Himalayan Rescue Association

HOP started partnering with the Himalayan Rescue Association (HRA), a Nepalese non-profit, in 2015 by donating medical supplies. In 2016, with aid from donors including KUHL, an outdoor lifestyle clothing company, HOP funded renovations to the Manage Aid-Post clinic building, while the Nepalese Department of Tourism provided funding for the medical provider’s living quarters. By strategically partnering with the HRA and the Department of Tourism, we were able to provide the community of Manang, plus surrounding areas, with much more than we could have independently. 

The Manage Aid-Post was established in 1981 by the HRA. It acts as the only medical center in the upper regions of the popular Annapurna circuit trek, and is instrumental in providing medical services and rescue assistance to local people, trekkers, mountaineers, support staff, and porters. The medical clinic in Manang serves over 2,500 people per three-month season, 75% of whom are locals who have traveled to the area to make a living in tourism, and have no support systems or medical care to fall back on.

Construction is still on-going at the Manang Medical Center. In 2019, we completed phase III, including the main medical building, now able to accept patients. Also finished was the doctors quarters with amenities including showers, a kitchen, a common area, and a courtyard on the clinic grounds.

In 2020, HOP sponsored another HRA project at the Pheriche Aid-Post, which is the only medical center in upper Khumbu Valley, and the closest by far to Everest. Many of our Everest trekkers visit Pheriche on the way to Everest Base Camp. The Pheriche medical clinic gives medical assistance to trekkers and climbers in the upper Khumbu Valley, but also provides medical assistance throughout the year to the local Sherpa communities. The current sunroom and lecture hall were built in the 90’s, and was in deteriorating condition. The proposed revision will accommodate training and rest for guides, porters, etc. We traveled to Nepal in 2021 to break ground on construction, which had been halted by the pandemic.