We are thrilled to report that the Vice President of Bundestag (Lower House of German Parliament), Claudia Roth, visited one of the partner organizations of Free Volunteering Nepal, our EPSA project. EPSA supports and assists disabled women in Nepal. During her visit, Mrs. Roth and her entourage could take a deep look into the good work that is done in the EPSA home for disabled women near Kathmandu. EPSA is built on the vision to educate and train physically disabled women in crafting skills that will facilitate their independence from continuous financial support and allow them to live a self-determined life – sadly still out of reach for most women born with disabilities in Nepal today.
During an official journey to Nepal and Bhutan, Claudia Roth visited Kathmandu in her function as Vice President of the German Bundestag. The intention behind this visit was to strengthen the bilateral friendship between the Governments of Nepal, Bhutan and Germany. Furthermore, Mrs. Roth specifically emphasized the importance of supporting the human rights community and civil society in Nepal, as well as their important roles in realizing central goals of humanity, such as peace and justice.
The Vice president suggested Nepal should improve the support for disabled women in their efforts to live an independent life. Her visit and initiation of a project led by the German embassy in Kathmandu served as proof for the readiness of Germany to support the endeavor of EPSA to empower disabled women.
During her three day visit to Nepal, Mrs. Roth met the President of Nepal, Bidya Devi Bhandari, as well as representatives of the Dalai Lama. We are very proud that the name of Sangita Pant, the President of EPSA in Nepal, was added to this list of personalities. The Team of Free Volunteering Nepal was impressed by a very sensitive statement by Claudia Roth, that the women in the EPSA home are not disabled, but a society, which treats them disrespectfully, is.
Sangita Pant, Ganesh Magar and Doriji Tsering Sherpa thanked the people and government of Germany for their continuous support to Nepal’s development, on a large scale after the 2015 earthquake, but also by such specific actions aiming at improvements in the individual life of Nepali people in need.
