Although four years had past, I was once again running around playing soccer with the kids at Dubling Elementary. When I first went to the Himalayan foothills with Dilip Dutt, our International Partner in India, I promised him that I would return one day and trek the steep mountain path to visit Dubling- a remote tribal village. While on a tour in 2005, a busy schedule prevented us from visiting Dubling. Since we couldn't make the trip to the mountainous village, the teachers and students decided to trek over 2 hours to meet US. About a year ago, Dubling and five other village schools were faced with having to close their doors. Their resources were stretched thin over this past year. Closing these school doors was not going to happen under our watch.

When a request was sent out to our friends to help the village schools- the response was amazing. All six schools will remain open for another year. THANK YOU for investing in the lives of these precious children. Together with the financial support we were also able to provide each school with a signficant amount of colorful school supplies.

Nezi Elementary - a small cramped school resting on the slopes in this remote Darjeeling district – faced closure as well. Even though we arrived in Nezi on a Saturday afternoon, excited students, dressed in their gray and white uniforms, waited to welcome us. Some students, as young as 6 yrs. old, have to walk up for 3 hours to get to school - one way! We trekked to a student’s home one morning to see what their routine consisted of before school. When we arrived at 4.30am – they were getting out of bed. Rekha and her two younger brothers had to feed the goats and pig, wash their clothes and help with a few cleaning chores before they started off on their two hour trek to school.

We’re in the process of purchasing land next to the school to build larger classrooms and provide a much larger piece of level ground to set up a play area. You can find a few photos of Nezi in the Himalayan album of our website.

Life on the mountains is simply a matter of surviving one harsh season after another. A few months before our arrival, heavy monsoon rains left their destructive scars on many mountain sides. Hundreds of lives were taken during this past rainy season. Many adults and children who lost everything told us how grateful they were that neighboring communities supported them.

The monsoons aren’t the only destructive force in the mountains. A lack of medical care claims many lives each year. Just two weeks before our arrival, two women died while being carried to the closest hospital which was a 12 hour walk from their village.

In spite of their numerous hardships, the people of the mountains were some of the most generous I’ve met in all my years of travels. Not a single individual would let us leave their home without a meal of rice & vegetables or a cup of Darjeeling tea. Misty mornings around a wood burning stove were filled with much laughter.

Life-long friendships have been formed …another trip brings a deeper appreciation for life. Our work on these mountains has just begun. If you’re interested in keeping these schools open for years to come or would like to help us build Nezi Elementary, we would love to hear from you.