Charity Begins with us Charity begins at home. This old proverb is one that we have heard time and time again. Does it simply apply to our homes, or our families, or can it also include those who live in the same country? Does this proverb only affect those in close proximity, because if it did, then why would we be charitable to people in other parts of the world, in places we would never even dream of visiting? In a shrinking world we are no longer affiliated with just one country. Travel and the internet have given us a portal to the world, where all that is required is a credit card and a computer, both of which are now readily available. Speaking to David Carr, the chairman of the charity Clinic Nepal in Gibraltar, it was surprising to learn that his involvement with the project started as a selfish reason to visit the Himalayas. Little did he know that rather than just going on a one off trip, he would discover he no longer felt obligated to help these people living in poor conditions; instead he fell in love with them, the place and the culture, and tries to make at least one trip a year. A sense of pride and hope emanate from him when he speaks; pride for what has already been achieved, hope for what is yet to be achieved. Clinic Nepal was set up in Gibraltar in 1997 by Kevin Shore with the aim of creating better living conditions for the people of Meghauli in Chitwan, Nepal — a place frequented by his father Peter Shore. Once, when Peter was visiting the area, he and his wife were rescued from danger by Hari Bhandary. Hari told them of his dream of offering a medical care facility in the area. Kevin found out about Hari and the needs of the people in Meghauli from his father, and with a few like-minded people registered Clinic Nepal as charity in Gibraltar. After a year of intensive fund raising and donations of building materials from here and the UK, all the volunteers and a few MOD officers travelled to Nepal to assess the situation and start the building, together with some Nepali volunteers. Four weeks later the clinic was ready for operation. Set in an area which is mostly light jungle, the clinic is able to offer its services to nearly 50,000 people of the surrounding area. Healthcare and medicines are free of charge at the clinic, not a common occurrence in Nepal. The housekeeping is shared equally by funds from Gibraltar and Water Aid UK. Clinic Nepal is now an international charity organisation with branches in Germany, Spain, and Atlanta, US, places Hari requested help from. The help the charity provides is used towards medical supplies for the clinic. There are plenty of other schemes set up by the volunteers to help the community in Nepal further. For example, there is a sponsorship scheme for schoolchildren where everything they require for school is paid for. Most of the children live with their families and attend the school, however there are a few children who live at school but go home frequently to visit their families during festivities, so as not to isolate them from their families entirely. At the moment, Clinic Nepal is working on building a new school, using funds from Gibraltar’s Integral Yoga Centre, to provide good quality education to poor families who wouldn’t be able to afford it otherwise. In the words of Sir Francis Bacon, “Knowledge is Power”, so the service of education for these children would help to improve their potential for change. By organising different fund-raising activities as well as an annual flag day, Clinic Nepal contributes towards providing a community much larger than our own with the right assistance to improve standards of living. Clinic Nepal requires contributions and volunteers to exist, and there are substantial donations given by larger companies, examples of which are the Monteverde Brothers and the GBC Annual Open Day funds, smaller operations provide help in other ways. Funds raised provide for things such as eye operations, where up to 200 people can be seen when medical help is available. The most recent assistant offered is open to women in need of hernia operations, where thanks to the donations made, they are able to travel to and from the hospital, and have their operations and recovery period paid for. Volunteers and committee members of Clinic Nepal visit Meghauli frequently. The trip itself is paid for by the volunteers, and many volunteers aim to go at least once a year, to make sure everything is in working order. The work of the charity provides help where it’s needed, so that the community as a whole can benefit. This can only come about with the generosity of the people of Gibraltar, and Clinic Nepal would like to send their sincerest gratitude to us because without us Clinic Nepal could never have even begun.

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