tshering is learning to use his hands better and smiles more having something positive in his life. Tshering’s family life has been difficult. His father was a Sherpa guide and porter and has climbed Everest 11 times. Unable to physically continue to ascend Everest, Tshering’s father began driving dzopkes (yak/cows) that carry goods up the Khumbu, but with no tourist due to COVID he has had no income. Tshering’s mother who was blind recently committed suicide to take the burden off the family.
We are glad that Pemba has made a positive impact in Tshering’s life. Small steps one person at a time! Pemba’s efforts exceed our expectations and we feel he will continue to guide our organization.
Mid-Year Update: July 2022
The Sherpa Education Project (SEP) has returned its focus to supporting girls’ education in the Everest region of Nepal (SoluKhumbu). For the past two years, schools were closed due to COVID, so SEP assisted our students by setting up tutoring centers in people’s homes. We also launched an emergency funding appeal that provided food relief to offset the shutdown of tourism (the main source of income).
Director Visits Students in Nepal
Our Project Director, Pattie Moon, traveled to Nepal this past spring after a three-year hiatus due to the pandemic. On her self-funded trip, Pattie visited all the students SEP currently assists. SEP-supporter Tracy Zuschlag and our local Nepali Project manager Pemba Sherpa accompanied her.
The threesome trekked through the Himalayas to reach the villages and schools of all 13 of our students. Scholastic reports showed impressive progress over the past several years, especially in English. Pattie could speak directly with all the girls instead of through an interpreter. With Pemba as translator, she and Tracy were also able to visit with each family of our students.
The SEP scholarships have numerous social benefits. With an education, the girls can be employed and move beyond a menial existence. Their education can also serve as a substitute for a marriage dowry that poor families cannot afford. It also precludes young girls being sold into sex trafficking if they do not marry.
Excerpts from Student Letters
- I would like to express my gratitude for giving me such a golden opportunity for being a student of your sponsorship. Your support and encouragement turned by life from darkness to light.~ Mingma Doma Sherpa, aged 18, recently graduated with honors from 12th grade
- I like dancing, drawing, and singing in my free time. I want to be a doctor in the future. Thank you for your continuous love and help to me, even during the pandemic.~Lhamu Sherpa, aged 15, just started 10th grade
For the progress and status of our individual students, click here for May 22 Post at the SEP website.
The Student Monks
The SEP group also visited the Buddhist Monastery at the center of the small village of Mera, where half of our scholarship girls live. Local boys enter this teaching Monastery as young as 6 years old for up to twelve years of spiritual training. Thanks to the SEP, the Tawas (young monks) also receive a secular education. Using funds specifically donated for this purpose, the Monastery has hired a teacher to give lessons in English, math, science, computers, and social science.
Book Talks and Celebration
As we mentioned in our previous update, Pattie Moon recently published a book of particular interest to our SEP work: TOUGH AND CHEERFUL: The Life and Times of Kanchha Sherpa, the last living member from the first ascent of Mount Everest. In December 2021, Pattie gave a talk about the book to an audience of nearly 100 at the Steamboat Library. As a bonus, the 89-year-old Kanchha Sherpa appeared via Zoom. Kanchha himself said in his thanks for the book, “It offers an inspiration to the younger generation of Sherpas and an appreciation of our Himalayan culture.” A month later, at a celebration for Kanchha’s 90th birthday, the book was featured at the event in Kathmandu, the capital city of Nepal.
From Reviews
- A moving personal account of a remote mountain villager who saw his life and country change dramatically over his long life.
- Fresh insight on the impacts that climbing Everest has had on the Nepali culture and economy over the years, alongside the contrasting perceptions of European and Sherpa climbers.
- Among the stories of survival and adventure, Kanchha generously provides insight, hope and perspective that benefit family, country, and a changing planet alike.
Tough and Cheerful is available at Lulu.com, Amazon.com and local bookstores. All proceeds support the Sherpa Education Project. Click here for book information flier.
DONATIONS
We continue to welcome your support to sponsor girls’ education in this coming school year, as well as to expand the number of girls we can help. Any amount is appreciated and goes a long way. Some donors have chosen to sponsor an individual girl for a year or part of a year: Average cost for a girl is $833 per year. This includes tuition, room and board, required uniforms, books, and supplies. You can make a donation through our website, SherpaEducationProject.org (see “Donation” button on the upper right) or mail a check to SEP, PO Box 770659 Steamboat Springs, CO 80477. Thank You!
For information on the Sherpa Education Project, see https://sherpaeducationproject.org/.org.
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May 2022
Pattie Moon, SEP’s Project Director, traveled to Nepal this spring meeting many of the girls we support through the Sherpa Education Project. Pattie was very impressed with the progress our students have achieved over the last year. The children are advancing through their grades with high marks. Pattie was accompanied by Pemba Sherpa our Nepali Project Manager who effectively manages support for the SEP students.
Pattie and Pemba also visited the Mera Monastery. The progress over the last 3 years to implement an English based curriculum with the monk and tawa spiritual education has been a great success. The older monks and teens now speak English well and can easily carry on a conversation.
Girls of the Solukhumbu
Our first and oldest student, Mimga Doma, has successfully graduated. Her English is excellent, and she is now living and working in Kathmandu. She would like to pursue a career in business.
Our second oldest student, Dali, is finishing her first year of plus-two studies at Jagamaci School in Salleri. She will start grade 12 the next school term. She is bright and independent, and her goal is become a teacher.
15 years old Pema Doma will start the tenth grade for the next school year. Her English is excellent. She dreams of becoming a trekking guide. She is extremely creative and excels at the arts.
Lhakpa Doma is 14 years old and will be starting grade 6 at the Mount Everest Boarding school. Her goal is become a doctor.
Our youngest student is 12 years old Dali and is the younger sister of our Mingma Doma who just graduated and moved to Kathmandu. She will be starting grade 6 at the Mount Everest Boarding school. She is very shy but is an outstanding student.
Girls of the Solu
Pasang Diki is 15 years old. She has been attending the White Hills Private school in Salleri and will be starting the ninth grade. She is an exceptional student, and her English is very good.
Doka Doma has been attending a school in her village which does not go past the grade 8. Her parents would like her to continue her education in Salleri with the other girls we support. Once she passes her placement exam, we will enroll her. She will live is Salleri with the other girls.
Children of the Khumbu
Pattie visited the Shree Sagamartha Secondary School in Chaurikharka. Typically known as the Hillary school. It was the second school built by Sir Edmund Hillary in the 1950s. The school campus is newly updated with funds donated by a Swiss organization. Pattie met with all the children and discussed their classes and advancements.
We support one boy in the Khumbu. He is now a star placing fourth in his grade.
All the children speak good English and will improve with each grade advancement. The curriculum at the school is English language based. The Khumbu is a tourist hub for those trekking or climbing in the Khumbu (Mt. Everest region). Speaking and understanding English will present these children job opportunities once they complete their education.
Mera Monastery
Over the last 3 years Khenpo the head Monk at the Mera Monastery has implemented many education changes for the Monks and Tawas. He has hired a talented teacher from India to teach English, Math, Science, Social Studies, and Computer Science. The monks and tawas continue to study Nepali and Buddhist studies. The older Monks and teens now speak English well and can easily carry on a conversation. There are many new monks and tawas who have joined the monastery in the last few months. The monastery curriculum offers these monks and tawas a science & math based education, but also a spiritual education. Both are needed to succeed.
We are so proud of our girls. Their progress is to be admired. We at SEP are so glad we can support and provide the funds for these girl’s education.
The monastery has made great progress educating their monks and tawas. SEP is proud to support the Mera Monastery.
Thank you to our donors for your contributions!
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End of Year Report – 2021
Dear Friends,
Our work with the SEP continues to address the Covid-related food crisis in the Nepal Himalayas as well as our ongoing support of the village girls’ education. For this, we sincerely thank our generous donors during this difficult pas year.
We were able to distribute nearly 200 66-pound sacks of rice to families in need via mule train from southern Nepal. Photos and information about the food distribution can be found at
https://sherpaeducationproject.org/posts/ and https://sherpaeducationproject.org/photo-gallery/.
We also provided school fees, uniforms, and books to 14 students in the Solukhumbu region. Individual sponsors assisted 3 other children of Sherpa guides. Another special donation provided several students with laptops to continue their education while schools were closed due to covid. (The following two pages show photos of our students.)
In addition, the Sherpa Education Project paid for an English teacher and school books for the Mera monastery. Mera is the hometown of Dawa Sherpa, an original founder of SEP/Maya Sherpa Project. The monastery educates and trains young boys, as well as serves as a community center for the local village.
Pattie Moon, a founder of SEP, recently completed her book, Tough and Cheerful, about Kanchha Sherpa, the last living member of the 1953 Edmond Hillary/Tenzing Norgay ascent of Mt. Everest. ALL proceeds from the book support the SEP’s work in Nepal. A recent book signing event in Steamboat Springs, CO concluded with a surprise visit from Kanchha himself, zooming in from Kathmandu! If you would like to help organize a book event in your community, please get in touch at [email protected]. Books may be ordered at amazon.com.
Thank you so much for your continued support! Our very best wishes for a wonderful 2022.
The Sherpa Education Project Board of Directors
Carol Wert, President
Warren Luce, Treasurer
Edward Gondolf, Vice-President
Pattie Moon, Project Director
Valerie Davia, Secretary
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Relief Distribution Program – July 31, 2021
Rice Sack Distribution a SUCCESS for Our Covid Food Relief Distribution Program
Our Food Distribution Program in the Khumbu was a great success last weekend! Each of the 175 families received a sack of rice. Additional items will be purchased in the near future to continue our distribution effort to help support the Sherpa families.
Those who received the rice were very happy and thankful!
Thanks so much to those who contributed to our cause!
Again, thank you Pemba and your family for getting this project off the ground.
Please see Our Images and Video page (see link below)
https://sherpaeducationproject.org/photo-gallery/
Current Status in Nepal – July 30, 2021
Update from the Sherpa Education Project – Relief Distribution Program
Namaste!
Covid is still seriously impacting Nepal. Our food distribution program is in progress and is being directed by Pemba our project manager. With help from his mother, father and sister, Pemba has purchased and transported much of the food to Lukla in the Khumbu region. All rice sacks were brought in by mules from Kharikhola. The mule transport was much cheaper than purchasing the rice in Lukla.
Pemba has received permission for the food distribution to be given to the local families who have applied for food relief from the local government officials. He will be distributing the food on Saturday July 31, 2021 to 175 village families. The food will be a great help to support these villagers as Covid continues to impact their livelihoods. Pemba has designed a SEP Banner and it will be displayed during the food distribution.
We would like to offer our appreciation and thanks to Pemba and his family for their hard work to make the Food Distribution Program a success!
The Sherpa Education Project Board of Directors
Status in Nepal – April 24, 2021
Thank you very much for your all hard work. It took 5 days to transport all rice from by mules.
A Post from Pemba Sherpa our Nepal Project Manager for the Sherpa Education Project
Nepal is on high Covid alert again, as the new variants are spreading into the country from India, which has a huge and rapid rise in the virus. They try to close the border with India, but that is virtually impossible, as anyone can cross in the jungle. As of yesterday, I heard that the country “has closed down again.” It is not clear whether businesses and shops are operating at this time. Apparently, the international airport (KTM) is closed until April 30th. There is also a 14-day quarantine being imposed at this time when entering Nepal.
Expeditions to summit Everest are still going on, as all the 250+ permitted climbers and support staff (total about 3-4,000 people) have been in Base Camp for some time now. I was there a week or so ago (with a trekking client) and was told that the various climbing groups (sorted by expedition companies) have circled their tents and no one else is allowed into that area from another group. I am not sure what they will do on the trail when the weather breaks!
Except for the Everest expeditions, there is very little tourism money coming from international trekkers. The Sherpas in the Solukhumbu (guides and porters) are going to do without any income for the third straight season. This puts extra pressure on them for schooling their children, to say the least. All over Nepal, people are suffering from lack of jobs.
Schools are open as the year-end final exams start soon. Schools are closed while their tests are scored. The current plan is to start the new school year in mid to late May. More will come as to the school opening status.
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Pemba is planning on traveling to the Solukhumbu around mid May. He will visit the schools and the students in their homes. They hopefully will have their scores by then and know what grade they will soon be entering, as well as the costs. He has asked that we send him with the money in advance to distribute personally when he visits each family. This is because the school won’t take them until the fees are paid, and the parents are unable to do so. He will estimate* what it might be, then reconcile after.
Students/Projects – January, 2021
A Post from Pemba Sherpa our Nepal Project Manager for the Sherpa Education Project
Namaste!
As of January 1, 2021, the Maya Sherpa Project organization was renamed the SHERPA EDUCATION PROJECT (SEP). The mission of the organization remains the same as before: to support the education of youth in the Solukhumbu (Everest) region of Nepal. Our new name emphasizes our focus on providing schooling for those families who can’t afford it, particularly for girls.
We are convinced that educating girls is an essential component of building strong communities. Our work is a continuation of the request from Maya Sherpa, an American-Nepali girl from Colorado, who wanted to help the children she met on her first visit to Nepal when she was 8 years old.
Our volunteer board members have all traveled to Nepal and have met many of the scholarship students in the Everest region. If you have any questions or comments, please contact us at [email protected]. We welcome your interest and also appreciate donations to continue the work. As always, every penny of your contribution goes directly to Nepal and our projects.