Building a clinic in Nepal - Nepal
Overview
This charity holiday is a great project for international development in Nepal and the aim is to build a small hospital in a rural area near the Everest region, as part of a very long term project we have been developing with our charity Moving Mountains Trust for nearly twenty years now. We're looking for a group of motivated people who will carry out fundraising up to the project capital cost and then travel to Nepal and help to implement it. It's hard work though! Building techniques in the mountains include dry stone walling and using slate collected from the valley floor.
Group Logistics
We welcome interest from individuals and groups to make up the project team. There are two costs involved with our International Development trips a) your own land based trip costs and b) the specific project costs that the team will need to raise for the project to be undertaken.
Ideally a team of up to 15 people would be perfect, and we will provide all the homestay accommodation and meals in the village, allowing you to experience traditional Sherpa hospitality. We have been doing this for many years, and we have all the safety issues covered, and we use our own company in Nepal to carry out the logistics. Moving Mountains also has it's own NGO based in Nepal, so the visiting team will truly be working with local people carrying out the aims of an international charity.
More Information
Our charity, Moving Mountains, has been working in the Himalayan region of Bumburi for many years as part of a sustained long term strategy. Our projects have already seen a huge improvement in the quality of life of its inhabitants. Previous phases have included provision of a clean drinking water system, a hydro-electric installation, renovation of the monastery, building of essential pathways and many other projects.
Another of our successful initiatives has been the provision of medical camps whereby Nepali doctors have supervised a group of UK medical students in providing a free medical consultation and treatment programme over the course of ten days. These camps have been extremely well attended and as a result of this and consultation with our local comittee members we have identified a need for year-round healthcare provsion in the area. Full details about the last medical camp can be found by clicking here and a report on the medical findings by clicking here.
Staff
We've got lots of staff to help the team, including Everest climbing Sherpas and our full time development staff. Additionally there is the village committee in Bumburi and Bupsa who manage all of our projects on the ground. We've also got a guesthouse in Kathmandu where you can stay, we have lots of elective students and sabbaticals who spend several months living in the capital, so the set-up is comfortable and very sociable.
Project History
This scheme is part of a wider ongoing initiative to improve the quality of life of people in the lower Khumbu region of rural Nepal. The village regeneration project is the implementation of a long-term development plan focussed around two rural villages. Overall enhancement of quality of life and sustainability of the community has so far been achieved via investment in infrastructure, education and healthcare as well as training and reliable employment.
Aside from the more obvious physical and material elements, one of the main achievements of the project has been the rejuvenation of a community that was in serious decline and plagued by emigration to the lowlands and Maoist related violence. Through improvements in sanitation, schooling, employment and future prospects the communities have again begun to be an attractive proposition for life-long habitation.
The sustained close links of Adventure Alternative to the area has provided locals with a reliable and ethical source of employment and training. Throughout the course of ten years, Adventure Alternative has been running Mount Everest expeditions and Everest base camp Treks. These have brought in charitable donations and also a reliable revenue stream. Many of the local Sherpa people have been employed to staff these trips as guides, porters and logistical organisers. In so-doing they have gained invaluable skills and experience.
A number of local Sherpas have now summitted Mt Everest with Adventure Alternative. This is an achievement that is held in huge esteem by the Sherpa community, helping to further raise the profile of their home villages as successful and thriving communities.
So far the physical achievements of the project include:
- Design, building, installation and commissioning of 6kw hydro-electric plant in Bumburi
- Electrical connection of 66 Bumburi homes to the hydro-electric plant
- Installation of hydro-mechanical milling machinery at the hydro plant in Bumburi
- Building of 6 new classrooms at Bupsa school
- Building of 6 new classrooms at Bumburi school
- Building of improved toilet facilities and water tap at Bumburi school
- Renovation of Bupsa Buddhist monastery
- Renovation of Bumburi monastery
- Provision of 66 improved cooking stoves in Bumburi
- Provision of clean running water to 66 homes in Bumburi
Other initiatives include
- Previous annual medical camps in Bupsa and Bumburi providing free medical consultation and
- medication.
- Funding of 4 teachers’ salaries in each of the two village schools
- Sponsorship of 12 local children to go on to higher education in Kathmandu
- Training and employment of local villagers to run and maintain the hydro-plant
- Establishing community cooperative programmes for wealth generation
Project Support
The project will get its financial support from Moving Mountains, which receives its funding from donors. Part of your commitment to this trip is to help raise the funds for the hospital, and we as a charity build what we can with the money we get. So the whole hospital project may progress over several trips.
Value of Your Visit
The value is really meaningful to the villagers, and many people question how trips like this genuinely benefit communities in far-off locations. We agree with this caution and skepticism, and we highly encourage visitors to question the validity and integrity of any charity holiday like this. But we are extremely confident that this trip works because our business model is quite different, and we adhere to the principles of Fair Trade Volunteering. Most importantly, this project is determined by the village committee and by the Nepalese Trustees, there's no imposition from us; and also this project is part of a very long term plan that has aims and objectives which would fulfil any professional audit procedure. Too many projects are standalone, and don't always complement national objectives, but in our case the projects work hand in hand with Governmental aims in education, health and social welfare for mountain communities.
Apart
Dates and Itinerary
The project involves a two week travel and working stay in the village. However the fundraising and preparation work will take place over an extended period of 6 months, or more, lead up to the in-country phase.
As this is a large project it will be broken into a series of project stages or phases to make it more manageable for each group in terms of fundraising and time spent in the country. There will be 4 different group blocks but of course an organisation may choose to take on more than one project block and make the project an ongoing interest. We actively encourage this as it fits in with our overall organisational ethic of sustained, long-term strategic objectives. It also helps to build up a very rewarding relationship between the group members, organisation and local community.
Our International Development Projects have advertised dates for individuals to sign up and collectively take on a project. If you represent a group look at our tailormade options below.
Our International Development Projects are trips which look for committed and enthusiastic people who want to go on an adventure but undertake a worthy project whilst there, so you leave the country better than when you arrived.
The project will be phased due to its large nature, the phases will be as follows:-
Phase 1: Foundations for Hospital
Phase 2: Walls for Hospital
Phase 3: Roof for Hospital
Phase 4: Painting, decorating and adding equipment / supplies
| 2013 |
|---|
| 17th September - 1st October |
Tailormade Option
We have an advertised date for solo travellers or small groups of friends who are keen to take up the challenge. Individuals / small groups of friends sign up to the advertised date and when we have enough people they take on the project together.
If you represent a larger group (usually 8 or more people) then we can work with your dates so that the project can be undertaken at a time that suits you. Generally in Nepal the main seasons are March, April, May and September, October and December.
Time in Country
All of our International Development Projects have been identified, researched, assessed, priced and approved by our charity Moving Mountains. The next stage of the process is project implementation. For this we need people to help us firstly raise the funds to cover the project and then assist with implementation on the ground. If, after the project, you would like to stay for longer and take part in any of the other activities we run in Nepal this is easily organised.
Cost
Building a clinic in Nepal cost: £725.00
Includes
- Personal in-country trip costs
- Airport Pick up / Drop off
- Accommodation
- Airport transfers
- Meals
- Staff / porters / guide
- Internal flights to Lukla
Excludes
- Group project fundraising target; estimated total £30,000 split between 4 project phase groups which is £7,500 per group or £1000 per person. This is payable direct to our charity so you can set up online fundraising pages, and claim gift aid on your donations
- International air-fare
- Vaccinations
- Visa
- Personal Travel Insurance
- Personal items (phone, washing, souvenirs etc)
Fitness
You do not need to be super-fit for this trip as it is focussed more on social interaction and team work than physical exertion. Having said that, you will enjoy the trip all the more if you are in good physical shape having exercised regularly and eaten nutritiously over at least the 6 months leading up to the trip.
You do need to be in good health as we will spend some time in locations that are many hours from professional medical care. Any pre-existing medical or dental conditions should be fully appraised by a doctor and their nature fully disclosed to your insurer and to ourselves.
Experience Needed
For this trip you don't need to be experienced in foreign travel or experienced in building techniques or working with children or in schools. The programme is designed so that you are the one getting the experience, while at the same time allowing you to interact with our professional staff who can show you their job. We are not expecting you to be experts in any specific or even related fields, but we will expect you to come back with a great deal of knowledge at the end of it.
The most important characteristics you need are openness, willingness to learn and take part, enthusiasm, initiative and a sense of curiosity. Your experience simply as a person from another culture will give you an enormous amount to share with local people who perhaps have less opportunities than you. The trip is very emotional, and you will meet people whose lives seem almost impossible to live, but your interaction with them will help in ways you can't measure.
Role Model
Without doubt you will witness the strong links between Adventure Alternative and Moving Mountains and the communities that you are placed in. As such, you will be an ambassador for both Adventure Alternative and Moving Mountains and there will be many young people looking up to you as a role model. You need to appreciate what responsibility you are taking on in this respect and to conduct yourself in an appropriate way. Don't be afraid of this, it's simply something to be aware of. Most cultures in developing countries are naturally conservative and traditional, but they are also fun-loving and naturally demonstrative and curious, so you might be surprised by just how much they fit in with our culture.
Also, don't forget that they will be a role model to you, this is not a one way process where you get to do all the giving! Actually, you may be surprised to find that the person benefitting the most is you. The staff who work for MM and AA are all inspirational and motivated people, highly educated and passionate, and many of them came from very difficult backgrounds. Their life story will amaze you, and their natural positive attitude to life will mean that they will almost certainly become a role model to you as well.
The Promise to Moving Mountains
Moving Mountains started as a small charity in 1991 when Gavin Bate was teaching in the slums of Kenya. Some of the children he taught are now adults and working for the charity and the company. Along the way Gavin has put into action a set of beliefs in how a charity should best be run. This is nothing to do with helping a single poverty stricken child, but a way of running a community which can break free of poverty and not become reliant on others for handouts. It defines the way money is spent, how it is distributed, and how it fits in with the wider needs. It doesn’t focus on the child, but on how the child is brought up in the family and the community. It’s taken nearly twenty years of experience to get to the point where Moving Mountains is now a big charity which has such a successful ‘business model’ that the communities themselves love it.
We want you to be a part of it, but we ask that you respect our system. We have rules, which include not giving ‘things’ to children and not making private arrangements for personal sponsorships or gifts or money. We have seen this happen before, and it has never worked. The local communities respect a system that doesn’t just hand it out, but gives them a chance to become owners of something successful and long-term, like any self-respecting person. It’s easy to fall into the trap of responding to an emotional response and just handing over money, but that isn’t aid and it doesn’t actually help. What helps is clever expenditure of money, a strategy to spend it properly, and the realisation that money is hard to come by in any society.
Your trip is enough to make a difference. It’s part of something successful and inspiring, and it’s part of a vision that somebody had a long time ago. Your promise to us is to let that vision continue.
Gear
Kit List
- Rucksack or duffle of no more than 20kgs as luggage, 65-90litres.
- Small day pack, approx 40 litres
- Sunhat
- Sun glasses with good UV protection
- Sleeping liner - keeps your bag clean and you can sleep in it if the night is too warm.
- Sleeping bag - a synthetic 3 season bag is fine
- Water proof jacket, but also take an umbrella for showers
- Wash kit and Travel towel
- Good walking shoes or boots
- flip flops
- Walking poles (optional)
- Camera - plus charger unit
- Mobile phone - an old model which is unlocked
- Head torch - LED are best
- Money belt - to conceal your money
- Medical pack / first aid kit
- Any contact lens solutions
- Sun cream - with a high UVA protection
- Water bottles 2x1 litre
- Water purification tablets
- Insect repellent
- Small padlocks with security code
- A good guide book
- Local language phrasebook
- Notebook, stationery, pens
Additional Kit Info
Females will have to dress conservatively in public and especially in schools and the childrens homes. You will draw unnecessary attention to yourself and maybe cause offence if revealing clothing is worn.
Also don't forget:
Your passport - valid for at least six months beyond the return date.
Insurance - comprehensive travel and medical insurance cover.
Immunisation booklet - with details of all the jabs you've had.
Passport photos - take about six of these to be used as identification
List of emergency telephone numbers - to cancel/call insurers, credit/debit cards
Tickets and itinerary - remember to leave copies of these with friends or family
Money - a mixture of some cash, travellers' cheques and credit cards.
List of useful contact numbers - such as British Embassy/Consulate, insurance company and credit card 24 hour emergency telephone number.
Why Us
- We are driven by good intentions and not just good practise; our trips work with professional bodies that work full time in the field of international development.
- We do not contract out our trips, we employ full time staff, offering job security and good benefits.
- We are passionate about responsible tourism and our company has promoted sustainable development since 1995, and it is still growing!
- We work with Moving Mountains which is tightly linked with the company, and provides relevant long term programmes and projects that benefit the host communities.
- Financial security guaranteed as we are AITO bonded.
- We are members of Interhealth which gives you access to pre-trip health information and on-site assistance by phone in the event of an emergency.
- Our staff only work for Adventure Alternative.
- We use low cost sustainable technologies and a business model which incentivises a local NGO.
- We have independent research to evaluate and assess the projects we run.
- We deliver value and an informed choice to our clients, through a highly comprehensive communications network that you can access, and we can provide that evidence to stand behind everything we say.
- We have credibility because our projects are not all self-regulated, but assessed in a collaborative process that involves many stakeholders such as the community leaders, the NGO staff and the regulatory bodies in-country.
- We have progressive ideas about the structural determinants of poverty and the implementation of 'clever aid' to create sustainable benefits.
- We don't take people's jobs, we use these trips to invest in people.
- We fulfil the criteria of Fair Trade Volunteering.
- Our projects and programmes determine the trip, not the other way around.
- We believe in what we do, and we have the experience to carry it out.