This was the prompt I used to help narrow down the immense list of NGOs I was interested in for my LiA. It was in December 2025, probably after receiving one of the many reminders from our program manager. I remember the LiA workshop in August, where we were told by an alumnus : “Time goes by fast ! Start prepping early!”. I remember thinking “I’ll manage.” Now I understand why they ask alumni to assist in the workshops, and why they say that time goes by quickly.

So, like everyone else, I looked through the list of central LiAs, and I came across the Make Impact Visible project with SOS Children’s Villages in Nepal, which really blew me away! Location, project, organisation, it looked amazing! I will make the goal of the project clearer later on.

A week after sending my application (special thank you to @Arthur Guillat  who helped me film some scenes for a video I had to produce), I was accepted! Have you ever seen those “opening college application decisions” videos, where some student is opening their letter, surrounded by family, and they scream out of happiness? Well, I didn’t scream for my uni acceptance, yet I did when I learned I was going to Nepal :)

Arriving in Nepal

On the 3rd of August, I leave Switzerland, camera strap around my neck, and after an 8-hour layover in Istanbul, our plane gently descends to Kathmandu, a city which I’ve only seen through my childhood comic book, Tintin. As we pass the last set of clouds, a beautiful landscape reveals itself : bushy trees everywhere, colourful buildings, messy streets… In all the places I’ve been, looking through the window was always the same, either gray roads or green plains.

As I leave the airport, I am immediately greeted by heavy rain, typical of the monsoon season in Nepal. A driver waits for me, and as the city’s identity slowly shows itself, I finally realize that I’m in Nepal (somehow, only now.) The streets are loud, the driving is chaotic, the colours are so vibrant, dogs are everywhere, I’ve never seen such a city! I’m brought to the hotel, where I meet my two friends, @Shurong Zhao (Emma) from Hong Kong, and @Tymofii Donets  from Scotland!

I'm so glad I got to spend this month with them! Tym studies anthropology & film, and Emma studies psychology. 

In our 2 days in the capital of Nepal, we had the chance of finally meeting the SOS Children’s Villages Nepal team at their head office. We met and briefly exchanged with the entire team, who warmly welcomed us! We also finally met Elisha, our person of contact after many Zoom meetings. We had lunch at their office, and dinner at a restaurant (I think that was the start of my love story with Nepali food). Everyone was so friendly, and they all wanted to make us feel at home! It was also very funny to see that everyone was great friends, making personal jokes, even at the national director.

The start of the project : Itahari

A few days later, we fly to Itahari, where our work starts. Through these four-ish days, we worked at one of the many children's villages, where we documented daily life in the classrooms, houses, and communal areas. All the children were so curious and excited to speak with us! They were all so friendly, we played table tennis, football, and one of them even challenged me to a push-up contest! Most of them spoke great English, so it was really easy to bond with them. Even with those who didn’t speak as well, it was very funny to see that they all know “6 7, Messi, Ronaldo, Mbappe, Tralalero Tralala, Auramaxxing…” I think Itahari was my favourite part of the entire experience, because of the bond we had with everyone.

I will not forget the football match (I had to show them why France is the best at football, kids nowadays can be so arrogant...phew), the sightseeing with Damudar and Tym, and learning how to make momos.

Madesh province, aka Earth's sauna

All great things must come to an "end", so after a 3-hour bumpy car ride, we arrive in Lahan, in the Madhesh province, one of the least developed parts of the country. We’ll be staying in this province for the next two weeks. No more children’s villages, the rest of our work is dedicated to documenting projects led by local teams : providing educational workshops on nutrition, livestock farming, health and hygiene, financially supporting families…

This part of the project was the hardest, but also the most enriching for me. Our days were long and tiring. We would leave the hotel at around 9, then come back around 17:30. We would usually conduct interviews or film some workshops in the morning, then eat a Thali set (every day, literally), and do something similar in the afternoon, before driving back to Lahan. Although I truly felt exhausted at times, each day was exciting – a new story to document, new people to meet, new places to see…

As this province is still developing, roads are still under construction, and driving feels like riding a rollercoaster! Power cuts were frequent, and the temperature here was suffocating. I will never complain about the temperature in Switzerland ever again.

During our stay in this province, we stayed around 5 days in Lahan, then for the remaining days, we would drive to Ganeshman Charnath and Karjanha. I will not forget eating momos with Merina and Sahjad, all the dinners with Sir Krishna, the Ethiopian team who was visiting Nepal, the hotel manager, the friendly shop owner and the student who helped us buy some equipment.

I especially loved Karjanha, where we were supported by Anand and Samir, who are best friends. We had a great time together, and learned many things from each other’s cultures. I learned that my name sounds exactly like the Nepalese word for “out of control”. Now I understand why people sometimes made odd faces when I introduced myself. I will not forget the villagers coming to see us, just to “see the foreigners who came to the village”. It was very funny!

After work : Janakpur, Kathmandu

Having finished all our work faster than expected, we headed off to Janakpur, thanks to Elisha who made the schedule change possible! Ajay, who works for SOS at Ganeshman Charnath, lives in Janakpur, and very kindly offered to show us around his hometown during the weekend. I will not forget eating the delicious fried fish on plastic stools near the busy streets at night, and the group of students who offered to show us around the temple at 7 AM but at the last minute ditched us!

Our experience ended with a flight back to Kathmandu, where we took the time to debrief with the national office, but also enjoy Kathmandu’s charm. I have to say, it was a bit weird to come back to Kathmandu, after spending so much time in rural areas! 

Thank you, Nepal !

The one thing I will remember from Nepal and its people is the hospitality and the kindness with which they welcomed us. Every person we met – the national director, street vendors (who also gave me free stuff despite me not buying anything, as “a gift from Nepal”, twice), program beneficiaries – wanted to make us feel at home. Despite not always understanding each other, we felt their warmth, simply through their smiles and their body language. 

As I look to the Ankhi Jhyal we were gifted by the SOS team, I cannot help but express my gratitude to everyone in the SOS team, especially Elisha, who always made sure we had the best time possible in Nepal, and by her personality, made our stay ten times better. When having dinner with the team, I truly felt like at a dinner with family.

Moreover, all of this experience wouldn’t have been possible without all the local teams. Thank you to Krishna for making our experience in Madhesh so good, to Damudar for being a GOAT, and to everyone else who I haven’t mentioned. I have learned so many things about myself, about kindness, patience, and I leave Nepal as a more grateful and educated person.

I’ve created so many new memories with Tym, Emma, Elisha, eating too much food (I gained 6kg of joy), taking selfies everywhere, walking (not as much as Tym wanted) around, discovering the beauty of this small but rich country. I will never forget this! 

Dhanyabad, Nepal!

On the last day I was in Nepal, a flash flood struck the country, which caused more than a thousand deaths as of today, and emergency response efforts are still ongoing. Thousands of houses were destroyed, countless families have been separated, and too many lives have been impacted. Please, if you are able to, consider donating to Nepal.