Become a local HERO! Book Lovers needed in Nepal!

The purpose of the trip was to go and establish a library in a community where the children did not have any access to books. We brought books and laptop computers with us and set up a library in the bottom floor of a families home in the area. The kids were very excited to read and learn on their own. At the end of the week we did a cultural celebration with the community and they all came out. It was a blast.
We went up to some mountains and watched the sunrise one morning. Mount Everest was in the distant background. It was one of if not the most beautiful view I have ever seen. We connected with locals, ate with them in their homes, and read books to children.

This was a great experience with a terrific balance of fun time and service work time. A vacation overseas takes a lot of planning and is hard if you don't have a connection to someone in the area already. Village book does all of the planning and arrangements of tours, transportation, high adventure activities, sight seeing and lodging. I lived in the actual house with the people of Nepal, woke up with them, enjoyed their food, bonded with them after dinner. Well organized, 100% of time well spent.

Going to Nepal has always been one of my dreams, and I am so glad I had the chance to not only go but make a difference while I was there! I love books and it is so much fun to share my favorite books! This is my second expedition with Village Book and I will keep going on these trips as they are addicting!! Service is one of the things that brings me the greatest joy in life and learning about new cultures and people is a definite plus! This is a rural experience so not anything like a 5-star hotel but it is a 5-star connection with the people and doing something that really matters not just painting a wall but really making a life long difference in the lives of the people there! I would go again in a heartbeat and am so grateful for the experiences I have had!

The opportunity to work so closely with a rural village was amazing! We really were able to become part of the village and they let us become part of their community! I learned so much about their cultures and traditions and am better because of it! I was able to play a crucial part in planning the expedition and working with the leaders of the community even before we arrived. The leaders there are so passionate about helping the next generation succeed especially the young girls who have been held back by generations of sexism, but they want to change all that. Many of them are now my closest friends and will wish me happy birthday and reach out to me on facebook to see how I am doing. This really has been a life-changing experience and I am excited to continue to work with them.

Oh my goodness. If you want to volunteer in Nepal GO WITH VBB! Seriously the most immersive and unique experience of my life. We lived among the community for the whole time we were there and got to experience the beautiful life they live. Since we were teaching classes in the school the kids and their families knew us and took us around the village every day. One day they took us to their local dairy farm and the textile factory. It was so neat. We went to a few local temples as well. It was amazing. Did I mention Nepal is just GORGEOUS.

The people are the most genuine, honest, and loving people I've met. And that's down to every single person I met. Their culture is so rich and beautiful. On one day we did a sunrise hike up to a breathtaking lookout point to watch the sun rise above the Himalayas. Unforgettable.

The kids helped us in the library and the opening day was amazing. They got us traditional celebration clothing so we could all celebrate together. Many local authorities came, including a member of the Nepali Congress and ex-minister of defense. When they toured the library they were amazed and so grateful. The member of congress said this was the very first public library in all of Nepal! He donated a sum to help pay the staff and asked to support Village Book Builders for future trips to Nepal.

We get reports on how the library is going even after we return from the trip. Within three weeks of it running they had an average of 400 hundred people using it. They say people travel from surrounding communities to access the books! Amazing. So grateful to have been a part of it.

After traveling with this group to Mexico, I took a second trip with them to Nepal. Tostart, here are some of the highlights. While in Nepal, we had a full cultural immersion. We stayed with Nepali host families. We ate the food they ate. We got to learn some of their language and what they like to do and really see how they live. This made it even more enjoyable to serve them. Teaching the importance of education and building a library is something I will never forget. The smiles on the faces of children and adults alike as they had the opportunity to have a library for the first time ever!
Because of our local contacts we were able to visit less touristy places that had some serious WOW factor to them. We hike to the top of a hill to a Hindu temple and spent time meditating there. River rafting on the trisuli river. And hiked for an amazing sunrise hike with the sun over the Himalayas. This trip was phenomenal and would highly recommend to anyone!

If you are looking to make a global impact and creating a culture of literacy in a remote part of the world, this trip is for you! You will be immersed in the culture, surrounded by humble and generous hosts and you will leave having learned much more than you hoped to instill. It was a wonderful organization to partner with and they truly do have a servant mindset as they seek to bring a reading culture through building libraries. One of the other parts of the trip I loved was meeting people from all over the USA that made up the team. We had a chance to do some tourism activities that were so much fun such as river rafting and visiting temples. I hope to go back again and see the progress made and continue the relationships which have become lifelong friends! Don’t miss out on a trip of a lifetime!

Traveling to another country takes planning and organization, but if you travel with village book builders, all of that work is done for you. If I wanted to go to Nepal, I wouldn't know where to begin to figure out how to set that up. Village Book sets up the housing, the travel, and even does the research on the best places to visit for fun. And you get to be involved in a great service project and potentially gain some leadership experience depending on what you want to do.

I would recommend this for students. I would recommend this for someone who has traveled overseas before, for someone who enjoys interacting with people from other cultures, for someone who is ok with accommodations that are different from what you are used to, and for someone who likes service projects.