ABOUT “SOLID ROOTS”

I began my relationship with Nepal in 2013 as a volunteer with Mindful Medicine Worldwide. While my personal mission was based on providing healthcare in underserved areas, when I began hosting yoga retreats in 2016, it was important to me to orient my service efforts in a way that participants could easily participate in a hands on way. There are many things in Nepal that need support. Children, however, are the future, and the future roots of their country and society. With so many displaced and orphaned children in Nepal, as well as so many remote villages where education is a struggle not only because of the cost of school supplies, but also because there is no toilet or clean water in the structures that pass for schools; it was obvious to me that this was an area in which we can make a difference. I have been working with and supporting Indreni Children's Home for several years, fundraising for school supplies and infrastructure alongside my students. The best part, however, is of course going and spending time with the children and teachers, teaching yoga and meditation workshops and giving hands on help in the garden and with the rebuilding of the structures after the 2015 Earthquake.

The "Solid Roots" project will help to continue this support for Indreni, but will also identify three remote villages in which a toilet in the school will help children to be able to attend. I would like to target remote villages because not all children are lucky enough to find or be accepted into a home like Indreni. In addition to toilets, we will provide a year's worth of basic school supplies for the remote schools, and where possible, help with bringing access to clean water.