UK charity

January 22, 2020

A Charity is Born: The Chaos Connection

David Wilson Uncategorized backpacking, charity, disaster relief, humanity, one love, social impact, social work, travel blog, travel blogger, UK charity

Budland /bʌd/land n, v 1. A place we as a charity can have a positive impact on a community. Aid development and empowerment in vulnerable people’s lives inclusive of those suffering in poverty or facing adversity. 2. A safe and secure place for children to grow and flourish with the skills and sociability they need to develop, nurturing dreams that could promise a wonderful life.

Introduction.

The roads we travel sometimes seem to choose us, sometimes unexpectedly and even surprise us. They have certainly surprised me. Being open to everything, you end up in some interesting places, with a little love and compassion you seem to end up in more beautiful places than you thought you would be, where you grow as a person, connecting with people, learning through the human spirit while being of service to others.

It’s powerful and satisfying to connect with community, gaining purpose by serving something greater than yourself, learning humility, enhancing our ability to show compassion, understanding true empathy and embracing the good in people without judgement, genuinely wanting the best for them.

The road I was on took me to places of natural disaster, connecting with people that were already struggling in poverty but had a willingness to help others. In the face of adversity whole countries unite and come together without a thought to social class, caste or creed. The international community also joins the local community and it becomes a very diverse and emotional experience that brings people together for the greater good. I have been hosted in two beautiful countries by incredible communities that have suffered great devastation in recent times. The experiences are quite profound and life enriching for all of us where life lessons were learned, compassion shown and genuine human connection between people flourished in times of chaos. It’s a powerful connection, and if we are doing ok, we should have the desire to look after our brothers and sisters around the world, helping those struggling and empowering them to take control of their own destinies, both as individuals and communities.

I never expected that my life would become somewhat enlightened by the road I travelled. I was not looking to find myself as I somewhat selfishly continued free-falling through life with the world as my oyster, accompanied by absolutely no idea, not even a thought as what to what I could contribute to its greatness. As a curious soul, this made it all the more powerful; I was probably in great need of connecting with life on a deeper level. It was an intoxicating experience full of substantial emotion, being within the nation and overwhelmed by the spirit of the people and the way that even through tragedy it united all the survivors and communities together, for the greater empowerment of them all. On my first visit I seemed to settle somewhat comfortably, landing in Nepal for the first time in a surprisingly positive environment after the earthquakes that brought the country together.

Part One;- The Chaos Connection.

The first experience to really shift the focus of my journey while travelling was the cataclysmic force of nature that hit the Philippines; Typhoon Yolanda/Haiyan. When Yolanda first hit the Philippines, I was viewing it on the news while drinking a beer in the coastal city of Danang, Vietnam. The typhoon was getting more powerful as we watched the onslaught of graphic images on television showing Yolanda’s catastrophic effects as it tore through the Filipino nation.

***Warning of hiayans/yolanda’s destrution***

We were told Yolanda was going to power through and strike Vietnam exactly where I had ridden to on my little motorbike with no worries in the world. They were originally reporting Yolanda was swelling with both size and power. We were on high alert of serious imminent danger. It was a long night when the typhoon actually made contact. I was offered into a home in Danang to enjoy some beers and take shelter with a family that thought they were going to lose everything. It was an interesting night underlined by fear, while we made light comedic connection sharing a few drinks not knowing what was going to happen and without really understanding much of each other verbally. In some way I must have been a welcome distraction for them.

***Entertaing in devastating circumstances.***

It was a long night of sheltering from the strong and destructive storm; definitely the worst I had experienced. However, the typhoon seemed to have run out of steam since it had hit the Philippines, just before its impact with Vietnam. The media hadn’t predicted that storm correctly, and in the end, through the violent tide, it was a case of cracked windows, every tree in the city being uprooted, as winds tried to blow all traffic off the road. I had experienced the madness through the electrical wires almost taking my head off in the darkness arriving in the city whilst they swung across the tarmac and the wind doing its best to force me from the city’s bridges. The fear that night was very real and the calm after the storm must have been very welcome and comforting to those who lived in Danang as we continued to watch the news about the very different reality of the Philippines. During the immediate aftermath, the communities came together to clean the streets of the large city. I felt somewhat connected to the Filipino disaster through the fear I experienced with the Vietnamese. This was the first time I considered volunteering; as I felt a close connection to their disaster. I also felt the need to do something positive due to my mind becoming a little dishevelled within my backpacking adventure at the time. Some people were warning me I was going a little crazy, I felt fine but was aware my journey had to take a new direction.

My road meandered a little further but soon I arrived in the Philippines to such warmth. I heard stories of togetherness and the spirit of the people through such a tragic event. The strength of character it must take to bring positivity to the table and share those better parts of humanity is incredible. To calm people through those most dreadful moments of adversity. It was unfathomable to me, the scale and concept of what it takes to clean up and start the long journey to rebuild their lives after such catastrophe.

***Starting to lay blocks in the philippines.***

These stories amazed me, however with every moment in the Philippines it was less surprising as I experienced their openness, warmth and good humour.

I felt genuinely welcomed by them, opening the path to my first disaster related volunteering. I started by laying concrete foundations and blocks for a large organisation (Habitat for Humanity Philippines), working to rebuild many villages. I got to know the Filipino construction team and the beneficiaries while also having an amazing experience. It was a much more intimate experience than I had imagined. Filipinos mostly seemed to wear their heart on their sleeves; which has often been my very same experience since in Nepal. These were the first big steps I made when starting to make my travels more inclusive of others, in an attempt to be less self-serving. It was also only then, after lending a hand and laying a few thousand concrete blocks through the hourglass of time I realised the strength of the work we were doing! Outside of the direct /beneficiary’s situation, I realised the power of that escapade through the direct connection to each other we had formed. It was inspiring! I realised I was having the best time of my life! I was sharing and connecting deeply with society, completely giving myself to the cause. A world away from my times when I was just passing through a country, and maybe my own life too in some ways. I knew this was where I needed to be in that moment and that I was mentally available for the experience without knowing what would happen. This was in complete polarized contrast to the lunacy I had been living on such a long journey previously. I had become lost emotionally. Connecting deeply again was the perfect antidote to my self-created madness. The lack of connection with humanity was hurting me after years of travel alone, although I was always around people. I had not allowed my spirit to connect deeply and was not of service to others above the simple kind gestures that I would consider normal.

***Leaving my love to be hidden behind the plaster.***

In some ways this voluntary work had become a meditation for me. That small contribution recalibrated my settings, giving me purpose and an opportunity to be of service, bringing a calmness to my soul. I realised the importance of being a part of something bigger than myself, which was the beginning of a journey beyond my own satisfaction. It was the beginning of a passionate ambition without yet knowing, this experience had started a new dawn of my adventure. I felt alive!

The full Philippines experience stuck with me; ingrained within my emotions. It was the reason I flew over to Nepal. I wanted to continue this profound journey I was on, digging deeper and learning more about life as I enjoyed the pursuit of contentment in the service of others.

To be continued………

Featured Cover Photo Collage: Habitat Fot Humanity Phillipines Magazine 2015

Featured Cover Graphic Design: Mustartd Ink Studios.

***Last day relaxing on the beach with a team that changed my life; giving me drive, direction and purpose.***

November 10, 2019

The Budland Birdboxes

David Wilson Charity Work, Fundraising, Humanitarian, Humanity, Volunteering building budland, charity, disaster relief, Fundraising, humanity, nepal, philanthropy, UK charity, volunteering

Life throws you a few surprises from time to time, but I feel that some of the most beautiful surprises are in meeting and sharing with amazing people. One of the people I have been very grateful to meet on my journey in this life is Pierre Robilliard, who has not only been a great volunteer on site but is also raising money with his skills. I recently spoke to Pierre further to find out more detail about his journey in Nepal and how he raised the money.

Background

Pierre first came to Nepal over three years ago and has volunteered on three separate trips (the second and third were with us), and he still plans to come back to offer further assistance with the Budland School building phase. I find this kind of support incredible. On top of that he’s been doing some pretty creative things to raise funds that I was not always aware of until quite recently.

Pierre’s relationship with Nepal started in late 2015, hearing stories from Geatan Lievens who was telling of his experience around a fire while sharing a late summer beer in Lille, France. I had actually been Volunteering with Geatan early on that year on my first trip to Nepal after the earthquakes and Geatan had left me some of his corrugated tin for the roof of the house I was to build, knowing I would put it to good use. I had a very beautiful time with Gaetan, who is a remarkable and genuine guy that has also supported us with donations, which we are very grateful for.

Pierre was an old friend of Geatan. Inspired and excited through their passionate fire lit conversations whilst catching up, Pierre mentioned his desire to go to Nepal to another friend, Axel, and they all decided to visit Nepal together with donations for the earthquake victims. Within eight months, together they had raised over three thousand Euros collectively and couldn’t wait to begin, putting it towards a displaced community’s early learning centre in Selang, Sindophalchok District. If you look carefully on a clear day you can see the closest city of Selang, named Chotara, across the vast valley of mountains from where we sleep in Kavre district, on our current project.

Pierre washing in a small Nepali village

This was Pierre and Axel’s first experience out of Europe and he was amazed at the simplicity of the world they were living in, under the stars which seemed so close on the mountain slopes of Nepal. The village had been entirely destroyed by the earthquakes. While Pierre joined them within their makeshift, displaced village he was curious of their reliance on fire and almost enjoying the peace of life with no smartphones or technology. The romantic way that he first viewed Nepal’s simplicity was both a mix of their displacement and also being from a rural minority in a developing country. Soon Pierre realised how challenging it can be in that situation, especially after such a catastrophic devastation. There was still no electricity in that region for example.

I first bumped into Pierre around this time outside of his project while reconnecting with our mutual friend Gaetan in Kathmandu, they were about to head out on the project, while I was actually about to build Budland School some much needed toilet facilities, little did we know then how connected we would become.

Pierre’s Birdboxes for Building Budland

Further inspired by his first month in Nepal which was so intense and overwhelming that it breezed by, all he could think about as he flew back to his homeland was returning to Nepal. When Pierre arrived back in France, he returned to his job as a cabinet maker, and thought about returning. Soon he would come across the further news of our project to build Budland, which only excited his passion to come back to Nepal and travel with purpose again.

Two months before arriving back in Kathmandu, Pierre had started using his skills making bird boxes to raise money. His good friend Axel joined his mission, recycling wood to create small boxes for birds in which to nest, protect and raise their young.

“This is where my passion for wood started, making bird boxes as a child to put on the farm, and now I am continuing my passion for helping the same way.”

Pierre and Axel met at the same college in Lille and studied cabinet making together, even working since then together professionally. Axel was excited to assist Pierre wherever possible, joining the mission of the bird boxes, telling me that it never felt like work alongside Pierre, and that it was in fact a pleasure helping, motivated by knowing that they would help other people’s lives as well as the birds. They both fully committed to volunteering their time for the mission. Firstly, they made thirty bird houses, but with them selling out fast they soon made thirty more, and then further batches of thirty when in demand. Sometimes another friend, Julien Barrail, also joined them to help continue their mission.

“I00% of the money I raise goes to a project, I take no expenses and donate any costs myself with the time I volunteer to make them. I like to volunteer my skills on site to the projects we support too”.

Pierre visited Nepal again to see the village and project he had heard about online and when reaching out to me. It was his will to see the country further and gain a deeper understanding of the nation before any project work started, having only really been intensely volunteering in one village before. Pierre decided to go on his first trek which he claims has only deepened his love for the amazing country. He hiked through the highest pass in the Annapurna region, “Throng La Pass”, approximately 5300m above sea level. His eyes light up when he tells you “it was incredible”. So incredible in fact that he decided to do two more treks in the Annapurna region, the ‘Annapurna base camp’ and the ‘Mardi Himal’. Pierre seems to be fulfilling his many passions as soon as he’s introduced to them, with his desire to share everything with everyone that he can. I’ve seen this myself through knowing Pierre a little, he makes the space around him comfortable for all to enjoy his company. He is a quiet man, but very spirited. Conscientious and mindful of others.

Some of the Birdboxes during the painting process.

Soon I arrived back in Nepal and met up with this eccentric French guy who has become a very special friend indeed over the course of this beautiful journey. We were both excited to meet each other again. I was pleasantly surprised to hear that he had started raising money and I could feel his passion as he enquired about the project’s developments and depth, about its heart. We struggled to converse back then, but our French friends Kevin, Margot and Marcel, who were also joining us for the ‘The Great Wall’, helped the conversation. Pierre found it very inspiring and motivating to meet more of the people that had been before and willing to help with the project raising the money for the ground work to be able to start on site.

Being in the village more, he saw more depth to the project in its early development, and it really started to make more sense to Pierre. After two months of trekking and relaxing he was ready to get his hands dirty as we started to build the first retaining wall.

“Volunteering in service of the community let me feel and experience the country very differently from the trekking. Through meaningful hard work and contribution, I have made very real friends in the rural community.”

Pierre working hard on the propopsed school site, developing the land.

When you ask Pierre about the village life, he will often include stories of food. Pierre has a great passion for food, and growing up on a chicken farm, he has a keen interest in all of the preparation. He loves to share the experience with people while learning from other cultures, also showing those that can’t travel to France or elsewhere in the West, how things are cooked back home too.

Ramesh and Parbati had just finished building their new home and shop (a similar design to the one we built for Raju), which we were sleeping in while they waited for the plaster to dry. Since then we have continued to develop the homestay for the projects. Pierre would often cut the meat with Ramesh for dinner but on a special day of progress on site Pierre had said he wanted to do a special BBQ and to show them his chicken and mashed potatoes because they may not have tried them.

“Ramesh and Parbati have become like family to me, we have become so close preparing food and helping to entertain the volunteers; it’s an amazing homestay.”

For the first BBQ, Ramesh got out an old bicycle wheel for the grill. It was a complete mystery where it came from, and as Pierre intended, we had a lot of fun. These kinds of good times have become a traditional staple in the project’s monumental moments on site, where we all put together for the meat and drinks to share with the Nepali builders and our other village friends. Although we lost the bicycle wheel, we are currently using an old fan guard as a grill. Pierre has left his legacy for us to keep sharing these nights on Building Budland projects which since then all volunteers have thoroughly enjoyed.

Pierre was so excited giving the mashed potato to our very dear friend Bishnu that he needed to be reminded he had forgot the chilli and masala. I love Bishnu, he has such direct honesty. How it should be. Since I met Bishnu in 2015 he has welcomed us as a volunteer group to his house for drinks and food more times than I can remember, which I fully appreciate, sometimes I’ve reminded him he puts too much chili in his food only for him to give me another sweet roxy to help balance my palate. The drinks flow and the bonding of the team is tight. Volunteering never gets better. These nights have now grown into a perfect hybrid between the two cultures, the rest of the time it’s strictly Nepali, naturally.

“Every day was energised by the people. Work on the walls was tough but the atmosphere and purpose keeps you motivated. Every evening we became closer as friends, every day the work became more fun, it was a tight unit, good times and genuine love of people and the mission. Good times!”

Pierre continued to say that like all creative work, including his carpentry, the brief can be intimidating at the beginning but as you work and see the progress you get more inspired. The progress and accomplishments keep pushing you forward. I have to agree with him. There have been many challenges but it is the people believing as well as the straight purpose that have continued to put the wind in the sails of our projects. Laying the first stones of such a big wall, Pierre reminds me how hard that felt. We were a smaller team in that moment too, but he’s quick to point out how amazing it felt at the end. For me it was absolutely incredible seeing this, seeing Pierre and the team so energised. I hadn’t expected it. We were building a retaining wall, I didn’t think the site work would see this much passion until we started the main school building, but it’s been incredible, because of people like Pierre showing passion with every drop of sweat and each smile shared.

“When I could see what I would be able to create with wood I fell in love with my job. It’s the same when you know something is created to serve a purpose, its important. If it serves to help then it’s an accomplishment, I am proud to of helped”.

Pierre’s brother Anthime selling the birdboxes at the famiy market to raise money for our project.

Since volunteering with us on the first wall, Pierre has been in Australia travelling and working as a carpenter. In France; Axel, Geatan and his family have all been continuing to sell the bird boxes steadily whenever possible and they still are. Pierre’s family sell them on their farm and in local markets alongside their chickens, Axel sells to friends and customers at his mother’s beauty salon, and Geatan in his family chocolate factory.

Pierre came back with Nuria this year to build the next retaining wall and has informed me that they have hit one thousand Euros and have deposited the money into our charity account, informing me there are more bird boxes available. What an amazing success Pierre’s mission has been!

In some free time while I was also waiting for the design to be passed, I visited Phul Maya and Raju to check on them and the house we had built for them. Since I last saw them, they had settled in and looked much happier with life. They had received the beds I had ordered, and now had the freedom to really concentrate on their sustainability. Admittedly this was still a struggle, but it seemed that things were slowly coming together. My heart melted and to be honest I thought the house lacked a little warmth, so I decided to personally gift them a basic carpet, being that culturally in Nepal they sit on the floor for everything, I felt they needed it. Pierre said straight away that he wanted to measure and cut the carpet, installing it with his girlfriend Nuria and myself assisting him.

“Visiting Raju’s home was amazing, they looked after me with tea while I worked and looked so happy, but with genuine appreciation. The house was well made and beautiful. I could see how their life has changed from the project. Seeing this beautiful project [from building budland] gives me confidence in the school project, we will build it!”

The house we built for earthquake victims Raju and his mother Phul Maya

To be honest, I don’t tell him often so I’m just going to say right here, Pierre is a true blessing and amazing. May your heart never be tainted, and may you always fight the good fight brother!

Continuing the work on the second wall with Pierre and Ujwal was like a dream for me. Nostalgic but real, a brotherhood in service. The voluntary commitment these two guys have given is overwhelmingly astounding. There have been quite emotional times which can be evidenced by the ridiculousness of every goodbye, knowing we will see each other and face more challenges together again in the future, which I always look forward too. Beautiful times indeed.

“I was planning to come to Nepal for two or three weeks, to see friends, but I ended up staying nearly three months so I could help [the Budland school project] more!”

Finally I would just like to add that there are more bird boxes still available. Please get in contact with Pierre if you would like a bird box, or email me at david@buildingbudland.com.

I personally guarantee that all of the money paid for one, and also all donations received will go towards the materials, transport of materials, and to the local Nepali community’s builders’ wages.

A special thanks to Pierre, his friends Axel, Julien, Geatan and to their families for all of their time and effort to help support for our project, and to everyone else who has contributed in any way whatsoever to help make the dream of Building Budland a reality. With your help we will make it happen!