Shree Jharkot Traditional Medical Center and School - where a little is a lot
For a number of years our students and teachers have supported a small free boarding school for children of families in particular need in Jharkot, a village in the Himalaya at 3550m above sea level.
The >> report from our BE teachers Christina Klaffinger and Wolfgang Pichlmüller, who worked there for three months in the late autumn of 2008, makes both the extreme living conditions of the people and the lively atmosphere of the school palpable.
Nepal is one of the poorest countries in the world; our former Dr. Karin Inmann, co-founder of the Austrian NGO Ecohimal, spent many years as an aid worker in this country. One of the projects in whose development she was significantly involved was a small school on the land of the Buddhist cloister in Jharkot, connected with the ordination of a doctor for traditional Tibetan medicine.
When Ecohimal ended their financial support of the project in 2006, it seemed to be the end for the school and the free traditional medicinal care for the residents of the surrounding villages. Karin Inmann turned to the students of the Musisches Gymnasium for help. Since then together with our German partners (see below) we have managed to raise the means for the continued existence of the school through various campaigns.
With the donations made we can pay for two round-the-clock members of teaching staff, who don't just teach, but also take on the roles of organisers, nurturers and parents. Food for the children – aside from what their parents can provide in terms of grain and vegetables from their fields – is also financed, as are healthcare costs, clothes, shoes, school items and toiletries. The modest wage for the cook and the Tibetan doctor has to be raised, there are electricity bills, wood and gas are needed for cooking …
International cooperation
The project's supporting team has grown since the end of 2011 – thank God, because the remit has grown too. We have gained Polish allies and a Hungarian architect has great plans …
Distribution of responsibilities:
The Musisches Gymnasium and the German association Jharkotprojekt e.V. continue to provide for the school and boarding school as well as the primary care for the children.
The Polish association Schoolsfaraway.orgis responsible for the further training of the children who leave the Jharkot school and as far as possible they answer for repairs and improvements to the school building.
The architect Beatrix Kovacs is planning a new school building >>, which will not only offer the children more room, but will also be an example with the use of passive solar energy and regional materials and building methods. Ms Kovacs and the Polish partners will take care of the financing and the execution of the construction work.
In order that we can continue giving these children a better start in life, we need your help!
contact:
Christina Klaffinger, Wolfgang Pichlmüller
email:
sponsoring account:
Mus.Gymn.- Jharkot Nepal
Kontonr.: 00000106799, BLZ 45010
