Erik Weihenmayer, first blind climber to summit Everest, aids dZi Foundation in its mission to build hope in Nepal
Learn how a small amount of money can go a long way in Eastern Nepal
dZi Foundation/Courtesy photo
It’s not every day that you meet someone who has climbed Mount Everest, and it’s even rarer to have five people in the same room at once who have ascended the 29,000-plus-foot peak. But Vail is a special place and those accomplished climbers all came together in support of the dZi (pronounced “zee”) Foundation to show their love for the people of Nepal and share why this place is so special.
Ellen Miller, Meghan Buchanan, Dr. Tracee Metcalfe, Jake Norton and Erik Weihenmayer are all familiar with the world’s highest peak. Other supporters gathered at the home of Kim and Dr. Tom Hackett. The Moving Mountains Vail event was hosted by the Hacketts and Cheryl and Bill Jensen. After a delicious meal prepared by Annapurna Nepali and Indian Cuisine, the attendees settled in to listen to Erik Weihenmayer speak.
Weihenmayer is an accomplished climber, adventurer and speaker and is the cofounder of No Boundaries, a nonprofit that encourages people to break through barriers, find their inner purpose and contribute their very best to the world. He is the first person to climb Mount Everest as a blind man and during his talk, he gave inspirational insights to the hope and promise that the people of Nepal possess and how the dZi Foundation is making a difference.
A rare eye disease, retinoschisis, robbed Weihenmayer of his sight at the age of 14. It was a week before his freshman year in high school. He remembers being led into the cafeteria and sitting at a table by himself and not wanting to be shoved to the sidelines due to this new condition.
“I was not only afraid to go blind and not be able to see, but I had this fear that I was going to get shoved into this dark place and left there and forgotten and my life would be meaningless,” Weihenmayer said. “Blindness was scary, but not living was way more terrifying.”
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Weihenmayer has gone on to Climb the Seven Summits, the highest point on each continent, and kayak down the Grand Canyon. He’s returned to Mount Everest 15 times and knows that he wants to give back to a place that has given him so much.
“My philosophy is you don’t just go climbing someplace and use it as your personal playground. I always try to learn as much as I can about the culture, the traditions and take in as much as I can before I start adventuring there,” Weihenmayer said.
Weihenmayer speaks very highly of Nepal and calls it a place with so much hope and promise.
“It’s got its challenges but the main barrier in front of people there is poverty. They are poised for growth and change and lives can be drastically improved,” he said. “They just need a little bit of a catalyst and so I think why not try to be a bit of that catalyst for people around the world? By Western standards, it doesn’t take a lot of money to do a lot of work there and change lives dramatically, you can see change really fast.”
He praised the founders of the dZi Foundation, Jim Nowak and Kim Reynolds, two mountaineers who spent time in Nepal and saw the need to help. Since 1998, the dZi Foundation has helped the local people develop a long-term vision for their communities, and implement effective education, health and livelihood programs. Today, the dZi Foundation serves 45,000 people in a network of 13 villages in Eastern Nepal.
The dZi Foundation has a great formula. The people of the village decide what they want to do, what their destiny should be, whether it is clean water, dealing with sewage issues, electricity, a bridge to get to school, or rebuilding a school after earthquakes, they decide the traditional ways and make decisions. “dZi comes in with expertise and financing and the people provide the sweat equity. dZi becomes the catalyst and it is an amazing model, and it has changed thousands of lives in amazing ways,” Weihenmayer said.
Fellow Mount Everest Climber Jake Norton agrees.
“I may be a little biased, but after over 30 years of traveling to Nepal, I’ve seen a lot of development work as Erik alluded to. I’ve seen a lot of well-intentioned projects but there was no thought put into what happens when it breaks or how to keep funding it and dZi’s projects are 100% different, they are a true partnership, true community and totally game-changing,” Norton said.
The dZi Foundation just announced that it has raised just over $85,000 toward its $100,000 goal. The money is helping build an earthquake-safe school in a village called Jyamire. The building will not only serve the community’s education needs but also be a community hub.
To learn more about how you can help rural communities in Nepal achieve shared prosperity by ensuring access to basic needs, catalyzing inclusive economic growth and creating an environment for lasting change visit dzi.org. You can also visit Nepal yourself and be enchanted by the beauty and the people by joining in one of the trips they do each spring and fall.
