Student Volunteer Program Highlight

Human Rights student Stephanie Kim works with Indigenous Peoples in Nepal
Friday, August 11, 2017

Through ISHR's Student Volunteer Program, undergraduate Stephanie Kim volunteered in Nepal this summer with 2016 Advocate Chhing Lamu Sherpa of the NGO Mountain Spirit.

Mountain Spirit is a Nepalese non-profit that works to improve livelihoods, protect the environment, and conserve mountain culture through capacity building, empowerment, awareness, and sustainable development initiatives with participation of local communities in Nepal's mountainous regions.

"Stephanie Kim has energized our members and helped Mountain Spirit to raise awareness on Indigenous issues and other human rights. She has been helping through social media, documentation and publications," says Chhing.

Kim is a rising senior at Columbia College majoring in Human Rights with a specialization in Ethnicity and Race. She has worked with non-profit organizations that support indigenous communities, children, women, and survivors of domestic violence and trafficking. She focuses on work that advocates for the most marginalized groups of people in society.

Chhing has been working to empower women and extremely marginalized groups in Nepal for the past 30 years. She is one of the founding members, chair, and current advisor of Mountain Spirit. Chhing participated in the 2016 Human Rights Advocates Program.

Click here to learn more about the Student Volunteer Program.