Charity work

I have a dream
I have a dream of islands of humanity
in the ocean of toughness and indifference.
I have a dream of people committing themselves
to helping others live dignified lives.
I have a dream of rooms where people are not afraid
and of thoughts that are encouraging.
I have a dream of houses, apartments and rooms
in which people are supported with time and love
people who do not count much
in the rest of our world.

It is not enough
to complain about darkness
It is essential to be a source of light.
It is not enough
to wait until others do something;
every one of us is called
to make a first step
to become more real and more human.
It is not enough to just dream
if life offers us the chance
to make our dreams come true

Ulrich Schaffer

Shanti stands for peace

“Peace between all people is based on a life in dignity for each individual.
The dignity of the individual is rooted in his or her basic needs being met, i.e.: enough nutritional food, clean drinking water, qualified training and a secure job.“

Marianne Grosspietsch on the occasion of an opening speech for the new centre on 6 March 2009

Shanti was founded with the vision of providing people in need in Nepal with sustainable dignity and life enjoyment.

The charity

The commitment of Marianne Grosspietsch for people in Nepal started with a sponsored child from a leprosy ghetto in Kathmandu. When she met him personally in Nepal in 1974, she was shocked at the squalor in the ghetto. She adopted the 8 year-old child together with her husband.
During the following years, the squalor worsened to such an extent that she no longer just wanted to watch, but decided to act.

The Shanti Leprahilfe Dortmund e.V. was founded on 15 July 1992 on the initiative of Marianne Grosspietsch, the Nepalese charity Shanti Sewa Griha being founded at the same time.
The seven Nepalese employees started their work at the station with 34 patients who were all suffering from leprosy.
In the meantime, Shanti also cares for many in need who have been cast out by Nepalese society.
This resulted in the following

Target groups:

• those suffering from leprosy and their relatives
• mentally and physically disabled children and adults
• the homeless
• orphans
• old people
• victims of civil war

Aim of our work

• home and holistic care for severely disable people
• creation of jobs
• medical care for the poor which is free of charge
• hospice work
• school education for the children
• advanced training for the orphan children
• biological cultivation of fruit and vegetables
• soup kitchen

The close cooperation between the German board and volunteers with the Nepalese team is a good requirement for the exchanging of information, questions and solutions.

Sites and Projects

TILGANGA from autumn 2009
New centre financed by the German comedian Hape Kerkeling
and the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ)

After spending 17 years in confined spaces, we are at long last able to live and work in our own rooms since 2009.
The new station is closely adjacent to the Pashupatinath Temple, in the vicinity of the eye clinic and airport.
530 patients work here in

• workshops, working with textiles and paper
• a clinic with outpatient department and care ward
• a Waldorf kindergarten
• a playgroup for the smallest children
• the manufacturing of biological briquettes using wood shavings and waste paper
• the administration of the entire project
• the creating of drinking water wells for the patients and neighbours in the slum, 60,000 litres per day
• the carpenter’s workshop
• the soup kitchen
• the home for the severely disabled

BUDHANILKANTA since 1994
Budhanilkanta is 9km to the north-east of Kathmandu, close to the “Sleeping Vishnu“. Our first field station is here. 230 people live here in houses which they have built themselves.
Budhanilkanta includes:

• a health post
• a Waldorf school, years 1-6
• a home for severely disabled children
• a traditional dhaka and rhadi weaving workshop
• a tree nursery with a tree-planting project
• organic farming
• the manufacturing of biological briquettes
• a chicken farm

SUNDARIJAL I&II since 2004
(9km to the east of Kathmandu)

• organic farming
• a place of residence for 40 people who live in houses they have built themselves

GODAVARI since 2008
(15km to the south of Kathmandu, close to the botanical gardens)

• beekeeping with 40 bee colonies
• ecological agriculture
• a place of residence for 30 people who live in houses they have built themselves

Our work in Germany

• collecting donations
• holding talks at schools, in parishes, at private events, etc.
• press work
• preparing volunteers for the work in Nepal

We also organise the following with the assistance of the GANESH store in Dortmund:

• sales events
• Christmas markets stands in Dortmund and other cities
• bazaars in schools, parishes, etc.
• sale of donated books
• shipping of goods on commission

The main part of the work is completed thanks to the numerous voluntary workers throughout Germany.