From the time I booked my March 2005 Sherpa Everest trek, I was hopeful of seeing our seven-year-old sponsored child, Tara, and her family, but it seemed as though this may not be possible due to the situation in the country. So, it was with great happiness that I received an email from Plan Australia saying that it had been arranged for me to meet Tara after the completion of my trek.

Tara lives in Hasandaha, a remote village in the South East of Nepal, not far from the Indian border. My husband and I had sponsored Tara since December 2001 and had not really thought we would ever see her, but had heard from other families about the excitement and joy they experienced when meeting a sponsored child.

So, it was a busy time getting together gifts for the family: hair clips, colouring books, pencils, soft Australian toys, a hand-rechargeable torch for mum and a Swiss Army type tool for dad from a 'tool' crazy sponsor here. A local school Student Representative Council collected pens and pencils, and another school donated chalk for me to give to needy schools in Nepal including Tara's school.

As soon as I arrived in Kathmandu, I contacted Plan and was told of my flight details and that I was to meet Tara and her mum in another village, not in their village because of the Maoists' insurgency. A Plan vehicle met me at Biratnagar airport and the friendly Plan staff took me to a hotel where they had booked me in and arranged to pick me up in the morning.

A local strike had just ended and Plan was able to book me on the last flight of that day. I was taken to the Biratnagar office of Plan where I was greeted by a 'Welcome' sign and presented with a posy of flowers. The Plan staff explained their various jobs and explained how Plan facilitates projects but ownership is given to the villagers (I was to learn much more about this when helping to edit documents in the Plan office in Kathmandu).

The Plan vehicle joined an escorted group to pass through an area which had experienced insurgency problems (luckily I experienced none of this). There were signs of road blocks which had been blown up but we experienced no problems. The drive lasted a couple of hours passing through a Nepal very different from the mountainous area I had trekked in.

It didn't seem long before we pulled up at a house in a small village where I had a vermilion tikka put on my forehead was given a lei of bougainvillea. It was then I saw Tara who was held in the arms of the interpreter and her beautiful smiling mum standing behind. Tara was very quiet (normally quite a chatter box, I was informed) but the caring interpreter and other Plan staff did all to encourage her to talk.

Tara.s mum, Laxmi, made up for Tara's quietness. Laxmi was only 22 years old and had 2 other children. Her husband and other children were unable to come to the village which was regrettable as was the fact that I was unable to see Tara's home or her school. Tara and Laxmi had been brought to the village by bicycle (a 2 hour trip). The Plan staff assured me that they would deliver the Australian schools' gifts to Tara's school in Hasandaha and send photos to me.

Laxmi, Tara and I had fun making butterfly which Tara was able to enjoy without having to speak. She eventually managed to dance for us all and give us beautiful smiles, which melted my heart. Laxmi was very interested in learning all she could about my family and we hardly noticed that we were speaking through an interpreter.

I asked the Plan staff why we were sponsoring Tara and was told that Plan had asked the villagers to nominate a child to be sponsored. Tara was nominated as her family was regarded as the poorest family in the village. Dad was a farm labourer who worked on local farms when needed, with both parents being illiterate. Laxmi, as well as looking after the children, reared goats to sell, had a vegetable garden and a cow about to calf so it could be milked and the milk given to the children. Plans had been made to get a toilet in the near future.

After the fun of opening gifts, playing and chatting, I was taken on a short walk to an orphanage. A local women's group had established this orphanage where, with Plan.s help, they were hoping to supply the ten children with a good education so they could return to their villages and also hoping to provide a counselor and safe place for abused local women. Here, as in the rest of Nepal, the children enjoyed having their photos taken with a digital camera, as they found it fun looking at their photos.

Plan then took us to another village to have a meal in a café owned by a previous Plan worker. It was great to see Tara and her mum enjoying their noodles and the Plan staff sharing their meal with Tara. A tired but happy Tara and Laxmi were then put on a bus to make their long trip back to their village.

The drive back to Biratnagar was again very interesting, seeing oxen pulling ploughs, seeing the locals selling their produce on the roadside and the children coming home from school. It was back to the Plan office for afternoon tea and to meet the staff, many of whom were translating letters from sponsored families. I resolved there and then to write more letters to Tara's family, especially after seeing how Laxmi was so interested in my life in Australia.

Back in Kathmandu I returned to the Plan office to help Shree Ram, a young Nepali, edit his documents. It was here I realized what excellent work Plan Nepal is doing. Villagers had been made aware of the need for toilets and had been assisted in constructing them. Iron roofs had been constructed by villagers to collect rain water, clean water had been brought to or near houses, registration of children had been encouraged, children's clubs had been established and a first-time all-girls cricket match had been held, enabling remote children to get together.

It was in Shree Ram's village which I travelled to on the back of Shree Ram.s motor bike, I saw first hand work that Plan was doing. I spoke to the local school teacher, many Plan sponsored children and Children.s club members and heard what high esteem Plan was held in.

Thank you Shree Ram for showing me your village. Thank you Shikka for sharing your home with me, thank you Neeta for your Nepali feast and thank you Plan for showing me the Nepal the ordinary trekker doesn't see.

I hope that if I am able to visit Nepal again I will be able to see Tara in her village and meet the rest of her family and the villagers. A big thank you to Plan Australia, Plan Nepal and Plan Biratnagar for making my visit such a memorable experience under such difficult circumstances.

I strongly urge sponsors to make a trip to their sponsored child's area - it is so appreciated by the family and so humbling for the sponsors to realize what conditions the sponsored child and family live in. We, in the wealthier countries, realize how lucky we are and how easy it is to make a huge difference to the lives of a family and a community in a remote part of the world.