NEW ZEALAND & CHEBOCHE TRUST

SI UPPER HUTT and CHEBOCHE TRUST
"Sheilah's Sewing Machine"

Barbara Milburn(Publicity Officer, SI Upper Hutt Central Region New Zealand)writes:

" Often our 3 clubs – Wainui, Lower Hutt and Upper Hutt combine for a meeting if the speaker is interesting. Last year we combined to hear Nima, a Nepalese Sherpa and Katy Austin an Upper city Councillor and a friend of many of us, talk about the Trust that had been set up to help Nima’s isolated village in the Himalayas. Eight years ago when Katy and her husband Bruce (principal of a local school I do relief teaching at),were trekking with Nima as a guide, Bruce fell ill. Nima literally piggybacked Bruce to the nearest hospital and stayed with him until he was fit to travel back to New Zealand,

"From this, there developed a marvelous relationship between Nima in Nepal and Bruce and Katy in Upper Hutt. A Trust was established to provide money to pay the salary of a teacher of English at the village school, of solar heating for the homes, of warm clothing for the villagers. At our club meeting money was raised to pay for the continuing education of a very bright 12 year girl at an area school. If this was not provided she would be taken away by the Maoist rebels who control most of the countryside in Nepal. If the family refused to give her up, the father would be shot.

"At our club meeting, Nima, with his baby boy, Bruce, and his beautiful wife Lhak Phutti talked about their village life. No electricity, no running water etc. Sheilah who was present, immediately offered her grandmother’s hand sewing machine so that clothes could be altered to fit the villagers!! Lhak Phutti was taught how to use it and it arrived in the village via Air Thai to Kathmandu, then by air to Lukla (a small inland airport) then backpacked carefully wrapped in donated warm clothing for 2 days and 2 nights by sherpas to the village.

"The photo shows Lhak Phutti shortening Nima’s jeans (using Sheilah’s sewing machine) for which she charged him 5 rupees. Our friend Katy is in the photo. She was celebrating her 60th birthday by attempting a sponsored climb of Mt.Mera, high in the Himalayas. The Austins also took over 280kg of donated warm clothing. I was fascinated by the way the villagers organized the dispersal of the clothing. They sorted it out into piles – jerseys in one, hats in another, shoes in another etc. Then each pile was given a number. The families then drew out a number, and their number was matched with a pile number!"

to see photos of Nimo and Lhak Phuti
These photos of the Sherpas are on a Web page of Hilary Hampton's visit to Sheilah Downs in 2003. Sheilah and Hilary attended a meeting of SI Upper Hutt where the guest was Nima Sherpa (plus wife and baby) from Nepal. [ H C F ]

This web site is created and maintained by Hendré Falkson