Join Backpacker and Help Construct a School Building In Nepal This Fall

When I hear news of disasters abroad, I find it easy to get overwhelmed with helplessness. I want to support those in need, but how? I want to donate, but where? This feeling was particularly strong after the devastating earthquakes hit Nepal in April 2015. This magnitude 7.8 earthquake, which had an epicenter 53 miles northwest of central Kathmandu, killed nearly 9,000 people and injured over 23,000 in total. Entire villages were flattened, and centuries-old buildings at UNESCO World Heritage Sites in the Kathmandu Valley were destroyed beyond repair.

The wreckage wasn’t complete when the earthquake initially stopped. It triggered an avalanche on Mt. Everest, killing 22, and an avalanche in the Langtang Valley, where 250 reportedly went missing. For over a month, aftershocks that reached moment magnitudes up to 7.3 struck, with the biggest alone killing 200 and injuring 2,500. According to the Asian Disaster Reduction Center, the earthquake and its aftershocks left 602,257 houses fully damaged and 285,099 houses partially damaged.

Nepal has faced plenty of physical, economic, and environmental setbacks that has left the country still reeling a decade later. As trail stewards, we have a responsibility to support not only the land we hike on, but also the communities who live there. So, since 2019, Backpacker Magazine and Wildland Trekking have paired up to do just that. Through annual service and hiking trips, we’ve helped build a health clinic that is currently serving Kakani, a village near Kathmandu.

Now, we’re adding a two-story, eight-classroom building onto Kakani Brighter Secondary School. There’s currently not enough space to accommodate grades 11 and 12, and because the nearest high school is nearly 4 miles away, many students drop out after grade 10 to work on a family farm or find a job in a nearby city.

Before Kakani Brighter Secondary School was built in 2006, there were no other academic institutions in the village. With a project completion goal of August 2026, the additional building will help children in Kakani “escape the cycle of poverty and […] support their families and community in various ways,” the Mother and Children Art Foundation, the Nepalese organization that initiated this construction project, says.

Want to join us? This year, we’re going to Nepal twice—once in October, once in November. You don’t need any previous construction experience to help, just a willingness put in some elbow grease and work. The added bonus: On behalf of every trip participant, we’ll make a $500 donation to the construction project.

Believe it or not, that’s just the first part of our trip. After a week in Kakani, we’re heading to the mountains for some hiking. Here’s where our two trips this fall diverge. You can choose to hike the Nar Phu region in October or the Langtang Valley in November. Read more about both treks, plus how to sign up, here.

What is it like to hike in the shadows of the biggest mountains in the world? Reminisce with us with these videos taken by Backpacker editor Zoe Gates from our 2024 Langtang Valley hike.

Want more? In the coming weeks, we’ll be rolling out stories from previous trip attendants, stories on what the service component entails, and more.