TGIFW Foundation Report 2021

In: TGIFW Foundation On: Sonntag, Dezember 26 2021

A look back at 2021 and TGIFW's social engagements as well as a story on the recent visit to Nepal.

In the spring of 2021, Corona was a bitter reality in Nepal. The DELTA variant overtook the country. Hospitals were massively overloaded, oxygen a rare commodity. Family members paid top prices on the black market to obtain oxygen or other urgently needed medicines. Many people died - including many young people.

The situation made us at TGIFW very concerned. We knew oxygen was urgently needed. But how should we equip a hospital with an oxygen system? We have no medical background whatsoever. It seemed like a mammoth task. But with the right team, high motivation and people who believe in us, anything can be achieved. On 18 May 2021, we launched our crowdfunding appeal. Over 100 people followed it.

Funds entrusted

Via wemakeit, the crowdfunding platform, and via personal transfers, we received a total of CHF 21700 net within one month. The funds were used as follows:

Financing of 1/3 of the oxygen system CHF 16500.00

Food for families, Stories of Nepal CHF 3700.00

Food for single mothers, Women's Foundation CHF 1000.00

Food for women of the mushroom farm CHF 500.00

These amounts already include bank transfer fees and the commission to the crowdfunding platform.

The oxygen system was financed by two fundraising campaigns. Our own and the crowdfunding campaign of a team member in the USA. In addition, donations were collected locally in Nepal and by the hospital itself.

The oxygen system had to be imported from India, which in itself was not an easy task. In September, the time had come and the oxygen system arrived in Kathmandu at the Chhetrapati Free Clinic (video). The rooms had already been set up in spring/summer and the necessary pipes for the oxygen were laid. In Nepal, it is also customary for such an investment to be inaugurated by a government official. A photo of the ceremony can be found below.

In October 2021, we were finally allowed to travel to Nepal ourselves and we were able to see the oxygen system on site and visit the whole hospital with the hospital management. It was very impressive to see what great work the Chhetrapati Free Clinic is doing. As the name says, poor people are cared for free of charge in the clinic.

About 50 percent of the people in Nepal who were working lost their jobs in the spring. No income, no food. There is no unemployment fund / loss of income insurance in Nepal. We therefore decided to use the additional funds for urgently needed food packages for poor families. We worked together with two organisations close to us. The Women's Foundation in Nepal, which also produces some of our scarves, and Stories of Nepal, which implements various social projects in hard-to-reach areas. We also used around CHF 500 to support women who work in the mushroom farm set up by TGIFW. They had no means of income and were in urgent need of food and hygiene articles.

The situation in Nepal today

In October, the time had come and after a break of 2.5 years, we were finally allowed to visit our family in Nepal again. The preparations for the trip were time-consuming and marked by uncertainty. We refused several times and then decided to take the flight after all. Today we are very grateful that we did so. Especially for our son, soon to be three years old, it was a very special experience and he made and deepened many relationships and consciously experienced his second home. October is normally the high season. But I was one of the very few white people moving around Kathmandu. Economically, Corona has also hit Nepal hard. Countless restaurants and shops are closed. Signs "for rent, for sale" are everywhere. Many of our friends and business partners are struggling to make ends meet, to pay the rents - income is lacking in many corners. The number of beggars and street children has also visibly increased. And Corona has also left behind many strokes of fate. We have met many who have lost countless family members to Corona. The mountains of debt are high, the situation seems somehow hopeless. And yet, and this is the beauty, the resilience of the Nepalese is admirable. Every day is enjoyed, the moment is lived, everything is accepted with mindfulness and then simply moved forward step by step. Somehow it just goes on. No one who worries about future things that are not reality now. No one who despairs, no one who develops anger, no one who looks for someone to blame. Maybe because people are much more used to dealing with exceptional situations. I think back to the civil war or the earthquake, which I also experienced locally.

I wish for us here that we become more aware of what a distinctly luxurious situation we find ourselves in. And that we manage to be mindful of each other every day and enjoy the beautiful moments. And to show love and understanding for each other. Instead of exerting pressure and accusing. We have to manage to go into confrontation without losing respect for each other. At eye level, with a large portion of love. Solution-oriented, together instead of against each other. So much for my New Year's wishes for 2022.

Visit to the clinic

In October, we visited the Chhetrapati Free Clinic. The hospital management took a lot of time for us to show our team around the clinic. The hospital is a donation-funded hospital that provides free treatment for poor people. Every room, every piece of equipment in every ward, everything has been funded by donations from international organisations or rich Nepalese. Donation thank-you plaques with names and faces hang everywhere. The hospital is equipped with modern equipment and has proudly installed the oxygen system in a newly built room. The intensive care beds have been newly procured and the oxygen lines have been laid to the facility. This makes the Chhetrapati Free Clinic one of the best equipped hospitals in the region when it comes to Corona or other lung diseases. At the moment, the situation on the ground is calm. Fortunately. But the vaccination rate is still low, as the urgently needed vaccines are slow to arrive in the poor country. New mutations are now adding to the uncertainty. In addition, severe lung diseases have generally increased in Nepal, as the air pollution in Kathmandu is unfortunately very pronounced. Now the hospital is equipped for the future and makes life possible. Thanks to all of you!

Impression from Bhaktapur

A short travelogue - off crowdfunding - written in Nepal in October 2021.

Today in Bhaktapur I enjoyed it very much. The city exudes a certain calmness and I like the old buildings, the temple complexes and the traditional brick houses with the beautiful, ornate wooden windows and doors. I also really enjoyed the typical Newar food. Even my son liked it - even if it was a bit spicy for his taste.

I saw four westerners. Yesterday there were three while walking around my beloved stupa. And that at peak season time. When business is supposed to be booming. Corona has put a serious spanner in everyone's works here too. It has been going on for two years now. The hotels are empty, the trekking routes unvisited, many cafés are closed, countless shop owners don't know how to pay the next rent.

We bought some handmade clay things at the market and I told Munu it was important to shop in different shops. You should spread your money around - that's what a traveller once taught me many years ago. And I have always remained true to this principle. It's nice when everyone has a little bit. Much better than if one person has a lot and the others nothing.

On our way to a café, we passed a small gallery in an enchanted alley. The pictures painted with oil and water colours immediately attracted me magically. I know these small art galleries from Nepal and I never had in mind to buy a painting - not since I came here for the first time in 2006. Today we looked at the paintings and, after some coaxing from the salesman, we went inside the gallery. He was sympathetic, reserved and interested at the same time. He was also one of the artists of the beautiful paintings. We looked at the artworks and I fell in love with a picture of a landscape with a house on it. It reminded me of a place here in Nepal where I have been many times - in the countryside. A second picture came along, we weighed it up, looked at different things and at some point I said I'll take these two. He was astonished. He told me his price, which I didn't negotiate. Then I put the money in his hand. His reaction was - unusual. He stared at the money, took it almost trembling and then I saw he had tears in his eyes. It hit me completely. He looks at me and says, my first deal, in months.

Then I too had tears in my eyes and told him I wished him from the bottom of my heart that things would pick up again from now on.

Pictures