Top Stories»
Swiss Samaritans wheel in for Nepali poor’s weal
KAVRE, AUG 11 -
A Swiss couple flying here for honeymoon is one thing, but cycling all the way from that Western Europe country is a case of being bananas — and that’s what is the case.
Mario, 56, and his wife, Monika, 46, reached Dhulikhel riding their all-terrain bikes on Wednesday, three-and-a-half months after they left Switzerland. They pedalled six hours daily across countries like Germany, Austria, Slovakia, Russia, Tajikistan, Pakistan and India to reach their honeymoon destination.
What impelled them? Their will to help poor people in dire need of medical care. The philanthropic couple collected donations from their friends and relatives back home, and the strangers that they came across on their way to Nepal so that the money could be offered to the health centre of Dhulikhel Hospital at Bahuneparti VDC in Sindhupalchowk district.
“People were incredulous when we told them of our honeymoon plan,” Monika, said after arriving at Dhulikhel Hospital in Kavre. “We came as had planned, with a dream to help the poor and we did it.”
Mario said that he was happy that he and his wife achieved what they had set out to do. “I am thrilled that this little effort made by me and my wife is going to benefit a lot of people in need,” he said humbly.
Mario and Monika have gathered around US$50,000 from donations. The couple will hand over the money to the hospital authority for the treatment of those unable to afford health care.
Mario and Monika got a red carpet welcome from Dr. Ramkantha Makaju Shrestha.
“I met Mario and Monika in Switzerland and they had expressed their interest in helping poverty-stricken families in health care matters,” he said.
The couple was taken ill in the course of their arduous journey to Nepal but it lasted only a day and the subsequent day both were as fit as a fiddle. Talking to this reporter, the two said, “We had started out with good intentions and God heard our prayer. He ensured that we fulfill our goal.”
Posted on: 2010-08-12 07:55
Headlines
Advertisements
