A Fife teenager was so inspired by his soldier father he volunteered to help victims of the Nepal earthquake.
Angus Craig, 18, who has hearing difficulties, joined the Raleigh International team after learning about the desperate conditions being endured by hundreds of locals.
The youngster’s dad John was a major in the Gurkha regiment, and had been to the area.
“After hearing about the disaster I wanted to go even more and help the people there,” Angus said.
The Falkland teenager was part-sponsored on his expedition by the Witherby Publishing Group based in Livingston.
Chief Executive Officer of the company, Iain McNeil, said its charitable trust was delighted to have been contacted by the National Deaf Children’s Society in Scotland about Angus.
“As a relatively small trust we look for causes in Scotland where we can really make a difference and we had no doubt that this was the case with Angus.”
Angus said: “Seeing how hard the Baltar villagers work and how they live their lives has massively motivated me for the future.
“Back home we complain about things that people in other parts of the world don’t have the luxuries.
“The experience almost shamed me into doing more with my life and not becoming complacent.”
As a deaf young person, Angus, who is “definitely” going back, faced particular challenges on the trip.
“Of course I was anxious before I got there about struggling to pick up the Nepali language, but so was everyone else.
“I had a daily routine of putting my hearing aids in a dehumidifying box at night because of the constant sweat, rainwater and humidity.
“My hearing aids did draw some attention from the local people in Nepal — they were surprised but definitely didn’t treat me any differently, in fact a lot of them took an active interest and wanted to understand how they worked and wanted to try them on.
“The Nepalese families we met in the village of Baltar just blew me away with their kindness, patience – and cooking.”
Before joining the Raleigh Team to Nepal Angus embarked on a series of fundraising ventures to raise the £2,500 needed for his trip.
Following his experiences, Angus will now study geography at the University of Aberdeen.
