SHARE AND CARE NEPAL
Ramesh Kumar Khadka, was born in the year 1970 at Dadathok of Mahalaxmi Municipality of Lalitpur district in Nepal. He started his career as a dental assistant in the Dental Department of Patan hospital in 1989. At a very young stage, as a student he had a strong interest in social activities and liked visiting new places for learning and adventures. With this keen interest instilled in him a burning desire to reach out and help the rural communities where health care services were inaccessible was always disturbing him. In 1993 he started carrying some medicine and few essential equipment in a backpack and began to serve communities in Godavari of Lalitpur, Balkot of Bhaktapur, Ranipauwa of Nuwakot, Sabrubesi of Rasua, Pharping and Nanglebhare of Kathmandu district on foot to provide basic oral health care services
His experiences in interacting with dental patients from the rural areas, instilled in him a burning desire to reach out and help rural communities where health care services were inaccessible. The passion to take the movement forward Share and Care was established in 1993 with the commitment to reach out to all in need. Share and Care name was chosen with the understanding to share what we have and care how we can.
The “one man’s backpack free mobile clinic” during these early ventures were focused on oral health care including extraction, dental treatment, health education and brushing technique. People suffering from oral cancer, advanced dental abscesses and gum diseases were the main service seekers. Most of these cases could easily have been avoided by maintaining basic oral hygiene and preventive care. These experiences made a deep impression in the heart of Ramesh and convinced him to do something for the prevention of diseases and early health intervention for a healthy life of the rural communities.
The work began in a small way, visiting the villages, conducting dental camps, awareness programs and interacting with people.
These experiences gave impetus to the idea of forming an NGO that was to reach out to the remote areas to provide health care services. On 15th January 1994, an NGO was registered under the name Share and Care in Medico, Nepal (SCM/N) as the first faith-based Christian non-profit organization to respond to the health care needs of vulnerable people and communities in rural areas. In the same year, SCN took over the Pharping Clinic which was a UMN managed project and continued to provide the charity-based medical services to the surrounding poor communities.
In 1995 learning from the experiences of Comprehensive Rural Health Project (CRHP), Jamkhed, India, the entire program was reviewed and revamped. The organization’s working approach shifted from ‘charity and welfare’ to ‘community based development’. From then on, SCN has been involved in reaching out to the poor and vulnerable, empowering and transforming communities.
Over the past 25 years he has gained rich experience in managing projects, providing leadership, human resource development, networking with local, national and international organizations and mobilizing resources.
Apart from serving the communities in Nepal, he has conducted capacity strengthening programs as resource person for social and development workers, policy makers, local leaders and other community in Arunachal Pradesh, Uttranchal Pradesh and Uttrakhanda Pradesh in India and Afghanistan.
Ramesh has travelled widely to learn and share experiences with other international projects in Asian countries including India, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Thailand, China, Malaysia, Philippines, Hong Kong, Cambodia, and Maurisus and other developed countries i.e. Australia, England, Switzerland and USA.
With the rich experience and a large network Ramesh’s passion for reaching out to the needy communities has been even stronger these days and he is more keen on looking for ways and activities that would make a difference in the lives of the people and bring sustainable transformation in their lives.
Share and Care was just the dream of a young man that was passionate about making a difference in the lives of the poor and needy. Now, 25 years later, Share and Care is celebrating a quarter century of service to humanity.
The trail we have blazed has not been an easy one. As an organization that is based on the Christian faith, is process oriented, value owned and community based, we have faced many challenges and much discouragement but we always overcome with the support of the community, our partner’s trust and the enduring spirit of our team. In 25 years we have transformed countless communities and touched many lives, all while growing and improving every step of the way.