01
You join an expedition
You choose a route and train for it. Teams have walked to Everest Base Camp and on to Chyangba since 2008, about a month on the ground.
Climbing For A Cause.Every Step Builds a Future
Every vertical foot our teams climb, and every gift that comes with it, pays for classrooms, teachers and beds in one village in the Himalaya.
Donate to Nepal- 2007
- Educating since
- 20
- Beds in the new dormitory
- $650
- A school year for one girl
Trekking is one way we fund it.
Education is what we build
A Rotary hike in Colorado introduced Gerri Kier to Pem Dorjee Sherpa, who grew up in Chyangba. She founded Education Elevated in 2007. Sponsors pledge against every vertical foot her teams gain, and the mountain does part of the fundraising. The rest comes from direct gifts, Rotary clubs and local fundraisers.
The first team walked to Everest Base Camp and on to Chyangba in May 2008. They painted the schoolhouse and levelled the playground. After the April 2015 earthquake the village was rebuilt to withstand the next one.
Read the full story
20
girls now sleep at the school
we fund in Chyangba, Nepal
56
children in primary school every year
19
years of Education Elevated, founded in 2007
How charity trekking in Nepal helps fund a school
01
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Sponsors back every foot
Friends, family and businesses pledge an amount for each vertical foot you gain. A single expedition climbs thousands of them.
03
Chyangba gets built
The pledges pay teachers, buy uniforms and supplies, and keep beds in the dormitory. Every dollar goes to the campaign it was raised for.
Our projects in Chyangba Village, Nepal
The schools, teachers and dormitories that vertical feet have paid for.
Education Elevated has worked in Chyangba Village, in Nepal's Solukhumbu district, since 2008. The April 2015 earthquake took down the schoolhouse built the year before. The village was rebuilt in 2016 to withstand the next one, and it remains the only earthquake-resistant school in the region.
Solukhumbu, Nepal
Wongchu Biswa Darshan School
Built after the April 2015 earthquake destroyed the schoolhouse, with the Nepali Relief Fund of Indiana and an architect from Kathmandu.
Fund the school
Solukhumbu, Nepal
The Chyangba Girls' Dormitory
Girls who live too far to walk now have a bed of their own for the ten month school year, at no cost to their families.
Fund the dormitoryThe people behind our work
The founders, board and partners who have kept Education Elevated active since 2007.
Founder & Director
Education Elevated began with Gerri Kier. In 2006 she met Pem Dorjee Sherpa and Moni on a Rotary hiking day, and by 2008 she was trekking to Everest Base Camp, turning every vertical foot climbed into funding for schools in Nepal. She has led the work ever since.
Read Gerri's storyVoices From Chyangba
The people we work with in Chyangba Village, in their own words.
A safe place to live, access to school, uniforms, teachers, and a supportive environment can completely change a young girl’s future.
Pem Dorjee Sherpa
Community Partner, Chyangba, Solukhumbu
News
Expeditions, projects, and the people behind them.
Twenty Beds, and a Room That Stays Warm
The girls’ dormitory was finished in February 2026. Twenty girls who live too far to walk now sleep at the school, at no cost to their families.
2026
A flood update from Western Colorado Friends of the Himalayas
Kelvin Kent's update on the August 26 flood, from Western Colorado Friends of the Himalayas.
2026
Twenty beds, and a room that stays warm
Six months from cleared ground to a finished dormitory, told through the photographs sent back from the village.
2025
A concert benefiting the children of Chyangba Village
An evening of music in Colorado that funded a year of the school's operating costs.
2024
The 2024 trek to Chyangba and Pikey Peak
A team walked back into the village to see the school and the hostel in use.
Before you give, the answers
Every dollar is applied to the campaign it was raised for: the girls' hostel, student uniforms, teacher salaries, or the general operations of the school.
$650 a girl, for uniform, school supplies, room and board.
No. Most support comes from sponsors who pledge against a trekker's climb, and from direct donations.
Sponsors pledge an amount for each foot of elevation a trekker gains. A single expedition gains thousands of feet.
Local partners in Chyangba Village. The 2016 school was an initiative of Pem Dorjee Sherpa, built with the Nepali Relief Fund of Indiana and an architect from Kathmandu.
In the Solukhumbu district of Nepal, in the Everest region. The first Education Elevated team reached it in May 2008.
Teams have walked to Everest Base Camp and on to Chyangba since 2008, and the trek takes about a month on the ground.
Yes. Education Elevated Inc. is a 501(c)(3) tax exempt Colorado non-profit corporation, founded in 2007.
Emergency appeal
2026 Nepal Flood Relief
On 26 August 2026, flash floods swept a 72 km stretch of the Trishuli river in Rasuwa. Chyangba Village, in Solukhumbu, was outside the flood zone and is safe.
Thank you to our 2026 event sponsors
Helpful links for your trek preparation
Letter of Support for Education Elevated
Dear Friends and Supporters,
My name is Pem Dorjee Sherpa, and I am proud to offer my strong support for Education Elevated and the important work this organization has carried out in the remote mountain communities of Nepal.
My relationship with Education Elevated is personal. Following the devastating 2015 Nepal earthquake, I worked alongside the organization and members of the local community to help rebuild the village of Chyangba in the Solukhumbu region. The earthquake destroyed homes, damaged schools, and disrupted the lives of families throughout the region. Education Elevated responded not simply with short-term assistance, but with a commitment to helping the community rebuild for the future.
That commitment continues today.
Most recently, Education Elevated has helped complete a girls’ hostel that provides a safe and supportive home for 20 girls who otherwise face significant challenges in continuing their education. This project has been made possible through the generosity and cooperation of individuals and Rotary clubs from across the United States, working together with the people of Nepal.
I have seen firsthand what this support means. A safe place to live, access to school, uniforms, teachers, and a supportive environment can completely change the future of a young girl. When we educate these girls, we are also strengthening their families and helping build a better future for the entire community.
But completing the hostel is not the end of this effort. It is the beginning of the next chapter.
These young women will need continued support for their room and board, education, uniforms, teachers, school supplies, and other basic needs. There are also many more opportunities to improve education and quality of life throughout the surrounding rural communities.
I encourage individuals, Rotary clubs, businesses, foundations, and other organizations to join Education Elevated and become part of this effort. Whether through financial support, partnership, volunteering, or simply sharing our story, you can make a meaningful difference.
I have been honored to work alongside Education Elevated and to witness what can happen when people from Nepal and the United States come together around a common purpose. I hope you will join us as we continue this important work.
Together, we can give these girls not only an education, but also opportunity, confidence, independence, and hope for their future.
With gratitude,
Pem Sherpa
Supporter and Community Partner
Education Elevated
Chyangba, Solukhumbu, Nepal