A moment, a trip, an experience we won’t forget!
Updates from on the ground in Nepal.

We all know that nothing beats connecting with people and places in person. And when it comes to international development it couldn’t be more true. Each week we connect online with our partners at 3 Angels Nepal, and the construction and engineering teams bringing The Pokhara Project to life. We read more stories about survivors, and share with our giving community about the work we do.

But even we are shocked time and time again when we arrive in Pokhara and remember just how powerful it is to be side by side, in person with the incredible people who we are building alongside. 

In early August our founders Steve and Robyn were joined by team members Hayley and Caitlin for a whirlwind trip to Pokhara. On returning Steve emotionally reflected that this trip blew him away more than any other. It was an emotional time, and really put into perspective exactly what we’ve been working towards. While it’s impossible for us to truly share how special this trip was, we’re excited to share some of the highlights below. Over the coming months we’ll be sharing more as construction progresses, so stay tuned and if you haven’t already signed up to our newsletter, make sure you do.

A moment we will never forget – we set foot on the live construction site for the first time!

In early 2026 construction on The Pokhara Project officially began. It’s one thing to reach and celebrate these types of milestones from afar, and it’s truly another to see it in real life.

Seeing the foundations of the new 3 Angels Nepal school literally being built in front of our eyes, walking through the pylons and imaging classrooms made everything feel so very, very real. It’s hard to comprehend the scope of the project from afar, but being on the land and seeing the size of the operation was awe inspiring, and reminded us just how significant it is that this dream is now becoming a reality. 

The progress on site was mind blowing. The day we arrived we were viewing the foundations of the incredible earthquake resistant foundations. Three days later, those same foundations were almost two meters below the ground. After years of planning, thousands of hours of meetings, many tears, standing on the site for the first time was truly something special. And for Steve and Robyn, there were no words to describe how it felt.

We connected with the full project team in person, and made some big decisions.

Working with an international project team has some big challenges, and while we have regular full stakeholder meetings and work very collaboratively, nothing beats being in person to fully understand the complexity and impact of decisions. We were lucky to be joined by The Pokhara Project architect, Angus Crowe, as well as the engineering and construction teams. It was incredibly special to be together with all the people putting love, sweat (literally, a lot of sweat. Monsoon humidity is not for the faint hearted!) and tears into this project. From the colour of the grout to fencing decisions and how to sequence the build no stone was left unturned.

We celebrated National Teachers Day

In a stroke of luck our trip coincided with Nepal’s National Teacher’s Day. We were delighted to be invited to celebrate with the 3 Angels Nepal School, and were treated to some wonderful performances from the students. Perhaps what was most touching was listening to a speech by the school captain. Hearing him speak about how dedicated their teachers are, and how excited he was for the future ahead, and the opportunities he and his fellow students had because of the school. It was a heartfelt, inspiring speech that blew us away and gave us a deep insight into truly how special the connection between the 3 Angels Nepal School teachers and students are, and excited to know that soon The Pokhara Project’s new school building will create even more possibilities for the teachers, students and the whole community.

We checked in on the state of the current school and 3 Angels Nepal’s operations.

As part of the visit to Nepal our Program Manager Hayley conducted the Field Partner Health Check; an annual assessment and conversation to understand how 3 Angels Nepal’s programs are going. It serves a dual purpose, first it’s part of our due diligence and compliance, but importantly it’s a chance for us to continue to gain deeper understanding into their operations, challenges, wins and how we can support them moving forward.

We took a walk around the existing school to see how the conditions are. While we’re pleased to share that the school is strengthening in their enrollment numbers ahead of moving to the new campus,  the current property remains a serious concern. Seeing the state of the school served as a very important reminder about how urgent it is for this project to keep moving forward. Seeing how happy and committed the students are, and how hard the teachers work to make the most of this situation made it easy to imagine the unstoppable impact they’ll be able to create in a purpose built space.

We reflected over, and over, and over, on how grateful we were to the giving community who have made it all possible.

Standing in the middle of a huge construction site, sitting watching the pre-kindy children dance at school assembly, listening to the school captain give a speech, having intimate conversations with Ramesh, Sarah and Rajendra – time and time again, we looked at each other and remarked on how incredible this work is. How devoted and impactful 3 Angels Nepal are. How grateful we are to have so many dedicated givers who believe in this vision. And, most importantly, how privileged we are to be trusted to steward the creation of The Pokhara Project, and a hopeful future of safety and freedom for survivors and women and children at risk.

We know we say this a lot, and we mean it every time. But this time we say it with hearts renewed, full of awe and dedication; we couldn’t do this without you. Thank you.