(Winter-)Schools in the remote mountains of Nepal

This report is not about our school operations itself, but gives you an insight view of how the Covid pandemic impacts the people in the villages where our school projects take place and several other villages in this mountainous region of the Upper Dolpo in Nepal.

A very high number of cases of illness occured in Upper Dolpo in May/June this year. That is why we have started to organize a delivery of medical equipment and food for the families affected beside the medicines. In a joint action, the HUMAN Foundation has succeeded in merging with our partner Dolpo Tulku Rinpoche and other NGOs from Canada, Germany, Switzerland and Nepal. Several packages of medication (febrifuge, cough syrup, pain reliever, (multi) vitamin tablets, antibiotics and much more) were transported to Upper Dolpo in a small helicopter on June 6, 2021 and deposited in three “Health Posts”. Thus, at least basic drugs are available to alleviate some symptoms. More medical care is not possible, since oxygen cylinders etc. are currently not available. And it that makes no sense, as the locals do not know how to operate the medical equipment. Whether the illness is Covid or a severe flu has not yet been determined, as there are no test options.

Due to the many diseases and pandemic restrictions, many families will experience significant harvest losses. Food through trade cannot be purchased either, as the borders with Tibet are closed.

During the month of July we delivered food to 700 families in the rural municipalities of Shey Phoksundo, Dolpo Buddha and Chharka Tangsong in Upper Dolpo at around 4,000 meters above sea level. In total, more than 20 tons of food have been delivered by mules to the three distribution villages in Dho Tarap, Saldang and Karkot. From there, 30 kg of flour or rice per family were distributed to the needy people in the 22 villages. Locals were selected for transportation so that they could earn money from transportation. A total of 360 mules were in action. Each individual transport took 3 days. This supply will help families get through the next harsh winter.

The total costs for the food support amount to more than 30,000 USD. The HUMAN Foundation bears almost 30% of the costs.

We do not want to abandon the families and their children in the Upper Dolpo in the Himalayas in these difficult times, some of whom attend the schools we support.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank all donors who supported this special campaign already.