Crossing bridges to Nepal and beyond

Consolidating a friendship of over 20 years with Bharat Regmi and Bhim Khanal from Kathmandu, the Beyond Borders team has now become Belgium's agent for Explore Alpine Nepal (tours and treks).



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Early August 2007, Bharat Regmi, Francis Laleman and Michaela Broeckx celebrated their collaboration and friendship at the Beyond Borders headquarters at Bayt al-Andalus (Antwerp, Belgium) with a Nepali function. Friends and relations gathered around the film screen set up in the newly renovated moorish parlours of the house, to view an exquisite documentary film on Nepal. The film, produced by Bharat and voiced by a well-known Nepali newsreader, covers a broad variety of subjects related to aspects of Nepal and its neighbouring countries. Its main aim is of course to entice the members of the audience to discover the charms of the country for themselves.

When the film came to its end, the guests were welcomed at a banquet served in the Granada-styled garden of Bayt al-Andalus. On the menu were, could it be otherwise?, a deliciously flavoured cay masala and a home-cuisined dal bhat - all skilfully prepared by Bharat, with a mix of locally obtained Nepali and Indian ingredients.



A choice of Nepali possibilities

Our Nepal offer consists of a broad variety of projects, and is aimed at both the corporate and the residential market.
We offer services for management teams looking for a particular challenge, for groups aiming at cultural tours or nature discoveries, and for smaller parties and even individual customers.
Special focus lies with creating a perfect blend of busienss, culture, nature and social commitment.
Our assistance can be either purely logistic or content provisioning or both.

Contact flaleman@zensearch.com for enquiries.



Beyond Borders Nepal Information Centre

The Beyond Borders library, housed at Bayt al-Andalus (Antwerp, Belgium), contains over 5,000 titles on Nepali history, Nepali politics, Buddhist studies, Himalayan studies, mountaineering and further related subjects. Many titles are rare and/or have become unavailable through booksellers.

Furthermore, Francis Laleman is available for lectures and public debates on a broad variety of Nepal subjects.

Students, travellers and organisors can contact Beyond Borders at flaleman@zensearch.com for any enquiries.



Human Rights project in Nepal

For more than 15 years, Indira Ranamagar, a tireless and devoted social worker, has been running PA Nepal, a much needed project for children of prisoners in Nepal. The project was launched alongside Parizat, the celebrated Nepali writer and human rights activist, and it has grown into a strong and well-established NGO.
The main activities of PA Nepal are with (1) residential care for children who would otherwise be in jail with a convicted parent, (2) skill training for prisoners, (3) support for women released from prison, (4) support of needy prisoners (children, the ill and the mentally ill) and (5) support on behalf of prsoners and their families.

For several years now, Francis Laleman & Michaela Broeckx have been visiting Indira's children homes in Kathmandu, bringing groups of clients, friends and supporters. Indira, who is an Ashoka Fellow, is indeed an impressive person to meet. Her contagious enthusiasm and ever-lasting joy in life tend to leave you with an enormous energy boost, and when you witness at first hand the adoration her children have for her, you cannot but wonder how so much love and project leadership can be united in one single fragile-looking lady. If you would like to contribute to this remarkable project of hers, contact info@panepal.org.



Education projects in Nepal

Through Bharat Regmi, we are actively supporting the Nepal Education Society (NES), based at Nalang V.D.C, Dhading, Nepal. NES focuses on children education, women literacy, vocational training and technical supports for the very poor. 
NES, locally run by Mrs Ann-Helen S. Opdal (Norway), uses volunteers from local schools and colleges for the motivation of local parents to send their children to school. NES provides an orientation class and workshops for the volunteers. It operates educational staff to monitor locally run programs andtechnical staff involved with vocational training for the local communities. Periodic evaluations are conducted to assess the value of NES:

1. Helping volunteers to become effective educators;
2. Development of future-oriented understanding on community level;
3. Improvement of village literacy rate.

 Contact:
 flaleman@zensearch.com