American Himalayan Foundation

Thank you Adam Yauch

Fri, 11 May 2012 22:53:15 +0000

Guess who’s just been told she is going back to school this month?

Thu, 19 Apr 2012 22:14:43 +0000

We need your help to help thousands of other girls just like Suni stay in school and stay safe. We are holding our first STOP Girl Trafficking evening on April 30th at The Four Seasons in San Francisco, where Siddhartha Kara, the Harvard Fellow on Human Trafficking, Jon Krakauer author and advocate, and Dr. Aruna Uprety, AHF’s partner in trafficking prevention in Nepal, will share their stories and experiences, heartbreaks and inspirations in the very real work of stopping girl trafficking.

Call 415-288 7250 to join us!

Louis Reichardt - Rock (Climbers) Hall of Fame

Fri, 13 Apr 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Elephant Wars

Thu, 05 Apr 2012 23:07:13 +0000

All was quiet as the staff and elephants returned to the river to check on the condition of Shamsher Gaj. The Nepalese Army from Bhimle checkpost had been called and a jeepload of four soldiers with M-16s arrived and joined the convoy of elephants heading for the river. At first I wondered if they had been called to ‘take out’ Valentino but it soon became clear they were there only to protect the rescue effort. The stillness was briefly interrupted by a deep, low moan emanating from the river. This was not a good sign. Initial thinking was the Shamsher Gaj had been mortally wounded and may be dead. I personally decided not to go down to the river, as did naturalist Ram Din. ‘I don’t want to see this,’ he said. Margie McDougal came running from her lodging in a panic. In the 80’s and 90’s, Chuck McDougal and his family lived much of the time at the Lodge, Chuck being the Chief Naturalist and Nepal’s reknowned tiger expert. Their son Robert, grew up with the 32 year old Shamsher Gaj who was born in 1980.

Once it was determined that Shamsher Gaj was still alive, the concern was to get him up off his side. An elephant can only lay down a certain amount of time before he crushes himself by his own weight. The elephant camp staff went running out to the river with shovels and long bamboo poles, hoping to push him from behind in an effort to get him to try to stand up. Then Margie got there. The army guy and all the staff said he recognized Margie and immediately responded. She was yelling, pleading, imploring him to get up and finally he did. Bhim Gurung was at the river and said ‘the magical moment came when Margie whispered to him to get up. To our surprise he then slowly stood up with all staff support.’ I witnessed a very slow convoy back to the elephant camp. Surrounded by all the elephants and armed soldiers, Margie was on the lead elephant constantly imploring Shamsher Gaj to, ‘come, come, come’, ‘aun, aun, aun’, in Nepali. Later that afternoon vets came and treated the big guy for his wounds and it seemed that he would be OK.

Green houses at OPH (Old People Homes) in Tezu and Miao

Wed, 28 Mar 2012 16:43:40 +0000

The 18 elders also enjoy working in the garden. As Pema Rinchen, the OPH manager says “...One thing is quite applaudable, to see all the elderly people collectively working together with sheer determination and dedication even under such age. It’s all because of your foundation that boosted their energy and given them a chance to live a life in a meaningful way. Thank you so much. So as saying 'What you sow, so shall you reap.' So hopefully what we had sowed with hardship will reap with organic fresh vegetables this season. In future we expect to sell (apart from our daily usage) those extra vegetables in the vicinity of settlement in order to generate substantial amount. So it’s just our dream.”

And now a reality.

Yangchen Lhamo, Manjushree Primary School teacher

Thu, 22 Mar 2012 21:31:34 +0000

In 1992, after high school, she came back to teach at the Paljorling’s Manjushree Primary school. She has now been doing it 20 years, fulfilling her wish to serve the Tibetan community.

I met Yangchen la – now a widow with a three year old daughter - in September last year. She inspires me - a refugee child brought up in the camps, struggling for food with her family, and now a fine teacher to another generation of Tibetan refugee camp children. And when she says “...This school of mine, Manjushree has given many loving and capable students already and many more will come in future,” I know it’s true, and she is a big part of it.

Theater in the Field - Spreading the word about trafficking

Mon, 19 Mar 2012 16:23:12 +0000

She escapes with the help of an NGO and returns to her village where she identifies the traffickers who are arrested by the police.

The play was well received by our SGT performers' friends and families, and the messages were not lost on the audience either!

Lhakar

Fri, 09 Mar 2012 16:49:52 +0000

On Wednesdays Tibetans actively, consciously, do something for Tibet and to reaffirm their Tibetan identity. They don’t buy from Chinese shops, wear only Tibetan dress and speak Tibetan. Inside Tibet thousands gather in villages and take pledges to work for the Tibetan struggle. Tibetans in exile honor Lhakar by holding candlelight vigils, offering prayers and doing anything related to the movement.

China has pushed Nepal to crack down on any Tibetan political action and it has become increasingly difficult for Tibetans in Nepal to do anything. However, Lhakar is happening and everyone is doing something this way. In my family, on Wednesdays, we have decided to light some lamps in the Temple in Patan and pray for His Holiness and for the Tibetans inside Tibet.

I hope to be in Lhasa on a Wednesday in this year and send pictures to you.

Sherpas Take Over Mill Valley

Mon, 27 Feb 2012 21:32:58 +0000

Complementing the evening’s entertainment of traditional Sherpa dances were three young Sherpas from Santa Rosa who started with a traditional dance but then tore off their shirts to reveal red t-shirts and did awesome breakdancing on the stage. They were a riot. Among many old friends was Dali Sherpa, who went from an AHF scholarship for nursing school to happily working as a nurse at Kaiser.

The community has grown from the first Sherpa Losar I attended in the Bay Area 20 years ago where there were only eight of us. Last night’s gathering showed that you don’t have to live in the Khumbu to maintain your heritage. It’s happening right here in the Bay Area.

Need a good cappuccino in Namche?

Tue, 14 Feb 2012 20:36:05 +0000

His was a degree in Tourism and Hotel Management from Pokhara University. After graduating, he spent a year at Dwarikas Hotel in Kathmandu and four months at Ashcroft Pinecreek Cook house in Aspen. With this experience, he opened Café 8848 in Namche Bazaar serving Illy coffee to trekkers, and the bookstore. In between, after two years of training, he is also an assistant instructor at the Khumbu Climbing Club.

Barista, bookstore owner, climber – not a decaf life. And he has a compassionate streak. For the help he received for college he wants to give the same opportunity to another child in need - so he supports a boy from a village in the Khumbu to go to school in Namche.

Nyima shares a few of his thoughts. “I feel glad to know AHF’s Norbu Tenzing who gave me moral support and idea from time to time. Also AHF has been doing lot of help to Himalayan people and in their children’s education. Thanks to AHF on behalf of me and whole Himalayan people”.

Tsedo