Inauguration of the new Health Post
Dear friends and supporters of Brepal,
on Friday, 03.13.2015, the new health center was inaugurated.
That would not have been possible without your support. On behalf of everyone I want to thank you for that.
The many supporters of our association have provided the financial resources, our Nepalese team, people from Banjhakateri and the many local craftsmen made this dream come true.
Following my requirements based on the local medical needs, the planning of the project was carried out by Sophia Nolte of Münster and Sonja Sherpa from Miesbach. Corresponding drawings were made.
In November 2013 our Nepalese engineer Binod Kharki started with the construction works. The foundation of the building succeeded well under his guidance, later however, we noticed that Binod was overchallenged with the tasks at hand. So we had to discharge him after 7 months. Krishna, our manager, took over the construction management. A master of sociology became the master builder of Banjhakateri, this was certainly not an easy task. Krishna, however, was at his best and performed magnificently. Thanks go to his wife Saruh as well, because Krishna spent far more time in BKT than in Kathmandu with his family. He is also responsible for the great wall of Banjhakateri. This wall will protect our house against potential mudslides.
Unfortunately Bishnu could not be so actively involved, because he was still handicapped by his injury. In February he had to undergo a second surgery. Prof. Heiner Winker, an orthopedic surgeon at the University of Erfurt, happened to be at the hospital in Dhulikhel, he operated Bishnu with good success.
Ganga and Yamlal took a lot of responsibility and stayed in close contact with Krishna. During long Skype conferences I tried to help as well and usually was able to provide the funds that were necessary for extras or unforeseen things. The results speak for themselves.
Thirteen friends from Germany, eight members of "Nepal Help" from Kathmandu and about 1,000 residents of the village joined our inauguration ceremony. All pupils of the 7 local schools marched in carrying banners, politicians held long speeches, but the atmosphere was leavened by dances and singing performances. The joy about the center was not only on our side, no, the people from Banjhakateri were very grateful for the help that Brepal could give them. I was repeatedly told to pass the Dhanyabad (thank you) to the sponsors in Germany.
In the past weeks Carola Kubicki, the gynecologist, visited Banjhakateri with her husband. She trained Bishnu in gynecological ultrasound. The news spread quickly that again a doctor from Germany was in the center. A large number of patients and pregnant women were examined. Carola's husband Frank, an architect, inspected our new building and took care of some flaws. I was very glad to have an expert like him over there.
At April 11th the internist Marko Schünemann from Cologne will travel to Nepal. He will train Bishnu in internal ultrasound and try to establish a standard of hygiene.
Later a dermatologist from Kathmandu will come over for a week. When he has finished his work, the rainy season will problably start. Till September Bishnu then will have to get by on his own. This will give him time to digest all the news.
Yamlal is already in Kathmandu. He continues to learn English and has to pass an admission test for the medical school in June. He would like to become a Medical Assistant in three years, in order to return to Banhjakateri after his exam. His previous position in the team has now been taken over by Dhani Ram, whose wife Sita is already working in our team. Chandrika, Gangas wife, is also new. She will maintain and ramp up the medical prevention.
We as a team want to say a big thank you to all the supporters.
Dhanyabad
April 2015