A young professional between 25 and 40 years of age can apply for the Group Study Exchange program which selects candidates after a round of essay writing and interview. While it’s not mandatory to be a member of a Rotary club, it’s vital that a candidate gets sponsorship from one of the clubs.
Suyesh, 27, who works as a web developer at The International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), sharing his experience of the program, says, “Each of us was taken to organizations relating to our work. I visited some IT companies who work with geographic information system (GIS).”
The allure of staying with host families was one of the main reasons Dipika decided to apply for the program. The 26-years-old works as a project associate for BBC Media Action’s Climate Asia and Humanitarian Project. The chance to experience their culture and norms firsthand was very attractive, she says. “We stayed with six host families and the opportunity made me realize that while we value our culture deeply and follow it, we’re not very good at following rules whereas they’re very disciplined and strict about it.”
From Left to Right: Suyesh Pradhan, Nighat Malik, Deborah O’Brien and Dipika Shrestha
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Visiting schools, hospitals and many other organizations and learning about the way they are run was an eye opener for her. “Looking at the government schools there and our schools here there’s a vast difference in the way they function. I believe the program makes us think about such things and we come away with a long term impact from the trip,” she explains earnestly.
One of the things that touched her deeply was seeing people setting up donation boxes with the intention of contributing to organizations like WaterAid, UNICEF etc. “We use terms like donors, donor agency and funds, and we’ve seen how a huge sum from the funds is used for projects here. But seeing where a part of the funds actually comes from and the effort of the individual was humbling,” she says.
The team also visited some of the offices of BBC Radio and she says, “They all have a backup plan in case a natural calamity occurs and there’s a problem with the infrastructure here. At BBC Media Action, we’re working on it. We have an emergency radio that will communicate a lifeline program but in the rest of the media houses in our country we have no such plans.”
Similarly, District 1220 from the UK visited Nepal. Sarah Dunham from the Rotary Club of Newark Castle, Tom Erskine from the Rotary Club of Mapperley and Arnold, Nighat Malik from the Rotary Club of Nottingham and Deborah O’Brien from the Rotary Club of Drone Valley were also in Nepal for a month. Led by David Hood, a member of Rotary Club of Wirksworth, the team landed in Nepal on February 20 and returned to the UKon March 18.
Starting with Dhulikhel and then Bhaktapur, they went to Pokhara, Baglung, Kusma, Palpa, Rupandehi, Parasi, Bharatpur, Chitwan and Kathmandu, visiting hospitals, schools and many organizations along the way.
For Nighat, 38, it was a rollercoaster of emotions ever since they arrived. No one day has been the same, she says. They stayed with nine host families. “I won’t be forgetting ‘dal bhat,’” she laughs. “I will try to forget it but it’ll live in my memory forever.”
Deborah, also 38, adds, “We met so many people and were a part of their families that I feel very privileged.”
Both of them remember the visits to ABC/Nepal and SOS Nepal. Nighat, who works a manager for children and family services for local government in the UK, says that many of the places they visited were related to her line of work. “But I’ll remember ABC/Nepal and the way they empower women to engage in education and trainings. I want to help spread awareness once I’m home,” she says.
Deborah is a Business Solution Analyst at Royal Mail and she was taken for visits to the government post offices and SkyNet Worldwide Express. “We face similar challenges because of declining mail volume. It was a bit old fashioned here compared to the UK where we’ve had to be more efficient and step up to the mark because of the many competitions,” she says.
Nighat believes such exchange programs help with personal growth. Learning about new culture, new food and living new experiences boost confidence. She says, “I’ll most remember my host families, every single one of them. This is my first experience with Nepal but this is a relationship for a lifetime.”
