Travel Kind: Hong Kong physiotherapists give back to local communities on their trip to Nepal

Difficulty: Challenger (Level 2)

When people go on holiday, they usually enjoy sightseeing and relaxing in a new place. But when Gigi Fu Wing-chi and Sylvia Lee Wing-yi joined a trip to Nepal last December, they were also giving back to the local community.

Both Fu and Lee are physiotherapists from Hong Kong. On their week-long visit to Nepal, they led injury prevention workshops. These were for 15 young women studying to become trekking guides. In Nepal, trekking guides help visitors explore the Himalayan mountains.

Armed with a 30-page guidebook they created, the physiotherapists shared their knowledge about hiking’s effect on the skin and joints.

“Many of the girls are actually pursuing their bachelor’s or master’s degrees. They are very passionate about trekking,” Fu shared. The 24-year-old works in a Hong Kong public hospital.

“Becoming a trekking guide is not just about making money. They love this activity and want to engage with foreigners by introducing them to the beauty of their country.”

Travel Kind

This South Asian country has beautiful natural scenery and many of the world’s tallest peaks. Being a mountain trail guide is considered a high-paying job. But it is also a dangerous profession that is usually done by men.

“I thought physiotherapy would be the right fit to support those girls. This is because being trekking guides requires physical fitness, and they face a chance of injury,” explained the trip organiser, Rosina Shing Shuk-han.

The volunteer trip to Nepal was the first one for Shing’s charity, Travel Kind. She co-founded the NGO in 2018 to encourage Hongkongers to give back when they travel.

The organiser worked with a Nepalese charity, 3 Summits for Nepal. The NGO helps girls in rural areas escape poverty by training them to become trail guides. Travel Kind hoped to empower these young women to pursue their dreams.

The trip was organised for physiotherapists to share their skills with the trekking guides. Each traveller from Hong Kong paid HK$10,970.

Unique trip

“This tour was a unique blend of volunteering and tourism,” Shing noted. She is organising another physiotherapist trip later this year. In the future, she hopes to include other professions.

Through icebreakers and hikes with the young trekking guides, the Hongkongers learned about Nepal’s culture and made new friends.

Fu and Lee fondly recalled: “When we said our farewells, the girls presented us with traditional Nepalese wallets that contained some money as a blessing. It deeply touched our hearts.”

Use the puzzle below to test your knowledge of the vocabulary words in the story.

Suggested answers

• Read and answer: The women love trekkign and want to introduce foreign travellers to the beauty of Nepal.

• Stop and think: Travel Kind worked with 3 Summits for Nepal, which helps women become trail guides in order to escape poverty.

• Consider: Rosina Shing started Travel Kind to encourage Hongkongers to give back to local communities when they visit a new place.