For the love of Nepal
Hew Chei Wei is on a campaign trail to raise funds to help send poor Nepali children to school and rebuild the homes of poverty-stricken villagers.
FOR this woman, what began as globe-trotting in 2007 turned into something more significant and meaningful after a trip to the Himalayas in 2011.
From being a holidaymaker, event planner Hew Chei Wei became a fundraiser, too. She has taken an interest in the welfare of impoverished Nepali villagers and hopes to make their lives better.
“I visited Nepal for the first time in 2011. (After that) I vowed to visit it once a year for its spectacular mountains and wonderful people,” said Hew, 36, of Bahau, Negri Sembilan.
She lived overseas (Thailand, China and Vietnam) for most of her 15-year working life. Last year, she formed an event company in Malaysia after leaving her last job as general manager of a trading company in Bangkok, Thailand.
In April 2015, as Hew was planning her annual trip to Nepal, a massive earthquake struck the land. Suddenly, all her Nepali friends became homeless.
Hew and her friends in Thailand and Malaysia decided to do whatever they could to help. They managed to raise US$5,000 (RM20,210) for five Nepali families.
She said: “In the process of fundraising, I realised that the country that I’m so fond of is one of the poorest nations on Earth. Even before the earthquake, thousands of non-government organisations in Nepal were helping the local community. We could not imagine the impact of the earthquake on the impoverished locals, particularly those who live in mountainous and remote areas.”
After the earthquake, she visited Nepal to check on her friends, and supported them by engaging the services of the Nepalis.
In 2016, Hew organised another
By his own admission, Willcox is surprised by his doom-and-gloom outlook. “I’m sorry to sound so emphatic about it, but I’ve been working at this for 45 years. I’ve never thought after that time that I’d get to the point now where I am so pessimistic about our chances as a species, but I am.”
His biggest regret is that Greenpeace has not won the war on climate change. “The Greenpeace mission has failed because the planet is dying. We’ve lost just about every battle we ever fought, just about every battle. We’ve had our butts kicked all over the planet.”
Feelings of disappointment give way to an imminent anger simmering inside the American. Outrage at the lack of people’s fundraising campaign as she was planning to visit one of the earthquake-affected villages to lend support.
Last year, Hew returned to Nepal for trekking. On the way to Annapurna Base Camp, she spoke to her friend Raj Shrestha, who is a social worker and mountain guide. They decided to work together to help the local people.
After months of discussions, the One Village charity project was launched on Jan 27 this year. Hew, Raj and Y.J. Wong, Hew’s childhood friend of 23 years, are the co-founders.
“One Village is about focusing on willpower to change their habits. Fury at oil companies that continue to drill. Wrath at Donald Trump and his administration for denying the very real science of global warming and climate change.
So why does he continue to fight? “Because I want my children to have a planet to live on,” Willcox replies without hesitation.
It’s a Catch-22 for the captain. He’s battling to secure a living planet for his family, but his missions have taken him away from them. He rues not being there to see his kids grow up. “My being away has been something they regretted and miss,” he says with a palpable sadness.
Despite all these things that would bring anyone down, one village at a time. The project aims to send needy children to schools and rebuild homes,” said Hew, adding that the principles of the project are education and sharing.
Hew said the project aims to assist poverty-stricken families to send their children to school by paying their school fees, as well as for their meals and transport. It also aims to help rebuild homes and infrastructure.
And so, they channelled their energy to help out in Raj’s village of Batase, in Sindhupalchok district. Batase, which is 80km from Kathmandu, is one of the many Willcox believes the glass is halffull. He sees the sinking of his ship in an act of state-sponsored terrorism as validation of Greenpeace’s clout. He also views his career, though it has made him an absent father, as an inspiration to his daughters.
His eldest is a mercury campaigner and his youngest is a botanist. Both are equally passionate activists, like their father. Right now, the fuel that keeps the fire burning inside Willcox is hope, something that he consciously chooses to believe in as a survival mechanism.
“I don’t really know if there is hope or not,” he says. “I know that I do hope, that’s the way I have to live my life. I have to live my life like we have a chance, I have to remote and impoverished villages in central Nepal.
“The road conditions in Batase are not for the faint-hearted – they’re serpentine, rocky and dusty. It takes about six hours to get there from Kathmandu if the traffic is good. The locals are like any other locals in the mountainous areas. They can only do farming as there aren’t any other job opportunities,” Hew said.
“Some villagers are still living in temporary shelters, since the earthquake, as they’re too poor to rebuild their homes. Even Raj’s home has not been rebuilt yet and is still a shambles.” live my life like I’m going to save something for my children. That’s the way I want to live. I don’t want to give up and sit in the corner.”
Willcox is painfully aware that the odds are stacked against him according to climate change science, but he’s holding on to hope. It’s what keeps him bearing witness to environmental destruction, and it continues to fuel his shouting match at people, at corporations
From March 22 to 28 this year, Hew and her friends, Keu Tien Siong and Deric Wong, went on a field trip to Batase and visited three local schools. Keu and Wong are also advisors of One Village. During their trip, they talked to the local people to ensure that funds raised would be used appropriately.
Hew said this year, the project aims to raise at least US$10,000 (RM38,887) for the children’s education and the rebuilding of one villager’s home.
In March, One Village’s first fundraising event, Support Dany Ling Titi Ultra 200km, raised RM15,000. Hew’s friend Ling, 38, a businessman, is a veteran ultra runner. He is also One Village’s ambassador.
Friends were encouraged to pledge a sum of money for every kilometre that Ling covered; he ran 107km in 20 hours. More than 60 people supported this campaign.
Their second fundraiser, in April, was called “CKT (Char Kway Teow) by Ar Alan Teh”. Teh, an award-winning Malaysian architect, donned the apron and cooked up 110 plates of the popular stirfried noodles, to raise funds. Each plate of the noodles, together with nutmeg juice, was sold for RM30.
Hew, who only got involved in charitable work in recent years, is grateful for the opportunity to help the less fortunate.
“It means that I’m a fortunate person. At the same time, I think the less fortunate may have less worldly possessions but they might be happier than anyone of us. I’m glad to have the chance to learn from these people,” she said.
In helping others, Hew does not expect anything in return. But hearing the Nepalis say “Dhanyavad (Thank you)” is really satisfying. And what she can never forget are their smiles – these are priceless! and at governments to take responsibility.
Ultimately, however, Willcox says he has enough in him to continue his fight in this seemingly losing battle for another five years before he plants his feet back on the ground for good.
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