Panglang is in the high Bhote Khosi area, near the road to the Tibetan border in north central Nepal, South Asia. Most Nepali people live in agricultural settlements and struggle to survive, their villages often lack even the basic infrastructures that we take for granted: health care, education and sanitation to mention just a few concerns.

Another concern is the snow leopard that is living near the village. Will he prove to be a tourist attraction for those who wish to observe such magnificent creatures ? Maybe he will become a safari celeb.

The only access to the village of Panglang was a trail that took four to five hours. Our partners in the project have built a bridge so the people of Panglang can now not only just see all the traffic that plies the only road to Tibet, they can exploit it and get their goods to market. This has changed their way of life, as subsistence farmers they have scratched a meagre living from the harsh steep land, now they can get their produce to the major markets.

Environmental aspects have changed dramatically over the last forty or so years, due mainly to outside influences and the skills and knowledge gained over centuries that have worked so well are now not suitable. The people of Panglang and Nepal in general, are in need of outside help to bring back sustainability to the way they live. With the consent and involvement of the local people tourism has been introduced and this will expand over the coming years. Currently you can get a great adrenaline rush and help the local people by trying one of the world's highest bungy jumps or rafting down the Bhote Khosi.

Deforestation is a looming world problem, the immediate concern in Nepal is that without the tree root systems holding the ground together, valuable soil is being washed down into India, leaving the local people without the means to grow enough food. In the coming years we will be doing more reforestation at high level along the Bhote Kosi River as well as continuing to educate the people about sustainability and the three R's at their new school.

No one had ever been able to go to school until recently and there are presently no health facilities. If someone is sick nothing normally happens till they have to carry him or her out. This only happens when they become very sick

There are plans to build community health centres in the area. We would welcome support in the form of volunteers and donations. We need to raise funds for the ongoing project, the next phase in Panglang being the health centre, please help by making a donation. Please note that any amount gifted qualifies as Gift Aid and tax is reclaimable by us, making a total gift of about £1.28 for every £1 donated by a UK taxpayer.

We have a number of schools from various countries who have chosen to adopt this project as a unique opportunity to help Nepal where it can have very real benefits, short and long term. There will be visits planned over the coming years and the chance to help directly.

Would you like to volunteer at Panglang ? A few weeks of your time could make a big difference to the lives of the villagers at Panglang.