Inauguration and Handover Ceremony of Hyolmo Shyomkharka Rebuilding Project
On the successful completion of Hyolmo Syomkharka Village Reconstruction Project with the concept of integrated settlement development, the inauguration ceremony and handing over ceremony was held in the special presence of Hon’ble Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Yogesh Bhattarai and distinguished guests from Switzerland on 27th November, 2019.
The project was implemented with the financial support of a Swiss organization called Mountains to Mountains ,to rebuild 17 Mherchyakuma houses designed by Hyolmo Foundation and approved by the National Reconstruction Authority (NRA). The catastrophic earthquake of April 2015 caused unimaginable human and material damage as well as destruction of historical, cultural and archeological significance. It destroyed the 17 traditional “Mherchyakuma” houses having unique craft and distinct cultural originality of the Hyolmo indigenous peoples along with the community monasteries and cultural heritages.
The project agreement was held on February 25, 2017 with the special initiative of Mr. Binod Lama Hyolmo, a senior social worker who is also the former Consul General to Tibet and Mr. Jürg Kunz, official representative of Mountains to Mountains (MTM), Swiss Association.
The Inauguration and Handover Ceremony was presided by Mr. Binod Lama Hyolmo, President of the Hyolmo Foundation. The Chief Guest, Hon’ble Yogesh Kumar Bhattarai, inaugurated the Hyolmo Syomkharka Integrated Settlement by unveiling the plaque of the newly built Mherchyakuma, Traditional Hyolmo House in Shyomkharka village of Nuwakot District in Nepal. Mrs. Bella Meyer, MTM Chair and Mr. Jürg Kunz accompanied by the team of Officials from Mountains to Mountains handed over the building to the Syomkharka community in the special presence of Hon’ble Minister and Official from Hyolmo Foundation. The rebuilding project of 17 houses was completed with the total amount of NRs. 17,53,1239.75 including the additional support to 3 families to build their houses destroyed by the devastating earthquake.
Mr. Binod Lama Hyolmo humbly expressed thanks for graceful presence of all dignitaries to witness the inauguration and key handover ceremony of reconstructed houses of Shomkharka Village and highlighted with heartfelt gratitude to Mountains to Mountains, the donor organization that helped in the successful completion of the Hyolmo Syomkharka Village Reconstruction Project, and to dignitaries who boosted their morale for making this happen also to all the stakeholders for their special contribution and cooperation.
In the formal ceremony Mr. Lama stated that “The genuine support of Mountain to Mountain has materialized, and now we can see the smiling faces of villagers getting such a nice house built in traditional Mherchakuma style. I think in pursuit of preserving and maintaining traditional heritage that our forefather had transferred to us from generation to generation has been preserved while reconstructing the houses in traditional style. The reconstruction not only preserved their traditional house but also side by side preserving their identity and entity which is on the verge of extinction. Now for at least half a century the identity and entity of Hyolmo indigenous people remain safe and preserved along with these houses in this area.”
On behalf of the Government of Nepal, Hon’ble Minister expressed sincere and humble thanks Mountains to Mountains for the solidarity with their generous support.
Hon’ble Minister congratulated Hyolmo Foundation and the communities of Shomkharka for the successful operation of reconstruction project and expressed his sincere gratitude to Donor organization for interest and joining hands in disaster reduction and sustainable solutions, and in providing support to Hyolmo Foundation in its endeavour to successfully completing the Hyolmo Shyomkharka Rebuilding Project.
Mrs. Bella Meyer and Mr. Jürg Kunz from Mountains to Mountains deliver their remarks about the project and its concept to reality. They expressed their appreciation for being part of this visible reconstruction project work. They are pleased to offer their support in order for Nepal’s communities to be more resilient to shocks. Mr. Jürg Kunz highlighted the MTM’s long-term friendship of more than a decade with Nepal especially through Mr. Binod Lama Hyolmo along with their support in education, health and humanitarian aid assistance.
On the special ceremony dignitaries guests Hon’ble Member of Parliament and Former Minister of Nuwakot Hit Bahadur Tamang, Deputy Speaker of Bagmati Province and former Minister of State Hon’ble Radhika Tamang, Former President of Nepal Federation of Indigenous Nationalities and the Member of the Constituent Assembly Hon’ble Pasang Sherpa, former Chairman of Hyolmo Foundation and Provincial Assembly Member Hon’ble Nima Lama Hyolmo, Joint Secretary of Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation – Mr. Rudra Singh Tamang, Chairman of Dupcheshwor Rural Municipality – Mr. Yobindra Tamang, Ward Chairman of 2 No ward – Mr. Dawa Tamang along with the representatives from various organizations attended the programme and delivered their valuable remarks along with felicitation notes.
Mrs. Meret Meyer, Mrs. Christine Stauffer, Mr. Martin Kaiser and Mrs. Isabelle Kaiser from Mountains to Mountains attended the ceremony to celebrate the successful completion of the reconstruction project, which is the outcome of their support for a noble cause.
Distinguished Guests along with Donors were felicitated with traditional ceremonial scarf Khada, token of love and bouquet of flowers by organizer, and Chairperson and Chief Guest jointly presented a frame of honor to the Donor organisation. Hyolmo Traditional dances were performed by the Shomkharka community to welcome the Distinguished Guest and to mark the successful completion of the reconstruction projection. They were very pleased to have their own cultural design of houses with earthquake resistance and expressed their sincere gratitude to entire supporters.
A glimpse of special ceremony…
