| This story is part of my "Campfire Project," in which I
use a story to inspire others tell their inspiring stories, as has been done
around the campfire for millennia.
Andrew Walshe, who I met on Twitter, sent me the great story below about his time in Bhutan. I love the structure of Andrew's story. He starts out with his low point then goes on to state his determination, and how he initiates a volunteer experience (or work practice) to benefit both himself and the locals in the country in which he was an intern. Then he goes on to describe the results for him, the locals, and his colleagues. The story ends with inspiration for others about the tie between personal recovery and volunteer experiences. After reading Andrew's story, I invite my readers to give their comments at the end of the story; or readers can use the structure of the story below as a guide to write their own stories. The whole point to this project is to have people and organizations from around the globe, who are working on positive causes, to share advice, encouragement and stories. If you elect to tell your own, or your organization's story, you don't have to follow the structure exactly. You can skip some sections, re-title some sections, or add your own section. As more story contributions come in, I will provide alternate story structures. The whole point is to create community between diverse people and organizations working to make this a better planet. - Donald Michael Schwartz - Publisher and Editor of "Better Ways to a Better Planet, by Bettering Ourselves"
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The Low point
Looking back now, this past spring marked an all time low for me. The
previous summer I had been an intern on an organic farm near Ottawa. Here I was,
busy working every day, eating nothing but organic food, and really focusing on
improving myself mentally and physically. When I came back to school, though, my
wellbeing began to drastically deteriorate. Losing the schedule, I had grown
used to at the farm as well as my access to free organic food whenever I wanted
it saw me rapidly slip into a new lifestyle at school where my sleep pattern,
diet, and stress level continued to worsen as days went by. By the spring of '09
I had gained 40 pounds, returned to smoking a pack a day, and was drinking a
case of beer every weekend. What made this worse was the fact that my
grandmothers were both suddenly stricken with cancer around the same time. I
felt powerless in my ability to help my grandmothers as well as turn my own life
around. When both my grandmothers died within a month of each other I decided on
my upcoming trip to Bhutan that I needed to realign myself towards wellbeing to
deal with my immense depression and anxiety.
The Determination
Quitting cigarettes and beer when I go there, I began to notice the effects
they had on me. I no longer felt sick/tired when exercising or walking up large
flights of stairs and found myself more energetic, especially in the mornings.
By doing this I remembered the power I had to make a difference in my own life,
so I decided to try and help others as well.
The Inspiration which Inspired Others
While in Bhutan I was an intern at Sherubtse College in Kanglung, Bhutan. On the second day of my internship I accompanied my friends to a nearby leprosy hospital in Wamrong, Bhutan. There I met 6 elderly lepers who were in desperate need of support (money, food, clothing). I decided the following Sunday to walk from Kanglung to Trashigang and back (44 km) to raise money for these lepers. This I saw as win win in that I would be able to help these people while helping myself to lose weight and try to reverse the damage I had done to my lungs. When I told my friends this, they told me that they wanted to turn this into a school event that raised money for a variety of causes.
What started out as me walking 44 km by myself on a Sunday evolved into a 137 person strong walk from Sherubtse College's front gates in Kanglung to the downtown core of Trashigang (we decided to just go one way due to some people's worry that both ways was too far for them). With a lot of our walkers being members of Singye Karm (the school's environmental club) we decided to pick up road waste along the way and successfully cleaned up around 35 kg of waste.
The Benefits for the Local Community
The walk was named The First Annual A&M Walk for Happiness and Change. It was
named after my two grandmothers Anna and Marjorie who had passed away. We were
able to work with
Wecoup.com
and to date have raised 200, 000 Ngultrum (Bhutanese dollars) for various causes
in the local community. These causes included the leprosy hospital, Sherubtse
College's extra-curricular clubs, and the local monastery which was in serious
need of renovation. Members of the Social Service Unit club recently used some
of this money to rebuild a home in Trashigang that was lost to the recent
earthquakes there.
The Encouraging Personal Results
In the days following the walk, I began to volunteer on a daily basis and
organize groups of friends to join me in physically helping to rebuild the
monastery. While I knew the money we had raised was a good start I wanted to do
everything I could to help others while I was in Kanglung. By the time I left in
June we were successful in completing a dining hall expansion, a new residence
for monks, a butter lamp room, and a new wall/flower garden for the front of the
monastery.
The Response from the Locals
When locals had heard I was interesting in doing volunteer construction, I
was invited to the local Kanglung primary school to help them build a monument (chorten)
which they believed would keep the children safe from evil spirits. I was able
to help lift all the bricks and stones necessary with the help of students to
complete the monument.
Getting to Meet Local Leader and Find Out About Projects
Initiated by Locals
Through this work I became friends with Gomchen Tenzin, the principal, who
invited me to his home and shared with me a project he had been working on for
two years with his cousin Tashi. Tashi owned land in Samdrup Jongkhar Bhutan and
it was there dream to build a school there. Many of the schools in Bhutan are
located in the west, so they wanted to make a school in Samdrup Jongkhar to
provide access to quality education in the Southeast and enable students who
couldn't afford to live away from home a new opportunity to study. They have
raised 5 million Ngultrum for this project and asked me if I could help raise
the remaining 40 to fund the project.
Connection Made with In-Country Foundation
We have now made connections with the Bhutan Foundation to research ways to fundraise for the Dungsam Higher Secondary School. We are beginning to formulate a way to make a contract ensuring that this school is built in a way in which donor support goes where it is needed and that all involved are fully accountable at all times.
My Next Step
I am also trying to start my own NGO which will allow me to continue to help
the people of Bhutan as well as others throughout the developing world.
How My Story Can Inspire Others
I feel my story can help others because it proves that anything is possible
if you act on your opportunities. I really felt like I had nothing going for me
and now I feel excited to get up every day and keeping working on these
projects. I have since quit cigarettes and alcohol completely and am proud to
say I am now down to around 160 lbs. I am practicing Buddhism now and focused on
doing all I can to help myself through helping others.
Andrew Walshe - December 6, 2009
walshey13@gmail.com
After registering at http://www.wecoup.com you can find out more about Mr. Walshe's walk in Bhutan at http://www.wecoup.com/showthread.php?t=275, the link for the Children of Bhutan section of wecoup.com
Do you have a story similar story to Andrew's, would you like to comment on Andrew's story? If so use the form below to comment:
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