For further information and greater detail on the Himalayan Trust please view www.himalayan-trust.org.np
Khumjung School
Khumjung School was built in 1961
as the first major project of the Himalayan Trust. It started off as a two classroom school but now caters for pre-school, primary and secondary sections with over 350 students. Since then the Himalayan Trust has built over 25 schools and assisted many more within the Solu Khumbu District. These schools were initially staffed and funded through the Trust until 1972 when the government took over the administration of all schools and education in the area. The Trust has a formal agreement with the Nepalese Government to continue to provide teaching resources and support to schools within the Solu Khumbu Region.
Teacher Training Programme
In 1997 the Solu Khumbu Teacher Training Programme was established to support the 65 schools closest to Mount Everest.
For the first three years this focused on primary education, classes 1-5. Teachers come to three weeks winter training each year and are provided in school support and resources throughout the year. It was accredited by the Nepal Government in 1999. All 200 teachers in these schools are involved. The funding for this programme is provided by the Grand Circle Foundation (USA), UNICEF (Nepal) and the Swiss Foundation. This funding ceases in September 2003, but alternative funding is being sought. The changes within the classrooms as a result of this programme have been very significant.
In 2000, lower secondary training began in fourteen secondary schools closest to Mt Everest. This programmes follows a similar format as for the primary schools and involves over 120 teachers. The Sir Edmund Hillary Trust UK assisted by the UK National Lotteries have provided the funding for this three year programme. Both training schemes are based at a special teacher training campus built alongside the Solu Khumbu Multi- Campus in Salleri, which was established in 1993.
Kunde Hospital
Kunde Hospital was established in 1966, in Kunde Village just north of Namche Bazaar. It was the second major project of the Himalayan Trust and now services over 10,000 Sherpa's within the Khumbu District.
It has a staff of 4 ( a western Doctor from either New Zealand or Canada, 2 medical assistants and 1 trained nurse / midwife ). It has 15 beds for inpatients and offers a wide range of medical services for the Sherpa community.
The hospital and medical services are primarily funded through contributions from the Sir Edmund Hillary Foundation of Canada and grants from the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA).
The hospital offers 24hrs emergency cover to the community with hospital hours as follows: Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Thursday & Friday 9am – 5pm; Wednesday 9am – 1pm; Saturday Closed . The current Kunde Doctor is Dr Carol Nicholson MBChB, Dip Obs (NZ) from New Zealand.
The Hospital administers a number of immunization programmes which are funded by UN. These include: Vitamin A, Polio and standard child immunization. Kunde Hospital has a number of key facilities which helps to provide the much needed medical services. These include an x-ray machine, oxygen concentrators, ECG machine, an ultrasound, and fetal monitors. The hospital does lack adequate facilities for testing bloods and storage of blood products.
Kunde Hospital does accept overseas medical students on elective training, subject to the commitments and staffing levels at the time of the elective. Information for medical students can be downloaded from Available Documents under What's New. All correspondence for elective training should be directed to the resident doctor at Kunde Hospital Email: kunde@khumbu.wlink.com.np
Sagamartha National Park & Re-Forestation Projects
The three nurseries at Phorche, Tashinga and Phurte, are at the core of this programme. The Trust aims to plant over 70,000 seedlings a year. Other activities include monitoring native forest growth and the factors which influencing it (such as wild thar), plus promoting sustainable use of forest resources to both locals and visitors.
Rangjit Gurung, the on-site supervisor, co-ordinates management and directs the five nursery staff. He selects the planting sites after consultaion with local people. The nursery staff are drawn from local villages, and have over 100 years of combined service between them. Their nurseries, possibly the highest in the world, are internationally recognised for the first-class seedlings they produce.
Sir Edmund Hillary was the main driving force for the establishment of the Sagamartha National Park begining in 1972. The New Zealand Government provided the finance for establishing the infra-structure and three NZ Project Managers (over six years ) worked at setting up the Park. The first Warden was Mr Udya Raj Sharma, who later become the Director General of the Department of National Parks, Nepal.
The Park covers a total of 480 square miles and hosts some of the highest mountains in the World including
Mt Everest 29,029 ft / 8848m. Over a million new tree seedlings from the nurseries have been planted in the
Park since this project started. Many thousands of trekkers come yearly to view the scenery and experience
the Sherpa communities here in the Khumbu.