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HIMALAYAN CHILDREN, Nepal

HIMALAYAN CHILDREN in Nepal

Director and Fundraiser: Shirley Blair

http://www.himalayanchildren.org/

Shree Mangal Dvip (SMD) School for Himalayan Children in Kathmandu provides free education, housing and full care for over 500 children from the most vulnerable and remote Himalayan mountain villages of northern Nepal.

The Project:

3 years of General Medicine studies for 2 young Nepalese women, 25.325€

Hunger, heavy parasite loads, and no medical care are the causes that contribute to many mothers’ and children’s deaths. One survey of pregnant mums in Nubri found almost 90% with tapeworm (from sun-dried cheese or meat). Many children don’t survive to see their 5th birthday. Weakened by hunger, colds, and diarrhea carry many away. There is no maternal care, many mothers lose their lives after giving birth leaving their newborns struggling to survive without mothers’ care. When a father dies, the survival rate of small children under 5 years is halved.

The nearest healthcare is a day’s trek away, along perilous mountain trails. (We’ve lost three fathers to falls on the trails.) Helicopter companies will fly mountain people down for medical care at no expense if they happen to have a machine in the highlands. When there is no healthcare available, death is always close, and villagers depend on prayer and sometimes, on exorcism.

  • The primary goal is to get health care into the Himalayas. We hope to raise enough money to train more Health Assistants. We are seeking funding for General Medicine (HA) training.
  • The second goal which does not fall within the purview of this proposal pertains to the future of health care in the Himalayas. Our HA graduates will work in remote posts for some time and (if they are interested) will return to Kathmandu to upgrade their qualifications. Four have already started Bachelor of Public Health degrees.
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LEARN MORE ABOUT HIMALAYAN CHILDREN

These villages are situated in geographically challenging and isolated areas at high altitude (as high as 14,000 feet; around 4,000 m.). They are subject to climate extremes, and have no roads, electricity, running water, sanitation, telecommunication, health care or schools.

Thrangu Rinpoche founded the main school, SMD School, in 1987 near the Great Stupa in the Kathmandu valley of Nepal. It offers free education, housing, medical and dental care to hundreds of mountain kids. In 2002, Rinpoche opened SMD Branch School for Monks to relieve crowding at the main school. The Branch School is at Namo Buddha, on the rim of the Kathmandu valley, about two hours away from the main school.

Our kids are culturally and linguistically Tibetan, and their thinking is Buddhist. For centuries, the teachings of the Buddha have flourished without interruption in the Nepal Himalayas. We continue these teachings at our school.

What We Do

365 days a year, we house and provide for over 300 boarding students from mountain villages; they are joined from Sundays to Fridays by around 200 day students from across the Kathmandu valley, including nuns and monks from Thrangu Tara Abbey Nunnery and Thrangu Tashi Choling Monastery. We also offer training and employment to almost 100 teachers and support staff.

The children are given a secular education enriched by instruction in the “lama language” (Tibetan) and Himalayan culture. Our classes are instructed in English and follow the current Nepal government school curriculum (math, science, English, Nepali, social studies and computer studies). Important to the foundation and aim of our school is that our students receive the teachings of the Buddha with the inclusion of daily prayer and meditation.

The young monks and nuns have a more rigorous schedule. They study Dharma texts and learn practices and rituals when they return to their monastic setting at the end of the school day.

Our Belief:

On Rinpoche’s instruction, we encourage our graduates to continue their education in the fields of health and education so they can return to their villages and help their own people.

Why we chose to work in NEPAL…

“To preserve the culture, language and Buddhist way of life of the Himalayas, and to give Himalayan Children the tools to build a better future, so they can help their own people when they grow up.”

Nepal is among the poorest, most illiterate and least developed countries in the world, with 25 per cent of the population living below the poverty line. Continued political instability, high prices, and severe natural disasters have pushed the country into chaos and hunger.

A Message from Lisbeth

We are proud to support Shirley Blair and Himalayan Children and to help assuring education for these forgotten children living in mountain areas at the altitude 4000 meters and above.

In our Priority Project, we focus on the education of two young girls wanting to become Doctors to help families in the areas where normally no doctors or education are available. The girls come from these areas themselves and know how hard it is to live without access to Medical Health.

Together we can make life better for millions of people,

With love for Humanity,
Lisbeth

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