Maya and me. Photo credit: Tara Bider

As the newest member of our trek group, Maya enjoyed quite a bit of attention, but it was still me who was momma. Whether it meant bathroom breaks, food, buying a toothbrush, or putting on warmer clothes (my fleece worn as a dress), I was suddenly the mother of a 4-year-old (and still the guide for 14 adults). I had my hands full, but it was well worth it. (My trekking group was also very supportive thankfully!)

Maya was amazingly fearless. She shed not a tear of goodbye, played easily with all her new American friends, and eventually slept curled up beside me. I slept very little, however. With the worry of a new mother, I lay watching this child breathe and rest next to me and held her in my arms as she woke a little confused at 5am for our flight.

First plane ride! photo credit: Barbara Gessaman

Flight? Oh, very exciting indeed! Maya had never been on a plane before. Even better though, was her giddiness at the vehicles and people on the ground in Kathmandu. She kept pointing at everything, “Look, a car! Look, a truck! Look! Look!” When our bus to the terminal started moving, she was surprised and began clapping her hands in delight at the carnival ride we were on. She had never before seen a real car or been on a moving vehicle. There are no roads near Lukla.

Maya claps in delight as the bus starts moving! photo credit: Katie Hoar

By the time we were in the van weaving through traffic on the way to the hotel, she had quieted down considerably. I asked if everything was okay. She said her stomach hurt and then promptly threw up all over my lap. Awesome. So much for the fun of moving vehicles. So much for the beauty of motherhood.

When Bhesh from the orphanage came to pick Maya up, she was understandably reluctant. I took her out to the garden, played for a bit, then pretend to answer my mobile. He soon lured her away from my leg to check out the geese. I hung around so that when she looked back she could see me, until finally she seemed absorbed and I headed back into the lobby. When they finally came inside together an hour later, they were fast friends.

I told Maya it was time to go to her new home. She agreed, and off she went as fearlessly as she had come, carrying her few possessions as Bhesh guided her along.

On the way to Lukla: Maya, Me, and Mani. Photo credit: Jon Wist

I never thought I’d be carrying a child on my back through the Himalayas, but that’s exactly where I found myself.

When the Sunrise family decided to send Maya to Kathmandu, they needed a way to get her there. I was hiking out to Lukla the same day and catching a flight in the morning, so….

They washed her face, gave us a Sherpa send-off of Coca-Cola and prayer scarves, took a bunch of photos, and packed up some biscuits for the trail. Maya was leaving with the clothes on her back, though I did insist they track down her beloved pink pony. Maya likes horses.

Although the family told her she was going with me, I anticipated some fuss and crying. I picked Maya up and asked her in Nepali if she would come to Kathmandu with me. She said, “I’ll go,” and she meant it. No fuss, no crying. This little girl struck me as immeasurably brave as she headed off into the unknown with a stranger and a smile.

Hiking across the suspension bridge with Maya in my arms, I had a moment of, “Oh my god, what am I DOING?!?!” I turned to Dawa, my Nepali friend and guide, and asked a little uncertainly, “This is okay, right?”

The suspension bridge leaving Phakding.

Dawa had witnessed the whole story starting in the spring. He beamed at me and gave me a strong, “YES!!!”, and I was filled back up with confidence. I shifted Maya around to hang on my back Nepali-style, and we hiked out towards Lukla.

Our Sherpa team kept offering to carry her, but I carried Maya about two of the three hours. It was the second time this season I knew the weight of a human being, this time a small girl. I had a big responsibility for her now, and I wanted to remember the weight of her as a reminder of my responsibility. Once I put it that way, Mani let me carry her up and down and up some more until finally I was too tired, and he took over for the final uphill to Lukla.

Reunited with Maya this fall. Photo credit: Kerry Van Voris

On my way to Everest Base Camp this fall, our first stop was Phakding. Maya was looking great! She was smiling and talking and far less shy than only a few months before. She was writing the alphabet in a notebook although she wasn’t in school yet, and she clung to me with the needy affection of a child not getting enough attention. All of this made me more confident that Kathmandu was the right option for her.

I sat down with the Sunrise family to tell them about the home available in Kathmandu. It took a fair bit of convincing for them to believe this was a nice, clean, beautiful home and not something out of a Dickens novel. I described how the house mothers and staff ate the same food as the children (not cooking better food for themselves). I told them about the American living there, the stacks of books and toys, the private education, the organic garden, and more. Finally, I left it up to them to think about it all while we trekked. I didn’t want to pressure them into doing what I thought was right. I wanted them to consider what they thought best.

Two weeks, 9,000 vertical feet, and many adventures later, our group was back in Phakding. Sitting in the kitchen of the Sunrise lodge, I asked the family what they wanted to do. They had a few more questions–about paperwork and school holidays and such. In the end, they decided to send Maya to a new home and new life in Kathmandu. Today. Since I was going that way.