The Queen's Trek

From: Outer Voices
Length: 24:36

Bhutan is a land of prayer flags and happiness. But people are people, and human suffering, including domestic violence, is as prevalent here as it is anywhere. Queen Ashi Sangay Choden Wangchuk takes her job - creating happiness for the people of her kingdom - seriously - so much so that she treks into the most remote corners of the country to meet the people who she would otherwise never see, to find out about their lives, strategize about health care, and to help end domestic violence. Outer Voices accompanied her into a remote unmapped corner of the high Himalayas. ( We're honored to be the only foreign journalists to ever be invited to accompany a Bhutanese monarch on a trek, and to interview the Queen.) Read the full description.

Piece Audio

Playing: The Queen's Trek
From: Outer Voices

Img_8235crop_small Bhutan is a land of prayer flags and happiness. But people are people, and human suffering, including domestic violence, is as prevalent here as it is anywhere. Queen Ashi Sangay Choden Wangchuk takes her job - creating happiness for the people of her kingdom - seriously - so much so that she treks into the most remote corners of the country to meet the people who she would otherwise never see, to find out about their lives, strategize about health care, and to help end domestic violence. Outer Voices accompanied her into a remote unmapped corner of the high Himalayas. ( We're honored to be the only foreign journalists to ever be invited to accompany a Bhutanese monarch on a trek, and to interview the Queen.)

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Piece Description

Additional Credits

The Queen's Trek

The Queen's Trek was produced by Stephanie Guyer-Stevens and Jack Chance for Outer Voices, and edited by Barrett Golding.

Major Underwriting was provided by Terry Causey and the Shelly and Donald Rubin Foundation.

You heard the voices of Chimi Wangmo, Kunzang Choden, Yeshey Dorji and Queen Ashi Sangay Choden Wangchuk.

Musical performances by Jigme Drukpa and the Khuju Luyang Ensemble
Additional music recorded by Jack Chance.

Special thanks to Her Majesty Queen Ashi Sangay Choden Wangchuk, the staff and clients of RENEW Bhutan, Tshering Uden Penjor, Françoise Pommaret, Ariana Maki, the Royal Body Guard and the Royal Bhutan Army, the Zulikha Nunnery, Hotel Zhi Waling, and the people of Daifam, Zamtari, and Shinka Lauri villages.

For more information about RENEW, please visit www.renewbhutan.org.

The Queen's Trek is a production of Outer Voices. For more information visit us online at www.outervoices.org.
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