Nepali Girls Rippin It Up: 2/22/09

What this is all about - Scroll down for latest updates!!!

This blog is all about a kayaking project for Nepali girls and our adventure to get over there and help them out. We will keep you updated through this blog with how sponsorship and donations are going and hopefully while we are over there we can keep posting on here - Thanks for checking it out.

The aim of the project is to produce a group of female river guides to work on the rivers in Nepal as safety kayakers, raft guides and kayak instructors. It will be a perfect base for the women to start training and eventually work and support themselves as employees or free lance guides within the Nepal white-water industry.

If you would like to help out in any way with this project whether it's advice, sponsorship, gear, donations, idea's or anything else then please send us an email, give us a call or follow the donations link, it would be much appreciated. Cheers

Check out Inka Trollsas's website (she is the instigator of this awesome project), which has more info about the trip and how things are going from her end. http://www.farawayadventures.com/nepaligirlkayakers.php

Monday, February 23, 2009

Exciting News

HERE ARE SOME UPDATES FROM INKA'S WEBSITE ABOUT HOW THE GIRLS ARE GOING

19 Feb 2009 - Susmita and younger sister with Paddle Nepal

Susmita, who won Jackson kayak in the Peak UK White Water Challenge in november is getting best use out of it possible, getting more girls in Nepal into kayaking! She has now started teaching her own younger sister paddling on the lake in Pokhara. She has also quit Kathmandu based Equator Expeditions for Pokhara based rafting and kayaking company Paddle Nepal. Her sister also started working for them helping out in their lovely café at the office! Susmita just came back from working on a three day trip on the lower Seti, and the reports from new employer Paddle Nepal were excellent!

10 Feb 2009 - Radha and Pasang starts working for Ultimate Descents Nepal

The spring season in Nepal is now starting. Two of the girls from our training program just started working for the Kathmandu-based rafting company Ultimate Decsents as trainee river guides. Radha Tamang is currently on a Karnali-trip! Congratulations!

28 Jan 2009 - Nepali girls on the board of Himalayan River Guide Association

Good news from Kathmandu: The Himalayan River Guide Association had their Annual Genera Meeting yesterday. Six of the newly trained girls attended the meeting and Pasang and Sambhavi, two of the girls, also got elected into the board. I found it very good news as it means the girls are really involved in the guide association which will help in their own future as well as helping the guide association who is doing a lot of great work for developing the situation for Nepali River Guides. It was with HRGAN we organised the raft guide training program for the Himalayan River Girls.

Here are a couple of cool pictures taken at the Himalayan White-water Challenge

Sita claiming her prize at the Himalayan White-water Challenge.
Christie Glysmer

Susmita and the boat she won for coming first in the Nepali Womens Category of the Himalayan White-water Challenge.
Photo taken by Christie Glysmer

Thanks Carve

On behalf of the Himalayan River Girls, a huge Thank-you goes out to Carve Designs who donated some swimwear to the girls. They loved wearing the items underneath their thermals and dry-tops on the river.

Check out their website at http://www.carvedesigns.com/

Thanks Carve

ABOUT US

So far there are 7 of us Kiwi girls committed to this project. We are all great buddies and have spent a lot of time together on and off the river. We have all come through Christchurch Polytechnic Institute of Technology where we studied Outdoor Education and Recreation in some form. Most of us spent last summer paddling and hanging out in Uganda on the White Nile where we had a blast. We are super excited about this trip to Nepal and the opportunity to be part of this amazing project.

What we are up to now ............................

Malaika Davies

Malaika has filled the last few years with heaps of traveling, working and exploring in countries all over the show. Malaysia, India, States, Ireland, Scotland, and generally getting into all kinds of exciting situations. She always has an exciting adventure brewing and can't wait to rock it with the Nepali women on the waters of Nepal. Malaika has just finished her teaching studies so is now stoked to be an Outdoor Education teacher, and is heading to OPC to save her pennies until the Nepal trip kicks off. Malaika has her NZOIA kayak one award and spent the summer of 2005 working for the NZ kayak school.