Kanab-based nonprofit brings aid to remote Nepal communities

KANAB — A humanitarian ef­fort led by Kanab resident Sky Chaney has spent more than a decade bringing food, clothing and other as­sistance to people liv­ing in some of the most remote communities of the Nepal Himalayas.

Kanab resident Sky Chaney, center rear, joins children in Nepal during one of Village Light’s humanitarian aid efforts. The Kanab-based nonprofit provides food, clothing and other assistance to remote Himalayan communities. Photo courtesy of Village Light.

Chaney, executive director of the non­profit Village Light, was recently profiled by The Salt Lake Tri­bune for his work in Nepal, where the orga­nization has provided hundreds of thousands of dollars in assistance to mountain communi­ties.

Village Light traces its beginnings to 2014, when the project be­gan delivering cloth­ing and eyeglasses to disadvantaged resi­dents of Nepal’s re­mote Tsum Valley. Its mission expanded dramatically following two devastating earth­quakes that struck Nepal in 2015, destroy­ing homes, schools and other buildings.

According to the or­ganization, donations collected in the United States and Europe helped provide food and clothing, rebuild homes and construct a temporary school.

Village Light has since focused much of its work in the Sama and Tsum valleys, high-altitude regions where many families, monks and nuns live above 11,000 feet. The short growing season limits local agricul­ture largely to barley and potatoes, leaving residents dependent on outside food and supplies.

The organization’s current projects in­clude food and cloth­ing assistance, solar lighting, agricultural development and ef­forts to create income for traditional moun­tain weavers. Village Light also supports women in Sama who weave rugs from sheep and yak wool, with proceeds helping fami­lies purchase food and other necessities.

Reaching the com­munities is itself a challenge. Village Light says Sama, lo­cated below Mount Manaslu, the world’s eighth-highest moun­tain, requires a six-day trek from the nearest road.

Chaney serves along­side Nepal-based co­ordinators and a U.S. board. Village Light says the organization is operated entirely by volunteers and reports overhead costs of less than five percent.

The organization continues to raise mon­ey for food and other assistance in the Sama and Tsum regions.

More information about Village Light and its projects is available through the organization’s website.