Mobility - Stability and electricity

The keywords mobility, stability and electricity can be used to summarize the main focus of the projects of Nepalhilfe Beilngries in the past months.

As far as mobility is concerned, there are three institutions that are affected by this.

First and foremost the "Shree Kali Devi School" of Kadambas, which still deserves special attention in the list of meanwhile 28 financed and maintained schools. 

Those who remember the beginnings of this project in 1995 or have been there themselves, will certainly have lasting memories of the long climb from the valley village of Balephi. For twenty years, a gravel road has led to the small mountain village. In April of this year, a school bus began operating, which significantly expanded the catchment area and made it easier to attend school. More than half of the 20,000 Euro vehicle was paid by the NH Beilngries.

A new school bus has also been on tour since May at the Shramsheel Vidyapith School of Gothatar, not far from Kathmandu. Here it is an electric micro van. Many years ago, Nepalhilfe had already financed a school bus there, which is still doing its job.  The suggestion to purchase the "60 KYC Electric" came from the community and the school administration. The aid organization was extremely positive about the idea, which cost around 35,000 Euro. During the premiere ride, the students chanted "Thank you Nepalhilfe Beilngries". A small step toward a more environmentally friendly future.

The third mobile vehicle has been on the road since July in the institution of Lubhu's Daycare Center. For this purpose, a minibus was rented for a period of six months for testing purposes. On six weekdays, it picks up the children to be cared for on two routes in the morning and brings them back to their parents in the evening. This has made the previous catchment area much easier to reach, especially for visitors with physical disabilities.

Late repair of earthquake damage

The informantion that eight years after the dramatic earthquake in April 2015 there are still damaged schools, which had apparently fallen out of the focus of Nepal's state organs, came as a surprise when in March 2023 both, the school management of the Jalapadevi Secondary School and the responsible municipality of Melamchi in the Sindhupalchok district, approached Nepalhilfe Beilngries. This with the request to take over the financing of the rehabilitation in order to achieve the necessary stability. The three-story building is still the school center for 540 boys and girls and 28 staff members. 

An engineering bureau from Kathmandu has undertaken an assessment of the building with the result that renovation is possible. Especially on the ground floor, the fragile statics must be secured. Then a fourth floor can be added in a kind of lightweight construction, which will ease the cramped conditions. These renovation measures have been estimated at around 65,000 Euro. If everything goes off without a hitch, the school will be handed over in May 2024.

Photovoltaics for energy generation - a difficult path 

Since spring 2020, the members of Nepalhilfe Beilngries have been a special attention to the construction of a passive solar house in the remote Dolpo region in northern Nepal. This for several reasons. It is the exposed altitude of the mountain village of Chharka at 4,300 meters and the challenging way there, because there are several passes of over 5,000 meters in between. The building has now been completed. Now the last step is the installation of a photovoltaic system for energy generation. Nearly 30,000 Euro are needed for this installation. Various facilities in the village, such as the school and the small health post will benefit from this. 

The massive monsoon brought impassable roads with it, with the consequence of a two-week delay before two all-terrain vehicles set out from Kathmandu on September 4th to bring the necessary material to Chharka.  In two weeks they want to be back. Most of the time they will be on foot to bring panels and the heavy temperature resistant batteries to their destination with mules, yaks and human carrying power. The system will be assembled by skilled workers before the start of winter, because Chharka will be closed off from the outside world until May of next year. 

For more information on the institutions mentioned and other projects, interested parties can visit www.nepalhilfe-beilngries.de.