Nepalhilfe Beilngries e.V.

32 Jahre Nepalhilfe Beilngries e.V.
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Successful start to the year 2019 – School opening and construction of a new hospital

Hans Kammerlander (centre), guest of honour
Hans Kammerlander (centre), guest of honour
Newly opened wing of Shree Setidevi Higher Secondary School
Newly opened wing of Shree Setidevi Higher Secondary School
Excavation work for the new hospital has begun
Excavation work for the new hospital has begun
The Bishwakarma family and their new house
The Bishwakarma family and their new house

How, we wonder, must South Tyrolean extrem alpinist Hans Kammerlander have felt when he sat down at a student’s desk in Lubhu in early January? The occasion was the opening of the new four-storey wing of Hans Kammerlander School. Anyone familiar with his upbringing will be aware that Hans was not a brilliant student. This is something he has come to regret, he says today. Perhaps this is the reason why, as a longstanding sponsor of Nepalhilfe Beilngries, he has made education a favourite cause of his. 

Erecting the newly commissioned building took a year and a half and cost the equivalent of 55,000 euros. 2005 had seen the commissioning of the main building of Shree Setidevi School following significant support from Beilngries. The school now accommodates 12 forms, with 350 boys and girls currently attending, among them those in the Nepalhilfe’s nearby Shaligram Children’s Home. 

Even then, Hans Kammerlander was there and planted a Himalayan fir as a commemoration. It has since grown into an imposing tree. The school, too, has grown, which why there was urgent demand for the most recent expansion. This houses classrooms, but also facilities for teaching science and a library. The latter is open not just for the schoolchildren, but also for the general population, being the only source of literature for many locals. 

New district hospital

Gratifying news is coming in from the south of the country. On December 24th, 2018, the Nepalese government upgraded Midpoint Memorial Hospital in Kawasoti/Nawalpur to district hospital. This is a quantum leap considering that is had been a rundown medical facility before Nepalhilfe Beilngries set about rehabilitating the dilapidated building and its worn-out equipment. An impressive subsidy in the six figures enabled the rehabilitation process, naturally creating new attractivity and trustworthiness for patients.

As the manager responsible for medical care now tells us, all of this is the result of the support coming in from faraway Bavaria. The improvements were not lost on the authorities in charge, leading them to mandate the upgrade, which will result in an increase in staff and an improvement of the hospital’s medical-technical equipment. All of this will benefit Terai region’s 60,000 inhabitants.

The upgrade is to be completed over a period of five years with help from the municipality, central government and Nepalhilfe Beilngries, which will provide about 30 per cent of total costs. This is an ambitious step and one which Nepalhilfe hopes will encourage its members to continue making donations.

Farmer family finds new housing

63 year-old Man Bahabar Bishwakarma’s family has found a new home. The simple clay hut which had housed the six family members was destroyed in a fire in April, one of the inhabitants suffering severe burns in the incident. Shyam Pandit, one of Nepalhilfe Beilngries’ local coordinators, immediately volunteered to seek financing for rebuilding the family’s home, raising 5,000 euros. As early as October the family was able to move into the new ground-floor building, which even came with the necessary household implements and furniture. 

Let’s close off with a look ahead: If all goes according to plan, all of the 14 schools damaged in the 2015 earthquake will be rehabilitated or rebuild by the end of this year, some of them expanded to meet current demand. Two of these buildings will see their reopening as early as the end of March.