The Unostentatious Gurkha

Source: Gurkhas.com

The Unassuming Gurkha Who Continues to Forge Strong Friendships in UK Whilst Raising Funds to Build Essential Infrastructures for his Village Back in Nepal.

Whilst there are many people out there who cannot wait to blow their own trumpets, we also have amongst us a Gurkha who has managed to forge strong friendships with the British community during the short time he has resettled in UK and at the same time, raised thousands of pounds with the help of those very friends to develop necessary infrastructures in his small village back in Nepal.

Yet this Gurkha is unique because of his unassuming, humble nature. He is: Hon. Lt. 21164207 Chandra Bahadur Gurung of Queen’s Gurkha Signals, and his beloved village in the foothills of the majestic Himalayas is : “Char Bhanjyang”, in Nepal.

Gurkhas.com contacted Mr. Gurung after being informed of yet another of his successful fund-raising events. Mr. Gurung explained that although the desire to ‘give something back’ to help his village had always been there, his vision got an unexpected boost- both moral and financial- from the Army acquaintances he took for a visit to Nepal in 2001. These acquaintances were: Col. Ian Foxley, Maj. H.J. Bardell and Col. P. Brown.

Although the trip itself was meant purly to be an enjoyable break, when the group reached Mr. Gurung’s village, the visitors were soon overwhelmed by the warmth of the villagers and became very interested in learning more about the village.

Upon finding out that older students from the village often had to endure 4 hour daily treks simply to get 10+2 education at the nearest college, Col. Foxley, Maj. Bardell and Col. Brown expressed their interest in finding out if anything could be done to help the village get its own college-level educational provision. Afterall, if the four hours saved on a daily basis for the 40+ students could instead be spent more productively e.g. channelling the time and energy towards helping their families with chores at home and in the farms/fields, the whole village could benefit.

Mr. Gurung tells us that after their return to UK, under the co-ordination of Col. Foxley and Maj Bardell, around £8,000 was raised. Under the watchful eyes of village elder Mr. Hitkaji Gurung from the village, this sum was utilised to construct a 4 rooms, 2 toilets building, to serve as the new 10+2 education facility for the village. When the building was completed in 2003, the villagers were overjoyed.

However, education could only start in the 10+2 facility in 2008, as the general instability and fear for the young people’s lives during the Maoist-Government conflict earlier on meant that government school education in most parts of Nepal itself had come to a grinding halt. Mr. Gurung tells us that many wider Charbhanjyang samaj members from across the globe also contributed to buy essential items for the school to ensure a comfortable learning environment for students. At present, there are 77 students benefitting from the 10+2 facility and it is predicted to serve similar numbers in coming years.

Mr. Gurung has since teamed up with the Swinfen Charitable Trust set up by Lord Roger Swinfen and Lady Pat Swinfen MBE, and run the London Marathon in 2010 to raise £6,000 for the Trust’s key project -the Telemedicine Link. The main objective of the Telemedicine Link is to assist poor, sick and disabled people in the developing world by establishing direct telemedicine links between hospital-based practitioners in the developing world and expert medical and surgical specialists who volunteer their time and advice via the internet. At present, the project has established links with health professionals in 10 hospitals across Nepal.

Mr. Gurung is confident that in due time, his beloved village will also be able to get its own health clinic and with it, a reliable health practitioner who (when necessary,) can contact experienced practitioners from the developed nations via Telemedicine Link to enquire about and get professional, reliable advice about diagnosis and available, affordable and effective treatments for the villagers’ ailments.

When we contacted him yesterday, Mr. Gurung sounded exhausted after having successfully pulled off another fund-raising event- a charity dinner, and managed to raise £2,000 (approx.). And like in previous events, this time too, alongside him were his long-time acquaintances turned firm friends, Col. Foxley, Lt. Col. Linda Bardell, Col. Brown, Col. Mackenzie, their families, Lord and Lady Swinfen and many new friends and supporters.