KATHMANDU, AUGUST 21
Shangri-La Nepal Foundation today organised a 'Livelihood Support Relief Fund Handover Program' for widows and children of Nepali mountain workers who lost their lives in the Himalayas.
Under the three-year "Livelihood and Capacity Building Skill Development Programme" launched in 2023 with support from the US-based The Juniper Fund, more than 84 bereaved families have received financial and livelihood support to date, directly benefiting over 350 individuals, according to SNF President Jiban Ghimire.
The SNF today handed over financial assistance to 32 families in the presence of Mingma Chhiri Sherpa, Chairperson of Khumbu Pasang Lhamu Rural Municipality, as chief guest.
"A total of 32 beneficiary families received financial support from the project today. Among them, four families received NRs 72,000 as Discretionary Support, 25 families received NRs 285,000, one received NRs 227,500, and one received NRs 215,000 as Livelihood Support Relief Fund. The total amount disbursed was NRs 7,855,500," Ghimire said.
According to him, the three-year project, funded by TJF with an investment of $450,000, is being implemented in Nepal by SNF.
Speaking at the programme, Ghimire said the initiative aims to assist families who lost members while working in high-altitude expeditions, most of them on Mount Everest, though beneficiaries come from across the Himalayan region. "Of the 84 total beneficiary families, 72 are from the Sherpa community," he informed.
Programme Director Ang Chokpa Sherpa said that today's distribution is the first of two instalments SNF provides each year. "As per the current project approval, each beneficiary family will receive a total of NRs 570,000 per year in two instalments for three years, with the possibility of extension for another two years, making a maximum support period of five years from the Livelihood Support Relief Fund," she said.
The project has also organised various livelihood support activities, leadership trainings, craft-based skill trainings, trekking guide trainings, cooking classes and hotel management trainings, according to Sherpa.
The programme also includes entrepreneurship and business development training, organic vegetable farming assistance, and water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) awareness.
Support has also been extended to the Khumbu Climbing Centre to provide mountaineering skills training to aspiring female climbers. TJF has further provided full scholarships to over 70 students for grades 11 and 12, aiming to ensure continued education for children of deceased mountain workers.
Beneficiaries shared personal testimonies during the event. Mingma Chhamji Sherpa, who lost her husband five years ago in a climbing accident on Everest, said the programme helped her family cope with trauma and rebuild their future.
Mingma Chhiri Sherpa, Chairperson of Khumbu Pasang Lhamu Rural Municipality, expressed commitment to cooperate with the partners to ensure the sustainability of the initiative. "The programme is a meaningful intervention for families affected by mountain fatalities," he added.
According to Ghimire, The Juniper Fund was founded by American mountaineers David Morton and Melissa Arnot Reid to address the unmet needs of Nepali high-altitude workers and their families. The organisation continues to focus on long-term support for communities dependent on mountaineering and expedition work in Nepal.
