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A journey that began with inspiration from her family, Dristy Shrestha, 21, has achieved what normal youth would not attempt doing. A micro hydro power project seems unattainable for many, but Dristy thought otherwise, and had plans to prove she could do it and turn her dreams into reality for the villagers in Gurdang of Mapikhel in Lalitpur and Tallo Kerabari village of Bhimkhori.A normal “city girl” born and raised in Kathmandu, and currently studying at Middlebury College in Vermont, USA, Dristy says, “I wanted to do a project related to development, and was aware of how broad the term was. So I started researching various developmental ideas online, including organizing health camps in remote areas of the country, microfinance projects, and many more. I realized how there were unlimited options because every idea sounded relevant and much needed in Nepal, and thus I ran into the idea of micro hydropower.”
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Born to Dr. Damber Bahadur Nepali, who grew up in the Paropkar Orphanage in Kathmandu that ran on donations from philanthropists, obtained his scholarship in an American university and came back to Nepal because he always felt he owed something to the people and his country. Now the CEO of the Mailung Khola Hydropower Project, he is one proud father, for Dristy has followed his example and given people hope that anything can happen if one has the will to do it.
Dristy came up with a proposal to establish a micro hydro power project while in America when she did not have any fund or personal money. She applied for the competition, Projects for Peace 2009, with her proposal but did not succeed.
“I could practically see the entire project in my head, so the disappointment of not winning the competition was heartbreaking for me,” says Dristy who was a runner-up in the competition. She had so much faith in her project that she was desperate to see it before her eyes because she knew how much it would benefit the villagers and might possibly be a “model” project in Nepal. It was with her belief that she went ahead and gave it one more push. She convinced the president of her college to fund the project as a runner-up with US$10,000 from the President’s Discretionary Fund. She hit the bull’s eye!
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“I don’t have the exact feeling of obligation that my father feels but I have something different that drives me to do something for my country. To simplify it, I take pride in being a Nepali and the strong love and attachment I have with this identity,” Dristy says proudly, adding, “And I guess, at the end, it does make sense to be interested ‘to do something’ for your country if you’re from a developing nation where there really are a lot do be done and a lot that can be done.”
After successfully completing the first micro hydro project in Gurdang village, Dristy won the award from the Clinton Global Initiative University to replicate her idea in other Nepali villages. She flew back from the US during her winter break and completed her second micro hydro project in Tallo Kerabari village and generated electricity for additional 32 houses.
“When I first went to Gurdang, people doubted me because they had been struggling to get electricity for a long time and were promised many times which, of course, weren’t fulfilled,” recalls Dristy. Excited and nervous, a moment that Dristy will never forget is the one when she delivered her thank-you speech at the inauguration ceremony of her first project, and when her tears spoke on her behalf.
“I still can’t put in words how exactly I felt at that moment. It was beyond just happiness or satisfaction or peace. I guess, that was my reward – the feeling that one gets in return for serving others,” concludes Dristy.
With determination and faith, anything is attainable, and it is proven that miracles do happen when dreams come true!
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