Why Nepal?

By Madeline Mahnick

Hi everyone!

I’m Maddie Mahnick, I’ll be studying abroad in Nepal this summer with the Global Sustainability Studies Program. I’m sitting in the Tokyo airport right now on my way to Nepal and I am so excited to get there and spend the next three weeks studying sustainability.

Studying abroad is a once in a lifetime opportunity and I chose Nepal for so many reasons. About a year ago, on April 25, 2015, Nepal was hit by a major earthquake (7.8 magnitude) that took way too many lives. I remember hearing about the earthquake on the news and my heart broke for Nepal.

I’ve been working in Haiti since the earthquake hit the capital in January 2010. I’ve seen the destruction an earthquake can cause a developing country and my heart broke for Nepal as I knew that the Nepali people were now facing similar problems with rebuilding and relief response that I’ve seen the Haitian people face.

Earthquakes have inspired me to study sustainability. I believe it’s important to rebuild and respond to disasters in sustainable ways, therefore the next time a natural disaster strikes, villages in developing countries will be less vulnerable to the devastation that is brought with it.

I’m already anticipating the differences and similarities I’ll come across from Haiti to Nepal. I want to see how different environments respond to similar disasters. What can development in Haiti learn from Nepal? And what can development in Nepal learn from Haiti?

For the next three weeks, I’ll be with a group of ASU students as well as a group of students from an environmental master’s program at Tribhuvan University in Nepal on an adventure around the country to learn about risk and resiliency issues in a few very different areas including urban, rural and buffer zones. We’ll be staying on farms, living with families at homestays in villages, riding elephants, visiting schools and talking to communities about the earthquake. Almost time to start – stay posted!