It’s been referred to as the Chapel or the Pastoral Care Centre. On official documents and online maps it’s the Multi Purpose Learning Centre [MPLC]. Whatever you call it, Green Pastures Hospital [GPH] celebrated the dedication of a new building which will serve the as the beating heart of GPH’s holistic care for some of Nepal’s most disadvantaged people.
A place where leprosy patients, people with spinal cord injuries or other disabilities, can experience healing and hope –emotionally and spiritually. A centre for counselling, prayer, training, worship and pastoral care, the MPLC is an integral part of INF’s work to help all people to experience life in all its fullness. The Australian architect, Paul Campbell-Allen, who designed the building pro bono, and advised on its construction, outlined his vision for the Multi Purpose Learning Centre in a statement shared at the dedication on 16 November.
Centrally located on the hospital grounds, it represents Christ at the centre of all GPH’s work and combines the classic architectural elements of strength, usefulness and beauty. Earthquake-resilient and founded on a stable concrete frame with a central truss supporting the roof, the Multi Purpose Learning Centre is certainly strong. The flexible spaces for large and small meetings and accessibility for all ensure its utility. And it is, undoubtedly, beautiful, with a sense of freshness in the well-lit and ventilated internal spaces and the intersecting roof-lines calling to mind the fishtail peaks of Machhapuchhare.
INF Australia is pleased to have helped facilitate the design and construction of the Multi Purpose Learning Centre. We are grateful for the many individuals and church groups who have helped make this vision a reality. We trust that in God’s hands it will serve as a resource, a base, and a home for INF’s work at Green Pastures Hospital, to provide holistic care which transforms lives.