An Eco-friendly Family Adventure across the World

One CNN website editor's choice is "An eco-friendly family adventure across the world", the story of Dario Schworer, a 42-year-old climatologist and mountain guide, and his family. Their aim: to promote eco-friendly ways of life. He, his 33-year-old wife Sabine Schworer-Ammaun, and their three children started out seven years ago with the goal of climbing the highest peaks on all continents and crossing the oceans using only non-motorized transport. They have a sailboat and otherwise walk or cycle to their next destination.

"We are collecting good examples of dealing with climate change and living in harmony with nature and spreading such ideas," Schworer told CNN. "We want to help people cope [who are] affected by global warming and inspiring children for the future."

"Great achievements can be done in harmony with nature," Schworer said. "But we must respect nature."

Among other things, they have collected 22 tonnes of trash, taught people in Ecuador to use the sun's rays to purify water and collected trash in the mountains of Nepal with school children, and visited 47 countries. They have also interacted with 45,000 children in South America, Australia and Asia, giving presentations about the importance of recycling and using alternative energy like solar and wind power.

"Since our belief is the need to respect nature, we travel only when conditions are good," Schworer said.

Read the full article on CNN's website at http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/asiapcf/06/09/family.travel.adventure/index.html?hpt=Mid

Reaching New Heights for Nepalese Orphans

Ama Dablam (6,859m)
In April, international mountain guides and Managing Directors of MatterhornNepal-GuideSource Treks & Expeditions Ltd, RJ Fleming and Ang Kami Sherpa, climbed Himalayan peaks to raise awareness of their charity to educate Nepalese orphans. The World Economic Forum and Prof. Klaus Schwab supported the project, acting as patron of this awareness raising campaign. The goal of this venture was to expose the fact that 1 out of every 23 individuals in Nepal is an orphan with no access to an education, and to encourage individuals, corporations and organizations to contribute to Education for Orphans of Nepal (EON). Started in 2001 by MatterhornNepal-GuideSource, this charity presently funds the entire living and boarding school educational costs of 11 Nepalese children without families, for a period of 10 years for each child.

The climbs of Ice Land Peak (6,189m) and Ama Dablam (6,859m) in the Solu Khumbu region of the Himalayan range were undertaken in the belief that most individuals, even those who have visited or wish to visit this most coveted tourist destination, are completely unaware of the plight of nearly one million of this country's impoverished yet truly kind-hearted inhabitants. The EON project gives anyone the chance to contribute and directly improve an orphan's life, offering them the choices and hope for the future only possible through an education. EON is a Nepal registered charity; MatterhornNepal-GuideSource absorbs all administrative costs, enabling total contributions to go straight to the children's educational costs.

Obliged to abandon their attempts to summit Ama Dablam due to treacherous conditions and falling ice and rock at about 6,500m, in mid-April RJ Fleming and Ang Kami Sherpa summited Ice Land Peak, and returned safely to Katmandu.

If you wish to receive information about EON or contribute to the education of Nepalese orphans, write to info@guidesource.com