68th INF Day celebration

Amid the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic, INF Nepal had a virtual ceremony to mark and celebrate the 68th year of INF serving in Nepal. Taking the precautionary measures and hosting through a digital platform made the celebration this year different from the previous ones. The celebration programme was organised from the rooftop of INF Nepal Central Office with the mountains on the backdrop was a refreshing experience for all. INF Nepal Board members, expatriate volunteers, guests and all the INF staff from ten working districts joined the meeting. All thanks to the technology that enabled all of us to come together and celebrate the special day.

This programme saw presentations from district programmes, hospitals and offices. The guest speaker was a famous motivational speaker Ramesh Prasai who despite his busy schedule joined and shared the remarkable thoughts and encouraging words for INF staff.

We also launched the first-ever leprosy fundraising campaign with the theme “Care for Cure” which aims to raise funds for INF’s leprosy work. This is expected to help to care, to cure and ultimately to end leprosy in Nepal.

Because of this virtual celebration, we are able to save the cost of around NPR 3 Lakhs which will be contributed for INF’s Leprosy Campaign and COVID-19 fund.

Participants were welcomed by Krishna Adhikari [Executive Director]. Phil Morris [Nepal Country Director of INF International] and Gordon Russell [Expat Team Leader] made their remarks representing INF International family and expatriate volunteers respectively. Vote of thanks was made by RC Timothy [INF Nepal Board Chairperson]. The programme was hosted by Dhaka Ram BM [Liaison and Support Director].

INF has served poor and disadvantaged people of Nepal through health and community development projects in some of Nepal’s poorest districts. The roots of INF go back to 1952 when a group of expatriate volunteers and Nepali walked from the Indian border to the Pokhara valley. Soon, with the permission from the Government of Nepal, INF setup up a health clinic and a few years later the ‘Shining Hospital’ – the first hospital in the western part of Nepal and that was the beginning of INF as we know it today.

Since its humble beginnings, INF has grown to be an organisation recognised for its innovative and successful approaches to health and development work. Since the establishment of the ‘Shining Hospital’ in 1954, INF has gone on to establish other hospitals and clinics across the western part of Nepal. Today, INF is serving in ten districts: Kaski, Surkhet, Banke, Kapilvastu, Dang, Jumla, Mugu, Bajura, Rolpa and Kalikot.