Jenny Hopkins and Victor Szwed
Over the past five years, Daylesford Rotary Club has been supporting the establishment of a Nursing School in Sindhuli, in southern Nepal. This school will provide nursing students with local training rather than having to travel hundreds of kilometres on precarious roads to Kathmandu. Rotarian, Jenny Hopkins, who is a nurse, has travelled to Nepal to help set up the nursing school.
In February this year Daylesford Rotary donated $3,500 towards the final stages of the nursing school involving a kitchen and dining area. This was in addition to $500 donated when Jenny went there.
President of Daylesford Rotary, Koos Hulst stated: “ Jenny has worked with Peter Elias from the Albury Rotary Club on this project. She invited him to talk to a group of locals and Rotarians on 20th February. Peter gave us a wonderful update on the amazing work that has been done and also the efforts to complete this important training facility.”
Peter Elias on the left together with Daylesford Rotary President Koos Hulst and Rotarian Lesley Hewitt.
Jenny Hopkins said: “Initially, I wrote a curriculum for the nursing training and then was invited to help set up the school. Rotary has a Donations In Kind warehouse in West Footscray which collects vast amounts of surplus equipment, clothing and furniture. Everything required for the nursing school including hospital furniture and medical equipment were shipped in huge containers to Sindhuli. It was my task to organise that.”
“Peter Elias has been coordinating and managing teams of multi-skilled volunteers over the past nine years to travel to Sindhuli a number of times to help to develop various components of the Sindhuli Technical Institute. It has been a real challenge as the area is quite remote. Daylesford Rotary’s recent donation of $3,500 is providing a wonderful boost towards completion of the nursing school.”
Jenny added: “The structure of the school, the bricks and mortar, have been created by the local Nepalise. Peter’s teams have added electricity, fans, plumbing, painting and flooring.”
Anyone who would like to find out more about Daylesford Rotary and the projects it is involved in locally and elsewhere is welcome to contact President Koos Hulst on
0437 747 619
Jenny Hopkins and Victor Szwed are members of the Daylesford Rotary Club.
