Ever wonder what it’s like to break ground on a buildOn school in rural Nepal? Well, just ask Katrina Law, the star of The Oath on Sony Crackle and who you may also recognize from Arrow on the CW…or at least follow her on Instagram. By chronicling everything from morning yoga in the village to what it was like living with a host family while on Trek, Katrina and her husband Keith Andreen have perfectly captured what it means to travel across the world in the name of spreading education and literacy. We’ve compiled a few of our favorites from Katrina’s Nepal Chronicles here, but make sure to check out her full Trek travel diary on Instagram and Twitter.
All photographs courtesy of Keith Andreen and text courtesy of Katrina Law.
Welcome to the Village
buildOn Treks often begin and end with unforgettable celebrations. In the rural villages where we work, children and adults have never had a proper classroom in their community, and to say they’re excited to meet the Trek team and break ground on their new school is an understatement.
THE NEPAL @BUILDON CHRONICLES: Part 2 of 26 Photography by @keithandreen What do you celebrate today? Day 293 of 365. Today I celebrate the most joyous welcoming ceremony I have ever been a part of. The anticipation of the days leading up to meeting the community did not prepare me for what I was greeted with. I was told it would be festive, but I was not told I would be completely overwhelmed with love. As our rickety little bus drove up the dirt road to where the school would be built, people in brightly colored traditional Nepalese dress started to appear. As soon as they recognized who was in the bus, their faces broke out into broad, genuine smiles. The men started playing music, we were covered in ceremonial flowers, blessed with tikkas, herded by the women towards the build site with our hands being tugged on by laughing children. We were presented with songs and dances by their best performers, welcoming speeches that focused on a global community working together for a better future, delicious local foods, and of course a Nepalese dance/mosh pit where the eldest women held their own. The entire community showed up. The entire Lohagadh community was ready to work. The entire community was ready to grow. #nepal #charity #adventure #wanderlust #friendship #travel #buildon #lohagadh #tharu #terai #schools #education #buildingschools #progress @theerincahill @paulfreemanmusic @czigman @jenberthelot @nawalbengholam @amiebarsky @itsgreener @ctyotablue @jeremyglazer4 @sejayjay @buddhaed @wells.vernon @keithandreen @laurenicahill @bgud @stovasaurus___treks @santoshontheway#Repost @keithandreen with @get_repost ・・・ The #tharu #children lead @katrinalaw @nawalbengholam @amiebarsky & @jenberthelot into the town square for our @buildon arrival ceremony in #Lohagadh #nepal . Such a colorful, happy & joyous celebration! #buildon #builditforward #charity #travel #travels #traveling #travelblog #travelphotography #travelblogger #traveler #tharuvillage #asia #colorpop #colorphotography #worldtraveller #worldtravel. #Repost @keithandreen with @get_repost ・・・
A post shared by Katrina law (@katrinalaw) on Jan 17, 2018 at 7:36pm PST
Working Together
From digging the foundation to tying rebar, construction on the new school is done working together in solidarity with members of the local community during Trek.
THE NEPAL @BUILDON CHRONICLES: Part 7 of 26 What do you celebrate today? Day 299 of 365. Today I celebrate working together with the local community. It’s a beautiful thing to be welcomed into a community so gracefully. On the work site, two cultures functioned as one. It didn’t matter if you were a man, woman, child, Nepali, American, British, Canadian, or Australian. Didn’t speak Nepali? Not a problem. Didn’t speak English? No worries. Somehow, we still found a way to laugh together and share jokes. With a few translators floating around, we figured out the basics and went from there. Building techniques were easily demonstrated and understood without words. I discovered quickly my niche was in rebar work and by the end, my team was tight! We even had a system going where some of the younger folks with nimble fingers would wrap the wires while the older men would come up afterwards and twist them tight. We flowed like molten lava!!!! @theerincahill @paulfreemanmusic @bgud @laurenicahill @itsgreener @ctyotablue @wells.vernon @buddhaed @nawalbengholam @czigman @amiebarsky @jenberthelot @jeremyglazer4 @sejayjay @santoshontheway @stovasaurus___treks @keithandreen
A post shared by Katrina law (@katrinalaw) on Jan 20, 2018 at 10:04am PST
A Different Kind of Yoga
Every village in the seven countries where buildOn builds schools—Burkina Faso, Haiti, Mali, Malawi, Nepal, Nicaragua, and Senegal—has its own unique culture and routines. In Nepal, it’s not uncommon for Trek teams to start the day off by participating in yoga with children and adults from the community before heading to construction site.
THE NEPAL @BUILDON CHRONICLES: Part 5 of 26 What do you celebrate today? Day 296 of 365. Today I celebrate a different kind of yoga. I am a LA yoga girl. It’s where I first was introduced to yoga, it’s where I practice yoga, it’s the only kind of yoga I know. During our BuildOn trek, every day was kicked off with an hour session of community yoga lead by a local Guru. It seemed like organized mayhem and I was skeptical at first but by the end I loved it. At 6:30am, before the sun came up, everyday was cold and damp. A large plastic tarp was spread out on a grass field, where the cows normally graze, with burlap sacks used as our yoga mats. Bundled up with winter jackets, scarves, beanies, and gloves, the Guru would lead us through the most bizarre yoga sessions I have ever been in. We jogged in place, we did jumping jacks, we chanted, we tried to do plank poses without kicking each other in the face, we clapped and sang songs, we pointed at each other and laughed. It was SO MUCH FUN!!!! One of our BuildOn members, Amie Barsky, is also a yoga instructor. Once our local Guru found this out, in the spirit of community and as a chance to learn from one another, Amie was invited to co-lead the yoga sessions. It was a beautiful mix of East meets West. As the yoga classes went on, the locals would slowly trickle in and join us. This was their first yoga class ever. Babies were held on mother’s laps and on men’s shoulders. We even had our trek ‘Spirit Dog’ join us everyday and even protect us from a local cow who was mad we were sitting on his food. By the end of the week our yoga class had necessarily been extended to two huge tarps because almost everyone in the village was showing up, and the community wanting the Guru to come back and teach more classes even after the BuildOn group departed. In LA, where sometimes yoga can feel like it’s about who is wearing the cutest pair LULU lemon pants, yoga in Nepal was a breath of fresh air. It was a great way to start the day off with the community and we would always leave class with a smile on our lips. @amiebarsky @keithandreen @czigman @theerincahill @paulfreemanmusic @bgud @laurenicahill @nawalbengholam
A post shared by Katrina law (@katrinalaw) on Jan 19, 2018 at 9:14am PST
New Skills
Every day on Trek involves spending half the day on the school construction site and the other half participating in cultural workshops. By actively learning about the local customs and culture, our Trek teams leave Trek with an intimate understanding of life in their village.
The Children of the Village
One of the most meaningful aspects of Trek is getting to know the children in the community who will soon be attending the new buildOn school once construction is complete.
THE NEPAL CHRONICLES: Part 15 of 26 What do you celebrate today? Day 308 of 365. Today I celebrate the children of the Tharu village. They came out in droves to the build site to look on with curiosity. Each one sweeter than the next; each competing for the brightest smile. They watched as the adults worked and when asked it they would like to join in, they jumped at the chance. They wanted to be able to say that they helped in the building of their school as well. They were brilliant. They looked after each other, taking the time to explain how to do the task at hand and keeping each other safe. Two of my favorite moments at the work site were when two small friends teamed together after unsuccessfully trying to bend the rebar wire on their own, working in unison, accomplishing the task together like an efficient machine. And the other when a teenage boy, who you can tell was shy and quiet, learned he was strong enough to bend the rebar himself. The pride they took in their jobs and being able to help out made my little raisin heart glow. While staying with my host family, I gave one of the little girls a pen with a spinner attached to the top of it. She squealed in delight and took off running. She immediately came back with her sister in tow, knowing that I had three more pens, she asked if her sister could have one. She then ran off only to come back dragging one of her brothers along. She wanted him to have a pen as well. Again she ran off, this time pushing her youngest brother into the room to receive his pen. I was so impressed that she didn’t keep the pens for herself and that she wanted her siblings to be able to share in the joy. That’s what all the kids in this village were like. One toy for one child meant a toy for the village. The future is bright in that Tharu village. Very bright indeed. #Nepal #Terai #Tharu #WesternNepal #Travel #adventure #wander #wanderlust #charity #buildon #builditforward #team #friends #love #buildingschools #schools #education #progress #lohagadh #volunteer #traveldiary
A post shared by Katrina law (@katrinalaw) on Jan 24, 2018 at 12:54pm PST
The Women of Nepal
Gender equality is at the cornerstone of our school construction methodology. This means that from the construction site to the completed classroom, female community members are leaders in every part of the school building process.
THE NEPAL CHRONICLES: Part 16 of 26 Photography by @keithandreen What do you celebrate today? Day 309 of 365. Today I celebrate the badass Tharu women of our village. I didn’t take an official head count, but I am pretty sure more women showed up to volunteer at the worksite than men. In fairness to men, though, a lot of them had already left for India to work and I am 100% positive they would have shown up to the site if they were around. But the women showed up, took charge, and made up for lack of strength by sheer numbers. They were a glorious sight to behold. The bright and bold colors of their fariyas and cholos painted a rainbow across the work site. They assembled into lines to pass along buckets of dirt and concrete, not once complaining about the weight. And as Vernon noted, they dug circles around him and put him to shame by the amount of work they accomplished compared to him! All this and they still made it home in time to do all the chores, take care of the children, and cook dinner for the family. The pride on their faces as they dug out the foundation for the school, knowing they were setting up a brighter future for their children and community, was inspiring. #Nepal #Terai #Tharu #WesternNepal #Travel #adventure #wander #wanderlust #charity #buildon #builditforward #team #friends #love #buildingschools #schools #education #progress #lohagadh #volunteer #traveldiary @theerincahill @paulfreemanmusic @bgud @laurenicahill @itsgreener @ctyotablue @jenberthelot @amiebarsky @nawalbengholam @czigman @jeremyglazer4 @sejayjay @wells.vernon @buddhaed @stovasaurus___treks @santoshontheway @namitabam
A post shared by Katrina law (@katrinalaw) on Jan 24, 2018 at 3:40pm PST
Fighting for Equality
No matter the country or the village, every community we build a school with first signs the buildOn Covenant before ever breaking ground on their new school. Because girls and women are routinely denied education in the countries where buildOn schools are built, the buildOn Covenant is a crucial part of our school construction methodology as it is a promise from the local community to send their daughters to school in equal numbers as their sons.
Second Family
Because Trek isn’t a vacation, our Trek teams don’t stay in hotels or resorts while in the village. Instead, team members live with local host families, and often develop a deep connection with the members of their new family.
A Finished School
Whenever possible, buildOn tries to take our Trek teams to a completed buildOn school before team members return home. By seeing a fully constructed school and witnessing the impact it is having on the local community, our Trek teams are able to get a full sense of what a finished buildOn school will mean to their village.
buildOn Staff
Trek wouldn’t be possible without the amazing work of our hardworking Trek staff. From managing all of the transportation logistics to translating the local language, we couldn’t be more proud of the dedication and professionalism that our buildOn staff bring to their work.
What Hope Looks Like
The impacts of Trek are limitless. For the local community, it means increased access to quality education for not just everyone who lives there, but also generations to come. For our Trek teams, the memories from their time in the village are something they will carry with them forever. Returning home from Trek means sharing memories from Trek with friends and family, and in Katrina’s case, all of us. A big, sincere thank you to Katrina for her incredible generosity in taking all of us on Trek with her.
