ollowing the Singapore International Convention of Rotary International in June, I was invited by Rotarians from Kathmandu, Nepal to visit a World Community Service project that our two sister Rotary clubs, Gwinnett County (Georgia, USA) and Patan West, had been working on for the past eight months. The project involves building and equipping a maternity wing at the hospital in the mountain town of Bandipur, about four hours by car west of Kathmandu.  Bandipur had been an important trade center for commerce between Tibet and British India, but better roads gradually left the village isolated, lost in the last century.  Perched high on a promontory a thousand feet over the rich, Marsyangdi River Valley below, the views from the town are spectacular.  Slate-roofed homes and terraced farms of corn and rice cover the hillsides below, where Bandipurians work their crops by hand.

     Nepal is a proud and beautiful country, steeped in Hindu tradition going back to the first century.  Most Nepalese lead simple lives, living and farming much as they did hundreds of years ago.  The country's population is about 24.3 million today.  Its per capita income is less than $220, which is among the lowest in the world.  Population density is 428/sq. mile, a deceptive statistic since 80% of Nepal is mountainous and uninhabitable.  Families average 4.6 children, leading to a national population doubling time of 28 years.  Contraceptive use is about 30%.  Another 30% desire contraceptive services, but can not afford or find them.  Infant mortality is 79 per 1000 live births (Japan is 3.7 per 1000) and maternal mortality rates are equally tragic.  From this set of sobering numbers arose the Rotary maternity wing project.

     The ten-room stone building was built on land dedicated by the local hospital, with materials contributed by the government, and with labor sponsored by the Rotary Club of Patan West.  Rotarians from five clubs in District 6910 (north Georgia, USA) pooled funds in a matching grant project to purchase an all-terrain van and the necessary beds and maternity equipment.  Volunteer doctors from District 6910 have agreed to rotate manning the maternity wing until permanent staff can be arranged.  The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is Nepal has agreed to collaborate in providing reproductive health supplies and services for the family health center in the maternity wing.

     The Nepalese Rotarians have recently established a National Committee on Population & Development, as a Section of the International Fellowship on Population & Development.  Led by Dr. Tika Man Vaidya, they have further connected with the Ministry of Population to begin a more aggressive attack on the population problem.  Dr. Vaidya reports: "The rapidly growing population is wrecking our environment and trapping a growing number of people in a hopeless state of poverty.  Even if fertility rates were brought to replacement levels tomorrow, the number of young people now entering their reproductive years would still double our population in the next four decades.  And it is inconceivable that food resources, will keep pace, so we must prepare ourselves for even deeper levels of poverty."

     The twelve-mile stretch of road leading up to Bandipur is nearly too steep and rocky to travel, but with four-wheel vehicles, we managed all but the last half mile which we walked.  Rounding the corner onto the main street of the town, six Patan West Rotarians and I were greeted by a parade fit only for a king.  There were traditional horns and drums, and hundreds of Bandipurians lining the streets, with floral necklaces and bouquets, abundant and colorful beyond description.  The shy, innocent faces of the babies and children, and the strong, but somehow melancholy faces of the mothers spoke silent words of appreciation for Rotary's work in this town.  They seemed to know that the maternity wing would bring change to the dangers of child bearing, and that they would now begin to think of healthier families, where each child would be loved, cared for, educated, and raised to lead a productive live.

     Later in the day a formal dedication ceremony of the maternity wing was conducted, with speeches by local authorities and Rotarians.  Sitting on the grassy lawn, hundreds of children and mothers, dressed in saris and costumes in vibrant shades of green and red, listened with unflinching, dark-eyed attention.  I was asked to speak, and my Nepalese Rotarian friend offered to translate.  Spontaneously, I picked up a young girl, and through her, spoke to the Bandipurians.  I told her that we both had important work before us.  For my part, I had to share with my friends at home what a beautiful child she was, and how special all of the people of Bandipur were.  Her part, as she grew, would be to imagine a better life in which the children and the mothers of Bandipur would all be healthier and stronger.  She had to promise that she would study and work hard to achieve a meaningful life, and to do her best at everything she did.  She looked down, too shy to respond.  But as I looked back into the eyes of the mothers, I knew I had communicated what I wanted them to hear.  I put the young girl down, placed my hands in front of my face, in prayer form as the Nepalese do, and finished by saying, "Namaskar," the traditional greeting of respect.  A gentle breeze blew, as the sunlight danced across the hillside.  At that moment, I felt as close to heaven as a human can be.

Namaskar