Dear Family and Friends,

Thank you for visiting my fundraising page!

This summer I will be traveling to Nepal, home of the Himalayan mountains! I'm so excited! While in Nepal I will be participating in several community service projects. The exact nature of all the projects is not yet known to me, but I can give you a sense of the kind of work I will be doing. First, my group and I will be traveling to Kathmandu, the capital city where we will begin our informal studies of conversational Nepali and prepare our trekking legs by hiking to the Buddhist stupa at Namobuddha. We will trek for ten days through local villages as high as 10,000 feet above sea level as we head to our homestay community, which is 14,000 feet above sea level.

We will live with a Nepalese host family for two weeks and become completely immersed in the essence of Nepalese culture. We will help to harvest the seasons bounty with our host mother or tend to the family's chickens and goats with our host father. My group made up of fourteen other high school students from around the country will be working with local community members to construct a school or a much needed community water tank.  We will also teach English to local children, lead an adult reading seminar, or design a colorful mural to adorn a classroom wall. We will participate in the local festivals of the summer season and visit some of the many temples that dot the breathtaking landscape.

So with this in mind, I am asking you to help by making a fully tax-deductible donation. This is a rare opportunity to contribute directly to a service project where you will see the results of your gifts through my pictures and letters. One hundred percent of your contribution will go directly to these prjects and I - and my fellow group members - will have the opportunity to oversee the projects through to their completion. If you would like contribute, please make your checks payable to Global Routes and send them to me: Binta Freeman (2441 7th Ave. #3H NYC 10030).

Also, donating through this website is simple, fast and totally secure. It is also the most efficient way to support my fundraising efforts.

Many thanks for your support -- and don't forget to forward this to anyone who you think might want to donate too!

Sincerely,

Binta