Meet Mingma, Lhamu, Dawa, Dende from Solukhumbu District of Nepal

Meet (left to right) Mingma, Lhamu (Mingma’s Mother), Dawa (Mingma’s Father), Dende (Mingma’s Husband). They are Sherpas from Solukhumbu District of Nepal Sherpas are a Nepalese ethnic group renowned for their rich culture, superior climbing skills and extreme endurance for high altitudes. Wherever Sherpas are found, their settlements lie at the highest elevations of any human habitation. Sherpa villages cling to the sides of sheer mountain slopes or sit atop steep escarpments. Their community is the gateway to Mt. Everest. This amazing family has spent their lives as trekking guides on Mount Everest. The distance between mountain settlements are great and the terrain is rough. Many villages lack educational facilities of any sort. While in recent years this has started to change, the women of Mignma’s generation lacked many simple resources and grappled with cultural oppression. In the remote Everest region, seven out of ten girls drop out of school after 10th grade. The weight of poverty and the prevailing cultural view in Nepal favors sending boys to school and keeping the girls at home. As a result, the literacy rate of women is just 23%. The family left Solukhumbu five years ago and moved to the United States (Connecticut) for the sake of Mingma’s children. They wanted to be able to provide them with as many resources as they possibly could so that they could lead successful and fulfilling lives. This was not an easy decision for them to make. They are immensely proud of their heritage, culture and community. The number of Sherpas migrating to Western countries has significantly increased in recent years, especially to the United States. New York City has the largest Sherpa community in the United States, with a population of approximately 16,000. The family said that they are happy that they made the decision. They are also happy to have reunited with many of their people here. Toward the end of our conversation, Mingma told Betsy that her cousin is the “Mountain Queen.” Lhakpa Sherpa is the first Nepali woman to summit Mount Everest and survive! She concealed her gender to pursue the climb. Remarkably, she has summited Mount Everest 10 times! There is a new Netflix series about her that was just released. It’s incredible! The one thing they want to tell the world is, “Pray every morning for peace and love for everyone; for every living thing, even for those you believe are not worthy.”

HOWE beautiful!

Thank you so much for visiting Also, just an interesting thing: a tongkok, is traditionally worn by Sherpa women. It is what Lhamu is wearing in the photo.

If you are interested in learning more about Mignma’s family, their traditions, and the “Mountain Queen.” You can watch the newly released Netflix film: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=0yz5F9WtmsI (https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=0yz5F9WtmsI). IT’S INCREDIBLE!