India, Switzerland celebrate 75 yrs of friendship at Kumaon village

DEHRADUN: India and Switzerland celebrated 75 years of friendship and collaboration at a quaint Kumaon village in Uttarakhand.
The three-day event, 'Swiss Himalayan Bounty', held last week at a homestay in Satoli village at an altitude of 6,000 ft near Mukteshwar in Nainital district, had participants ranging from various NGOs, stakeholders and beneficiaries of the partnership between the two nations.
Olivier Fink, deputy head of mission at the Swiss embassy in New Delhi, was presented with a delectable selection of Kumaoni, Indian and Swiss cuisine, to the accompaniment of live music. "Swiss-Indian partnership has been marked with many success stories and this event is one of them," the deputy head said.
The highlight was the showcasing of achievements of rural women of Champawat district who have benefited from projects supported by Swiss Himalayan Amity (SHA), a Switzerland-based organisation.
Through four programmes called Aarohi, Arogya, Alaap and Cankids, SHA supports organisations in Uttarakhand in the field of education, healthcare and reforestation.
"Under the Arogya project, a model delivery point was made in a community health centre in Pati block of Champawat district. Another one is being set up," informed Sushil Sharma who has been spearheading the project.
Robert Graf, who heads SHA, said, "Besides supporting maternal and child healthcare, we have been striving to increase the use of smokeless 'chulhas' in the hills of Uttarakhand. We're also running programmes to educate midwives in rural areas."
Among the attendees were Kamal Musale, a Swiss-Indian filmmaker, historian Shekhar Pathak and photographer Anup Sah.