Charitable Initiatives

Eoin donates and volunteers much of his time and energy to supporting his “Sherpa family” and in support of the Sherpa people of the Khumbu region. He has undertaken many philanthropic activities to promote and fund initiatives within his "Sherpa Family" and for the villages along the trekking routes.

Since 2004 Eoin has been involved in assisting people of the Khumbu in business initiatives and in advancing their education. He has mentored a number of families in business and in improving their education and direction in life. He has funded and undertaken medical initiatives and initiated many fund raising programs. Many of the Sherpa Encounters' trekking alumni continue to assist  their friends and families they met on our treks. Helping the Sherpa families in Nepal is a cornerstone mission for us. 

All of our initiatives are directly with people we meet and encounter on our treks and there are no agency overheads or administration costs that dilutes the assistance we provide.

After the devastating earthquakes in April of 2015, Eoin and his many past trekking friends funded and arranged the construction of 6 brand new homes in the Khumbu region and in Kathmandu,  The Sherpa Encounters' alumni also funded and completed extensive repairs to 5 more homes.

Over $80,000 was raised privately through Eoin’s initiatives and all of the funds were distributed directly to families and schools in need in Nepal. Eoin is known throughout the Everest region and to many in Kathmandu as “The Pappa” .  The following article in the Burnaby Now newspaper tells more of the story  http://www.burnabynow.com/news/retired-burnaby-fire-captain-s-fundraising-expectations-exceeded-1.1946910 .

People ask regularly  "Are there any volunteer opportunities that they can assist in?" The answer is yes, " just by going to Nepal with Sherpa Encounters you will be making a much needed contribution directly to dozens of families who earn your support and depend on the income.

Intermediary agencies are not used and the families receive the full benefit from the money you spend.

In each trek we typically arrange and provide donations of clothing and supplies for people of the region. Ask about our current initiatives.

Voluntary initiatives

You are under no obligation to participate. We may ask you to take some extra supplies in your baggage allowance. These will usually be supplies and gifts for our Nepali friends to help them or to give them things they can’t easily get.

in 2016 our initiative was the gathering and delivery of over 300 pairs of shoes (donated or arranged through our friends and alumni) for elementary school kids in the region. It was very successful and very popular with both kids and parents.

In 2017 our focus was on Soccer. Through local Canadian soccer clubs and our friends we were able to bring over 300 soccer balls and enough uniforms to outfit many school and village teams. We hosted a 2 day soccer tournament in a remote village for school kids where the teams had to walk in for many hours to participate.  The kids love playing soccer and kicking balls around in the villages everywhere we go. We were able to give the gift of sport. The programs was successful beyond our wildest expectations

We were very fortunate to have a Dentist from New Zealand along on one of our treks in 2017. He brought with him his dental kits and supplies and we arranged dental clinics at several villages along the route. We served over 100 villagers and our dentist pulled well over 100 unhealthy teeth. It was helpful in promoting proper dental hygiene and much appreciated by the villagers. It was also a rewarding experience for our fellow trekkers who became the support staff for each clinic fully immersed in the process of running a busy dentistry office on the move at 15,000 ft..  

For 2018 we will be continuing our soccer and school programs and we will be bringing supplies for local villages and for birthing clinics.

We all have some smart phones and laptops around the home, (especially I-pads or equivalent) that have been replaced in our homes. If they are not too old - and are complete with chargers and cords (say withing 5 years old), They would be well appreciated by the kids and families.

Anything you can do to support our initiatives and help the kids of the Khumbu, would be much appreciated.

Donating a few dollars to the initiatives would help us arrange and buy some new soccer balls and birthing supplies and equipment to send up high. 

Photo 2016 - shoe distribution day in Lukla