Volunteering for skate-aid in Butwal, Nepal

Namaste! 

My name is Kaspar, I’m 25 years old and live in Berlin. For the last few years, I've been studying and doing various jobs on the side. I got into the skate scene relatively late, at the age of 23, and have been fascinated by the sport, the lifestyle and the culture of skateboarding ever since. I first heard about skate-aid when a friend told me about his experience volunteering for skate-aid in Namibia. I was immediately curious and interested in the organization and its projects. When the end of my bachelor's degree finally approached and the desire to embark on a longer journey was coupled with the uncertainty of which of the many potential destinations I should head for, I decided to apply as a volunteer for skate-aid. The fact that I ended up in Nepal was, to be honest, a bit unplanned, but in retrospect I am very happy with the choice. My start in Butwal was a bit bumpy. I caught food poisoning the day before I took the night bus from Kathmandu to Butwal, and bus travel in Nepal is a bit of an issue anyway. For the first few days I was groggy, could barely muster the energy to skate and had to severely restrict my diet. I received a very friendly welcome in Butwal, but the first impression was somewhat sobering. The accommodation is small, simple and close to the skate park. Six people sleep in a small room in bunk beds, we eat together twice a day, always Dal Bhat, the national dish. The realization that I would be spending the next few weeks here was a bit overwhelming to me at first. The circumstances were unfamiliar and took some time getting used to. However, I quickly settled in, got used to the environment, the food and sharing a place to sleep, and made friends with the other guys in the project. After a few days, I was back in full possession of my powers, able to concentrate on skating and get involved in helping to shape the project. Niklas, another German volunteer who started participating in the project a few weeks before me, definitely helped me find my way around in the beginning and made my start in Butwal a little easier. The skate park is well frequented, every afternoon numerous children from the surrounding area come to the daily workshop. After equipping the kids with safety gear and warming up together, they start skating. I was really surprised and thrilled how well some of the kids can skate after only a few months and how well the project is also accepted by the older locals, who had no previous contact with skate culture. People from different age groups often arrive in the evening to watch and admire the skating. Some of the spectators even dared to try their first skate attempts. Without exception, the children were friendly and very respectful towards me and I was able to quickly build up trust with them. A group of girls then took it upon themselves to give me a short Nepali tutoring session at the end of the daily workshop. Unfortunately, I didn't really learn the language, but a few scraps still stuck. The weeks have flown by and I have found my way around better and better and have continued to settle in. At the beginning, it was actually a bit of a challenge to fill all the free time you suddenly have with meaningful activities and to bridge the time until the workshop in the afternoon. Skating at noon was not an option, as it often got so hot during the day that you could only stay in the shadow and even there you sometimes got quite sweaty. We often played cards and I built a ping-pong table out of stuff lying around, which made for a fun alternative activity. But I also had to learn to spend a lot of time with myself, which is not always so easy, but definitely a very valuable experience. Of course, there was also a lot of variety in the project. There were always different guests in Butwal. Skaters from Kathmandu who came for a summer camp, skaters from France who organized a contest and also a skate-aid delegation from Germany visited us for a few days. On one day, the whole safety gear was washed and the workshop had to be cancelled. We then spontaneously decided to organize a competition consisting of various small sporting games, which went down very well with the kids. All in all, I’m very grateful for the experience I had in Nepal. Even though it was not always easy and it took me some time to find my way around, I am convinced that it was a very valuable experience and I learned a lot. I can definitely say that the guys in Nepal are doing a great job, represent skate-aid very appropriately and the project has a promising future ahead. The two months I spent in Butwal went by much faster than I expected. And when it was time to say goodbye, I had only really developed the feeling of having arrived, of having got used to the culture and life there. I definitely want to come back to see how the project develops, how the community continues to grow, and of course to visit the friends I made in Nepal. I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone for the support I have received. I am grateful for my experience and can encourage anyone who is thinking about visiting and/or supporting the project in Nepal to do so.