He immediately informed his wife that he would be leaving for the volunteer programme. His wife, holding their seven-month-old baby, smiled gently and said, “You have to go.”
Her words carried quiet strength — the kind that only love and shared purpose can give.

However, on the nights of October 5th and 6th, heavy rains lashed across the southern belt. The Samtse–Thimphu highway was closed, bridges were washed away, and even the Indian border routes were disrupted. Ramesh watched helplessly as his hopes began to fade again.

“I told my wife that maybe I won’t be able to go after all. I felt suffocated. Heartbroken,” he said. “It wasn’t just about missing a programme — it felt like missing a calling.”

The next morning, as he lay in bed drafting a message to inform the office that he couldn’t make it, his wife entered the room — their baby cradled in her arms — and said, “Breakfast is ready. Once you eat, just go. Don’t worry about us. We will be fine. You have to go.”

He paused as he told us this part, his eyes welling up.

“I didn’t understand what gave her that strength. But I just got up, packed one gho and a few clothes, and left.”

Then began a journey that tested his resolve and devotion.

Ramesh travelled alone, through flooded roads, washed-out bridges, and uncertain paths. He crossed into India, where bus services were irregular. There were stretches where he had to walk miles through rain and slush just to reach the next stop — waiting for hours to catch another bus that would take him closer to Gelephu. At times, he would get down, walk again, and repeat the process, often changing multiple buses across broken routes.

“I didn’t know if I would make it,” he said quietly. “But somehow, I just kept going.”

After changing five different buses, walking across washed-out stretches, and waiting at lonely junctions, he finally reached Gelephu — drenched, exhausted, but filled with quiet joy and purpose.

By the third day of the volunteer service, when he shared his story with the rest of us, there was silence in the room. Every volunteer felt it — the quiet power of one man’s devotion, the courage of a wife’s support, and the grace that comes from serving something greater than oneself.

Ramesh’s journey is not just about reaching Gelephu — it is about reaching the heart of what it truly means to be Bhutanese.
To serve with love.
To give without hesitation.
And to hold deep faith in His Majesty’s vision for the nation.

As a coach and a sportsman, Ramesh reflected on how sports have taught him resilience, teamwork, and discipline — the same values that guided him through this journey. Like the Olympic values of Excellence, Friendship, and Respect, his journey reminds us that life’s challenges, like sports, demand courage, patience, and the determination to keep moving forward, no matter the obstacles.

Some journeys begin with duty, others with inspiration — but the most meaningful ones begin with devotion.