Update: Upon Mads Hviid Jensen's return from Nepal, he worked in collaboration with CEMS to write a story about his volunteer experience.
Read his story in the Huffington Post Canada
Last May, Ivey MSc student Mads Hviid Jensen did his ten-week international practicum in India. With time off in the midst of the trip, he and two MSc classmates ventured to Nepal, where they volunteered at an orphanage in Kathmandu.
A year later, Hviid Jensen is heading back to Kathmandu, but this time around he’s trading his backpack for a toolbox. He’s going to help rebuild the community after the April 2015 earthquake.
“I was thinking of the kids as soon as I heard the news,” he said.
Originally from Copenhagen, Denmark and currently wrapping up his semester abroad in Hong Kong, Hviid Jensen is no stranger to international travel. His own global experience, paired with what he gained from the MSc program, is what encouraged him to return to Nepal.
“MSc students are certainly given some tools that are unique,” he said, referring to the international experience they gain. “It’s easier for us to do something rather than just thinking about doing it.”
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As part of the program, MSc students are required to do an international practicum. Living and working in India in 2014 made the recent disaster in Nepal hit so close to home for Hviid Jensen. He returned from India with newfound cultural knowledge and experience.
“I think what holds people back is the fear,” he said. “The fear of the unknown. Having set foot in both Nepal and India, it wasn’t a far reach of imagination to picture the impact on the local environment such a disaster – the earthquake – would have.”
During his time in Nepal, Hviid Jensen was met with “extreme hospitality and wholehearted love.” The genuine relationships he formed made him so determined to give back.
“The people of Nepal are global locals, clear of perceptions and stereotyping to a degree I have not experienced anywhere else,” he said.
Although the residents are currently living in tents because the building is so damaged, the orphanage has been relatively fortunate, Hviid Jensen said. They’ve received some funding already, which is why he plans on helping the local community out, too.
“The kids are lucky in that sense,” he said. “Some people are in a much less fortunate position.”
Hviid Jensen encourages supporting organizations like the Red Cross for the greater Nepal region; or, you can donate to this specific community by contacting him at hviidjensen@gmail.com.
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