The site where the school was located

“We feel very sad to see ‘Ground zero’ of this huge school building”, says Sunil Krishna Shrestha, representative of the German aid organization “Nepalhilfe Beilngries” in Nepal. As reported before, the devastating 25 April earthquake had damaged the “Gerlinde and Ralf School” in the small mountain village of Thulosirubari so badly that it had to be demolished. The ruins had posed a danger to the children who had continued to play there after the quake. Meanwhile, the destroyed school building, where about 700 students from the region around the village had been taught before the quake, was leveled to the ground. “We were able to recover windows, doors and a few school desks and boards from the rubble”, Arjun Gatraj, the chairman of the school management committee at Thulosirubari, writes to me, adding that the old bricks could not be saved because the IOM (International Organization for Migration) had used heavy machinery to demolish the building.

Provisional classrooms

The winter is coming soon. The lessons are still held in tin sheds. “We haven’t any plan how to heat the rooms during winter because there is not enough money”, says Arjun. “The tin sheds are too cold in winter.” Nevertheless, the teachers want to continue their lessons. The ongoing blockade of the Nepalese-Indian border by opponents of the new constitution has consequences for Thulosirubari too. “Important goods and medicines are running short because it is hardly possible to find a vehicle to transport them here”, says Arjun Gatraj.

From Cologne Cathedral to Aachen Cathedral

Cologne Cathedral

Last June we started our donation campaign “School up!” to rebuild the “Gerlinde and Ralf School” as soon as possible. The well-known climbers Gerlinde Kaltenbrunner from Austria and Ralf Dujmovits from Germany are collecting donations for “School up!” during their lectures and other events. The slogan of my next activity for the project is “Power pilgrimage for Nepal”. Two weeks from today, on 18 November, I will set off in my hometown Cologne from the Cathedral for a (tough) two-day sponsored hike in all weathers on the Way of St James. The end of the hike should be the Aachen Cathedral, about 100 kilometers away. Because of my no longer quite new knees, I will not walk nonstop but stay overnight halfway and continue my hike early the next morning. That should be tough enough.

Donation per kilometer

Aachen Cathedral

I am looking for sponsors for my “Power pilgrimage for Nepal”. The revenue is used one hundred percent for “School up”. This is how it works if you join in: Before I start you determine an amount for every kilometer that I will hike between 18 November, 8 a.m. and 19 November, 8 p.m. Means: If you want to give for instance ten cents per kilometer, it would be a total of ten euros at 100 kilometer – if I really succeed in hiking this distance within the time indicated. Those who prefer to contribute a fixed amount of money can of course do so. I am grateful for any euro for the school in Thulosirubari.
While I’m on the road, I will inform you via Twitter where I am and what I am experiencing. At the end I will tell you how far exactly I hiked within these 36 hours. Then you should transfer your donation directly to the bank account of “School up!”:

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

You may wonder why I’ll go on a pilgrimage, albeit a short one. Very simply, because I am a Christian. And a bit of assistance from above for our project in Nepal cannot do any harm.

P.S.: You can inform me by email (you find the address on the bottom right) about the amount that you have decided to give for “Power pilgrimage for Nepal” – of course, under the pledge of secrecy, as an additional information and motivation for me. Many thanks in advance!