If you are interested in the work of the Britain Nepal Medical Trust (BNMT), the charity I'm trying to raise money for on the E4 walk, then please take the time to watch the video below. Dr. Gillian Hodsworth, a BNMT Trustee, and Sadhana Shrestha, one of the BNMT co-directors, give a succinct introduction to the work of the charity and how it is addressing some of the key health issues in Nepal.
Dr. Gillian Hodsworth, who worked for the BNMT as a field doctor in the mid-eighties, is also an accomplished trekker. In 2007 she raised money for the BNMT by completing a 71 day trans-Nepal trek. She can be regarded as a pioneer for the Nepalese leg of the emerging Great Himalaya Trail. This will eventually cross six countries and involve a 4500 kilometre journey going east to west. The full story of Gillian's walk is on the BNMT website.
Showing posts with label Britain Nepal Medical Trust. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Britain Nepal Medical Trust. Show all posts
High Altitude Training in Nepal
No blogs in November - I've been away. Nice to call it "high altitude training" for the E4 but actually have had a extended trekking holiday in Nepal with a bolt on visit to Delhi.
The walk was great - a trip to Kanchenjunga (the third highest mountain in the world) and its north and south base camps - a 21 day camping trek with KE Adventure Travel. The walk had everything, lovely Nepalese villages and welcoming friendly locals, as well as the spectacular scenery of the high Himalaya. It was cold at night, and when it was cloudy in the day time as well, but we got some amazing weather particularly when were at the base camps. The north base camp is particularly stunning and, unlike Everest, you get the views of Kanchenjunga right from your tent.
Was a bit disappointed with KE if I'm honest. Have let them know about the specific complaints but really don't understand why a company claiming to support sustainable tourism used a non-Nepalese speaking western guide to lead a trip like this. Nepal has a really well established trekking industry and individual Nepalese leaders have made the effort to learn virtually every language under the sun and responsible companies wanting (and needing) a successful Nepalese trekking industry should use them. Not only is it good practice to support local leaders it also gives the trekkers a better experience (based on my trips) and at much lower cost (western guides cost 10 times as much as their Nepalese equivalent). The KE leader was a nice guy and, in a general sense, was very experienced. He didn't however speak Nepalese and had only been to Kanchenjunga once before. KE might come back to me with a response and I will update the blog if they do. I suspect however that they feel that they can attract more customers if they offer them the security of a western guide - if so then it really doesn't say much for "adventure travel".
I'm a bit annoyed with myself actually and should have checked it out before I booked. After all I am trying to raise money for a Nepalese charity and going on holiday with a company whose practices are off the pace in what I regard as good sustainable tourism practice is a bit of an "own goal". Fortunately the charity I'm working for does fit the bill in terms of sustainable development and the personal highlight of the trip was meeting the charity's leadership and staff in Kathmandu at the end of the holiday. Although initiated by British medics in sixties the Britain Nepal Medical Trust is now essentially a Nepalese charity successfully developing Nepalese solutions for Nepalese problems.
Spending an afternoon with the BNMT team gave me a real fillip and in particular a much better understanding of how the money raised from my walk could used to fund initiatives which struggle to attract money from the usual development resources. The final package is still being developed and will be subject of a blog within the next week or so.
Before travelling home I made my first ever visit to India and Delhi. Talk about noise, hustle and bustle - what a place - has certainly wetted my appetite for more visits. And then back to London, Brighton and snow - washed my thermals after Kanchenjunga and put them on again. The only thing that has warmed me up was watching the recordings of three amazing Spurs victories on the trot (have now revealed my true colours!).
The walk was great - a trip to Kanchenjunga (the third highest mountain in the world) and its north and south base camps - a 21 day camping trek with KE Adventure Travel. The walk had everything, lovely Nepalese villages and welcoming friendly locals, as well as the spectacular scenery of the high Himalaya. It was cold at night, and when it was cloudy in the day time as well, but we got some amazing weather particularly when were at the base camps. The north base camp is particularly stunning and, unlike Everest, you get the views of Kanchenjunga right from your tent.
Was a bit disappointed with KE if I'm honest. Have let them know about the specific complaints but really don't understand why a company claiming to support sustainable tourism used a non-Nepalese speaking western guide to lead a trip like this. Nepal has a really well established trekking industry and individual Nepalese leaders have made the effort to learn virtually every language under the sun and responsible companies wanting (and needing) a successful Nepalese trekking industry should use them. Not only is it good practice to support local leaders it also gives the trekkers a better experience (based on my trips) and at much lower cost (western guides cost 10 times as much as their Nepalese equivalent). The KE leader was a nice guy and, in a general sense, was very experienced. He didn't however speak Nepalese and had only been to Kanchenjunga once before. KE might come back to me with a response and I will update the blog if they do. I suspect however that they feel that they can attract more customers if they offer them the security of a western guide - if so then it really doesn't say much for "adventure travel".
I'm a bit annoyed with myself actually and should have checked it out before I booked. After all I am trying to raise money for a Nepalese charity and going on holiday with a company whose practices are off the pace in what I regard as good sustainable tourism practice is a bit of an "own goal". Fortunately the charity I'm working for does fit the bill in terms of sustainable development and the personal highlight of the trip was meeting the charity's leadership and staff in Kathmandu at the end of the holiday. Although initiated by British medics in sixties the Britain Nepal Medical Trust is now essentially a Nepalese charity successfully developing Nepalese solutions for Nepalese problems.
Spending an afternoon with the BNMT team gave me a real fillip and in particular a much better understanding of how the money raised from my walk could used to fund initiatives which struggle to attract money from the usual development resources. The final package is still being developed and will be subject of a blog within the next week or so.
Before travelling home I made my first ever visit to India and Delhi. Talk about noise, hustle and bustle - what a place - has certainly wetted my appetite for more visits. And then back to London, Brighton and snow - washed my thermals after Kanchenjunga and put them on again. The only thing that has warmed me up was watching the recordings of three amazing Spurs victories on the trot (have now revealed my true colours!).
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| Children everywhere |
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| Map reading skills essential |
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| Running wild |
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| Getting seriously cold - Jannu (7710) in the background |
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| Around the corner and it's Kanchenjunga (8586) |
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| Nice view to relax to - underpants drying |
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| Early morning view across the glacier to Kanchenjunga |
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| A lot of shouting children - assured it was friendly banter |
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| With co-directors of the BNMT |
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| Once in a lifetime photo |
The Britain - Nepal Medical Trust
One of the objectives of the E4 Long Distance Walk is to raise money for charity. I discussed some of the issues in working out which charity in an earlier blog and, after some really helpful discussions with The Britain Nepal Medical Trust (BNMT) I have made progress. Current thinking is that, working with the BNMT over the next few months, we can develop a proposition which supports their objectives and is as interesting as possible to the people I’m trying to engage with on the walk.
So why Nepal and why the BNMT?
Nepal with 8 of world’s 10 highest mountains is an incredibly beautiful country and is a very special place for trekkers. My wife and I have been there twice (Annapurna and Everest) and we are going again in November to Kanchenjunga on our biggest trek so far.
You can argue that the history of modern trekking started in Nepal. In 1965 Colonel Jimmy Roberts, a former Gurkha Officer and Military Attaché at the British Embassy in Kathmandu, had the then revolutionary idea of providing trekkers with tents and Sherpas, to guide and cook, establishing a model which is still used. This opened up Nepal and the Himalaya to a wider community with many British companies, which now offer destinations worldwide, starting businesses in Nepal. Despite the growth of alternatives Nepalese treks feature high in any top ten list and the trek to Everest base camp is the trekker’s equivalent of a medieval pilgrimage. Sir Christian Bonington is one Patron of BNMT and Colonel James Stuart is another – maintaining a Gurkha link. A late founder patron of BNMT, Colonel Charles Wylie, was logistics officer to Lord Hunt’s successful ascent of Everest.
Nepal is also a very poor country and one of the least developed in the world. It suffered a 12 year civil war which ended in 2006 after 13,000 people had lost their lives. The monarchy has been replaced by a republic but peace is fragile. As well as the legacy of war the country has only embryonic governance and welfare structures, a particularly complex ethnic history and a very underdeveloped infrastructure. Many of its people though are lively entrepreneurs and show true resilience in adversity.
BNMT started in Nepal in 1966 when a team of British nurses and doctors approached the Nepalese government with an offer to help. It was established as a UK registered charity a year later. Initially concentrating on the control of tuberculosis (over 1 million BCG vaccinations provided by 1976) it has developed a broader based capacity building programme for improved health, transforming itself from a British to a Nepalese managed operation in the process.
Its current objectives sound familiar to those of us who have worked in UK local government, namely:
· To empower people at the community level by ensuring access to information and access and control over local resources and through increased assertiveness improve participation in decision making.
· To strengthen governmental and non-governmental health service providers at district, regional and national levels.
· To improve the livelihoods of disadvantaged people.
While the context is completely different to the UK there is a shared belief that empowering people locally secures good governance and good public services. The charity’s Board is UK based with British and Nepalese trustees.Company administration is from Tonbridge, Kent. BNMT is now a Nepalese managed operation with Nepalese Co-Directors and around 30 staff working on programmes “in country”. Compared to the UK, relatively small amounts of money go a long way in Nepal; the overheads to the charity are minimal and the impact of any funds raised can be very significant.
In discussions with Dr Ian Baker, a BNMT trustee, we have agreed that any sponsorship and other donations I receive for the E4 walk will raise money for the charity’s work. The projects in Nepal which are supported by funds I raise will be described on this blog and on the E4longdistancewalk.com website (once I’ve set it up), hopefully with some direct inputs from the staff in Nepal.
So why Nepal and why the BNMT?
Nepal with 8 of world’s 10 highest mountains is an incredibly beautiful country and is a very special place for trekkers. My wife and I have been there twice (Annapurna and Everest) and we are going again in November to Kanchenjunga on our biggest trek so far.
You can argue that the history of modern trekking started in Nepal. In 1965 Colonel Jimmy Roberts, a former Gurkha Officer and Military Attaché at the British Embassy in Kathmandu, had the then revolutionary idea of providing trekkers with tents and Sherpas, to guide and cook, establishing a model which is still used. This opened up Nepal and the Himalaya to a wider community with many British companies, which now offer destinations worldwide, starting businesses in Nepal. Despite the growth of alternatives Nepalese treks feature high in any top ten list and the trek to Everest base camp is the trekker’s equivalent of a medieval pilgrimage. Sir Christian Bonington is one Patron of BNMT and Colonel James Stuart is another – maintaining a Gurkha link. A late founder patron of BNMT, Colonel Charles Wylie, was logistics officer to Lord Hunt’s successful ascent of Everest.
Nepal is also a very poor country and one of the least developed in the world. It suffered a 12 year civil war which ended in 2006 after 13,000 people had lost their lives. The monarchy has been replaced by a republic but peace is fragile. As well as the legacy of war the country has only embryonic governance and welfare structures, a particularly complex ethnic history and a very underdeveloped infrastructure. Many of its people though are lively entrepreneurs and show true resilience in adversity.
BNMT started in Nepal in 1966 when a team of British nurses and doctors approached the Nepalese government with an offer to help. It was established as a UK registered charity a year later. Initially concentrating on the control of tuberculosis (over 1 million BCG vaccinations provided by 1976) it has developed a broader based capacity building programme for improved health, transforming itself from a British to a Nepalese managed operation in the process.
Its current objectives sound familiar to those of us who have worked in UK local government, namely:
· To empower people at the community level by ensuring access to information and access and control over local resources and through increased assertiveness improve participation in decision making.
· To strengthen governmental and non-governmental health service providers at district, regional and national levels.
· To improve the livelihoods of disadvantaged people.
While the context is completely different to the UK there is a shared belief that empowering people locally secures good governance and good public services. The charity’s Board is UK based with British and Nepalese trustees.Company administration is from Tonbridge, Kent. BNMT is now a Nepalese managed operation with Nepalese Co-Directors and around 30 staff working on programmes “in country”. Compared to the UK, relatively small amounts of money go a long way in Nepal; the overheads to the charity are minimal and the impact of any funds raised can be very significant.
In discussions with Dr Ian Baker, a BNMT trustee, we have agreed that any sponsorship and other donations I receive for the E4 walk will raise money for the charity’s work. The projects in Nepal which are supported by funds I raise will be described on this blog and on the E4longdistancewalk.com website (once I’ve set it up), hopefully with some direct inputs from the staff in Nepal.
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