Trek in Nepal inspires photographer

Published 4:00 pm Wednesday, April 11, 2007

When island photographer Kim Carey returned from a 2006 fall trip to Nepal the spirit of that country followed her home.

Carey was inspired by the colors of Katmandu, the sights of sacred cows in the street, the temples, stupas (or shrines) and prayer flags announcing the enormous reverence to the religions of Hinduism and Buddhism, and the tough trek up some of the roughest terrain in the world through obscure mountain villages.

But mostly it was the people. With a spirit that rose above their poverty, the Nepalese inspired her to do something more than just show her photographs.

With her husband Peter, Carey decided to adopt a project to build a school in a Nepalese village through the non-profit organization “Room to Read.” The organization was founded by ex-Microsoft executive John Wood and champions similar projects throughout the world.

Carey will be showing the photographs from her three-week trek through the Khumbu region of Nepal in a one-hour slideshow presentation at 7:30 p.m. Friday, April 13 in the Front Room of the Bayview Cash Store.

About 40 of her 1,000 photographs are presently on display in the Front Room gallery through April 15. All the photographs are available for purchase, and 100 percent of the proceeds will go to the “Room to Read” school building project through the end of June.

Carey said the 21-day tour took the group of eight people from the city of Katmandu with its sensorial mecca of sights, sounds and smells of its 800,000 people, to the village of Lukla where they began there 9,000-foot trek up into the mountain region of Nepal to an altitude of 18,000 feet. Eight of the world’s highest mountains are located in Nepal, including Mount Everest.

The group was guided by a family-owned company of Sherpas, including five trail guides, five kitchen Sherpas, several porters and a yak train which carried all of their gear.

“They did everything for us,” Carey said. “They set up and broke down our tents, cooked and cleaned up after us and carried all of our stuff. It was really quite an amazing experience.”

She said the trekking route was circular and brought the group through dozens of villages and smaller settlements, some of which were abandoned for the winter months.

“The people are as beautiful as the landscape,” Carey said. “They have nothing; they lack even the barest of necessities, and yet they are heartwarming, giving people and have no fear of strangers,” she added.

During the trek Carey learned that some of the children she met had to hike four miles each way over a mountain pass to go to school. With a literacy rate below 50 percent, most Nepalese are locked into a life of labor and subsistence. Carey said the trek for her was a life-changing experience and she felt compelled to do something for the people she met.

The Careys chose the Room to Read program because of its low-operating costs, which means more money is actually invested in the educational infrastructure of a chosen area. The couple’s goal is to raise $15,000 for the schoolhouse project this year.

The Room to Read school building program has been successful largely because it requires community buy-in and involvement. The community is required to invest both funds and labor toward the construction of their school.

Carey said that by involving the community directly in the financing and labor of the schools, the project has a better chance of succeeding for the long term.

Carey returns to Nepal next October for another month long trek and more inspiration from the Nepalese people.

“I knew I would be going back to Nepal. It has a magnetic pull; it is just an amazing place. Now, with the school project, I will definitely be going back,” Carey said.

The Careys have already raised almost $5,000 and hope to reach their ultimate goal by the end of June. They are asking for a $20 suggested donation at the slideshow, with a half-price fee for school-aged children 18 and under.

Carey will repeat the slideshow presentation at the Seattle REI store at 7 p.m. Thursday, June 7.

For more information go to www.hiddencreekphoto.com/school. For details on how to support the Room to Read program, go to www.roomtoread.org.

Patricia Duff can be reached at 221-5300 or pduff@southwhidbeyrecord.com.