200 Pens give a great hope to children in Nepal

Antonio is Maria’s partner, the franchise of our 101CAFFE’ store in Settimo Torinese, an Italian country near Turin, in the Piedmont region. He is passionate about travel and has chosen Nepal, in search of the “little things that make a difference”.

Antonio has already been to Nepal, but this year he decided to go to the Himalaya valley and visit the interior, to be able to tell about life in the villages, where the huts have thatched roofs and the dung is attached to the walls, with children and animals everywhere. Antonio shared with us the unique and incredible emotions of his last trip to Nepal. Below is the story of his experience.

Nepal is one of the poorest countries in the world, very populated and without structures. In this country, children work since childhood: they prepare food for animals, look after their younger brothers, take care of the water and wood they need at home, or work in the fields in the midst of dust that irritates their eyes , throat, nostrils.

I have reached the Kathmandu valley and outside it the mountains are steep, but the peaks are gentle and low. I reached the villages after a long hike and then the small peasant houses, sometimes made of wood, brick, or terracotta.

The lifestyle is very different from the comforts of the West, but the possibility of receiving an education is very important for these children: to reach the school they are often forced to “slide” through meters of wire, from one side of a river to the other…

After the two terrible earthquakes, which literally damaged the Asian country in 2015, there have been signs of recovery, so much so that those districts most affected have received teaching materials, recreational kits and more, thanks to the concrete aid of international associations and organizations.

Children in Nepal are cheerful, laugh and speak loudly like all children in the world: they have big black eyes and for them I am a real novelty, in a place so isolated from the rest of the country. Here tourism is rare and children do not want money, but they appreciate school material and therefore the possibility of being able to grow up in a healthy and organized school environment, in a country where such conditions are very difficult to find, despite its incredible wonders.

I was moved when they welcomed me, fascinated, joyful and exultant at the sight of the 200 pens by 101CAFFE’ that they immediately “tested” on their hands. Here children do not have pens for writing and the few they have are a privilege, to be shared with the community.

The inhabitants of these mountains are spontaneous, sincere and smiling people: a namaste is enough to make the children of this place laugh, to play with them and have a picture with them happy. What this trip left me: after almost twenty days, I returned to Italy, reaching home from the airport and I thought that “everything here now seems so small”.

I had the same feeling as I was a child, returning from every distant journey, a magic that I had forgotten. Horizons are widening: “small things make the difference” and the desire to leave immediately becomes almost an obsession.