Mutual respect begins with understanding. Understanding evolves from communication. Communication occurs when we create space for dialogue, as uncomfortable as the dialogue may be. Without this chain, trust cannot be fostered, cooperation will not happen, and harmony cannot be achieved.

As a world language teacher, I have immersed myself in the French Culture living with different host families both in the city and in rural France. As a student I immersed myself in Apache culture living and working on the San Carlos Apache reservation in Arizona with a traditional Apache family.

For me these experiences were not about changing anyone, or wanting to make anyone better. These experiences were about learning history, and culture, participating in a traditional holy ground ceremony with reverence and respect, creating space for open dialogue about the past, the present, and the future and seeing the world through a different lens.

As I begin my adventure into fundraising, these experiences come flooding back along with many questions. Why am I so drawn to cultures and the different ways we live our lives? Why do I want to go to Nepal to build a school, when there is clearly so much need right here in the United States? My husband is on the board for the center for literacy in Philadelphia, and over half the population- an estimated 550,000 individuals are considered low literate in Philadelphia.

I began to question my motives. Too often we act but do not really think about why we are doing the things we do.

Clearly I believe education has power, as education both formal and informal has served me well. But I also recognize that education takes on a plethora of forms. In my culture we are so focused on getting the next degree that we forget education takes place everywhere.

So then, what is the purpose of building a school in a remote village in Nepal? Is it all about the formal education? I believe it is about education and creating space for that education to evolve. But for me it is also about the informal education. It is about the people I will meet and their stories, the children I will work alongside and their energy, the community from which I will learn and the experiences I will have that will inform future decisions and expand my frame of reference.

If we don't put ourselves out there and take the risk, spending time living like another, then nothing would ever change. Without communication, dialogue, and the freedom to be who we are, ideas would never be exchanged.

Mutual respect begins with understanding. Understanding evolves from communication. Communication occurs when we create space for dialogue, as uncomfortable as the dialogue may be. Without this chain, trust cannot be fostered, cooperation will not happen, and harmony cannot be achieved.

Please consider helping me on my journey.