Despite earth quake and floods – Good news encourages

Despite the disastrous news about the earth quakes and the floods in the last couple of months, there is positive news from Nepal concerning the work and the projects of NHB which encourages. This positive news gives confidence for the difficult tasks to come.

On the one hand, there are two gleams of hope: The opening of the new LOWA-school in the district of Sindhupalchok and the inventory-taking for the rehabilitation of the Midpoint Community Memorial Hospital in Kawasoti. 

The hospital in Terai, in the south of the country, is located in an area the NHB had never had projects before. Shyam Pandit, our long-term staff member and school building coordinator, comes from this area and set the ball rolling in June 2013. The impressions about this old hospital the visitors from Beilngries brought home in spring 2014 were disillusioning. The building was run-down und inefficient concerning equipment and supply although it is not only located near an accident-prone main road between the cities of Bharatpur and Butwal but also the catchment area of 37 communities.

Before the financial support from Bavaria was realized, the responsible leaders showed how serious they are with their wish for support by starting the first steps of the rehabilitation in their own initiative and with their own financial means. The whole building was cleaned and newly painted, the floors were tiled, the outer walls were painted and measures for enhancing the hygienic standards were introduced.

A delivery ward, two air-conditioned intensive care rooms, monitors for supervision, supersonic and laboratory equipment for diagnosis and a full-automatic 20 KW current generator have been paid for from donations. The recycling system has also been improved.

Meanwhile, only the severely injured need to be taken to Bharatpur, which is 40 km away.

Furthermore the leading hospital staff wishes for digital x-ray equipment which the NHB also wants to provide for. The whole effort the hospital staff showed was only possible because of the 80,000 Euro NHB has invested.

Three practitioners and several trained nurses are responsible for the professional care of the patients. A continuously rising number of ill and injured people find their way to the Midpoint Hospital and its annexed pharmacy.

According to Ram Das Pandit, president of the hospital management, governmental support is hardly worth mentioning. However, some local politicians have become aware of the desperate situation of the hospital and have promised some financial support.

On the other hand, there is negative news of the effect of the earth quake. According to the latest survey, five schools which 2,800 children had attended must be levelled and rebuilt. Heavy breaking out equipment of an international aid organization has already started the levelling and has spread the areas. Window frames and door casings as well as school furniture have carefully been saved that they can be used again for the future new buildings. 

According to the responsible manager of the levelling works, the school of Thulosiruwari had already been the hundredth school in the district of Sindhupalchok, which shows the dimension of the total damage in this area.

A three-year-plan for the new building respectively rehabilitation of the ten damaged NHB-schools is being developed at the moment. Governmental standards will only allow two-story buildings in the shape of an H, L or U for future public buildings in order to guarantee more stability against earth quakes.

On the one hand, there are the building measures themselves, on the other hand there is their funding. The latter one means an enormous challenge for the NHB. They believe once more in the support and commitment of their fellow men.

Donations:  
Nepalhilfe Beilngries e.V.
Volksbank Bayern Mitte eG
IBAN:  DE05 7216 0818 0004 6227 07
BIC: GENODEF1INP
code word „Erdbeben“