Walking Across Europe from Holland to Istanbul for Women's Education in Nepal
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THISWORLDEXISTS Adventure Leader Trent Matthews is crossing the European continent on foot from Hoek Van Holland, Netherlands, to Istanbul, Turkey. This epic journey of just under 4000km is all in the name of raising awareness and much needed funds for our latest education project in Nepal, the Palanchowk Bhagawati Women's School. For more information on this extraordinary education project, read our article about it here.
Our aim is to raise $30,000USD from this adventure challenge, which will be sufficient for rebuilding the entire women's school (it was wiped out entirely in the 2015 Nepal earthquakes), and for supporting its students, teachers, and facilities for many years to come.
If you are passionate about improving women's education and inspired by Trent's great sacrifice of time and effort in crossing a continent on foot, please donate below, and follow us on our social channels to keep updated on our journey across Europe, and in Nepal.
If EVERYONE that visited this page donated $1, we would have funded the Palu Bari project already. 100% of your donation goes to the project.
The Walk: This adventure challenge will traverse the European mainland through countryside, wilderness, and urban zones through The Netherlands, Germany, Austria, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, and Turkey. Trent must complete the entire journey on foot and is not permitted to take any motorised transport, except in case of an emergency. He is also not allowed to pay for accommodation, instead camping or relying on the kindness of local people. This ensures a more challenging, authentic experience, and an intimate rediscovery of Europe's wild places.
The Project: Just outside of Kathmandu, a man named Nirmal Thapa had a dream to alleviate women's illiteracy and fight social inequality by promoting women's education and improving literacy, numeracy, hygiene, sanitation, and home economics practices among women in his area. Nirmal sacrificed half of the living area in his home to establish the Palanchowk Bhagavati Women's School - which at one stage was educating over 160 women, with tangible positive outcomes being generated for the community.
Tragically, in the aftermath of the 2015 Nepal Earthquakes, the school, and Nirmal's home, was completely destroyed. Now there are dozens of women in the area going uneducated, and Nirmal lives with his family in a ramshackle shelter near the old school site. THISWORLDEXISTS have agreed to rebuild Nirmal's school and manage its reintegration into the local community by supporting educational and social outcomes for years to come, following the construction of the school. Construction will commence in April 2017 following an injection of funds from the Europe on Foot Adventure Challenge, and an initial group of volunteers who will be starting work on the project.
