Only when the last tree has been cut down, the last river poisoned, the last fish caught, gefangen ist,
people will find that you can't eat money nicht essen kann.
Alanis Obomsawin
Wir sind ein unabhängiger, offiziell registrierter, gemeinnütziger Schweizer Verein, der drei lokale NGOs im medizinischen, ökologischen und edukativen Bereich im zentralen Himalaya Nordindiens im Staat Uttarakhand unterstützt.
Our goals aims to support comprehensive medical care, reforestation of forests and careful use of resources, to strengthen the confidence of a young generation in their own abilities and in new life perspectives through education. This is done in cooperation with the heads of the respective organizations and the local population. Bevölkerung.
Our headquarters are located in Zurich, Switzerland and are governed by a board of directors with five members under the leadership of the president and founding member Dr. med. Robert Graf.
Our Principles
Transparency
Transparency and accountability to our donors and patrons is of utmost importance to us. Regular, complete and reliable reporting on the use of donations and the implementation of common goals is always being agreed in close collaborations with the donors. In this way, we can guarantee that their help really benefits the population and that their right to correct information is met.
Presence
Because critical voices towards NGOs or foundations can rightly be heard again and again, it is important to us to maintain a constant exchange with our partners in India and to be present through regular visits.
Collaboration with local experts
Heads of these organizations in India were made up of lawyers, doctors and community coordinators. Most of them are not from the region, but have decided to quit their original activity and work for the mountain population in the hilly area of Uttarakhand. They have recognized the importance of this support in their own country. With the means and circumstances there, without capital and financial support from the government, their work is always difficult. From our privileged perspective in Switzerland, it is almost impossible for us to assess and understand processes and their design under less privileged to poor conditions in distant India. That is why it is essential to work with local, knowledgeable and experienced experts. From our many years of cooperation, we know that we can rely fully on our partners. Over all these years, a basis of trust and friendship has developed.
Through support of remarkable people who achieve a lot with little resources is a matter close to our hearts.
Our Team
Dr. med. Robert Graf
Präsident, Arzt
Suddenly he was standing there, in the hospital Affoltern am Albis 15 years ago, this Indian doctor, Dr. Sushil Sharma. We worked together, talked a lot, told each other about our very different lives in Switzerland and the Himalayas. India, a country that had hardly interested me until now, got a face, stories, colors, landscapes, smells and spices, but also Insights into local problems, political obstacles, inconsistencies and difficulties. India and Sushil got my interest and a special bond over the years. Added to this was my feeling that I wanted to assume a global responsibility in this polar, not always justified world. By no means altruistic, just to get involved, to be there when I am needed, an exchange, a cooperation, to tackle something successfully together, maybe even a failure. And here I am with SHA and his team – a story with colors and shades continues to flow, connecting my attachment to India.
Edita Demolli
Abteilungsleiterin Chirurgie
Menschen – sie prägen mich.
Themen, wie Bildung und Natur begleiten mich insgeheim. Das generelle Miteinander ist mein tägliches Ich. Als Pflegefachfrau und Ausbildnerin teile ich mein Wissen gerne mit meinem Gegenüber. Vor allem aber möchte ich im Leben bewirken: als Mensch, Berufsperson und als ein Teil von SHA!
Sandra Rosati
Finanzcontrollerin
Ich bin Mutter von drei erwachsenen Kindern. Neben meiner hauptberuflichen Tätigkeit setze ich mein Wissen mit Leidenschaft für weniger bevorteiligte Menschen ein, um sie in ihrer Heimat Indien zu unterstützen.
«Du musst die Veränderung sein, die du in der Welt sehen willst.» (Mahatma Gandhi)
Dr. med. Franziska Wenz
Doctor
Possibilities of a self-determined and conscious life in terms of health, education through responsible use of nature and its resources is still not a matter everywhere in the world. This requires changes and developments in systems and communities. I would like to contribute to such processes. Bildung und ein verantwortungsvoller Umgang mit der Natur und ihren Ressourcen ist nach wie vor nicht überall auf der Welt eine Selbstverständlichkeit. Dafür sind Veränderungen und Entwicklungen von Systemen und Gemeinschaften notwendig. Gerne möchte ich zu solchen Prozessen etwas beitragen.
I became a doctor out of passion. Interacting with people, their health, their worries, joys and needs are a matter close to my heart, no matter where in the world. Sorgen, Freuden und Bedürfnisse sind für mich eine Herzensangelegenheit, egal wo auf der Welt.
I am very happy to be a part of SHA, to participate in order to shape something together and to break new ground. um gemeinsam etwas zu gestalten und neue Wege einzuschlagen.
Robert Maringer
Kassier, Risikomanager
Over a good meal with friends, I heard about Swiss-Himalayan Amity (at that time still under the name Aarohi Switzerland). The fact that committed people here are committed to donations that flow directly into Indian aid projects immediately appealed to me.
I moved from Austria a few years earlier and was open to a job in the charity sector. So the request to work at Swiss-Himalayan Amity opened doors for me.
In the association, I have been taking care of the finances and donors data since 2012. This suits me well, as I am used to dealing with numbers in my everyday banking career.
Working together with the team is a lot of fun, it's great to be able to make a difference together!
How it all started
Bei einem Besuch in Indien 2004 lernten zwei engagierte junge Schweizer Frauen den Arzt Sushil Sharma kennen, der gemeinsam mit seiner Frau Oona die Hilfsorganisation Aarohi in Satoli im indischen Bundesstaat Uttarakhand ins Leben gerufen hatte. Er ergab sich ein wechselseitiger Austausch – Sushil Sharma konnte sich chirurgisch in der Schweiz weiterbilden und das Netzwerk mit Robert Graf erweitern, und das Schweizer Team leistete Arbeitseinsätze vor Ort im Himalaya.
Zur Formalisierung der finanziellen Unterstützung gründeten die Beteiligten 2005 den steuerbefreiten Schweizer Verein Swiss-Himalayan Amity (anfangs unter dem Namen „Aarohi Schweiz“). Personelle Veränderungen in Indien und der Schweiz nahm der Verein 2019 zum Anlass, sich in der heutigen Form breiter aufzustellen und weitere Partnerorganisationen im Himalaya zu unterstützen. 2023 wurde mit zusätzlichen Vorstandsmitgliedern die Strategie für die nächsten drei Jahre ausgearbeitet, an deren Umsetzung mit viel Schwung und Freude arbeiten.
Zu den Highlights der Vereinsgeschichte gehörte die Finanzierung der «Mobile Medical Unit», die dem Medizinerteam von Aarohi erlaubt, auch entlegene Berggebiete zu erreichen, der Aufbau einer Kinderkrebsstation in Rishikesh durch Cankids, und die Eröffnung eines neuen Geburtenzentrums durch Arogya.
Help us to help others
Donate
As a non-profit association, we are dependent on donations to support the local people.
Your donations will help us in every possible way in achieving goals of our different programs.
Help us and donate.
Volunteering
It is important to us to be there personally and to help directly. Are you also interested in an assignment? Then get in touch with us.
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