Pema is a Himalayan ultra-marathon runner with a passion for his community and gender equality. When an earthquake hit Pema’s hometown in Nepal, he decided to act and help raise the spirits of his distraught community. Pema and his friends organised an interschool football tournament, where nine schools from around the village participated. The tournament helped bring joy back to the community and provide a much needed distraction from the tragedy that had hit the region. Pema is passionate about developing his community and he believes this can only begin when gender equality is ensured.
His school did not have a coach for its girls’ football team, so Pema decided to coach the girls himself giving them the opportunity for equality. Pema would love to show other schools and nearby villages the strength and courage of the girls in their community and help lead positive change in gender equality across the Himalayas, using sport as the catalyst for change.
Pema has to walk an hour and half to get to school every day, and when he is late he runs to school. This run to school is usually the only training he receives when competing for the ultra-marathons, and yet Pema has won numerous Himalayan inter-school marathon and ultra-marathon competitions. Pema has already shown excellence in the sporting field, but most importantly a proactive approach to improving his community.
As a result of a CAC program and communication Pema attended and helped run an educational program in Nepal. This educated 16 community leaders in sport for social impact and directly impacted 1,669 local children. The remote coaching support and MJYL financial stipend has enabled Pema to start coaching his own team, a girl’s team and 15 members of the junior team about gender equality. As a result of his financial stipend Pema is training other local young leaders to help him implement his project.
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