Cadets in mercy mission to Nepal

THREE fire cadets from Warrington are in a party of cadets from Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service who are to visit Nepal in October next year when they plan to build much needed classrooms for village children.
They are Magdalena Lulek, who enjoys walking and helps out at childrens’ dancing classes, Joe Shevelan, who enjoys sailing and has been helping to restore a house in the Lake District and Nathan Webb, cadet watch manager who does volunteer work helping disabled children at a trampolining club.
They got a preview of what they can expect when they met a Sherpa from Nepal, Dawa Geljen, dropped in to meet the Cheshire party.
During his visit Dawa spoke about his experiences as a Sherpa and also what they should expect to face when they embark on a four and a half day trek to get to the village of Kangel which is in the Solukhumbu District in the Sagarmatha Zone of North-Eastern Nepal.
Parents also got the chance to ask him questions about Nepal and the chosen school, and they heard how the children currently struggle to learn in cramped conditions.
Dawa, aged 47, is a qualified mountaineering guide and trustee of Classrooms in the Clouds, a registered National Government Organisation working to build classrooms for village children. The expedition has been arranged through this organisation and Dawa will be leading the team.
He is a sixth generation Sherpa who has been leading treks and expeditions in Nepal for over 26 years and has many successful ascents of large Himalayan peaks to his name, including getting within 50m of the top of Everest, before turning back to ensure the safety of his client.
Currently there is a building in the village which is being used as a school, but it’s not a nice environment for the children and is very cramped. The intention is to raise over £70,000 to build six new classrooms on the side of the existing building.   Following the earthquakes last year which killed over 8,000 people, injured more that 21,000 people and left hundreds of thousands of people homeless, the need for this help is even more important and will give children for generations to come the opportunity of an education.