Photo courtesy of Peter Ford.
In April of 2015, Peter Ford was on his way to Mt. Everest. His daughter Skyler turned 14 while he was trekking, and on her birthday, Peter left a t-shirt for her at the last teahouse before Everest Basecamp. Along with the birthday message he wrote on the shirt, he gave Skyler instructions for her to find it when she made her own trip up there one day.
Very fortunately, Peter returned home from Nepal right before the 7.8-magnitude earthquake sent a fatal avalanche down through the Basecamp and took thousands of lives across the country. Ever since seeing the news of the earthquake's devastation, Skyler has been determined to visit Nepal and leave a positive impact however she can.
Now, Skyler is fulfilling that goal, and CYF is thrilled to be a part of it. This summer, she will be coming to Nepal, retrieving the shirt her dad left for her two years ago, and volunteering at CYF's Life Vision Academy. Joined by Peter, her mom Rachel, her friend Catherine Torres, and Catherine's mom Sian, Skyler will first complete the challenging trek to Everest Basecamp, finding Peter's old teahouse along the way. After the trek, the group will spend a week with us at Life Vision Academy to paint our newly-constructed boarding school. By offering to fundraise for and physically paint our new classrooms, the Ford and Torres families are bringing us one huge step closer to opening a fully complete school for 200 students.
Skyler and Catherine, who are both in 10th Grade at the Kent Place School in Summit, NJ, have set up an online crowdfunding campaign to buy the paint supplies for our school. In less than two weeks, they have already raised over $5,000! To support Skyler and Catherine's mission to make their trip to Nepal leave a lasting impact, please visit their fundraising page. They are also holding a book drive to fill up our school's new library. If you would like to contribute any storybooks or coloring books for them to bring to children in Nepal, please contact us at info@cyfnepal.org.
Thank you to the Ford and Torres families for sharing your incredible and unique story, for your commitment to sustainably impacting Nepal, and for supporting the students of LVA! We are so excited to be a part of your inspiring adventure.
