ROKPA Times March 2019

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Editorial Dear ROKPA friends, I recently came back from a project trip of several weeks to South Africa and Zimbabwe. The situation is particularly tense in Zimbabwe: 95% of the population is unemployed while the cost of living continues to rise. There are riots, people are dying. The need is huge. Nevertheless or maybe precisely because of this, great perseverance shines through the people I met on my trip – and yes, also a great willingness to help – even if they themselves have nothing. They do not give up even though they seem to have been forgotten by the rest of the world. ROKPA must and will act here. More clarifications are still needed, but I can assure you today that we will be able to support even more people in these poverty-stricken countries in the future. This help is also possible thanks to the numerous employees involved in our projects – many of them volunteers. In this issue of ROKPA Times, they discuss and report on their work and their motivation to help. What they all have in common is the will to improve the lives of the forgotten in this world. That's what characterizes the ROKPA family and connects us to you. For almost 40 years, we have been opening up perspectives right where others look away. We shed light on those people who have to live a shadowy existence in poverty. People like Bharat, who lived on the streets of Kathmandu before finding a new home in the ROKPA Children's Home (see page 3 for more details). Some of you, dear readers, may recognise the young man – then a child who danced like Michael Jackson – from the ROKPA Dance Tour 2010, where he enchanted us with his powerful charisma. When he asked me for help 20 years ago in the ROKPA Soup Kitchen, everything was different - Bharat was in poor physical shape and terribly hungry. But he had a dream: he wanted to go to school. Thanks to your support, dear donors, we were able to fulfil his dream – as we have the dream of so many others. Today, Bharat is an educated, self-sufficient and helpful young man (who can still dance like Michael Jackson!). Photo: © ROKPA INTERNATIONAL His story makes it clear: your contribution changes lives! Together we helped Bharat and today Bharat helps others – and this is something we see every day in our locations. YOU and us together: That is sustainability! My heartfelt thanks to you all, Yours, Lea Wyler Co-Founder and President, ROKPA INTERNATIONAL CONTENTS Editorial 2 Taking the chance 3 EDUCATION: A kindergarten for Samagaun 4 MEDICINE: Help for Rufaro – a young Zimbabwean girl with scoliosis / Medical care for disadvantaged people in Harare 5 FOOD / LIVING COSTS: Distributing happiness as life’s work 6 ROKPA NEWS / ROKPA TEAM 7 Executive Board ROKPA INTERNATIONAL Lea Wyler, President and Co-Founder / Peter Fanconi, Vice President / Lama Yeshe Losal Rinpoche / Dorje Tarap / Gelong Thubten / Andreas Vollenweider Imprint Editorial team: Corinna Biasiutti / Bharat Dhimal / Jeevan / Dawa Norbu / Elizabeth Postle / Thomas Stettler / Lea Wyler / Tina Zaugg Copy editing: Liane Brand (www.lianebrand.ch) English translation: Kaja Kurczewska / Henriette Levy / Claire Twigger Graphic design: Renée Reust / Sandra Hopfensitz Cover picture: © Lea Wyler Photos on the back: © Tal Siano / Lea Wyler Photos: © Bharat Dhimal / Marjo Jenniskens / Dawa Norbu / Evelyne Plüss / Elizabeth Postle / ROKPA INTERNATIONAL / Bijay Shrestha / Tal Siano / Lea Wyler Text: © ROKPA INTERNATIONAL Print run: 7200 copies (German edition) Printed on recycled paper, produced according to the rules of “The Blue Angel” eco-label.
ROKPA INTERNATIONAL Taking the chance My name is Bharat Dhimal, I am 27 years old and I was born into a poor family in Nepal. I remember well the day my mother got very ill. At that time there was no proper medical care in our village. Therefore, we all moved to Kathmandu. Even though my mother received free treatment in the hospital, she passed away. I was 3 years old at the time. For my father it was very difficult to feed my family. So I decided to help him. I ran away to Boudha and begged at the Stupa. From the money that I made, I bought food for myself and what was left over I gave to my father. This was the first time I saw my father happy since my mother passed away. That meant a lot to me. It was during winter time when I came across the ROKPA Soup Kitchen. When ROKPA Co-Founder Lea Wyler heard my life story, she talked to my father. He was very happy to place me in the hands of “Mummy Lea” and said to me: “My son! You know how our situation is. Study hard and don’t worry about me. I will always love you.” That’s how I came to ROKPA Children’s Home. I had been living on the streets for almost 5 years when my long-cherished dream came true: I could go to school. When I was 19 years old, my father also passed away because of illness. I was very sad losing him but I continued with my studies and finished high school. I will always be thankful to ROKPA for changing my life for the better. Today I’ve settled in Switzerland, living my own life with happiness. In the beginning it was difficult to adjust. Lifestyle, language, food, culture – everything here was new. But I didn’t give up. Today I feel comfortable, I have family and friends. In my spare time, I like dancing, just as I did before at ROKPA. Moreover, I work at an old people’s home and I am capable of looking after myself. I like taking care of other people and helping them. Whenever I see poor kids, I’d like to help them. I’d like them to have the same opportunity I did. Photos: © Bharat Dhimal, ROKPA INTERNATIONAL Most of the time, living on the street was very difficult. I didn’t have proper clothes to protect me from the cold and rain. A sleeping bag served as a blanket and a cardboard box was my pillow. I had to sleep under the shutters of a shop and was becoming weaker and weaker because of malnutrition. Bharat in 1999 with his father: After the death of Bharat’s mother, his father had to care for the family alone. But due to his age, he only rarely received work. To support him, Bharat begged on the street. 3
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Page 5 and 6: MEDICINE Left: Rufaro suffers from
Page 7 and 8: ROKPA NEWS / ROKPA TEAM Save the da

ROKPA Times March 2019

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