3 Sisters Trekking Company, Pokhara, Nepal

Maya is a 25 year old Nepali woman who loves to laugh and does not love to practice her English. She has a 3 year old son named Palbit, who is the product of an unhappy marriage to an abusive and neglectful man 12 years her senior. She has had the courage and foresight to divorce, and consequently the good fortune to come into contact with the 3 Sisters: Nicky, Dicky and Lucky Chhetri who run the 3 Sisters Trekking Company along with a guest house, restaurant and orphanage. They have created opportunities for young women in Nepal to work, travel and pursue options other than arranged marriages which, if unsuccessful can leave them destitute, dependent and possibly outcasts in society.

The following is taken from www.3sisteradventure.com:

In the early ninety's no one would have dreamed of a Nepalese women guiding a trek. Nepalese society is ruled by the Orthodox Hindu religion where women are considered second-class citizens. Their role is to be a diligent wife, a loving mother, and an obedient daughter-in-law. Society dictates that a woman should not cross out of her home threshold. But the Chhetri sisters did just that.

3 Sisters employs women like Maya and by virtue of earning their own income enables them to make decisions for themselves and gain independence. They began recruiting women as porters and guides when they, themselves were leading treks through mountain villages. They would encounter young women along the way who's families had lent them to mountain guest house managers, under the false promise of educating and caring for them in exchange for assistance with daily guest house chores. In an isolated situation with no family and no education, the women would effectively be trapped for life. Their families, unaware of their situation and continuing to believe that they had been given a better life than they could have provided, did not search for them.

The sisters would meet these women with some regularity and made it their mission to employ them, thereby effecting an incredible change in their future and prospects.

The story of how the 3 Sisters Trekking Company came to be is no less impressive and inspiring. Born to loving parents near Pokhara, they grew up in a household with five brothers who, as tradition would dictate, would be expected to be educated while the girls were expected to marry. In the meantime, the girls would help with household and farming chores. As with any privilege obtained without effort, the boys took their education for granted and did not take it very seriously, pursuing leisure activities instead and performed quite poorly. Dicky recounts how her father likened his family to a garden, and his children to beautiful flowers. The boys behaviour made him feel that he had failed in keeping the garden thriving. Perhaps he had not watered it with enough love, support or guidance.

The girls were devastated to see that the years of hard work their parents endured to provide their children with the best possible educational opportunities were being squandered and decided to go to school themselves and work exceptionally hard to achieve top grades and reward their parents. Following successful completion of university for all three sisters, they decided to start a trekking company which would employ and cater to women.

They have overcome initial societal disapproval and have become incredibly successful, adding an orphanage and school, a hostel and training facility for staff, and a beautiful guest house from which I originally composed this journal entry.

Paul and I have just returned from an unforgettable 12-day trek, which was physically exhausting and spiritually uplifting. Often I was overwhelmed by the natural beauty surrounding me. Equally as often, I ached and complained about sore knees and shoulders until I would look over at Maya, 5-foot-nothing Maya, carrying two packs over all the same challenging terrain and in the same blistering heat that I was. But according to Maya, she was "excellent", "no problem" and "everything okay". And with the help of three sisters, she now is.