GH man treks Nepal for poverty

The Little Sisters Fund educates women in third-world countries

Susan Schell

of the Gateway

Phil Wiltse of Gig Harbor is not at home right now. He’s trudging through the snow in the mountains near Nepal to raise money to fight poverty.

Wiltse is a member of a group of five climbers — three men and two women — embarking on a fundraising climb on the 21,200-foot Mera Peak in Nepal.

The team is representing the Little Sisters Fund, which helps underprivileged girls in third-world countries get an education.

Wiltse, a commercial pilot for Horizon Air, first learned of the plight of girls in southeast Asia and Nepal when a flight attendant gave him a business card for the Little Sisters Fund. He stuck the card in the pocket of his jacket and ignored it until it resurfaced when he wore the jacket again.

On a whim, he looked into it, and when he took a closer look, he was hooked.

“In a country where 70 percent of the females are illiterate, it’s a huge issue,” Wiltse said, adding that girls who are not in school become targets for trafficking, child labor or child marriage.

That was about 10 years ago, and Wiltse began sponsoring a girl in Nepal named Usha. At the time, about 15 families were sponsoring girls, but that number has grown. Wiltse said there are about 820 girls in the program now.

There are different levels of sponsorship. Families can visit and get to know the child they sponsor and track their progress throughout their school years.

“One woman’s education impacts about 50 more people than a man’s,” Wiltse said. “Not that a man’s education isn’t important, it’s just that women are the family anchors that teach their children who, in turn, teach their children.

“You educate that one girl and it changes the whole family. They touch so many more people than a man.”

Wiltse said educating women breaks the cycle of poverty, because impoverished women tend to have twice as many children.

“A woman living in poverty may have about seven children —an educated woman would have about half that,” he said. “Plus, educated women involve their families in economic endeavors.”

A documentary film crew will accompany the expedition to Mera Peak.

“It’s the highest-altitude trek you can go on without being classified as technical,” Wiltse said. “It is not as difficult as (Mount) Everest. It is attainable, yet it is difficult enough to symbolize (Nepal’s) lack of education.”

Wiltse is quick to answer the question he often gets as to why he endeavors to help children in other countries as opposed to those in the United States.

“The Nepalese people are extremely gracious and endearing,” he said. “Their average income per year is $250. Half the country lives below the poverty level. It’s not about iPods or how you live. It’s about showing compassion for others.”

Wiltse uses a quote from the Little Sisters Fund founder, Trevor Patzer: “The act of reaching out, and that knowledge that you can make a difference, when you can really make a difference, then your life has been worth living.”

The group’s expedition is expected to last through May 28. Web users can track their progress at www.littlesistersfund.org.

Reach reporter Susan Schell at 253-853-9240 or by e-mail at susan.schell@gateline.com.