We were introduced to Nyima Diki, her husband Tswang Gyurme and their four kids by our friend Clint Rogers, who stayed with the family for a year while writing his great book on Samdo, ‘Where Rivers Meet: A Tibetan Refugee Community’s Struggle to Survive in the High Mountains of Nepal’.
Our goal was to find sponsors for her children and to raise money to help Nyima Diki build a real teahouse so that she can support herself. Currently she is making a little bit of money from her tea-house, collecting yersa gumba in the summertime and portering loads to nearby peaks for foreign trekking companies to make ends meet. Life isn’t easy, but she is happy, beautiful, welcoming + is surviving in the Himalaya on her own!
The Kamzang Kids | Graduates …..
Phura Diki Sherpa (Khumbu, Nepal)
Phura Diki graduated from her nursing studies in 2018, and after working for a year as a nurse in Kathmandu, left for Sydney, Australia to further her studies in nursing!
Nuru Wangdi Sherpa (Kathmandu, Nepal)
Nuru finished his university degree in Kathmandu in 2019, and is presently Kim’s partner in Cafe Caravan at Boudhanath Stupa, Kathmandu! Nuru also redesigned the Kamzang Journeys website, and works together with Doma + Lhakpa at Khumbu Adventures, as well as with Kim + Lhakpa at Kamzang Journeys. He has also studied Buddhist Studies near Boudhanath.
Pictured presenting his sponsor, Jennelle, with a Buddhist thanka painting after graduating from university!
Dawa Yangi Sherpa (Khumbu, Nepal)
Dawa Yangi graduated from university in Kathmandu in 2019, and also completed her advanced city guide and mountain guide courses in Kathmandu. She is currently working as a mountain guide for her husband’s trekking company, and also recently got married! A big congratulations to Dawa Yangi!
Doma Tenzing Sherpa – Khumbu, Nepal
Doma Tenzing is the daughter of Mingma, one of our yak drivers, a former Everest (and other 8000+ meter peaks) climber. She finished class 10 at Khumjung school and is now working in a boarding school in Namche as Mingma and his wife can’t afford to send her to school to finish her education. She is desparate to continue her ‘college’ – class 11 + 12 – in Kathmandu but we need a sponsor to help her achieve her goals. We’ve now found help for Doma’s education in Kathmandu from Everest trekker Diana P and my good friend Kristin S! A big thanks to everyone who has helped Doma Tenzing!
UPDATE | Doma is now teaching at Thame School as of 2019, an exciting opportunity! She lives with her father Mingma in Thame. Very sadly her mother passes away in 2019.
Doma Tenzing with father Mingma + a photo of Mingma on top of Everest (2019)
Singge Zanskari (Zanskar, Indian Himalaya)
Singge was our first Kamzang Kid, and after graduating from some of his higher education (class 10 math exams proved to be an issue), began selling clothes + sweaters with his older sister in northern India, and has worked with Kamzang Journeys in Ladakh + Zanskar, the Indian Himalaya, for the past 5 or 6 years. Singge is an important part of our Kamzang Journeys team; it’s hard to believe we’ve known him for nearly 20 years! Singge also takes care of his blind mother, who lives in his home village of Kargiak, Zanskar (the Indian Himalaya).
Although Singge hasn’t exactly graduated from university, he’s moved on to work with Kamzang Journeys!
The Kamzang Fund
The Kamzang Fund has been sponsoring children (as well as a few adults) in the Himalaya for education and medical issues for 15+ years. The Kamzang Fund presently has 4 college graduate, sponsors 4 children for higher education, 20+ children for lower or middle school education and is looking for sponsorship for many more children. The Kamzang Fund has also sponsored many locals from the remote regions through which we trek + cycle for various medical issues over the past 15+ years, and continues to help villagers needing help that have fallen through the cracks …
Browse through the Kamzang Fund Kids, Kamzang Fund Medical Case + Kamzang Fund Projects. Please get in touch if you’d like to help to change a young life in the Himalaya.
The Kamzang Fund | 100%
100% of your donations go to the Kamzang Fund, the Kamzang Kids or our Kamzang Fund Projects. If you would like to donate to the Kamzang Fund in general, we put our general pool of funds towards children who have extra needs during their education (including medical), clothes or housing for our Kamzang Kids or villagers that we meet along our treks that have smaller medical issues.
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Kamzang Journeys
Mail To: Kim Bannister, PO Box 1178, Rockport, ME 04856
(We are not registered as a 4013C non-profit to keep our fees at 0%, so don’t have a separate bank account. 100% of your donation goes to The Kamzang Fund.)
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