By A Staff Reporter
Kathmandu, Jan 29: Nepal Mountaineering Association (NMA) Thursday distributed warm clothes and health essentials to 200 lepers taking shelter at Khokana Leprosy Camp.
The clothes and medicines were distributed under the project ‘‘A humanitarian Support programme for COVID-19-affected mountaineers and leprosy-affected people’’ initiated by the NMA with the funding support from the Nippon Foundation (TNF) of Japan, according to a press statement of NMA.

Ward No. 2 chairman of Dakshinkali Municipality Ramchandra Kshetry, NMA president Santa Bir Lama and administrative officer of Nepal Leprosy Relief Association Jeet Bahadur Hamal handed over the warm clothes and health essentials to the leprosy-affected persons at a function organised on the premises of the Khokana Arogya Aashram.

Every person sheltered at the camp received a jacket, a double-sized blanket, a bottle of 236ml hand sanitizer, a pair of Dettol soap and a packet of masks containing 50 pieces. The camp is currently providing shelters to 200 leprosy-affected people from across the country. The recipients also expressed their gratitude towards the NMA and TNF for the help.

‘‘This is not the first time the Nippon foundation helped us. I still remember receiving great help from the foundation. We are very much thankful toward the Foundation and NMA for doing all this for us,’’ Uma Prasad Tiwari, a leprosy-affected person at the camp, said.

NMA president Lama traced the history of TNF helping the leprosy-affected people of Nepal. ‘‘I have come here time and again with the delegates of the Nippon Foundation. This time also it is possible only because of the Foundation,’’ Lama said.

A senior Director of the Foundation Seko Masato also addressed the event. He wished that the help would be important for their daily lives.
‘‘This is a great opportunity for us. This is one of the areas the foundation is working for a very long time,’’ Seko, connected through zoom, said Programme Director of the foundation Mr. Makoto Wada and Programme Officer Remi Masuda also addressed the programme through zoom.

NMA is also distributing relief (food) packages to 3,000 mountaineers next month under the project.