A remarkable journey by a retired Fife teacher to one of the remotest corners of earthquake-devastated Nepal will be shown on TV on Sunday.
The Adventure Show followed the efforts of James Lamb as he distributed tents, sleeping bags and clothing much of it gifted by Perth businessman Alex Runciman of Mountain Supplies to the grateful Nepalese.
“People were crying when we gave them sleeping bags,” said Mr Lamb, from Falkland. “I have no doubt without these donations people would have died.
“It was very rewarding but incredibly emotionally demanding.”
Mr Lamb, who was also featured on the Adventure Show earlier this year, found that many mountain villages in the Everest region had still not received any official help, six months after two devastating earthquakes and aftershocks.Adventure Show in June:His team travelled through the region to the village of Phortse in the Everest National Park.
The village is home to many Everest veteran Sherpas including Ang Tshering who summited the world’s highest mountain three times.
His house was destroyed in the earthquake and, like many others in his village, he will spend the bitterly cold Himalayan winter living in a tent.
Many of these villagers would struggle to survive were it not for a charity Mr Lamb founded with a local monk named Tashi Lama. Battling the inevitable bureaucracy, he has brought equipment and financial help to the village.
Despite no previous experience of charitable work, Mr Lamb’s charity, called Little Sherpa Foundation, is helping the people of this remote region survive the harsh winter conditions.
A big financial backer of his efforts has come from Nepalese entrepreneur Pashupati Bhandari who owns the Everest Inn chain, which has a restaurant in Perth.
It is thought that the Nepal earthquakes killed over 8500 people, injured more than double that number, displaced almost three million with more than one million people still in need of food aid.
Mr Lamb said they helped everyone from newborn children to the elderly, with the villagers dubbing him “father of Phortse” for his assistance.
He is now working with award-winning architect Murray Kerr who has designed eco-friendly houses which would withstand earthquakes.
“Hopefully this will pave the way to a new style of building in Nepal,” said Mr Lamb, who will be returning to the country early next year.
The Adventure Show is on BBC2 Scotland on Sunday at 8pm.