What inspired you to found the Himalayan Education Lifeline Programme (HELP)?
My first job was as a British volunteer attached to the United Nations Development Program office in Kathmandu for two years from 1968 to 1970. Thereafter my career took me into teaching and education management in various countries around the world, but I returned frequently to Nepal and also to nearby Kalimpong in India, where my wife is from. As I was coming up to retirement, it seemed natural to combine my work experience with my knowledge of the Nepalese and Indian Himalayas to help the people I love so much.
In the company of one of HELP’s local contacts in Nepal
What is your current vision for HELP and how has that changed over the years, if at all?
Since founding HELP in 2002, a whole ‘voluntourism’ industry has grown up in which the focus is on giving tourists an experience without much concern for the needs of the receiving schools. The customer is the tourist and the school provides the service. I think this is the wrong way round.
For us, the school is the customer, and the volunteer is carefully selected to provide it a relevant service. Urban schools are being overwhelmed with ‘voluntourists’, so HELP now focuses on remote village schools.
You have extensive experience in education. How has that experience influenced your work with HELP?
I am trained in TEFL and Applied Linguistics, and have run language schools and teacher training seminars. This managerial and professional experience enabled me to design a program that was based on sound awareness of the issues that needed to be considered.
In my home office
Can you tell us about your current role as the Director of HELP’s Projects?
When I and my fellow directors visit schools and institutions we receive requests for financial assistance. Sometimes, our volunteers make suggestions, or, indeed, commit themselves to take the lead in raising funds, with HELP making a contribution. My role is to coordinate this effort, and in consultation with my fellow directors, to prioritize these requests in relation to the resources we have.
Are there any projects or developments that HELP is working on that you are excited to share?
We are particularly excited about our association with the Women’s Empowerment Centre in Damak, Nepal where we sponsor young women and/or their children so that can complete their education. We are hoping to raise money to fund an advanced sewing course for the women who have finished their basic training.
I am also, pleased with our ongoing teacher training seminars for local teachers, which my colleague Barbara Porter runs on her regular visits to the Himalayas.
Draped with ceremonial scarves, after being welcomed by the children of a HELP-supported school
What has been your proudest moment with the work you have been able to achieve with HELP?
There’s no one moment. I am proud of everything we have done over the past 15 years. We have financed the construction of three new school buildings, and a new classroom is under construction now at one of the schools we support. We run a sponsorship program which has enabled around 80 children to reach their full educational potential.
We recruit our volunteers carefully, with an interview and references, to ensure that they can offer a professional service to their schools, and we insist that they normally serve no less than eight weeks. And, since volunteers come and go, we train local teachers so they have the skills to serve their children’s needs.
If you could participate in one of HELP’s programs, where would you go and why?
Probably Sikkim, where we financed the construction of the two well-run schools we support and have a particularly close relationship with them.
What does meaningful travel mean to you?
Offering useful professional skills to communities that need them, and sufficient time for their impact to bed in.
Enjoying the Himalayas
What hopes do you have for the future of HELP?
I hope we can continue the good work we do in the Himalayas. We have no ambitions to expand our program. It will remain small and focused, which enables all our executive directors to know each of our projects personally.
We are concerned that the number of applications we receive has been on a downward trend since we launched our program in 2002, and need to understand why volunteer recruitment is becoming more challenging.
