NATIONAL 3 -(Spotlight Weekly)

A New Beginning

Gurkha Welfare Scheme (GWS) provides benefits to ex-British Gurkha servicemen living in remote parts of the country

By KESHAB POUDEL in Priti (Ramechap)

When he retired from the British Gurkhas thirty years ago, Fate Bahadur Sunuwar, 71, never thought he would ever get basic health and social services at a center near his village.

In the 1970s, it took a difficult 10-day trek from the capital to reach Priti village, 150 km northeast of Kathmandu. Ex-British Gurkha servicemen could not think of receiving health care, community drinking water, schooling for their children and other facilities.

But today, these intrepid former warriors have seen drastic changes in different spheres in their villages through programs under the Gurkha Welfare Scheme (GWS).

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"Along with regular pension, we have been getting many other facilities under the GWS," Sunuwar said. "The center at Priti has been doing its best to protect the interests of the ex-servicemen living in the area," he added.

The Priti center is located in the northern part of Ramechap district bordering Okhaldhunga and Dolkha districts.

Although growing Maoist activities in the region have caused some problems, the center has been paying pensions without interruption. The center requests police support to carry the money for distribution.

The GWS is lending a much-needed helping hand to ex-servicemen. Whenever a former British Gurkha serviceman is in trouble, staff of the Area Welfare Center (AWC) rush to the village to extend whatever support they can.

The AWCs in different parts of the country closely monitor the situation of ex-British Gurkha servicemen to ensure that they are properly cared for.

Fate Bahadur is among hundreds of former British Gurkha soldiers and their family members who are benefiting from the services offered by the center.

The center at Priti also offers services to other residents of the village. The only agency in the village that offers basic facilities for medical care, the center is also a vital lifeline for the other residents.

Through various assistance programs, the GWS is committed to assisting ex-servicemen and their dependents suffering from hardship and distress. The GWS provides welfare pension, hardship pension, medical pension and educational assistance.

The GWS runs major and minor school projects, drinking water schemes, water rehabilitation projects, foot bridges, foot bridge rehabilitation schemes, micro-hydro electricity projects, cliff track and sanitation programs.

Displaying his medals and decoration on his chest, Sunuwar, who fought in Malaya and Borneo, trekked for three hours to meet British Defense Secretary Geoffrey Hoon last week.

"I feel proud to have met the British defense secretary and talked about issues concerning former British Gurkhas," Sunuwar said.

Former British Gurkha Purna Tamang, 69, relates a similar positive experience about the GWS. "Because of the center, I don't have to walk two days to collect my pensions," said Tamang, who retired in 1969 after serving in Malaysia and Singapore.

One of the attractions of the GWS is that service pensioners can reclaim 75 percent of the cost of medical treatment they receive.

"We are helping our soldiers by providing different facilities, including construction of community drinking water projects, school buildings, bridges in various parts of the country," said Major Nigel Wyhe Carrick, chief of the GWS.

At a time when the GWS is making greater efforts to support ex-servicemen in the remote parts of the country, the visit of Hoon was very significant.

"I got the opportunity to see first-hand the activities carried out by the GWS for the families of ex-British servicemen," Hoon told SPOTLIGHT after inspecting the activities at Priti and Pokhara.