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Improving education through trekking in Nepal
A Rotary hiking day in Colorado in 2006 turned into a month-long trek to Chyangba Village, and into everything Education Elevated has built since.
The mission of Education Elevated
Our mission is to support and promote education and to eliminate economic barriers in primary and secondary schools in needy communities throughout the world. Education Elevated achieves this through hiking and climbing teams who raise financial support for every foot of elevation they climb.
Education Elevated is a 501(c)3 tax exempt Colorado corporation.
How it started
A hiking day in Colorado, a village in the Himalaya
In 2006, Gerri began working closely with a local Colorado Rotary club and found her passion in helping communities in need. On one adventure with the club, hiking around Buena Vista, Colorado, Gerri met Pem Dorjee Sherpa (Pem), who grew up in the Chyangba Village in Nepal.
After learning more about the Village, Gerri decided to turn her trek into a fundraising effort to help support the local Nepali villages. She established Education Elevated in 2007 and currently serves as the Director and Founder.
The concept behind the name is for each trekker to raise funds for every vertical foot of elevation gained, through individual sponsors. After 18 months of hard work to get Education Elevated off the ground, Gerri and her first team of trekkers began their adventure to Everest Base Camp and then to the village of Chyangba in May of 2008.
The first trip, and what came of it
On that first trip the Education Elevated team painted the village’s schoolhouse and levelled off the playground area to prepare for a dental camp to be set up by a California Rotary club, to provide critical healthcare to the village residents, which is largely inaccessible to these rural communities.
Why it matters that they stay
Over the last several decades most children have left the village to work in the cities to earn a livable wage, and many never return home. This phenomenon has led to immense declines in the Sherpa population, which is threatening their way of life, their community and their culture.
Recently the team at Education Elevated was glad to hear that several young men, after returning to Chyangba from the trekking season, purchased a cow for their families, which indicates that they are going to stay and marry within the village, a large victory for the Sherpa people. Seeing young adults return to the Chyangba Village is a sign that the work is giving back to the community and creating a more sustainable way of life, which ensures the village can continue for generations to come.
Year by year
Everything that has happened in Chyangba
2006
A hiking day outside Buena Vista
Gerri Kier begins working with a local Colorado Rotary club. On one adventure with the club she meets Pem Dorjee Sherpa, who grew up in Chyangba Village.
Three barriers between a child and a classroom
What Gerri and Pem Dorjee Sherpa found in the villages around Chyangba, and what every campaign since has worked against.
The people behind the work
The board that runs Education Elevated, and the partner in Chyangba who made it possible.
Bruce Ward
Chairman
Executive Producer of America's Forests with Chuck Leavell, President of the trekking firm Beyond Everest, and a Rotarian of more than 30 years.
Gerri Kier
Founder & Chair Emeritus
Met Pem Dorjee Sherpa and Moni on a Rotary hiking day in 2006, established Education Elevated in 2007 and has led the work ever since.
Pem Dorjee Sherpa
Board Member
Grew up in Chyangba Village, has summited Everest twice, and the 2016 earthquake resistant school was his initiative.
Kanchhi Sherpa
Board Member
Kanchhi Sherpa is a dedicated educator and community advocate from Nepal. A graduate of Puspalal Memorial College, she serves as Project Manager of the Chyangba Girls Hostel, Development Director for Education Elevated, and Executive Assistant with Beyond Everest Trekking. Kanchhi is passionate about expanding educational opportunities for girls and strengthening rural communities throughout Nepal.
Advisory Committee
The people the board calls on
Advisers who give the board occasional counsel on Nepal, on fundraising and on the way the work is run.
Kelvin Kent
Advisory Committee
Former British Army officer with the Brigade of Gurkhas in Nepal, member of two of Chris Bonington’s expeditions and a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society.
Kurt Whitt
Advisory Committee
Founder and CEO of Planet Media, a sustainability-driven marketing agency in Denver, which he started in 1999 after helping launch several Silicon Valley startups.
Team members
The people behind the paperwork
The professionals who look after the accounts, the legal side, the strategy and this website, so that what is raised goes to Chyangba.
- Jennifer BillsCPA
- Dan MongAttorney
- Stu and Scott McGheeStrategic advisers
- Kurt WhittCEO & Founder, Planet Media
- Eliana DiehlProject Director, Planet Media
- Megan ColquhounAI Engineer, Planet Media
Community partner
Pem Dorjee Sherpa
Pem Dorjee Sherpa grew up in Chyangba Village. He has summited Everest twice, and on the second expedition he and Moni became the first couple ever married at the summit. The 2016 earthquake resistant school was his initiative. He owns and operates Sherpa Adventure International and lives in Golden, Colorado with Moni and their daughter Pelzom.
“Dream no small dreams for they have no power to move the hearts of men.”
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Get involved
Join the board, or join a trek
Education Elevated runs on volunteers. The board meets three times a year, and every expedition takes trekkers who raise support for every vertical foot they gain.
