Partnership is Power

Poverty, a puzzle with many pieces.

Partnership is power. This axiom is the underlying principle behind all we do at Mountain Fund. Village issues in any of the mountain areas where we work are multi-faceted and require a multidisciplinary approach to succeed.

Introducing health care, for example, to an area may lead to lower infant and maternal mortality rates which in turn means that more pressure is put upon the natural resources of the area to support the increased population.

Healthcare systems alone cannot remedy underlying health issues from the environment i.e. unsafe water supplies, unhealthy indoor air quality. Those issues require engineering expertise to resolve. Also, public health education is critical to reduce transmission of disease. Assuming that local health conditions improve and mortality rates decline, new issues will be faced by the village, such as, how to feed the extra mouths, how to educate the additional children, how to find fuel for cooking without further degradation of the natural environment and how to create sustainable agriculture in areas with limited growing seasons.

Tinkering with any part of the balance will result in unintended consequences. That's why Mountain Fund has so many partners with such a diversity of skills and backgrounds.

In 2006, together with our partner organizations, we have made tremendous progress and incredible accomplishments. Here are some brief highlights of our work in 2006.

Porters Rights. We formed the Mountain Porter Concern Group in Kathmandu. Comprised of representatives from Porter's Progress, International Porter Protection Group (IPPG) and International Mountain Explorers, this group meets monthly to discuss ways that they can cooperate and collaborate on projects to help create better conditions for porters in Nepal. This group represents a real step forward in cooperation between these porter advocacy groups. The meetings are organized by Mountain Fund staff working in Kathmandu. We also helped Community Action Nepal (CAN) and IPPG with the Machermo Hut for porters this year by making a donation toward the cost of a solar system for the hut. In 2007 we'll be working with CAN to realize the dream of another hut at Gorak Shep.

Economic Progress for Peru. In September we organized and lead a high Andes trek as a fund raising event for Aynikuy, our micro-finance program in Peru. Five guests from all over the US joined us and made this trek a huge success.

Healthcare. Working with Dan Mazur's Summitclimb we helped to make possible a trip that established a new clinic at Patale, the "wrong side" of Everest. The medical team treated over 100 patients during this trip, some of whom walked over two days to reach the clinic.

Women's Programs. We organized attendance at a NOLS course for Oksana Polonskaya from Bishkek and now she is back teaching other youth about first aid and the Leave No Trace ethics she learned during that course. NOLS and Mountain Fund will be partnering again in 2007 to help bolster the outdoor leadership program run by EWN in Pokhara, Nepal. We'll also be working with ClimbHigh Foundation in Africa. See stories in this issue.

Youth Programs. Working with our partner Empowering Women of Nepal we opened Himalaya House in Pokhara this year. Himalaya House provides a safe home and education to young girls who were sold into servitude, often by their own families. Himalaya House is now home to 15 such girls who have a home environment that is safe and supportive. They are all attending school now too.

These are just a few of the 2006 highlights. We continue everyday to support health programs, schools, women's training, youth programs, porters programs and environmental programs in mountainous regions throughout the world. Thanks for your help in making this possible.