BH-Article KHCP Earthquake Nepal 2015

Buddhismus Heute 2016/No.56 - KHCP Earthquake Nepal 2015:
A Article about the situations after the earthquake
and the medical tour of Karmapa´s Healthcare Project to all of our Karma Kagyu Monasteries in Nepal to assess the physical condition and immediate helps in terms of relief or and medical aids...

For english translation please scroll down!

 

BH56-Article KHCP Earthquake Nepal 2015
Translation of the german article by Jessica Frey

Earthquake in Nepal
The KHCP – Karmapa’s Healthcare Project e.V. supports monasteries, orphanages, the University Hospital Dhulikhel and provides emergency relief for the homeless.
A grave cause motivated this article.
On the 28th April 2015, the Earth started shaking at the centre of Nepal and changed the lives of a nation overnight. In one of the poorest countries in the world, thousands of people lost their lives or were severely injured as houses, infrastructures and monasteries were destroyed. Immediately upon hearing the news, we developed a plan to provide help for those in need.
We were able to contact all of our schools and monasteries via email or phone. Within the first days of our arrival we were able to get an idea of the situation. Initially, we were relieved to find that there were no fatalities or injuries in our institutions! The damage to buildings was devastating: the Manang Gompa of Sherab Gyaltsen Rinpoche’s community was destroyed completely, as was our old monastery at Swayambhu.
We immediately commenced by establishing a network between all Kagyu institutes in the east and west. We set up a Google group that allowed participating members to provide a report of the day-to-day situation in situ, and we collated and shared the information on Facebook on a daily basis. This enabled us quickly to raise funds to help.
In a KHCP newsletter, we informed thousands of our supporters. The response was overwhelming and we were able to raise funds of approximately €170,000 within a few weeks and distribute the money immediately. According to the wishes of His Holiness Karmapa Trinley Thaye Dorje, we focused our distribution of funds also to the welfare of the wider community and the aid of all Nepalis.
Our monks and nuns became actively involved immediately. Grateful for surviving the natural disaster unscathed, they eagerly supported the communities surrounding their monasteries and nunneries by organising auxiliary transport to remote areas and by developing emergency accommodation.
We were able to support their efforts through donations.
(For further information, see http://www.karmapa-healthcare.org/downloads “Summary Earthquake Nepal 2015 – the full photo report”)
A significant part of our network is the University Hospital Dhulikhel. Despite being affected by the earthquake themselves, they were able to save many lives during the first few days, and we were pleased to have been able to support them with our donations. Our KHCP doctor at Dhulikhel Hospital, Dr. Sonam, immediately surveyed all medical institutions. These included three of our orphanages, one of which was specialised in HIV positive children and which was destroyed completely. It is our wish to help rebuild the orphanage in the future.
Shortly after the earthquake, we decided to survey the medical, social and structural situation of our institutes. Over a period of three weeks, our KHCP doctors Dr. Sonam Rinchen and Dr. Angelika Leist visited all the institutes. Using standardised questionnaires and holding medical camps, they were able to determine what funds and equipment are required in order to ensure a fair distribution of donations.
We attempted to distribute monetary aid as fairly as possible, considering the number of people, the gravity of the damages and extenuating circumstances. This involved financial support to monastery staff if they lost everything. After a few weeks, it became increasingly clear how all the hard work and the support of all those involved brought us closer together and strengthened the connections between the East and the West. Its benefits were clearly visible. The KHCP received many thank-you letters from the monasteries and from His Holiness Karmapa thanking our donors.
Six months after the disaster, life is still hard for millions of people in Nepal. The earth has become calm again, life is back to normal and the rebuilding is in process – rebuilding will be the work for the generation to come.
Peter and I were invited to attend the re-opening of Sherab Gyaltsen Rinpoche’s monastery in Nepal. The previously collapsed spire has been re-erected, the cracks in the walls have been repaired and the wonderful paintings by Bhutanese artists have been restored. Everything is back to its previous glory when His Holiness Karmapa arrived. One could get the impression that everything is well again but the opening speech of Karmapa reminded us of the earthquake, the suffering and those in need that are still to be helped. He noted the importance of buildings such as Sherab Gyaltsen Rinpoche’s in times of need and despair. As part of the opening ceremony, the KHCP received a Buddha from Karmapa as a token for their work. We would like to dedicate this Buddha to all our supporters in the East and West who have been supporting us in different ways, and who have enabled us to help effectively. Thank you to our KHCP friends.
If you feel inspired to support us, please get in touch with us or donate, because our work continues.
Find out more by visiting www.karmapa-healthcare.org or send us an email.
Yours,
Pia and Peter
Directors of the KHCP e.V.

Profile of Pia and Peter
Pia Cerveny,
Born in Wuppertal, Germany in 1959
Degree in Social Science and German Studies,
Theatre’s artistic director,
Self-employed businesswoman

Peter Cerveny
Born in Duisburg, Germany in 1958
Developer for high-frequency engineering (self-employed), Photographer

1990 meeting and marriage
2004 both become Karma Kagyu Buddhists
2005 Founding of the KHCP – Karmapa Healthcare Project in collaboration with His Holiness Gyalwa Karmapa Trinley Thaye Dorje in Kalimpong; at this time discontinuing all self-employment activities. Subsequently developing and managing the Project in Nepal and India on a voluntary full-time basis.