Hi Everyone,

Thanks for taking the time to come to this site. I’m excited about this upcoming trip to Nepal.  For those of you who are just learning about this trip and want to know more about what is currently going on in Nepal, where help is needed and why I am getting involved the best places to go are the following links:

http://truestoriesfrommarian.blogspot.com/

http://www.gatewaytonepal.org/about/

Currently, the trip for Nepal is scheduled to leave Boston on Wed January 2^7th and return February 5^th.  About half the time is spent actually getting to Nepal and back, only leaving about 5  days of actual time to work.

On this trip, myself and the folks I am traveling with will be visiting many of the villages mentioned in the links above and we have a number of work and community projects planned. Currently, my schedule looks as follows.

Day 1: Visit western villages.  Assess water systems, buffalo/cow supply and school situation.  OK.  For those of you who are asking “what does he mean by the buffalo/cow supply” please read the above links.  Water Buffalo and Cows are a critical part of the sustainable food/agriculture plan to help these villages thrive.

Day 2-5.  We will be in the town of Tikapur.  Tikapur recently lost many of it’s shelters, school, food supply, and clean water wells to a flood.  Here we have many projects planned including:

-Planning for a new school and working with community to support it.

-Access health of Buffaloes/Cows, study food yields etc.  For those of you who don’t know, I actually have a degree in Dairy Herd Management/Animal Science and worked on many Dairy farms.  I’ve been brushing off my old books and talking to farmers who are well known in the sustainable agriculture community in order to brush up on my skills in this area.

-Building of Zip Line Houses:  The Zip Line is a project that will join two villages that are currently cut off by a river.  The zip line will allow children to get to school and for supplies to be sent across.  Boats and Bridges are too expensive and difficult to maintain.

-We will also be discussing potential scholarships and sponsorships with local community leaders.

I appreciate your thoughts and prayers as I prepare for this exciting trip.  There is much for me to get in order to accomplish this.

Also, if you would like to donate in support of this trip and the work that we will be doing you can easily do that by going to the following link.  All donations are tax deductable.  http://www.gatewaytonepal.org/donate/

Jason