Education Success Stories: Ang Jangbu Sherpa
You may have heard about Ang Jangbu before, but he is another great example of educational success. Earlier this year he became our most successful fundraiser in the Summit Challenge and is a dedicated supporter of The Himalayan Trust.
This is Ang Jangbu, born in the village of Jorsale near the Everest/ Sagarmatha National Park gate at an elevation of 2,740 meters. Jangbu went to the primary school of Chauri Kharka near Lukla (the Everest regions major airport) where he lived with relatives until he completed 2nd grade which was the schools highest class.
In exchange for cooking and cleaning duties Ang Jangbu moved to Thame for schooling up to 4th grade, but then struggled to find anywhere to further continue his education that he was working tirelessly for. The only option was Khumjung School, a 3 hour walk from his family home in Jorsale (a 3 hour walk for Ang Jangbu and a 2-3 day walk for most tourists!). Ang Jangbu jokes that “I would have easily met the summit challenge [goals in] those days since walking five hours a day, five days a week was routine!”.
At that time, students from further distances received monthly subsidies of 70 Rupees from the Himalayan Trust, Jangbu says “that was such a huge help for our personal clothing and basic necessities which was as valuable as seven thousand in today’s value”. Ang Jangbu’s commitment shone through his academic success and he received a scholarship for Higher Education I. Kathmandu which led to him moving overseas and getting his pilots license. Since then Jangbu became the first Sherpa pilot to work for Nepal’s National Airlines before moving to Seattle to start his career flying Boeing 747’s and 787’s all over the world. He now lives in Germany continuing his impressive career as a Senior Captain.
Ang Jangbu is a shining light for the success and potential of Sherpa people and an example of their incredible resilience and determination. Himalayan Trust is proud to continue supporting and developing these schools.
