WMS PHILANTHROPIC PROJECT WONGCHU SHERPA MEMORIAL HOSPITAL WHO WAS WONGCHU SHERPA? WONGCHU - THE EARLY YEARS

• Wongchu Sherpa was a true friend of the Wilderness Medical Society and a very gracious soul.

• Born in a remote Village in named Tapting Chyangba in the Solukhumbu district - he was the youngest child of ten. Born to Mr. Yokpu Sherpa and Ms. Chhenji Sherpa.

• Losing his mother at 6 months of age and then his father at 6 years of age, Wongchu’s journey through his early life was a difficult one. WONGCHU- KATHMANDU

• Seeking a brighter future Wongchu moved to Kathmandu when he was 16 years old but found life to be challenging at best...

• He struggled in the field of tourism for more then a decade working his way up the Nepal tourism ladder - first as a cook, then as a trekking guide and finally, as a climber. WONGCHU - THE CLIMBER

• As a climber Wongchu found much success. He summited Mt. Everest twice along with dozens of other mountains. WONCHU’S CLIMBING ACCOMPLISHMENTS

Here is a list of mountains summited by Wongchu

Mount Everest, , , , Sisha Pangma, Langtang, Cho-oyu, Kilimanjaro (South Africa), Mustaghata (China / Pakistan), Mt. Fuji (Japan), Island Peak, Lobuche Peak, Mera peak, Naya Kanga, Lang Shisha, Mt. Rainer, Mt. Kebnekaise

Stayed 18 nights at at an elevation of 7000 meters and slept one hour at the summit of Mount Everest. WONGCHU - THE TOURISM ENTREPRENEUR

• Wongchu was able to turn his success as a climber into a tourism opportunity. He founded Peak Promotion Pvt. Ltd. and Peak Promotion Trading through which he not only provided support for treks and climbs in Nepal and throughout the world, but specialized in film productions ( you probably have seen some of them from Everest the movie, Everest imax, National Geographic specials and a host of others). Over the years Wongchu developed into a tourism entrepreneur

• It was Wongchu that help Dr. Luanne Freer help establish the Everest Base camp clinic (Everest ER).

• All of the Nepal based adventure trips from the Wilderness Medical Society have, and continue to, use Wongchu Peak Promotion.

WONGCHU - THE PHILANTHROPIST

• As Wonchu’s success in tourism grew over time, he felt a deep need to give back. Always an advocate for Nepal and his home village he delved into philanthropy supporting numerous causes.

• However he noted that many of the causes he supported got halted because of political or managerial issues and that those causes were often not focused on the areas and issues in Nepal he felt had the most need. THE HIMALAYAN YOKPU FOUNDATION

• As a solution to this problem Wongchu founded the Himalayan Yokpu foundation (HYF) - named after his father

• Through this foundation Wongchu was able to coordinate numerous projects for the betterment of his home village area of Chyangba. SOME PREVIOUS HIMALAYAN YOKPU FOUNDATION PROJECTS

1. Wongchu Biswo darhsan primary School in Chyangba of Tapting VDC in Solukhumbu is the first school in the area, established in 1989 AD with the aim to provide better access to education. Before the school, young children from the area had to walk for hours to school in adjoining villages. Many parents did not send their children to school due to the distance.

2. Chyangba Drinking Water Project - Provided easier access to drinking water and plumbing into houses for kitchen and restroom use.

3. Chyangba Smokeless Project- Smokeless stoves were distributed to the entire village thus decreasing the amount of smoke produced by tradition stoves and also decreasing the amount of wood needed.

4. Wongchu Micro Hydro Project- This is an electricity project which provides electricity to 120 homes in the area and the school .

5. Rebuilding Project- After the 2015 earthquake may homes in the area needed to be rebuilt. This project with multiple funders completely rebuilt 10 homes in the village THE WONGCHU MEMORIAL HOSPITAL

• The last, and largest, undertaking Wongchu and the HYF had discussed was a hospital to serve his childhood village.

• The “hospital” would serve as a primary care center for the area and would be able to house patients overnight who needed a basic to intermediate levels of care.

• It is estimated that the hospital would bring health services to 30,000 individuals who at current have little to no services at all. IN MEMORIAM

• Alas, plan development for the hospital stopped for Wongchu had taken ill and eventually succumbed to cancer on December 30, 2015.

• After Wongchu’s death, the Wilderness Medical Society and Everest ER agreed to partner with the HYF, and Wongchu Peak Promotion Pvt. Ltd. to adopt this project as a philanthropic venture to celebrate and memorialize Wongchu and, to continue his vision of improving the health and well being of the community of Chyangba and surrounding villages.

LAKPA SHERPA

• Lakpa Sherpa - daughter of Wongchu - is on the board of the Yokpu foundation and has taken the lead oversight of the hospital construction The hospital is building B2 and outpatient facility is B1

NEPALESE CONSTRUCTION CULTURE

The Nepalese culture divides construction into phases

Phase 1 - the outside structure or shell of the building. Given Nepal’s terrain and weather completion of phase one is significant and celebrated

Phase 2 - is the completion of the inside of the building - insulation, drywall, furnishings. THE LAND FOR THE WMH

• The land for the hospital was donated by the community WMH CONSTRUCTION

• For the completion of the hospital and outpatient building we have prepared a budget of Rs. 120,000,000 (1.2 Million USD Dollars). CONSTRUCTION UPDATE SPRING 2018

● The foundation is completely ready for the two buildings. ● 65 doors and 65 windows have been made for the hospital and out patient buildings. ● 50% of gravel, sand and bricks are already transported to the construction site. ● Rs.9,700,000 ($97,000) has already been invested during construction (phase 1). ● 380 people were employed for Phase 1. ENGINEER DOING SURVEY IN SITE STARTING PHASE 1

COMPOUND WALL NEARLY READY 6 meters high

Kamding facing side • For the Wilderness Medical Society sponsoring the WSMH is not only a philanthropic venture but an act of love for Nepal, the Nepalese culture and to the memory of our friend and partner Wongchu.

• We invite you to join us in contributing to the building of the hospital and sharing in the warm and beautiful experience that is Nepal.

Please join us in building the Wongchu Memorial Hospital

http://wms.org/donation/wongchu/ Trek with us! WMS CME trek to Chyangba village Nepal v 5-20 2018 - proceeds to support the Wongchu Memorial Hosp www.wms.org/conferences/pikeypeak THANK YOU