What is a German fire truck and ambulance doing crossing into Nepal from India? Well, they have travelled overland all the way from Germany, and are part of a campaign by a Nepali neurosurgeon and his wife to upgrade emergency equipment in Nepal. Bhawani Narsimha Rana ("BN" to his friends) and his wife Renate have so far brought seven ambulances and three fire trucks for different hospitals and municipalities in Nepal. BN's sons, Renate's brother or friends of friends have driven the vehicles across Europe, Turkey, Iran, Pakistan and through India into Nepal. That is a lot of trouble, but for BN's relatives and friends it is adventure with a purpose.
The first ambulance was driven to Nepal overland in the early 1980s, and is still being used at the hospital for the disabled in Jorpati. BN spends his own money to bring the vehicles over, but doesn't drive them himself anymore. He is also finding it more and more difficult to come overland, because of border hassles and tax red-tape in Nepal.
BN and Renate run a charity through which they raise funds for social work in Nepal. Their work ranges from an orphanage in Chapagaon with 100 children, raising funds for an Old Age Home and girls' hostel called Abentureland in Godavari inaugurated by the prime minister recently. The couple also conduct an international conference on medicine in Kathmandu every year. The next one is scheduled end-2001.
BN left Nepal in 1960 to study medicine in Heidelberg. After specialising in neurosurgery, he began perfecting new medical techniques for patients with nerve disorders. All along, BN wanted to help disadvantaged people back home and the inspiration for bringing the emergency vehicles to Nepal was his brother Sambhu Rana, a driving and vintage car enthusiast.
BN has seen the limits of western medicine, and feels that ayurvedic remedies have a lot of potential especially in pain relief. BN, who is with the Pain Research Society of Germany, says: "We should not forget these ancient traditions. They carry the ultimate answer to a lot of things."
