Musicians accompany us to the school

This roadblock is not an ordinary one. Five hundred meters in front of the school grounds in Thulosirubari, 70 kilometers east of the Nepalese capital Kathmandu, our journey in a jeep ends. Eight musicians stand in the middle of the dusty piste through the village. When Ralf Dujmovits – the first and so far only German mountaineer who scaled all 14 eight-thousanders – and I get out of the car, they begin to play for us on their traditional instruments. Behind the music playing village band  we ascend the last meters to the school.

Arrival

There a big event has been organized for us. Several hundred students, parents, teachers, local notables and other residents of Thulosirubari are awaiting us for the ceremonial inauguration and handing over of the first two parts of the building to the local school committee – made possible by your donations to our aid project “School up!”. The old school had been so badly damaged by the devastating earthquake in Nepal on 25 April 2015 that it had had to be demolished. At the end of June 2015, I had launched together with Ralf Dujmovits and the Austrian climber Gerlinde Kaltenbrunner “School up!” to rebuild the Thulosirubari school as soon as possible.

Final move in April

The new school building

“What a sight!”, Ralf calls when we approach the yellow painted new building. We high five. In a way, for both of us, a circle closes on this day. At the beginning of May 2015, a week after the quake, the 56-year-old mountaineer had driven with a team of doctors to the worst-hit district of Sindhupalchowk, where also Thulosirubari is located. “Where once was hubbub, is now ghostly silence. The people are standing around staring at the ruins of their homes. They do not even know where to start to clean up,” Ralf had told me at that time, adding that the old school was “just a pile of junk”. When I visited Thulosirubari in March 2016, almost a year after the disaster, the building was already demolished. The more than 500 children and adolescents were taught in corrugated iron sheds. In October 2016, thanks to “School up!”, construction work began. Now the first two buildings with a total of twelve classrooms are practically finished. In some places, the interior painting is not yet completed and some electrical work is still to be done. In April, the classes are finally to move to the new rooms.

New courage found

On this day of celebration, speeches are held for hours under a large tent roof in the schoolyard, and many documents and presents are handed over. Some dances of female students give fresh impetus to the program. The great gratitude that we experience is touching. We look into hundreds of happy faces. “You not only helped us, but also gave us new courage,” says Devi Dulal, chairman of the school committee. Inspired by the construction work on the new school, many Thulosirubari residents have started rebuilding their destroyed houses in the village.

Young audience

“Meanwhile, in Sindhupalchowk, work is being carried out on about 75 percent of the buildings that were damaged or destroyed by the 2015 earthquake,” says Sanjay Sapkota, who accompanied the construction of the new school in Thulosirubari as a technical advisor of the German aid organization “Nepalhilfe Beilngries”: “The government has learned from the disaster and adopted stricter building rules. They only released the financial support for new buildings when people were able to prove that they followed the new rules.” However, the governmental subsidy of 300,000 rupees per building (converted about 2,400 euros) “is just enough for the foundation”, says Sanjay.

Foundation for eight more classrooms

First stone for the next building

Ralf and I also lay a foundation stone on this feast day in Thulosirubari: for the second construction phase of “School up!”. Another building with eight classrooms is to be built, and a second toilet section. “Education is the best and most important input we might get in our youth,” says Ralf Dujmovits in his short speech during the celebration. “For the future of this school, for Thulosirubari, for all the kids here I wish best of luck. You have learned to go through very difficult times – and deserve to have really good times in the future.” Like Ralf, I thank the people of Thulosirubari for the overwhelmingly warm welcome: “I carry you deep in my heart and promise you to continue to stand up for ‘School up!’” Later, when I walk for a few minutes through Thulosirubari before returning to Kathmandu, villagers from all sides greet me – not just like an old acquaintance, but like a friend.

Thanks and a request

Thanks for your support, say Ralf (l.) and I

Ralf and I have received the thanks of the people of Thulosirubari on behalf of all donors of “School up!” – and, of course, also of Gerlinde and the staff of the “Nepalhilfe Beilngries”, who have implemented the construction of the first buildings with all their experience and great commitment. In order for the second construction phase, which will take about one to one and a half years, to be completed successfully, we need further donations for “School up!”. Once again here is the bank account:

Recipient: Nepalhilfe Beilngries e.V.
Bank: Volksbank Bayern Mitte eG/Germany
IBAN: DE05 7216 0818 0004 6227 07
BIC/SWIFT-Code: GENODEF1INP
Intended purpose: Gerlinde and Ralf School

If you write this intended purpose on the bank transfer, the money will go purposefully to Thulosirubari. I will continue to inform you in my blog about the progress of our project. A big thank you to all friends of “School up!”. You are great!

P.S. Thanks also to LOWA for the seven sacks of shoes, more than 200 pairs, which we have distributed to the children of Thulosirubari. And also to AB Sport in Cologne for the footballs, with which the school team will play from now on.

Plastering in the new rooms

Yesterday was the second anniversary of the devastating earthquake in Nepal. About 9,000 people died, more than 22,000 were injured, hundreds of thousands of homes collapsed or were severely damaged and thus became uninhabitable. Many people in the most affected mountain regions are still living in shelters. In the village of Thulosirubari in Sindhupalchowk District, about 70 kilometers east of the capital Kathmandu, has been a hive of construction activity over recent months. The donations for our aid project “School up!” have made it possible to start building a new school for more than 500 students, the construction is operated by the Nepalhilfe Beilngries. The old school had been so badly damaged by the earthquake that it later had had to be demolished. In recent weeks there have been temporary supply bottlenecks for constructions material, as well as a lack of water to mix concrete. Since the school ground is located on a hill, the water has to be pumped up or – if the pumps fail – even be carried up.

Soon twelve new classrooms

The second floor plate is ready now

Meanwhile, the second floor plate has been completed. The interior work is on (see the video below). “We are quite excited,” says Devi Dulal, chairman of the School Management Committee in Thulosirubari. “We will soon have twelve new classrooms. We are eager to shift the students from the temporary class rooms to the new building.” Another eight classrooms are still needed to house really all students, and two toilet houses have to be built, says Devi. “We dream of becoming something like a model school for Sindhupalchowk.”

We have already come a long way with “School up!” but have not yet reached the goal. We need more donations. Here again the bank account of our aid project:

Recipient: Nepalhilfe Beilngries e.V.
Bank: Volksbank Bayern Mitte eG/Germany
IBAN: DE05 7216 0818 0004 6227 07
BIC/SWIFT-Code: GENODEF1INP
Intended purpose: Gerlinde and Ralf School

Already now a thousand thanks for your support. It would be great if you could tell your friends about “School up!”.

Plate of the second floor

The relatively dry winter in the Nepalese district Sindhupalchowk has played into the hands of our aid project “School up!”. The construction work for the new school in the village of Thulosirubari, about 70 kilometers east of Kathmandu, could be continued almost without interruption. Meanwhile, the plate of the second floor is practically finished. The goal of completing the construction work (except for the painting) before the monsoon starts in summer seems realistic. The constructors of the new large Berlin airport who have not come to an end for years could take an example of such effectiveness (in Nepal!). Here are some more pictures:

Get your tickets for the “School up!” benefit event!

Meanwhile the preparations for the benefit event on 24 March in my home town Cologne in favor of “School up!” are in full swing. On this evening, Ralf Dujmovits, the so far only German climber who has stood on the summits of all 14 eight-thousanders, will report in an exciting lecture about his mountain adventures. Tickets can be bought online via the Rhineland-Cologne section of the German Alpine Club (DAV). The demand is fortunately high. So do not wait too long, it smells like sold out! All revenues from the event will go into the construction of the new school in Thulosirubari.
We still need more donations to finance the construction work. Here again the bank account in Germany:

Recipient: Nepalhilfe Beilngries e.V.
Bank: Volksbank Bayern Mitte eG/Germany
IBAN: DE05 7216 0818 0004 6227 07
BIC/SWIFT-Code: GENODEF1INP
Intended purpose: Gerlinde and Ralf School

A thousand thanks to all supporters of “School up!” – you are great!

Excavation for the foundations

“School up!” is no longer just a donation campaign, but a project that is realized. Thanks to your donations, the first building of the new school is being constructed in the small village of Thulosirubari, some 70 kilometers east of the Nepalese capital Kathmandu. “Digging foundation has been started. Construction materials have been dropped on site,” Shyam Pandit wrote to me these days. Shyam is the liaison man of the German aid organization “Nepalhilfe Beilngries” in Nepal. “I was on-site and talked to the contractor. He said and committed, the building would be finished before the next raining season June/July 2017, except painting. They are really moving on.”

Exemplary

The plans are drawn up

Also in the village, some residents have started to rebuild their houses which had been destroyed by the devastating earthquake on 25 April 2015. “They learn from the school construction,” Arjun Gatraj, the former chairman of the school committee, wrote to me. The earthquake about a year and a half ago had killed nearly 9,000 people in Nepal. Sindhupalchowk District was particularly hard hit. In Thulosirubari alone 75 people died, including eight children, who had been students of the “Ralf and Gerlinde School”,which had been built by “Nepalhilfe Beilngries” and inaugurated six years before. Only the fact that the earth shook on a Saturday off school, had prevented more young victims. Just 30 to 40 of the 1,800 houses in the region around the village had remained undamaged.

Government prescribes new style of painting

Dredging

The school had been damaged so badly that it had had to be demolished. In the summer of 2015, I had launched, along with the two climbers Gerlinde Kaltenbrunner and Ralf Dujmovits, the donation campaign “School up!” with the goal of rebuilding the school in Thulosirubari as soon as possible. All donations for “School up!” really end up in the construction project, which is implemented by “Nepalhilfe Beilngries”. Due to their numerous projects in the region, the German aid organization has been a known quantity there for almost a quarter of a century. The previously characteristic white-blue appearance of the “Nepalhilfe” buildings will be missing in Thulosirubari. The Nepali government has prescribed that all new schools in the country must have a red roof, a light yellow exterior paint and dark red doors. As if there were no more important things to regulate in Nepal!

We still need your support

The pits for the foundations

So be it! “School up!” is not for self-praising but to guarantee education and thus the future of the children from Thulosirubari and the surrounding area. 575 students are to be taught in the new classrooms. The overall cost of the school is not yet completely financed. We need more donations. Here again the bank account:

Recipient: Nepalhilfe Beilngries
Bank: Volksbank Bayern Mitte eG/Germany
IBAN: DE05 7216 0818 0004 6227 07
BIC/SWIFT-Code: GENODEF1INP
Intended purpose: Gerlinde and Ralf School

I will continue to inform you about the progress of the construction work in my blog. So you can see how your donations “work”. All previous reports can be found by clicking on “School up!” in the upper menu bar. Please also tell your friends about this project. Thank you so much!

The cornerstone was set

Yesterday, Sunday, was a very special day for the people of Thulosirubari. One who made a mark for the future, a sign of hope. In the small village in Sindhupalchowk District, about 70 kilometers east of the Nepalese capital Kathmandu, the cornerstone for a new school was set. The old “Gerlinde and Ralf School” of the German aid organization Nepalhilfe Beilngries (NHB) had been so badly damaged by the devastating earthquake on 25 April 2015 that it later had to be demolished. In the summer of 2015, I had initiated, along with the professional climbers Ralf Dujmovits and Gerlinde Kaltenbrunner, the donation campaign “School up!”, with the goal to rebuild the school in Thulosirubari as soon as possible. Therefore yesterday was for us three a special day too – and also for all of you who have donated for “School up!”: Without your support, no foundation would have been laid yesterday.

Twelve classrooms

Sapkota at “work”

Former Forestry Minister Agni Sapkota, a Maoist politician from Sindhupalchowk District, symbolically set the cornerstone. Several representatives of the District Government, other local politicians and the two NHB liaison men in Nepal, Sunil Krishna Shrestha and Shyam Pandit, attended the event.
The members of the new School Management Committee have meanwhile begun their activity. “They are happy with excitement and committed to do good supervision for quality building and good coordination with NHB,” Shyam writes to me. The new building will have twelve class rooms, six on the first and six on the second floor. Higher buildings are no longer allowed because of the continuing risk of earthquakes in the region. 575 students are to benefit from the new classrooms. According to current plans, the building will be completed in December 2017.

It was on a Saturday

The earthquake about one and a half years ago had killed almost 9,000 people in Nepal. Sindhupalchowk District was hit particularly hard. In the small mountain village of Thulosirubari alone 75 people died – including eight children, who had been students of the “Ralf and Gerlinde School”. There would have been more young victims if the earthquake had not taken place on a Saturday when the school was closed. Only 30 to 40 of about 1800 houses in and around Thulosirubari remained intact.

Not forgotten

Thulosirubari

During my visit to the region last March, I saw many people who were still living in provisional corrugated-iron huts. In many places of Sindhupalchowk the debris of collapsed houses had not even been removed. Many people I talked to felt abandoned. The residents of Thulosirubari will soon be able to see with their own eyes that they have not been forgotten. And as they already did during the construction of the old school, they will once again join the work – for instance by carrying material to the construction site.
A first stage finish of “School up!” has been reached with the start of construction, but we are not yet at the end of the trip. I’ll continue reporting about the progress of the construction work in my blog.  The overall cost of the school is not yet completely financed. We need more donations. Here again the bank account:

Recipient: Nepalhilfe Beilngries
Bank: Volksbank Bayern Mitte eG/Germany
IBAN: DE05 7216 0818 0004 6227 07
BIC/SWIFT-Code: GENODEF1INP
Intended purpose: Gerlinde and Ralf School

A thousand thanks to all “School up!”-Friends! You are great!

The avalanche from Pumori on 25 April 2015

At 11:56 a.m. all hell broke loose. Exactly a year ago today, a magnitude 7,8 earthquake struck Nepal. About 9,000 people were killed, 23,000 were injured. However, these were only the victims registered by the government, it was probably more. Also on Mount Everest many people died on 25 April 2015. The quake triggered a huge avalanche on the nearby seven-thousander Pumori. It hit Everest Base Camp, 19 people lost their lives. On this anniversary of the disaster, climbers and the staff of the infirmary “Everest ER” gathered at the foot of the highest mountain on earth for a minute of silence – at 11:56 a.m.

“This was an opportunity to remember those who died, those who were injured and the many people who worked so hard to rescue and treat the 100 patients”, Rachel Tullet writes in the blog of Jagged Globe. An American climber from the team of the British organizer had died and two other team members had been injured in the avalanche. “We also remember the huge number of people affected across Nepal by the devastating earthquake, many of whom are still struggling to rebuild their lives”, Rachel continues.

Rural exodus could increase

Self-help (in the village of Kadambas) instead of waiting for help

I saw this with my own eyes during my visit in Sindhupalchowk District a month ago. People there are still living in shelters made of bamboo and corrugated iron. In no way could it be called reconstruction. People grumble about the government, they feel left in the lurch. “It is time that the money arrives that was promised to the people and should serve to ensure that they really can be at home in their villages again,” Ralf Dujmovits tells me. “As many developing countries, Nepal has already a problem with large rural exodus. This will continue, the villages will be deserted. This will harm entire Nepal which is depending on agriculture. It benefits no one if people migrate to the cities.” It will take Nepal “certainly ten years to recover from the earthquake,” says Ralf.

Reconstruction proceeds slowly

School in the village of Mailchaur

The hitherto only German who climbed all 14 eight-thousanders had visited Sindhupalchowk two weeks after the quake and had been shocked about the extent of damage. His emotional state has hardly changed in the last twelve months. “I’m especially worried about the children, because the reconstruction of the schools is proceeding very slowly,” says Ralf. “In most cases, nothing worth mentioning has happened. It is to be hoped now that building material reaches the villages, so that the schools finally can be rebuilt.”

Please continue to donate for “School up!”

Schoolchildren in Thulosirubari

Along with Ralf Dujmovits and Austrian top climber Gerlinde Kaltenbrunner, I had initiated the donation campaign “School up!” to rebuild as soon as possible the school at the village of Thulosirubari that had been destroyed by the earthquake. So far we have collected more than one third of the required sum – thanks to your donations (!). The first of three construction phases is due to begin shortly, we are still waiting for the okay of the government in Kathmandu, hoping that they finally get their act together.

We need more donations for “School up” to finance also the second and third construction phase. Here again the bank account in Germany:

Recipient: Nepalhilfe Beilngries e.V.
Bank: Volksbank Bayern Mitte eG/Germany
IBAN: DE05 7216 0818 0004 6227 07
BIC/SWIFT-Code: GENODEF1INP
Intended purpose: Gerlinde and Ralf School

Please tell others as well! Thank you so much!

Trekking in Khumbu

Safety is primarily a feeling. Often we don’t even realize the lurking objective danger. And if we do, then usually only if we have no other option than facing the danger. A week ago I have returned from my trekking in Khumbu, the region around Mount Everest. Eleven months have passed since the devastating earthquake in Nepal. I think that my senses were quite sharpened because it was an objective of my journey to inform myself about the consequences of the quake. I can send all the people who want to travel to the region for trekking or climbing on their way with my experience: I felt perfectly safe in Khumbu.

Memories of civil war

Namche Bazaar, in the background Kongde Ri

This was not the case during my first visit to Everest region 14 years ago. In 2002, there was a night-time curfew in Namche Bazaar starting at 5 p.m. because of the civil war with the Maoists. The soldiers of the local military station were nervous, I heard shots. It was only when we reached Tengboche monastery at 3,860 meters, that my former mountain guide Gowa Lama said: “Now we are safe. The Maoists have not penetrated higher so far.” The civil war in Nepal has been over since 2006. Ten years later we were able to hike through the impressive mountains of the Himalayas without need to think about charges to pay to rebels or about getting caught in the crossfire.

Most of the debris cleared

Stupa in front of the Hillary School in Khumjung

The earthquake on 25 April 2015 has left marks also in Khumbu, but the area got off rather lightly compared for instance with the particularly hard-hit Sindhupalchowk District. Here and there some stupas (tombs of Buddhist lamas who according to religion were reborn) with deep cracks still witness the earthquake. But most of the debris has been cleared. In many places, new buildings have already replaced the collapsed houses, which had been mostly traditional Sherpa buildings. The trekking trails are well maintained, virtually no traces of the earthquake can be seen there.

Depending on tourism

Everest, Lhotse and Makalu (from l. to r.)

Maybe I also felt so safe in Khumbu because there was much less talk about the earthquake. People in the Everest region seem to have come to terms with last year’s natural disaster and ticked it off. Probably because they were affected not that bad. The consequences of the earthquake were more indirectly: The tourism market collapsed because foreigners were worried about their safety. My impression in Khumbu: These concerns are groundless. You can travel there without worrying. The mountain guides, porters, farmers, lodge owners and shopkeepers, who heavily depend on income from tourism, will thank you: with great hospitality and an honest smile.

Earthquake wounds in Chautara

Chautara appears as if the devastating earthquake had hit it recently, not almost eleven months before. About 15,000 people are living in the city at an altitude of 1,500 meters, the administrative headquarter of Sindhupalchowk District, which was particularly hard-hit by the earthquake on 25 April last year. On the main street many ruined houses still witness to the disaster that killed more than 3,500 people in this mountain region. In many villages about 90 percent of the houses collapsed. The cleanup is progressing slowly. Too heavy are the wounds that the earthquake has ripped, not only at the buildings, but also for the city’s inhabitants. “There is still a very great problem of health,” says doctor Sabina Parajuli. “Those who were injured that time, have not fully recovered because of lots of problems, especially in their limbs. They were operated at that time and not able to do their normal activites. They were the only family members with income, but they are not working and are not getting money. And the other family members are busy with taking care of them.” In addition, infectious diseases such as vomiting or diarrhea spread quickly because the people live in crowded shelters.

Still a tent clinic

Emergency room in a tent

Sabina works in the hospital of Chautari. The large building was so badly damaged in the quake that it can not be used without extensive repairs. Therefore, Sabine and her colleagues are still working mainly in tents on the grounds of the clinic. Only a small building with an office and a treatment room was newly built after the earthquake. “Some of the tents have been destroyed by the strong winds in recent times,” says the 25-year-old.

The doctors are treating not only physical diseases but also mental. “Many suffer from post traumatic disorders, means stress after many months of the traumatic event. They are afraid of minor things, don’t sleep properly and they are not interested to have food properly”, says Sabina Parajuli, adding that some patients are highly depressed because they lost relatives, their house or the entire property. She estimates that only about 30 to 40 percent of the mentally ill visit the hospital: “In our communities psychological injuries are very stigmatized and there is very discrimination.” In addition, many are not aware that they are suffering from a desease and that this can be cured, she says.

Politics, Politics, Politics

Sabina Parachuli treats a young patient

The doctor is in no way satisfied with the government – like actually all I talked to in Sindhupalchowk. “They have to help us as early as possible. But the government is only making politics, politics, politics and is not acting where it is needed. So there is very slow help and progress. Nowadays we are not hoping anything from them. And we are just trying to do the best ourselves.”

For the doctors at the hospital of Chautara that means still working up to their personal limits. In the first weeks after the quake, Sabina was deployed nearly around the clock. “Of course we were tired. But the other people were injured and more stressed than us. Compared with these other people we were healthy. They needed our help”, said the young doctor. “I was not forced by anyone, but by my heart. I had to do something for my home village Sangachok and the villagers. It was my chance and opportunity to serve them.”

Hoping for the straight stretches

Life in tin sheds

There are still aftershocks in the region. People fear that another, perhaps even heavier earthquake than that on 25 April 2015 could occur. There is still no sign of normality in Sindhupalchowk District, says Sabina: “Of course there will be a light at the end of the tunnel. But the tunnel is not straight, it’s curved. And because of these curves we can’t see the light nowadays. If we get to the point where the tunnel is straight, we can see it. We haven’t yet reached that point. But I hope we’ll do it in very near future.”

Children play “Hot Potato”

“They lost their houses and all their property, but they didn’t lose their plans,” says Arjun Gatraj about the people of his native village Thulosirubari. “There is still hope.” Not only for better times for themselves, but also for their children. “They feel that education is important for their children. They sent them directly after the earthquake as soon as we started the school again.” Arjun is the chairman of the school committee of Thulosirubari, a small mountain village, about 70 kilometers from the Nepalese capital Kathmandu. Almost every family has been affected by the earthquake. “75 people died, among them eight of our students”, Arjun tells me during my visit in Thulosirubari. “About 1800 houses were destroyed, only 30 to 40 are still intact.”

Teaching outside

Earthquake damage in Sangachok

Also almost eleven months after the devastating earthquake on 25 April 2015, the damage in Sindhupalchowk District, east of Kathmandu, is obvious. Most people, whose houses collapsed in the quake, are still living in tin sheds. They have cleared the debris, provisionally, if at all. As reported, the “Gerlinde and Ralf-School” in Thulosirubari had been damaged so badly that it had to be demolished completely. The teachers are currently giving lessons to about 700 students in temporary classrooms with tin sheets – or outside. Even today, the younger children have gathered outside. They work on a quiz. In teams of three, they lean over their wooden desks and put their heads together. The best of the ten teams will represent the school in the near future in a competition with other schools. Each correct answer is accompanied by large applause from the audience.

Shortly before take-off

Who will represent the school?

“Even in winter, the teachers often moved outside,” says Arjun.”We could not heat the sheds. In the midday sun it was warmer than inside.” For a long time the staff meetings were held beneath a large tree on the school grounds. Now the teachers use a tent. “If strong wind is blowing, we think it is going to fly into the air,” says the head of the school committee and laughs. The people of Thulosirubari have not lost their sense of humor and regained their courage.

Jumping out the window

Shailaja Kasaju

Immediately after the quake, that was different. Many residents of the villages were traumatized, among them also the children. “I could read it in their faces,” English teacher Shailaja Kasaju recalls. The 27-year-old is giving lessons at the school in Sangachok, not far from Thulosirubari. „A week back I had seen them smiling, very happy. And these faces turned into very sad faces. They even stopped talking to each other, what was very sad.“ The children were so traumatized that they often jumped out of the windows of the temporary classrooms when an aftershock occured. Meanwhile, they have become adepted to the situation, says Shailaja: “They have a kind of accepted it. In case of earthquake they know we can do this, we cannot do that. So they know the concept of earthquake, how to be safe.“ Like the school in Thulosirubari, the school in Sangachok had to be demolished completely. Both had been built and supported by the “Nepalhilfe Beilngries“.

Waiting for the go-ahead

The German aid organization is awaiting the approval of the Nepalese government for reconstruction. The process has become much more bureaucratic. Before the earthquake, the “Nepalhilfe” could manage the construction of new schools directly with the local school committees, now there are two more intermediary instances. “We hope that we can start in April,” says Shyam Pandit, who coordinates the school projects of the “Nepalhilfe” in the country. The government has adopted new rules to make the buildings earthquake resistant. So the schools must not have more than two floors now.

Loud and stressful

Badly soundproofed tin sheds

The teachers long for the new buildings. The lessons in the badly soundproofed tin sheds are “very stressful,” says Shailaja. “If I teach in one class, the other two classes are disturbed. We can hear everything from the other classes coming in. The teachers have to go on top of their voice. This is very tiring.” In addition, the students get distracted a lot, because they can see what happens outside, says Shailaya. And then there is also the risk of injury: “The children are cutting their hands on these tin sheets.”

The place for the new school in Thulosirubari is already chosen. The wooden doors and windows of the demolished school store in a shed. “So we can save money,” says Arjun Gatraj, the chairman of the school committee. “We are ready for reconstruction.”

P.S.: The people in Thulosirubari asked me to tell you a heartfelt thank you. Your donations for our aid project “School up!” have made the hopefully soon start of the construction works possible in the first place. More than a third of the necessary amount is already met. But the prices of construction material in Nepal have increased by 50 percent after the earthquake and the long blockade of the Nepal-Indian border. We are not there yet. Please continue to donate for “School up!” and tell others of this project! Here again the account information:

Recipient: Nepalhilfe Beilngries
Bank: Volksbank Bayern Mitte eG/Germany

IBAN: DE05 7216 0818 0004 6227 07
BIC/SWIFT-Code: GENODEF1INP

Intended purpose: Gerlinde and Ralf School

70 students per class

Discussions under trees

Meanwhile teachers have resumed the lessons, in sheds made from bamboo, wood and CGI sheets. “But the children are not safe enough to stay inside these temporary learning buildings because they cannot protect them when rain and wind take place at the same time”, Arjun, chairperson of the School Management Committee of Thulosirubari wrote to me. The “Gerlinde and Ralf School”, which was only inaugurated in 2009, was – as reported before – so badly damaged that it must be completely demolished. “Almost all of the furniture and teaching materials were destroyed too”, Arjun said. “In our leisure time, we and the teaching staff are now using the ground under a tree to discuss the teaching and learning methodologies.” Due to the lack of rooms, the classes have been merged, they now have about 70 students each. “The teachers are feeling that it is problematic to teach them effectively under these conditions.”

“Everybody joined the work”

Opening of the school in 2009

This is reminiscent of the period before the construction of the school. “When we were in Thulosirubari for the first time, we met children who were taught sitting on the floor due to the lack of school furniture,” says Gerlinde. “The small classrooms were overcrowded.” At that time, the idea was born to build a larger school together with the Nepalhilfe Beilngries. “Everybody joined the work, the childrens’ parents, whether men or women, all helped. Eighteen months later, the new school building was finished”, the Austrian mountaineer, who was the first woman to climb all 14 eight-thousanders without supplemental oxygen, recalls. ”I’ll never forget the moment when we were standing in front of more than five hundred students who were so incredibly happy about their new school. It was a wonderful day.”

Dangerous way to school

Lessons for many students

Only the memory remains – and the ruins of a school, which was once a symbol of hope for a better future. In the village, hostels are also missing for students and teachers who are coming from outside to stay. “The students have to walk for hours to attend the lessons”, Arjun Gatraj wrote. “But now their way to school is more dangerous due to the earthquake.” After all, said Arjun, Thulosirubari has been spared from floods and landslides in the monsoon so far, so that there is no need to worry about the crops and plantations. “The villagers are thinking more of their children’s future than their own lives.” And that will be decided in the classroom. “Let’s combine our efforts to rebuild the school”, Gerlinde Kaltenbrunner appeals – even to you. You can ensure with your donations for our project “School up!” that the “Gerlinde and Ralf School” will soon be more than just a memory.

You can transfer money to this bank account in Germany:

Recipient: Nepalhilfe Beilngries
Bank: Volksbank Bayern Mitte eG/Germany
IBAN: DE05 7216 0818 0004 6227 07
BIC/SWIFT-Code: GENODEF1INP
Intended purpose: Gerlinde and Ralf School

P.S. I’ll be on holidays till the end of July. But you won’t have to miss my blog completely. Next week I’ll publish a series in occasion of the 150th anniversary of the first ascent of the Matterhorn.

The School in Thulosirubari after the earthquake

It looked as if the magician David Copperfield had staged one of his grand illusions. “The school was much smaller than I remembered it”, Ralf Dujmovits tells me. “First I didn’t even realize that the ground floor had just slumped down. The upper parts of the building were still standing. Only when I got loser, I saw the extent of damage. That really brought tears to my eyes.” Germany’s most successful high altitude climber visited the “Gerlinde and Ralf School” in Thulosirubari one and a half weeks after the devastating earthquake in Nepal. Gerlinde Kaltenbrunner and Ralf Dujmovits had given financial support to the project of the German aid organization “Nepalhilfe Beilngries” and thus had made it possible that the school had been opened in 2009. “If you suddenly realize that the building has to be demolished, you just begin to cry”, says Ralf. You all can help to rebuild the school by supporting the campaign “School up!”.

Guaranteed for the benefit of the people in Nepal

In recent weeks, I have written repeatedly about the consequences of the earthquake in Nepal. Many have asked me how they can help the people in the country directly – with the guarantee that their money does not disappear into dark channels. So the idea was born to use my blog to give my determined support to a specific aid project. I will provide you with first-hand information and reports on the progress of the project. That way I want to document that the people in Nepal really benefit from the donations. I have a longtime friendship with Gerlinde and Ralf. So the choice fell on the School of Thulosirubari that needs to be demolished after the described earthquake “write-off”.

Nothing but a pile of rubble

The village Thulosirubari is located near the city of Chautara, about 40 kilometers as the crow flies east of the capital Kathmandu. “Far away from the famous trekking routes, really isolated”, says Ralf. “You can reach Thulosirubari on partially adventurous gravel roads. You don’t pass by coincidentally. You really must want to go there.” More than 5,000 people are living in the village, which is part of Sindhupalchowk District. In no other district of Nepal more people died in the quake. 3,440 of the more than 8,700 dead, who were registered by the Government of Nepal, came from Sindhupalchowk. “In some villages, only ten percent of the houses remained. The rest is nothing but a pile of rubble.”

Place of energy

Gerlinde and Ralf at the opening in 2009, on their right Austrian climber Theo Fritsche who helped to build three schools with Nepalhilfe Beilingries

Before the earthquake, 700 students per year attended the “Gerlinde and Ralf School”. “They come from far away, some have to walk up for two hours to reach the school”, says Ralf. “It is located on top of a hill. From there you have a great view of the mountains in Langtang. For me it was always a place of power where I felt a lot of positive energy.” With your help this place of energy is to be restored as fast as possible. “The whole nation is set back if education is missing. That is the real disaster”, says Ralf Dujmovits. “It’s mainly the education of young people that pushes a country forward.” The reconstruction of the school can also help to keep the rural exodus from the region around Thulosirubari within a limit. “It is important that people feel at home there”, says Ralf. “And that parents can hope that their children have a future despite the earthquake. “ So, let us tackle! School up!
Here are the bank account data of the donation campaign in Germany:

Recipient: Nepalhilfe Beilngries
Bank: Volksbank Bayern Mitte eG/Germany
IBAN: DE05 7216 0818 0004 6227 07
BIC/SWIFT-Code: GENODEF1INP
Intended purpose: Gerlinde and Ralf School

Destroyed house in Sangachok

Ralf Dujmovits is shocked. “I have rarely seen something so depressing and sad”, says Germany’s most successful high altitude mountaineer when he calls me from Kathmandu. He has just returned from an all-day trip to Sindhupalchowk District, about 80 kilometers northeast of the capital. There was no other district in Nepal where the devastating earthquake two weeks ago killed more people than in Sindhupalchowk. So far, the government has registered there more than 3,000 dead – at a total of more than 7,900 fatalities throughout Nepal.

Almost back to normal in Kathmandu

At Durbar Square

Originally, Ralf had wanted to climb Mount Everest from the north side this spring, without bottled oxygen, in a team with the Canadian Nancy Hansen. But then they had to abandon their expedition, like all other Everest aspirants in Tibet. The 53-year-old and his team partner flew to Kathmandu to get an impression of ​​the earthquake damage. The life in the capital has almost gone back to normal, Ralf reports, “except that there are hardly any tourists”. Many temples in the city centre are heavily damaged, says Dujmovits. “A sad silence lies over Durbar Square, dust is in the air, and everywhere piles of rubble.” Nevertheless, Ralf is convinced that “Kathmandu will soon be out of the headlines. But in the countryside, it is quite different.”

Smell of death

Sabina Parajuli with village children

Ralf and Nancy joined a team of doctors and nurses from the Siddhi Memorial Hospital in Bakhtapur  and helpers of the German aid agency “Nepalhilfe Beilngries”. Every other day, the hospital has been sending such teams to the countryside, to treat injured and to distribute aid supplies. “It was really shocking. You are driving from one village to the next, and all of them are destroyed. I estimate 85 to 95 percent of the houses are razed to the ground”, says Ralf, struggling to maintain his composure. “It looks devastating. We just stood there, speechless. Sad, so sad.”

The young doctor Sabina Parajuli led the team on this day. As a child she had lived in the village of Sangachok and had gone to a school that was funded by the “Nepalhilfe Beilngries”. “Sabina and the other doctors treated 300 people in Sangachok today. The earthquake has killed 200 people in her home village. That’s incredibly hard”, says Ralf. “Sometimes there is a pungent smell, because a lot of dead people and animals could still not be recovered from the rubble.”

Only a pile of junk

School in Thulosirubari: Ground floor collapsed

The people in the destroyed villages are traumatized: “Where once was hubbub, is now ghostly silence. The people are standing around staring at the ruins of their homes. They do not even know where to start to clean up.” Out of the schools of the “Nepalhilfe Beilngries” that he had co-financed, only the school in the village of Irkhu has “miraculously” remained largely intact, says Ralf. The local police are now using the building as a quarter. “All other schools were heavily damaged or destroyed. The ground floor of the large school in Thulosirubari, which Gerlinde (Kaltenbrunner) and I had opened in 2009, collapsed. The upper floors sagged. What once was a school for 700 children is now just a pile of junk.” Probably the school has to be demolished completely. Actually, Nancy and he thought they could help, says Ralf. “But a shovel is not enough, you need heavy equipment. Nepal will be dependent on foreign help for years.”

The Potala Palace in Lhasa

China shows its friendly face. For 10 May, the Chinese government is planning “to provide a charter flight free of charge form Lhasa to Kathmandu for all Sherpas – not just for Climbing Sherpas, but also for cooks and kitchen helpers”, Ralf Dujmovits wrote to me calling it “a generous gesture” – despite  the expected propaganda of the Chinese. The most successful German mountaineer arrived in Lhasa, like many other western climbers who were on expedition in Tibet. “The China Tibet Mountaineering Association (CTMA) generously bears the costs of transport to Lhasa, accommodation and meals. And they take care of the visa formalities for the stranded climbers coming from all Tibetan peaks”, the 53-year-old said. The land route from Tibet to Nepal is still blocked nine days after the devastating earthquake. Since yesterday, Chinese helpers are trying to clear the damaged road from the Nepalese border village Kodari to Kathmandu, using heavy equipment.

Boulders as large as rooms

ABC on the north side of Everest before China closed the mountain

Originally, Ralf wanted to climb Everest from the north without bottled oxygen, along with the Canadian climber Nancy Hansen. When the earth shook in Nepal, they were just above Chinese Base Camp at 5,200 meters. “We ran for our lives, when boulders as big as rooms crashed down from the moraine hills”, Ralf wrote. Four days later, when the Chinese authorities finally closed all Tibetan mountains because they considered the risk of further quakes to be too great, Ralf and Nancy were already in the Advanced Base Camp (ABC) at 6,400 meters. Then they returned immediately. “The probably best way to describe our and my own mood is calling it ‘emptiness’”, says Ralf. “Thousands of people have died on both sides of the Himalayan main ridge, tens of thousands are homeless, and those who survived are facing great distress and incalculable misery. Thus Nancy and I don’t want to breathe a single word about disappointment. We had hopes and dreams – and primarily we escaped with our lives (on the north side of Everest).” Dominik Mueller, head of the German expedition operator Amical alpin, reported on Facebook that a big avalanche released from the North Col on Saturday: “It was right to cancel all activities.”

Still many missing

Dujmovits and Hansen are going to fly from Lhasa to Kathmandu. Ralf wants to see for himself the scale of the damage in Sindhupalchowk district which is located in the east of the Nepalese capital. Along with the German aid organisation “Nepalhilfe Beilngries”, he had founded two schools in the area a few years ago. “Reportedly they either were severely damaged or destroyed”, Ralf wrote. This region, including the Langtang National Park, was hit by the earthquake particularly hard. To date, the Nepalese government has registered more than 2,800 dead in the district. Several hundred people are still missing. Among them are numerous trekking tourists, also from Germany. Overall, the death toll in Nepal has been rising to more than 7,300.