Key data projects & visit to Nepal

Our visit to Bhumesthan is already over. It was short, but very beautiful and intense. What we have seen and experienced makes us very happy and confident. The people are overjoyed and proudly showed us the much progress that has been achieved.

The government has also made a lot of progress when it comes to infrastructure.

Since September 2017, electricity has been flowing in the village, which is provided by the electricity companies. Apart from lights, some music and individual TVs, there are no other consumers in operation yet. We will probably provide a detailed travel report later. Here are the most important key details about our projects and our visit.

32 cows

Four “hybrid cows” are already in the village and could be shown to us.

In terms of appearance, these cows are more reminiscent of the cows we have here in Switzerland. They produce around two liters of milk per day, in contrast to the approximately 0.5 liters produced by a local cow. Everyone really wants a “milk cow” because the milk is very popular.

It is drunk, added to tea, and made into yogurt and butter. Butter (ghee), which is used for cooking, is very valuable. This means you can avoid using purchased cooking oil. When all the cows are in the village and a lot of milk can be produced, the residents want to collect the “excess” milk and process it into cheese.

reconstruction

27 of the 32 houses are fully built and inhabited.

In a few cases, corrugated iron roofs still need to be replaced with blue roofs, which provide better insulation. The monsoon this year was long but the autumn harvest was bountiful.

Now comes the time when you can devote yourself to construction again. The remaining five houses are now being tackled. We spoke to the five families and they are happy to be able to start construction too. Your advantage is that you can benefit from the experiences of other families in building houses. For example, some new houses have the kitchen attached to the side of the house, so there is less smoke and soot throughout the building and an extra room is available. In general, the houses are two-story, with two rooms on each floor. The walls extend to the roof and the floor of the first floor is made of wood. The attic is also made of wood, covered with blue corrugated iron sheets. This means that the roof is much lighter than before with the stone roofs, which means less damage in the event of another earthquake

Bhumesthan help

We were asked in advance whether we could please bring Voltaren pain gel with us again. So we put together 10 “Medi-Bags” with lots of Voltaren, some bandages and Bephanten cream.

We also supported two families with $80 each. Most families have been able to put some extra money into their home as their children earn some money abroad or in the tourist industry. These two families have no children, so they had no additional financial help with the construction. She also had to pay more unskilled workers. They can now use this money to upgrade the house, build a better stable for the cow or make other purchases.

School fees for girls

At school we were able to look at the agriculture program which has been in operation for two years. A majority of the girls for whom we finance the school costs take part. From our point of view, this has two advantages. On the one hand, there are hardly any professionally grown vegetables in Nepal, which means there are many opportunities for a professional life here. On the other hand, this knowledge is also useful in your own home.

Medical help

Two small inquiries have been received in this regard.

Family support

A boy living in the region cannot speak. He is already 20 years old, but this disability is a big disadvantage. He can't find a job to earn money. His parents are very poor, but support the boy as best they can. We supported this family with $150. So that the money cannot be wasted pointlessly, Arjun gives the family almost $40 every three months, so that they have at least some relief for a year.

Eye problems

A boy was peed in the eye by a goat while supervising his herd of goats at night. Since this incident he has had severe inflammation in his eyes. We are now sending this boy to Kathmandu so that a doctor can take a look at his eyes. Kathmandu has excellent ophthalmologists who take professional care of their patients for little money.

General conclusion

We are heartily happy and grateful.

Thanks to all the many generous donations, we are able to provide help to the residents of Bhumesthan. Be it the restoration of their lost homes, medical help or a small investment in the future, for example through the cows. The villagers are an inspiration to us about what social coexistence means and what it means to get the most out of almost nothing.

Again, we are an inspiration to the villagers in certain areas. We never throw anything on the floor and we also carry small ashtrays with us. That left an impression. The whole village was cleaned before we arrived and there was no rubbish lying around. The money that the village received from us was invested in a bank account.

The interest rates are great, so $800 in interest had accumulated in three years. This money is used to pay general expenses for the village. For example, we bought a music system, paid for the picnic at our reception ($270) and bought trash cans that will be distributed in the village. This is how a second little Switzerland should emerge? We are grateful and proud of the residents of Bhumesthan. They handle our donations with great care. In discussions they look for the best way for the community and always discuss this with us.