NATIONAL10 (Spotlight Weelky)]

Commitment To Action

A German of Nepali origin has been engaged in projecting the cause of Nepal in his adopted land

By A CORRESPONDENT

Thapa : Man with a commitment

Until a decade ago, there was few Nepalis permanently living in other parts of the world. In recent years, the number of Nepalis living as citizens of other countries has increased by many folds. When you add the number of permanent residents, the size of the Nepali community abroad shoots up. This situation helps Nepal to introduce itself overseas.

A large number of Nepalis abroad spend time worrying about what has gone wrong in their country of origin. However, only a few are doing something to change things.

Every individual needs to maintain his or her identity in a particular society. Many people find social work particularly engaging. From his home in Germany Ram Pratap Thapa has always been committed to doing something for the betterment of his country of origin. Thapa, who was born in Nepal in 1950, went to Germany in 1984 to settle there permanently. A masters degree holder from Tribhuvan University, Thapa did his postgraduate in 1984 from University of Bamberg, Germany.

Having started his career as research assistant of Joint Evaluation Project of Peace Corps\National Planning Commission, Nepal in 1975, Thapa worked as an assistant lecturer at Saraswati Campus from 1975 to 1976. After going to Germany, Thapa joined as a reader in VHS (Adult Evening School in Bamberg and Nuremberg).

During his career, Thapa has worked in different offices in Germany, including free-lance-staff at GTZ, Eschborn, adviser to the Asia Desk at the Asia-Pacific Center in Cologne, and corporate analyst at Stadtsparkassse Koln (Savings Bank of Cologne).

Thapa has written books on the development of Nepal and issues confronting Nepal's foreign trade and several articles on a wide range of issues. He is interested in Nepalese economic and trade development. From his days in college, Thapa has been interested in writing on various economic and development issues.

o support different activities in Nepal, Thapa formed several organizations in Germany. Thapa is also president of German-Nepal Friendship Association, Cologne since 1999 and board member of German Asia Foundation, Essen since 1997. He is also a founder member of Montabaur, an organization of Nepalese youth.

Along with other social organizations, Thapa is also interested to promote trade between Nepal and Germany. As part of his effort in this direction, Thapa has worked as the resident representative of Nepal-German Chamber of Commerce and Industries since 1992.

He has also contributed to popularizing the cause of nature conservation in Nepal. For his contribution, Thapa was nominated member secretary and founder member of the German Chapter of the King Mahendra Trust for Nature Conservation in Cologne (1989-1993).

In recognition of his contributions to promoting German-Nepal friendship, Thapa received the Prabal Gorkha Dakshin Bahu. Thapa has also received the NGCCI Achievement Award for Valuable Support for his contribution to enhancement of the image of Nepal conferred by the Nepal-German Chamber of Commerce and Industry, on its eighth Annual General Meeting in 1999.

Thapa received the Visit Nepal 98 Appreciation Award as Friends of Nepal for the outstanding contribution rendered towards the promotion and development of tourism in the Kingdom of Nepal.

One of the major contributions of Thapa is organizing activities in the areas of trade, tourism, social works and NGOs. Thapa has also worked toward promoting Nepalese exports to Germany. Organizing various trade-related activities, Thapa initiated the First Nepal Day Celebrations for the German-Nepal Friendship Association in Bonn. He coordinated the trade and investment delegation of Nepalese industrialists under the aegis of the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Nepal Industrial Development Corporation, the Ministry of Industry of Nepal and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization.

Thapa's contributions not only prove how much people abroad can actually do for their country of origin but also serve as an inspiration to others.