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Since September, we’ve been living and working in Gangkharka, a village in the Helambu region of Nepal. VEC-Gangkharka (www.vec.org.np) is our host organization, with projects benefiting children in remote mountain communities. With VEC, we’ve organized a series of mobile health clinics, begun setup of a new village health post, and collected footage for a documentary film about the region, its cultures, and its development. It’s proving to be a real challenge, a family adventure!

The people of the region are mostly subsistence farmers, shepherds and laborers. Very few are lucky enough to have much education. To help the children of the region have access to a good education, and maintain a connection with their cultural identities, VEC manages a boarding school for children who have lost parents or were left behind as their parents seek employment overseas.

In Helambu, there is also little access to any quality healthcare. The mobile health clinics VEC provides are a rare chance for many residents to get needed treatments for infections, injuries, skin and digestive diseases, and more. Most can be treated with very simple medicines, which are provided 100% by volunteers like us. We and other volunteers staffed the health camps in November in Gangkharka, Yangri, and Bholgaon villages, to serve hundreds of patients, and will be bringing a dentist and ophthalmologist there in the springtime. A big THANK YOU to those of you who donated money to provide medicines for the camps. We raised nearly 1000 Euros, and this allowed us to care for nearly all of the patients in need.

Now our focus has shifted to meeting the financial needs of the 100+ children urgently needing sponsorship in order to continue their education at the school. Some international NGOs partnered with VEC to fund the initial establishment of the school, but the ongoing costs of salaries for the teachers and food for the students are in danger of going un-met in the coming months. For this reason, we have established a student sponsorship program, allowing individual sponsors to directly guarantee the ongoing education of a student in need.  Individual support makes a huge impact for these children’s futures. The majority of the Gangkharka children have no way to attend school without external support. The fees paid by supporting relatives (equivalent to EUR 70 per year) cover only 1/10 of the actual cost per child. Your help at this point can help us be sure that all the children have a chance to continue their education.

- The Bookers: Dave, Ina, Tim, Lia

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Unser Helambu Projekt

Ab September werden wir für ein Jahr in dem Dorf Baruwa im Helambugebiet wohnen und arbeiten. Unseren Aufenthalt finanzieren wir zu 100% selbst. Wir werden dort für die Organisation VEC-Gangkharka (www.vec.org.np) arbeiten. VEC unterstützt sehr arme Familien in den Bereichen Gesundheit und Bildung. Wir werden u.a. eine Serie von mobilen Gesundheitscamps organisieren und dabei helfen, eine neue Dorfklinik zu bauen.

In Helambu, wo vorwiegend arme Bauern und Schäfer leben, können nur wenige Kinder in die Schule gehen. VEC (Village Environment Community) hat im April 2009 eine neue Schule für 100 Schüler eröffnet. Die meisten Kinder können dort auch übernachten, da sie aus weit entfernten Regionen kommen und der Schulweg zu weit wäre.

Nur wenig Menschen in der Gegend haben Zugang zu einer medizinischen Versorgung. Die mobilen Gesundheitscamps, die von VEC regelmäßig organisiert werden, sind für viele Bewohner die einzige Chance die nötige Behandlung zu bekommen. Meistens sind es Infektionen, Verletzungen, Haut- und Darmerkrankungen. Oft können diese durch einfache Medikamente behandelt werden, die komplett von Volunteers, wie wir es sind, besorgt werden. Im November 2009 bringen wir die nötigen Medikamente in die abgelegenen Dörfer, wo hunderte von Patienten auf ihre Behandlung warten.

1.1.2010 Update: Now our focus has shifted to meeting the financial needs of the 100+ children urgently needing sponsorship in order to continue their education at the school. Some international NGOs partnered with VEC to fund the initial establishment of the school, but the ongoing costs of salaries for the teachers and food for the students are in danger of going un-met in the coming months. For this reason, we have established a student sponsorship program, allowing individual sponsors to directly guarantee the ongoing education of a student in need.  Individual support makes a huge impact for these children’s futures. The majority of the Gangkharka children have no way to attend school without external support. The fees paid by supporting relatives (equivalent to EUR 70 per year) cover only 1/10 of the actual cost per child. Your help at this point can help us be sure that all the children have a chance to continue their education.