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Last modified: 03 Oct 2023 5:20pm

close up of Nepalese man standing outside in front of a tree

Returning for its third time on air, Faces of Selwyn 2023 features six residents sharing their journey to Selwyn from across the globe.

This year’s podcast episodes were recorded at PlainsFM, hosted by three New Zealand Broadcasting School students Charlotte Mulder, Katie Oliver and Davina Zimmer. In one episode, Davina sits down with Amulya from Nepal to hear his story. Listen to this story on PlainsFM or read more below.

Born in the southern part of Nepal, close to the Indian border, Amulya grew up on the flat plains of a small rural village, nestled in the shadows of the Himalayas.

He’s very used to the diversity of Kiwi weather, having grown up in a desert-like climate with sweltering summers and equally chilly winters. School was a daily 6km cycle/walk away, and after completing his secondary education, he moved to Kathmandu to start college.

After a few years Amulya wanted something more and began looking beyond the Nepalese borders. Deterred from Aotearoa New Zealand because he’d been told that no people actually live there, he moved to Australia where he got his Bachelor’s degree.

Homesickness drew him back to home soil where he met the woman who would later become his wife. But things weren’t going so well in Nepal, and with a civil war making job hunting difficult they decided to make the move to Aotearoa for better career opportunities. Several years, plenty of challenges and one beautiful baby boy later, they are proud to call Selwyn their home.

Amulya loves the people, community and the flat terrain with the southern alps peeking out in the distance. Amulya looks back on the rumours of no one living in New Zealand and laughs.

He’s glad he took the plunge, extremely content with the life he’s built in Selwyn, saying it feels just like home.