Project trip with moving moments - Reconstruction nears finishing line

To Manfred Lindner, deputy president of Nepalhilfe Beilngries, it was one of his current project trip’s high moments: the commissioning of the newly constructed Chautara home for the blind. In late October, he and his wife Helga’s once again went on the road in Nepal together with Andrea Voegele, press officer of Deuter company, a maker of outdoor gear based in Gersthofen near Augsburg, an hour and half’s drive from Beilngries. Another stop on the trip was the commissioning of Peter Habeler School in Mulkharka, marking another completion of one of the schools that had been hit by 2015’s earthquake, which is to say reconstruction of all affected facilities is now drawing to a close.

New home for the blind

It must have been deja vu for Manfred Lindner when he attended the opening of the newly built home for the blind in Chautara. After all, one of the speakers thanking Nepalhilfe for its support was 18 year-old Dil Badu Shrestha. It had been he who, eight years ago at the same location, had moved visitors, among them Lindner, to tears with his passionate appeal, delivered in perfect English, not to forget the blind children of Chautara. The ten boys and girls had been housed in unlit cellar rooms. This was clearly an untenable situation and one which prompted the idea of erecting a new building. Thanks to sufficient donations coming in, the idea was soon turned into a reality. The earthquake, however, had also destroyed the residential quarters that had been part of the school building. 

Dil Badu Shrestha has meanwhile completed his schooling as best student in his final year and is now studying psychology in Kathmandu, a model in ambition and perseverance.

The building now completed comprises several dormitories, sanitary facilities, a kitchen and  a day room. The boarders, currently 14 boys and girls, have since moved in.

A moving reception

Let’s return to the Deuter School, which we mentioned earlier and which was opened five years ago. Deuter company had provided a crucial contribution to the financing of Shanti Nikunja School in central Kathmandu. Angela Voegele now used a business trip to the Far East to make a stopover and see the building at first hand. The boys and girls, who came in even though it was their vacation, gave her a moving reception. In her reply, Angela made it known how touched she was and promised her company would continue to support the school’s operation.

Another rehabilitated school opens

The members of Nepalhilfe Beilngries also attended the opening of Adarsha Primary School in Mulkharka, whose top sponsor is Peter Habeler, a well-known Austrian extreme alpinist. The school was another one severely damaged in the earthquake and required a full-scale rehabilitation, which cost 30,000 Euro.

Reconstruction of the school made attendance far easier for the little ones in pre-school and first-year pupils. They had been confined to corrugated-steel huts for several years, structures known as „Temporary Learning Centre“, but this title was no substitute for charm or comfort. Now, the children have moved back to study in their familiar school. 

Under current plans, all damaged buildings will be rebuilt or repaired by the end of 2019 and will be so according to quake-resistance codes. In this connection, Nepalhilfe hopes its members will continue to make donations as they have in the past as this was crucial in making reconstruction possible.