The first time she visited on a trekking holiday, Gail was struck by the beauty of the country, and the serenity of the people of Ladakh, when she stayed as a houseguest with a very special family.  She can hardly have known at that time the close links she would forge with the people, and the strength of the pull Ladakh would have on her in the years to come.  She has re-visited the country many times since that first visit.  Gail writes :

"On my second visit, I revisited my family and was welcomed again into their lives.  Whilst there, watching them work so hard, I felt I wanted to help.  I started by sponsoring the education of their youngest son and also the son of another family in the village. 

I visited the principal of Lamdon School - Eshey Tondup - and talked about sponsorship.  I worked out it would cost £8 per week for a child to board at the school.  This is approximately £1.14 a day, which isn't even enough to buy a cup of coffee in the UK.  So I had the idea of setting up the charity Himalayan Children - Helping on the path of life to enable more children to flourish, grow and enjoy an education.  

UPDATE :   Thanks to your generosity, 20 children are now sponsored by Himalayan Children at local day and boarding schools.