Trekkers make donations in Nepal

A Nepali boy wears his new fleece sweatshirt.

Sisters students trekking in Nepal left useful momentoes.

Their first night in the mountains they stayed in the small village of Phadking. Due to the high elevation, winters in Phadking are cold, bringing lots of snow. Students gave warm fleece clothing, coats and even some T-shirts to many of the children living there.

They also distributed clothing in the village of Khumjung. Their Sherpa (mountain guide) selected 15 children that he knew were most needy.

"The kids just loved the clothes and were so appreciative," said Emily Clasen. "But it was so interesting because they would take it and then hide it from the other kids because they didn't want it to be grabbed from them."

The students stayed the entire day in the village, spending much of their time playing with the children.

That evening, everyone attended a Sherpa party, and all the children came wearing their new clothes.

After dancing to American music, the Sherpas lined up, men on one side, and women on the other and began a new dance.

"They sang and stomped their feet," she said. "The dance was very complicated. They kept trying to include us and teach us how to do the dance. We all tried, but just laughed and laughed and had to quit. We left the dancing to them."

The next day the students brought supplies to the Khunde Hospital, just a short 10-minute walk from the village.

The students brought over $10,000 worth of medical supplies to the facility, which consisted of everything from vitamins, bandages, and medications to an IV stand.

The supplies were given to a Canadian doctor who was working at the hospital.

Toys were also brought to the doctor's office to help keep the children occupied while their parents see the doctor.

"All the medical supplies were donated from hospitals and doctors' offices throughout Central Oregon, and most of the clothing we brought came directly from the Sisters area," said trekker Jordan Beck.

"We created amazing friendships and memories," said Anna Morton. "Khumjung became a very special place to all of us. On our way home we were able to stop and revisit the village.

"The villagers all remembered our names, shouted out to us and waved their arms in greeting."

Clasen added, "The children all had on the same clothes we'd given. Even the kids who were given coats still had them on, and it was so hot the sweat was just pouring off their faces."

The Nepali people made a huge impression on Jordan Beck.

"These people were some of the poorest in the world, and yet they were all so happy," he said. "In our eyes it seemed they had next to nothing, but yet they were always smiling and happy.

"They could do the most amazing things," Beck said.

"We saw them chip perfectly square bricks out of huge rocks, carry giant loads of wood, meat, kerosene and grain on their heads and back.

"We even saw one man carry a Maytag range on his back up a very steep trail. When we met up with him he'd already been traveling like that for 10 days, and he still had three to go!"