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Congratulations
Jim!
On behalf of all the representatives at IPPG and the special
people who donated to Jim’s Kilamanjaro climb, we would like
to put our hands together and congratulate Jim on an inspiring
effort to not only climb Kili (at his age!) but to raise a
fantastic amount for the Machermo Porter Shelter and Rescue
Project. Well done Jim!
submitted by Lyn Taylor.
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The last year has seen
an expansion of programs worldwide aimed at improving the
lot of the porters employed by tourism. IPPG
started its porter (and trekker) rescue work at Machermo (in
the Gokyo valley, Mt Everest region, Nepal). Community Action
Nepal (CAN) will start building the Porter Shelter up there
soon. Our future
aim is to have a salaried Nepalese national as the educator,
researcher and rescuer. This depends on secure sources of
long term funding. The
two porter shelters are now finished on the Annapurna sanctuary
trek (see Hong Kong report below). Porters Progress in Nepal
has expanded its vision considerably and is working with the
ILO (International Labour Organization), reaching out into
villages. Porteadores Inka Nan has teamed up with IMEC to
strengthen their presence in Peru. IMEC and the Kilimanjaro
Guides and Porters Union are improving the lot of Kilimanjaro
porters. The Kilimanjaro Porters Assistance Program run by.IMEC
at Moshi is expanding in cooperation with innovative companies.
Tourism Concern continues to be involved and supportive, especially
in the UK.
As always, the IPPG country
representatives spend much valuable voluntary effort. The
results are detailed in the country reports detailed below.
On a sadder note, there
have been tragedies and avoidable deaths. Many porters still
venture above the tree line without the means to come back
safely. If a justification is needed for the efforts of IPPG
and the organizations mentioned above, read ‘Porter death
on a trek in Rolwaling’ a report by Dutchman Jan Timmer, in
this issue.
IPPG was one of the first
organizations to stand up and speak out internationally for
the mountain porters of the trekking industry worldwide. As
new NGOs have arrived on the scene, IPPG has supported them
with expertise and/or financially to help them become established.
If you have ever considered helping the porters, now is the
time to do so. Along with all our other programs IPPG has
taken on a big commitment to ongoing costs for the running
of the Machermo Porter Shelter and Rescue Post. Without your
help this could fail.
Dr Jim Duff INTERNATIONAL
DIRECTOR
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