Nepal traveller thanks RSA

Ruapehu Bulletin, Volume 9, Issue 401, 27 August 1991, Page 12

Nepal traveller thanks RSA

After a memorable trip to Nepal in March and April, Ruapehu College student Phillip Hawkin made a generous presentation to his major

sponsor, the Waiouru RSA recently. Many secondary schools around New Zealand have had students participate in a

conservation project in Nepal. The task involves cleaning up a particular area of a very busy trampers' paradise called Nanche Bazaar. The pro-

ject appealed to Phillip and when he found out he had been selected out of hundreds of applicants he began raising $5000 for the airfares and basic trip expenses. Phillip embarked on numerous after school and weekend jobs as well as asking for sponsorship. In November the Waiouru RSA received an application to sponsor the college student and after careful consideration decided to contribute $500. Phillip and another Ruapehu College student, James Allen left New Zealand in March. They spent five weeks in Nepal but only four days was spent in the cleanup operation, the remaining time was spent getting acclimatized to the altitude. "There was a lot of rubbish including contraceptives and hypodermic needles, scattered all over the area, we literally picked up rubbish by the handfuls". The rubbish had accumulated over a great number of

years. Previous conservation authorities in Nepal had simply buried the rubbish or pushed it into deep gullies. This caused an even bigger problem, the plants did not grow back and the area became barren of wildlife. "Once we cleared the top layer of rubbish, we had to dig down only to find more layers with even more rubbish. It has made me realise how beautiful and clean the national"~parks of New Zealand are. Hopefully they will remain that way," said Phillip. Phillip was part of a 12 person group and was the second such group to go to Nepal in 1991. Between the two groups they had collected 4000kg of rubbish. During the rest periods the group were able to witness the culture of Nepal and it was at this time that Phillip spied a wooden statue of the Nepali Goddess of War. "As soon as I saw the statue, I knew it would be Turnpage 13

Nepal thanks

trompage 12 ideal for the RSA," he said. Phillip insisted that he make the presentation to the RSA in person, which he did, on Thursday 8 August. Wehi Walker accepted the statue and it now holds a place of honour in the RSA. "I didn't want to come home, it was so inspirational and I recommend the trip to anyone who is able to go to Nepal."