Leaders of Scheer Memorial Hospital, a Seventh-day Adventist medical institution in Banepa, Kavre, Nepal, are joining forces with community leaders to plan the first Kathmandu International Marathon, with proceeds going to support charitable medical servi
Leaders of Scheer Memorial Hospital, a Seventh-day Adventist medical institution in Banepa, Kavre, Nepal, are joining forces with community leaders to plan the first Kathmandu International Marathon, with proceeds going to support charitable medical services in the Himalayan kingdom.
“Unlike races currently conducted in Nepal by private entrepreneurs, the Kathmandu International Marathon will be an internationally recognized sporting event with the course sanctioned and certified by the Association of International Marathon Runners and Road Races (AIMS),” said Roy Kline, administrator of Scheer Memorial. Other recognized sporting entities involved in the event are the Nepal Amateur Athletic Association (NAAA), the National Sports Council (NSC), and the Nepal Olympic Committee (NOC).
Already, two officials from the AIMS organization—treasurer Jon Al Boka and secretary Evan Hugh Jones—have visited Nepal to measure and certify the course. The race will commence at Durbar Square in Kathmandu, proceed to the Royal Palace, onwards to Patan, over to Bhaktapur, and back to Kathmandu, where it will finish at the Tripeshwar Sports Stadium. This officially measured marathon will pass through three UNESCO sites in Nepal.
Sponsors include the Nepal Tourism Board, Bluestar Hotel, Solutions Consultant, Pepsi, DHL, Toyota, Dabur, Standard Chartered Bank and Nepal Lever. The organizing committee includes Dr. Mahendra Nepal, executive director of Tribhuvan Teaching Hospital; Dr. Saroj Dhital, medical director of Kathmandu Model Hospital; Tirtha Thapa, executive director of Lamjung Hospital; Rajendra Ram Shrestha, president of Nepal Jaycees; and Dilendra Ram Shrestha, secretary general of the Rotary Club of Nepal.
The hospital has a long-standing reputation for charity medical services. No one is turned away for lack of money. A doctor’s consultation costs only U.S. 32 cents—a small fraction of comparable healthcare costs elsewhere in Nepal. But, those the hospital serves are so poor that even the 32 cents is more than most can afford. Nepal’s per capital income is U.S. $200 annually. More than 35 percent of the hospital’s cases are charity cases.
Scheer Memorial Hospital, established in 1960 at Banepa, Nepal, is a 148-bed Seventh-day Adventist institution 40 miles from the capital, Kathmandu.
More information on the race can be found at www.KathmanduMarathon.org.
