Usthi is giving away tickets for the movie “THE WALL OF SHADOWS”: A Sherpa family breaks a taboo and climbs one of the holiest mountains to earn the money for their son’s education. They lead an expedition along the eastern wall of Kumbhakarna, which has never been climbed before.

When director Eliza Kubarska took part in a high-altitude mountaineering expedition in Pakistan twelve years ago, she was shocked by the conditions under which the local people who carried the loads had to work. She recounts this experience: ” Their task was to carry bundles of loads weighing 35 kilograms to the base camp at an altitude of 4,000 meters. On the way they built camps out of stones and at night they covered themselves with plastic sheeting and warmed themselves by a fire. Every night I heard them singing. They rose ahead of us in the mornings, served us, pitched our tents and prepared meals for us. I was ashamed.” (Quote translated by Usthi).

Many years later, in the documentary “THE WALL OF SHADOWS”, she portrays the reality of a Nepalese Sherpa family. The film accompanies an expedition across the so-far unconquered eastern wall of the Kumbhakarna and shows the dilemma of the Sherpa family. The mountain is not only more challenging than Mount Everest, but in the local Kirant religion is considered sacred and must therefore not be climbed. The father hopes to earn the necessary money for the education of his son with the expedition. But the mother, a brave woman, objects to climbing the body of God. However, to enable her son to follow his dream of becoming a doctor, she finally agrees to lead the three foreigners up the mountain.

Eliza Kubarska shows how the family tries to cope with the pressures of making the ascent possible, the extreme conditions and their religious beliefs. She captures breathtaking images of the majestic mountain world, drawing attention to the spiritual dimension of nature and the environment, and highlights the harsh reality of the load carriers. Screenings start on 7th October in French-speaking Switzerland and 8th October in German-speaking Switzerland.

Usthi is giving away 15 tickets for the “THE WALL OF SHADOWS”. The tickets can be used for any screening of the movie in a Swiss cinema from Monday to Friday. Closing date for participating in the raffle: 7th October.

There is little hope that the Covid-19 situation in India will normalise any time soon; the case numbers in Nepal too continue to rise.  The re-opening of schools is currently not in sight in either country. At least the professional skills training centres in Hyderabad will be allowed to resume operations on 21st of September. 

According to the Usthi partner organisation in Hyderabad, there has been a slight decline in Covid-19 infections in the last few days, but the state of Telangana still records over 2000 new cases every day. In the states of West Bengal and Odisha the numbers also continue to rise. There is currently no indication of a resumption of classroom teaching at all Usthi school locations. Classes will continue to be offered through distance-learning and pupils will regularly be provided with new school materials, including textbooks. The teachers from the tuition centres support them by phone whenever possible.

Fortunately, however, the government finally gave green light for the resumption of professional training courses. From 21st of September, motivated young people will again be able to attend courses at the two training locations Alwal and Medchal. In order to minimise the risk of infection, the students will have the possibility to live on campus during their vocational training in the next months. Several trainees have already registered for this option.

As infection rates in Nepal continue to rise, no opening of the schools is in sight and the development of the new Usthi project is still hampered. Currently, alternative options are being discussed regarding the form in which classes can be held in the future. Our partner organisation in Nepal is in constant dialogue with local schools and authorities. Since local travel is now permitted again, it is at least possible for them to visit the villages where the Usthi project is to be implemented. The establishment phase of the project can thus be continued slowly. The Usthi team hopes that this will enable more young people in Nepal to have access to education soon.

In the context of the Covid-19 emergency relief in India, several media channels reported on the activities of the Usthi Foundation in India. After reports appeared on Namaste Switzerland and in The New Indian Express in August, the Linth Zeitung now also reported on the food aid during the lockdown.

In early August, Namaste Switzerland, an online magazine for Indians in Switzerland and people interested in Indian culture, published an article about the history of Usthi. Aradhna Sethi reports on the foundation’s beginnings and current activities in connection with Covid-19. In mid-August, a shortened version of this report was published in the Indian daily newspaper The New Indian Express, focusing on Usthi’s Covid-19 emergency relief.

On September 8, a detailed report appeared in the print version of the Linth Zeitung. The first section deals with the difficult start of the new executive director Alessandra Grosse: “A country in lockdown – for many weeks.When Alessandra Grosse talks about the corona situation in India, her look behind the glasses turns serious. The 30-year-old is the Executive Director of the Usthi Foundation – an aid organisation set up 44 years ago by Kurt Bürki from Rapperswil. Grosse has only been in office for a few months. Travelling to India for the Foundation’s projects, getting a picture on the spot – none of this is currently possible for her. A somewhat unusual start in her new job, as she herself says.” (Translation by Usthi). Here you can open the whole article (in german) as a PDF file.

At the beginning of September, Mirjam Hirzel joined the Usthi team. From now on, she will be responsible for coordinating the Usthi projects. This makes her the first point of contact for the project partners in India and Nepal. Together with Executive Director Alessandra Grosse, she is in charge of the operations abroad.

As was already the case for Alessandra Grosse, the times in which Mirjam Hirzel takes on these new tasks are challenging. Familiarizing herself with the projects is currently only possible from afar, and local operations are still severely restricted by Covid-19. The next project visit cannot be planned at present. Nevertheless, Mirjam is looking forward to her new tasks and to establishing at least virtual contact with the partners.

After completing a Bachelor in International Development and Food Policy at University College Cork (Ireland), Mirjam moved back to Switzerland, where she did a Master in Comparative and International Studies at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) in Zurich. She gained professional experience in several assistant positions already during these initial studies and after graduation she joined the Chair for International Conflict Research, also at ETH Zurich.

It was during this time that  her interest in India developed. As part of her doctoral thesis she did field research on the situation of indigenous peoples in Central India. She spent eight months in Mumbai, Delhi and Chhattisgarh, where she led a small local research team and worked closely with Indian scientists. Working together with local actors is therefore not uncharted territory for her, and she is very familiar with the Indian context.

She also has experience in the humanitarian field, which she gathered during several volunteer assignments abroad. Her career has prepared her very well for working with the project partners, providing support for the activities in India and carrying out regular project visits. The team is looking forward to the additional assistance in the programs and to working with Mirjam and wishes her all the best for her start at Usthi.