Darren Van Soye and Sandy Van Soye, an American couple, are in Kathmandu to accomplish their 424-day trekking around-the-world to raise awareness on geography education.

The Soye couple had launched their ‘Trekking the planet’ expedition on January 28, 2012 with a mission to bring geography to life and instill a greater curiosity about the world, its people, culture and the fragile planet in as many young people as possible.

Talking to this daily today, Sandy said, “By following this journey, kids can increase their understanding of geography and develop an appreciation for the cultural and natural significance of places in the world.”

They plan to visit around 50 countries in six continents in 14 months.

“We would be trekking 500 miles across the world to get the geographical information to increase the understanding of school kids aged between six and 18 years old,” Darren said, adding, “Till date, we have visited 10 countries, including Nepal.” The couple have so far visited Johmson, Manang, Pokhara, Lomangthan and Giling in Mustang and Bhaktapur, among other places, in Nepal. “During the expedition, we will be taking approximately 12 hikes to some of the most remote and unspoiled places in the world and present it before the kids and others through website,” he said. After visiting many places in various countries, they update their website called trekkingtheplanet.net for students, teachers and everyone interested.

Around 55,000 students from 850 classrooms in various countries have already been the members of the website. From Nepal, Lincoln School, Kathmandu, has the membership for the website visit. They said they have been bearing the cost of their journey on their own. “If we were able to raise funds from any people across the country, it would be handed over to UNICEF,” Sandy said.

source: The Himalayan Times,29 May 2012