Nepal Now / Stories / Archive 2016
Nepal – A Journey to Selflessness
By Isha Balla ·
Published· Stories
“Only those who have learned the power of sincere and selfless contribution experience life’s deepest joy: true fulfillment. – Tony Robbins”
The whole point of human existence is to end up with something more than what we started with. As human beings, we desire to be happy and free of agony and misery. Infact, we dedicate our whole life to fulfill our desire. Meanwhile, in the process of making our life better, the humanity within us gets eroded a little every time.
We possess a power to make a difference in someone’s life by our small deeds. Realizing the fact that the change always begins with you, Ranjita Singh commenced on a journey to Nepal to help people who were affected by the earthquake. She was accompanied by her daughter, Karishma Singh who works as an accountant in Auckland, New Zealand.
“The whole project was planned by my daughter who is an accountant in New Zealand. She contacted Projects Abroad and made all the necessary arrangements for our trip,” said Mrs Singh.
The ladies, along with a few friends, stayed at Bagdol, Lalitpur from Dec 28 to Jan 13 this year. They actively participated in reconstruction of a school during their stay at Bagdol.
“There are about 85 per cent Hindus in Baghdol and I opted to go for the school reconstruction as it was a matter of children’s education. When we went there, children were studying in makeshift tents and it was very, very cold there, well for us it was,” said Mrs. Singh.
Mrs Singh, 57, of Vitogo in Lautoka, said their day started early in the morning and breakfast was served at 7am before they left for the school site. She even made new friends in Nepal. They worked from Monday to Friday and they had the weekend to themselves, a time to rejoice and explore the mountainous country.
“It was very cold and we had to wear a few pairs of clothes to stay warm. But the place itself is very beautiful. We climbed a mountain which is about 2000 feet above sea level and it was amazing when going up. The sun rising from behind the Himalayas was very beautiful,” said Mrs. Singh. Mrs. Singh believes that helping complete strangers gives you contentment, a satisfaction which is incomparable.
The tales about mountains, history of Gurkhas and rulers always fascinated Karishma and that gave her a strong urge to visit Nepal. “It only makes you wonder what it is to see the world’s most trusted and feared soldiers (Gurkhas) and being at such high altitudes.It was always a dream to go there. However, when I actually went there it was completely different to what I could have ever imagined. It was really like walking into an antique shop as the country is so rich in its culture and its own way of life,” she said.
They earned some really good friends who became more like a family as the experience they shared while reconstructing the school was very memorable. “As young people, we are so caught up in our daily life of working to pay bills and maintaining our social life.We forget to appreciate the little things like our surroundings and the people around us. We forget to take time out and think what have I achieved and where we want to be in life or just stop and appreciate the people around us,” said Mrs. Singh.
Life is about moving along with your loved ones. The time spent in Nepal made them realize that the less you have, the less complicated life becomes. “They are so hardworking people but these natural disasters keep putting them on the backfoot. I just wish that country can rise again. I know if we ever go back to Nepal, which I will, I will go back to the school to show my family and friends what an impact that school has made,” she said. Mrs. Singh bid farewell to Nepal with a promise to come back here again. She will come back again to see the progress in school she helped reconstruct.
This post has been excerpted from the original blog post up on fijitimes.com . Click below to read the full version: