Our a twenty hour journey from India came to an end at 4am in the main bus terminal in Kathmandu. It was the start of what was meant to be a month long trip to Nepal. Participate in a trial run, a quick trip to Pokhara, a trek to Everest Base camp and then onto Thailand (the next stop on my journey). I ended up staying in Nepal for 3 months and only left as my visa was expiring. I did what I came to do in Nepal. Here are some of the things I didn’t know:
- I did not know the lessons I would learn.
- I did not know how I would experience how resilient people can be when faced with adversity.
- I did not know that I would meet amazing people giving so freely of their time to assist in a country that is not there own.
- I did not know that the small I amount of assistance I’d give, would spread and reach all corners of the globe.
- I did not understand how, when required, people can work together to achieve a common goal despite language and cultural differences.
- I did not know how generous and trusting people can be to assist others in need.
I was in Nepal for the earthquake on 25th April 2015. My story has no merit among the millions of other stories. People that have lost everything they own. Lost loved ones and breadwinners. Entire families affected. Lives changed forever.
About Gareth Pickering
After running my own advertising agency in Johannesburg for 10 years, I decided that I needed to do something else. I sold the business to my partner at the time and left on a 6-month trip to Asia to decide what to do next. That was 4 years ago.
I now travel full time and aim to live as many perfect days as I can.
I set up The Freedom Fighter in 2015 as a travel blog and it has since grown into a community of like-minded people looking to improve how they live and separating their earnings from their time.
Along with a partner, I recently launched an ongoing project called Ignite. Ignite is a 6-month masterclass that helps people set up and launch a business that teaches on the internet.
I am also a partner in another e-learning platform called Keep It On Core. An online tuition service that assists high schools students to improve their Math grades.
I think that the two most important days of a person’s life are the day that they’re born, and the day that they figure out why they were born.