A group of South Korean volunteers has traveled to Nepal to help people living in remote mountain communities there.

It was the first trip to Nepal for all five volunteers, who paid for their own transportation, living costs and other expenses.

They traveled first from Katmandu to a small village named Bimbad in the Bagmati area of Nepal.

To reach the village of about 200 people living in about 27 households, they traveled for about seven hours in a jeep and three hours of trekking to the southeast of the capital.

When there, the volunteers shared their life stories with the villagers as well as singing and praying together. They also visited the village’s only school, where they played with the children and gave them school supplies. Charity workers from Kathmandu brought medicine for the kids and taught a lesson in basic hygiene. The volunteers also read them books that they brought with them as gifts.

“The village is a peaceful place where people are gentle and hard-working,” said volunteer Lee Shin-mee. 

The 53-year-old who works as an ESL instructor at Namseoul University said she took the trip for religious reasons.

“I wanted to see how God is working in different parts of the world, how I could be a part of His work, and to see how I could help others,” she said.

“I have traveled a lot and been to many parts of the world throughout my life, but most of the travel was just out of curiosity or just for leisure.

“When I first heard about this trip almost two years ago, somehow I felt a sense of indebtedness. I guess I didn’t want to be that selfish anymore. I tried to satisfy myself with fun, education, comfort, materials, and pride, but all those never brought me real satisfaction or happiness,” she said ― saying that she found peace through charitable work.

“My overall impression of Nepal is that the country has a great potential. The mountains and valleys are beautiful with clean, crisp air and the wonderful mixture of high mountains and tropical vegetation.

“In Katmandu, I could see that there is a slow development in progress, and many people hang out on the streets without work, but they were not hopeless.”