Dr. Sudip Regmi
Dr. Regmi is the veterinarian who is working with villagers in remote Tamang villages outside Kathmandu as part of our Sustainable Food Program. He is tasked with teaching and training the villagers on proper hen-keeping practices so we can reduce or eradicate the rampant disease in the chicken populations there. Dr. Regmi is committed to helping us achieve success in this program, and takes time from his regular veterinary practice to visit the villages. His degree in Veterinary Science and Animal Husbandry is from the Agriculture and Forestry University, Central Campus Rampur Chitwan. Additionally, he recently received a certification in good husbandry practices and vaccination to small scale poultry farmers in Kathmandu and the nearby districts. The training was organized by the Nepal Veterinary Association, and supported by USAID. We are proud to have this young man help us achieve our goals of reducing disease in the villagers’ food chain so that the villagers can achieve greater food security and reduce food costs.
Akkal Bahadur Syngtan
Akkal is our Project Manager for the Sustainable Food Program in Sindhuli Beltar, a remote Tamang village outside Kathmandu. His village was the first to receive our support. This project is near and dear to his heart, since this is the village where he and his wife, Muna, grew up. Both Akkal and Muna live and work in Kathmandu, and have a daughter, Monika. Akkal and Muna’s generation did not have equal rights for boys’ and girls’ education until they were much older, so Muna did not complete school, and Akkal’s family couldn’t afford for him to finish his schooling. Both work hard to provide a better life for Monika, and to help provide for their families back in Sindhuli Beltar. We are pleased to announce that Monika is the first of the family to attend college! We have known and worked with both Akkal and Muna since 2017, and are proud to have them as partners in our work.
Shaha dev Balami
Shaha is the generous young man who originally founded the Senior Citizen Care Home, Pharping, with help from a nurse’s organization in Kathmandu. With his dedication, this home has grown from a modest few, rustic buildings which were isolated on ancient temple grounds, to a more modern campus which is actively engaged with the community. Shaha owns a stationery store in the market with a partner. He does not take a salary from the elder care home. Shaha believes deeply that we are all one human race, and that we are all connected. The elders in his care are like his own family, and he is grateful for what each one has taught him through the years, and for the opportunity to serve them. We have known Shaha and the staff at this elder care home since 2017, and are proud to have them as partners in our work.
Madre Vilma
Madre Vilma runs Hogar Betania, the elder care home we support in Esquipulas, Guatemala. She is a sister of the Congregation of Martha and Mary, and we present her bio to you in her own words, because we would do her a disservice by trying to phrase it any other way.
“The elderly are living stories, older people of experiences, young of heart. One does not wait for the grandparent to pay him; rather one receives benediction every time one does a favor for the grandparent. They are also people who seek love, charity and understanding, so then the last years or days they have left to live must be filled with love, with caring and understanding, that perhaps they never received before. They need to be seen, loved, and helped. When I entered the congregation, I thought I came alone to pray, but now I have realized that serving those who need it also becomes prayer. Together, let’s make the one who doesn’t, smile.”
We are humbled and honored to have Madre Vilma and Hogar Betania as partners in our fight to rescue abandoned and homeless elders.
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