Contact Us as the DCWC Nepal

A Charity is only as good as the trustees that run it and thats why at DCWC Nepal we are in great hands. We are a charity of nine trustees who work tirelessly hard, solely as volunteers, to ensure the charity achieves all its aims and objectives. All our trustees have spent time in Nepal and at almost every project we have undertaken we have had a trustee present.


	In 2002 whilst travelling through Tibet and Nepal Gary met Akka (DCWC in Nepal) in Kathmandu and listened to Akkas vision for the charity he had started in 2000. On returning to the UK Gary started fund raising activities with wife Sharon spending a lot of the their spare time doing car boot sales, charity walks and other fund raising activities. A year later along with wife Sharon, he gave up his job to concentrate on helping those in need in Nepal. As interest began to grow with the work they were doing they decided a charity was needed here in the UK. In 2004 they set up DCWC Nepal as a UK registered charity and have watched it grow in strength and numbers since then. Gary visits Nepal three times a year and has been there to oversee most DCWC Nepal projects including most of the school openings and all the annual Everest base camp treks since 2005.

	Sharon is the wife of Gary and has also been there since the charities beginning. After Garys visit to Nepal in 2002 when he met Akka who runs the charity there, they started raising funds to help the poor in Nepal. In 2003 they gave up their jobs as Civil servants to concentrate on raising funds for the charity and to make a living from ethically trading Tibetan Buddhist goods. They have both an internet business and a shop, and also have a workshop in Kathmandu set up to pay a fair wage. Sharon went out in 2005 to see more about how the charity works out there and to help with several clothes distributions. Sharon is the bookkeeper and finance organiser for the charity. Along with Gary she is due to return to Nepal in September 2009 when amongst other things she will be continuing adoption proceedings to help bring a poor little Nepali girl call Manju back to live here in the UK.

	Patricks connection with the charity stretches back to Akkas (DCWC president in Nepal) first visit to UK in 2004. On visiting Patricks shop we got on to talking about Nepal and Everest. Patrick had been reading an Everest book and signed up to do the trek for 2005 with his wife Carole. Whilst out in Nepal, after doing the trek, Patrick was part of a group to visit a school in Nagarkot to do a clothes distribution. In the ensuing year the charity started to rapidly expand and he and Carole were brought in as trustees in 2006. Patrick seems to know anyone who's worth knowing on the variety circuit in Blackpool and his son Jamie is the manager of Joe Longthorne. This has always been a big bonus to the charity when it comes to events, as we are never short of contacts and people willing to help. Patrick may not be one for the camera but he's always there to do what needs to be done.

	Wife of Patrick, Caroles story in the earlier days runs pretty much parallel to Patricks. She went out to Nepal on the trek in 2005 and was part of the group to visit Nagarkot school and do a clothes distribution. In 2006 when asked, Carole didnt hesitate in becoming a trustee of DCWC Nepal and since this time has worked tirelessly for the charity. At the shop she runs with Patrick they have done fund raising events and even set up a little DCWC Nepal shop on the premises. Like Patrick, Carole knows a lot of contacts within the Blackpool variety fraternity and enjoys very much getting her teeth into the organisational aspects of our DCWC Nepal functions. She plans to return to Nepal with Patrick in 2010 possibly as part of a cross-land project to take a four wheel drive ambulance from here in the UK. This will provide a much needed Ambulance for our Hospital project.

	James is one of three "techy's" at DCWC Nepal. He makes his living through media and web design and that was how he first made contact with Gary and Sharon back in 2005. On hearing about our Everest base camp treks, without a second thought he declared himself in for the 2006 trek. After being present at the opening of Kalika Malika he became a trustee in 2006. James designed the website for DCWC Nepal and is more than capable of ensuring the technical aspects of our events run smoothly. James runs a youth group at Cleveleys Methodist Church and through 2007 - 2008 he co-ordinated various fund raising projects, which culminated in them raising sufficient to build a school. James took a group out to Nepal to open the school. With his wealth of experience at dealing with youngsters James is a hit with the children at schools both in Nepal and here in the UK.

	Phils first contact came just before the Everest base camp trek in 2005 but it probably came just a bit too late for him. He did however go on the 2006 trek. Like James, he was part of the group to visit Kalika Malika, which obviously had a profound effect on him as he declared he would return a year later to build his own school. Phils energy and enthusiasm whilst in Nepal led to him being offered a position as trustee. Phil spent the winter of 2006 / 2007 trying to raise funds to build a school and though a bad injury affected his fund raising he still raised a substantial portion of the funding required to build a school. He returned to Nepal in 2007 as part of a Tibet trip Everest base camp trek. It was at this time Phil opened Tama Khani school. Phil may not be one for a suit and tie but as a gifted "Techy" Phil plays a prominent role at setting up and the taking down at our events.

	Jasons involvement with DCWC Nepal started with a chance meeting with Phil Hanson whilst holding an event to raise funds for Tibetan refugee in Nepal. Jason is a talented documentary maker and this was the connection that brought him and the charity together. Dave Jennings from UAP decided he would like film footage of the schools UAP were about to build so Jason was commissioned to shoot a documentary. Jason had good connections with our now Patron Sean Wilson and brought him in for the two trips that year. Jason went out to film in Nepal, which was The Everest base camp trek and Bimphedi school opening, and returned in the August for the Chaurikhola festival. He became a trustee in the summer of 2007 and was back in 2009 shooting more school openings. Jason works tirelessly for the charity and is invaluable with his technical background and knowledge.

	Our first meeting with Bev and husband Paul was, of all places, on the path to Everest Base Camp in April 2005. After stopping for a break we got talking and found they ran a hotel in Lytham St Annes, in the same place the charity is based. It was the second time they had visited to Nepal and had developed a big affection for the country and its people. On returning to the UK we kept in touch and after a time they offered their hotel up to the charity to hold fund raising events. It was at one of these very functions, an auction, that we were first approached by Dave Jennings of UAP who was impressed by our presentation and offered to build us a series of five schools. Bev became a trustee in the summer of 2007. With a catering background and a wealth of experience of running pubs and hotels Bev always has a big impact when it comes to our DCWC Nepal functions.

	Like wife Bev we first met Paul on the trail to Everest base camp, and was, and still am, taken by his very infectious laugh. Though we only spent a few days with them on the way up we struck a great friendship with them back in the UK. Paul became a trustee in summer of 2007 and has utilised the Hotel he runs with Bev to raise funds in a number of unique ways. His biggest hit has probably been his DCWC Nepal "Poker nights" which he runs on a reasonably regular basis. These have raised some great funding for the charity as well as raising the charities profile on the back of the publicity it generates. Paul is a seasoned campaigner in the pubs and Hotels trade and thus has a wealth of background and knowledge when it comes to functions and fundraisers. He's never short of ideas and whether good or bad he'll still have a cracking laugh about it!
	And our special guest DCWC Nepal member

	Binay has worked with us for many years and not just over in Nepal. He has twice visited the UK to help us with our fund raising activities. In Nepal Binay is a trekking guide and though he is only 5 ft 2 ins and weighs in at only 53kg he's as good a guide as you could wish to have. Binay has been part of the team on each of our Everest base camp treks since 2005. As a consequence he has many friends and acquaintances in this country that have got to know him well in the mountains. He spent periods here in the UK in both 2007 and 2009 attending fund raising charity functions and events and has left a very lasting impression with all he meets. We are very grateful to Binay for coming here and doing all the work he does. It makes it a far more enjoyable experience for all those who get involved in our projects over here to be able to work with a national from a country we are trying to help.

Akka is President of DCWC in Nepal and founded the charity in 2000 with the help of two Swiss people Stephan and Isabel. Akka comes from a very humble background having been brought up in a poor rural village in the Kavre region. Having moved to Kathmandu and establishing himself as a Thangka artist and teacher he decided he would like to help his less fortunate fellow countrymen and so the DCWC was born. Akka's vision was to provide health and educational facilities where the government had failed in the more remote regions of Nepal, beyond the relative wealth of the Kathmandu valley. Through the many contacts Akka made through foreign visitors to Nepal he was able to work with a network of people from different countries to raise funding to make the projects a reality. Akka travels regularly to different countries promoting the charity to all who are interested to help the poor of Nepal.