The people of Nepal live in one of the most beautiful but impoverished areas on Earth. Called the "Gateway to Heaven," the Manang District along with the surrounding area sits close to the border with Tibet. Three-fourths of the country is covered by the remote and rugged majesty of the Himalaya Mountain Range.

Healthcare here is difficult. Individuals, including children and pregnant women, often have to walk days to reach a doctor. Standard indicators for health show Nepal to be among the worst in the world. According to the CIA World Fact Book (2009 estimates), the infant mortality rate is ranked 171st among all countries, representing 47.46 deaths per 1,000 live births. Average life expectancy is ranked 165th among all countries, or 65.46 years. By comparison, Canada is 81.23 years and the U.S. is 78.11 years. According to the International Labor Organization, about 42 percent of the population lives below the poverty level (2001). The World Bank indicates an average per capita GDP for Nepal of US$260 (2004), with very high poverty rates and inequality in rural and hilly regions. Nepal is the poorest country in South Asia, ranking 12th poorest in the world.

Founded in 2009 by Dr. Devi States, a U.S. resident who was formerly a child on the streets of Kathmandu, The Himalayan Family Healthcare Project seeks to improve the health of children and their families living in the Manang District and surrounding regions of Nepal.

Our Mission

The Himalayan Family Healthcare Project is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to providing community-driven, primary health care services to the people of Nepal's Manang District and surrounding areas.

We are committed to accomplishing our mission by:

• Conducting community health needs assessments and resource evaluations;
• Developing community coalitions and community empowerment activities;
• Developing culturally appropriate community health promotions and disease-prevention activities;
• Providing quality primary health care services;
• Establishing active and passive public health monitoring systems and reporting health indicators such as child mortality rates (MDG #4) and maternal health statistics (MDG #5);
• Conducting project evaluations and research related to primary healthcare services;
• Collaborating with both the district and the national system for the development of health policies;
• Replicating the project's success in other communities.

Our Values

Compassion - We acknowledge, listen and respond to our clients' and staff's needs in a caring manner.

Competence - We demonstrate expertise and solidarity with the community in carrying out our responsibilities and inspiring others to have confidence in us.

Diversity - We respect our individual differences, beliefs and uniqueness.

About Manang

The Manang District is one of the most beautiful places in Nepal. Close to the border with Tibet, Manang is known as the "Gateway to Heaven." The people are very friendly, and the environment is homely. The stones, hills and magnificent Himalayas are deeply impressive to all who encounter them. The Manang District is clean, and Tibetan Buddhist philosophy is present everywhere. However, existence here is not easy. Life expectancy is even lower in Manang than in the rest of Nepal. The United Nations' Millennium Development Goals point to an astonishing infant mortality rate of 88.46 per 1,000 live births in the District of Manang (Nepal's rate is 47.46; the U.S. rate is 6.3).

About the Founder

Dr. Devi Gurung States was born and raised in the Tilche Village in Manang, Nepal. After his parents passed away, he became homeless in Kathmandu because he was too young and could not find a job. He lived for months in the streets of Kathmandu until he found a job at KC's Restaurant as a dishwasher.

From these early hardships emerged two dreams: to own a restaurant and to help improve the health status of children and their families who are poor and suffering as he once was.

While working at the restaurant, he met Dr. James H. States, M.D, who successfully ascended Mt. Everest in 1983. Following this success, Dr. James States brought young Devi back to the U.S. with him.

Dr. Devi Gurung States completed his high school education at Lewis and Clark High School in Spokane, Washington, and he received his Bachelor's degrees in pre-medicine and psychology from Eastern Washington University in Cheney in 1991. After completing his high school and undergraduate education in the state of Washington, Devi asked his father, Dr. James States, what he could do to pay him back for giving him the opportunity to prosper in the United States. Dr. James States simply told him to help people. For this reason, Devi decided to pursue his graduate degree in Social Work and learn the skills of helping people.

He completed his Master's degree in Social Work (MSW) at Saint Louis University in 1994. Following this, he worked as a medical social worker and developed an interest in healthy lifestyles and preventive medicine. This led him to earn a Master's degree in Public Health (MPH) from Saint Louis University in 1997. Currently Devi holds the Doctor of Health Science (DHSc) degree in healthcare leadership from Nova Southeastern University.

Utilizing his knowledge and training from his Master's and Doctorate studies, along with many years of professional work experience with chronic disease prevention and health promotion, Dr. Devi Gurung States brought his first dream to fruition. February of 2004 saw the grand opening of the Everest Cafe & Bar. Through this venue, Dr. Devi States has taken a unique approach to promoting healthy lifestyles by serving nutritious and tasty meals, along with free health screenings, for his customers.

Dr. Devi Gurung States is now preparing to complete his second dream of helping to improve the health status of suffering children and their families from his former home in Nepal. To facilitate this endeavor, he has established the Himalayan Family Healthcare Project.

His wife, Connie States, is from South Korea and they have two teenage children, James and Jesse.

Board of Directors (USA)

A Board of Directors and Advisors operate on a volunteer basis.

Dr. Devi Gurung States, Founder/President
Saint Louis, MO

Honorable Lewis E. Reed
President, St. Louis Board of Aldermen
Saint Louis, MO

Mr. Reed attended Southern Illinois University on a wrestling scholarship. There he majored in Mathematics and Computer Science, a field he would go into professionally as Director of Networks and Telecommunications for the Edison Brothers Stores’ worldwide operations.

He has served as the chairman of the St. Louis Port Authority, overseeing riverfront property lease agreements and riverboat gaming tax revenues. In addition, he served on the board of directors of the St. Louis Development Corporations, overseeing city business development issues and minority business certification compliance. Also, he served as co-chair on the Ways & Means Committee, which oversees the city’s 400 million dollar budget.

Mr. Reed has served as a member of the board of directors for the Regional Justice Information Systems (REJIS), which uses technology to monitor and track criminal data and statistics; co-chaired the Cardinal Baseball Stadium hearings in St. Louis; and served on the boards of Downtown Now and the Downtown Partnership.

Mr. Reed was elected President of the Board of Aldermen on April 3rd, 2007. He is the first African American elected to this position. He resides in the 6th Ward with his wife, Mary, and children.

Brian Stokes, Esq., Treasurer & Legal Counsel
Attorney at Law
Saint Louis, MO

Dr. Majesh Makan, M.D., F.A.C.C., F.A.S.E.
Associate Professor of Medicine
Department of Medicine, Cardiovascular Division
Washington University in St. Louis
Saint Louis, MO

Dr. Melissa Marshall, M.D.
Family Care Health Centers
Saint Louis, MO

Dr. Marshall is a board certified family medicine physician and Associate Medical Director at Family Care Health Centers. She attended Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. Dr. Marshall completed her residency in family medicine at the University of California at Davis Medical Center.

Eric D. Reinhard
Attorney at Law
Saint Louis, MO

Dr. Michael D. Kyzer, M.D.
Chairman, Department of Emergency Medicine
Vice-President, Medical Staff
Saint Alexius Hospital
Saint Louis, MO

Dr. Kyzer was born in Wichita, Kansas but spent his childhood and early adult life in Arkansas. He received his Medical Doctorate from Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, and completed his residency at Washington University School of Medicine. Dr. Kyzer has practiced Emergency Medicine in St. Louis since 1992, and received the "Outstanding Emergency Physician in the St. Louis Metropolitan Area" Award from the Emergency Nurses' Association in 2000. He has dedicated his career to serving the underserved population in our community, and currently serves as Chairman of the Department of Emergency Medicine, and holds several committee appointments at St. Alexius Hospital in urban St. Louis.

Rev. Marek Bozek
Pastor/President of the Board of Directors
St. Stanislaus Kostka Parish
Saint Louis, MO

Reverend Marek Bozek, D.D. was born and raised in Poland. He moved to the U.S. in 2000, and was ordained a Catholic priest in 2002. For three years, until December 2005, he ministered in the Springfield, Missouri area. Besides many obligations as a parish priest, he served as Police and Sheriff Chaplain, and was also responsible for the Hispanic Ministry and high school chaplaincy.

St. Stanislaus Parish in St. Louis, having been abandoned by its priests and archbishop for almost two years, called him on December 2, 2005 to be its pastor. Since then it has become an inclusive place of worship where parishioners find their spiritual home and nourishment.

Dr. Matthew E. Lemberger, Ph.D.
Division of Counseling & Family Therapy
University of Missouri-St. Louis
Saint Louis, MO

Dr. Lesley McLaren, M.D., M.P.H.
University City, MO

Randall Siefert
Co-founder
Radiant Avenue Imaging
Saint Louis, MO

Linda B. Cottler, Ph.D., M.P.H.
Professor of Epidemiology
Department of Psychiatry
Washington University in St. Louis
Saint Louis, MO

Linda Bauer Cottler, Ph.D., M.P.H., is Professor of Epidemiology in the Department of Psychiatry at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, MO. She is Director of the EPRG, and the Master of Psychiatric Epidemiology (MPE) program as well as the WU CTSA Center for Community Based Research.

Dr. Cottler's NIH funding has been in two major areas. First, the work has focused on the development of reliable tools to assess addiction to drugs, alcohol, nicotine, caffeine, gambling, and the internet, and risk factors for addiction. These tools are used internationally. She has led the DIS Training Center and SAM Training since the early 1980s. Research in this area has also focused on nosological/classification studies of substance abuse and dependence (specifically MDMA, crack/cocaine, inhalant and prescription drug use). Second, Dr. Cottler's studies have focused on community based peer delivered interventions to change behaviors associated with HIV and STDs. She and her team have worked with underrepresented populations including out of treatment crack cocaine and heroin users, seriously heavy drinkers, injection drug users, prescription drug misusers, and inmate populations. A special emphasis of her work has been changing high risk behaviors among women who use drugs and those who are in the criminal justice system.

Recently, Dr. Cottler and her team have expanded their community focus to the WU CTSA Center for Community Based Research. HealthStreet, originally funded by NIDA, is now the hub for street outreach to link the entire community to research opportunities at WU. The community Cottler works with extends to other countries as well. She has worked internationally as a consultant to the WHO since 1987, as well as conducted her own studies in Sydney, Taipei, and Bangalore. Her research, which has been funded since 1989 primarily by NIDA, has totaled over $45 million.

Dr. Cottler has received awards for her mentoring role including the WU Academic Women’s Network Mentor Award, the BU School of Public Health Distinguished Alumni Award, and the Outstanding Faculty Mentor Award from the Post-doc Society at Washington University School of Medicine. She has accepted awards for public health service and leadership from the Missouri Public Health Association and for community based research from the School of Medicine. Dr. Cottler has served on two National Academy of Sciences (NAS) panels to study the Social and Economic Impact of Pathological Gambling and the data on Firearm Injuries.
Dr. Cottler is the former Director of a 28-year NIMH Post-Doctoral Training Program in Epidemiology and Biostatistics. She is Director of a NIDA Pre and Post-Doctoral Training Program in Comorbidity and Biostatistics, and PI of a Fogarty International Center Training Program at the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences in Bangalore India. She has reviewed for numerous journals and NIH institutes, was a 2006-2007 ELAM fellow, and is the APPA's Centennial 2010 President.

Board of Directors (Nepal)

Mr. Karma Ghale
Chairman, Executive Committee

Mr. Karma Ghale was born in Manang, Nepal. After gaining substantial overseas trading business experiences in Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, and Hong Kong, he focused his resources in the real estate business in Kathandu, Nepal. With tremendous success in real estate, Mr. Ghale ventured into the distillery business in 1999. Currently, the company has over 241 employees. He is considered one of the most successful businessmen of Nepal. In addition, Mr. Ghale established the Sumy Distillery Pvt. Ltd. in 2004. He has served on several community boards, including as chairman of the Manang Social Services Committee from 2005 to 2007.

Mr. Dorge D. Gurung
Vice Chairman, Executive Committee

Mr. K.C. Gurung
Treasurer, Executive Committee

Mr. Chinta Bahadur Ghale
Secretary, Executive Committee

Mr. Harka Jung Gurung

Mr. Binod Gurung

Mr. Jimmy Gurung

Mr. Tek Bahadur Gurung

Mr. Gyalpo Gurung

Advisory Board

Dr. James H. States, M.D.
Adolescent and Young Adult Medicine, P.S.
Olympia, WA

Dr. James States is the medical director and founder of the first private practice Adolescent Medicine Clinic in the Northwestern U.S. He completed a Postgraduate Fellowship in Adolescent Medicine at USC (University of Southern California) in 1978, and is Board Certified in Adolescent Medicine and Family Practice. Dr. States has extensive experience working with youth-at-risk as well as adolescents and college age populations who have diverse multicultural backgrounds. He has provided consultation to Eastern Washington University, The Healing Lodge of 7 Nations, and to Fairchild Air force Base. He has presented hundreds of seminars at professional meetings on Adolescent Medicine topics. Dr. States provides consultation to parents, physicians, schools, and universities on the complex medical and psychological issues of adolescents. Dr. States is an internationally known climber, successfully ascending routes in South America, the Canadian Rockies, India and Nepal. He summited on the first American ascent of the North Ridge of Nanda Devi (25,645') and was the 17th American to climb Mt. Everest. He integrates his mountaineering experiences into his clinical work and seminar series.

Kritin Bulin, M.S.W., L.C.S.W.
Executive Director
The Center for Survivors of Torture and War
St. Louis, MO

Dr. Gyan Kayastha, M.D., M.P.H.
Patan Academy of Health Sciences
Kathmandu, Nepal

Dr. Devi Bahadur Shrestha, Sc.D., M.S.
St. Paul, MN

Dr. Devi Bahadur Shrestha completed his Master of Science degree from California State University in 1968. He earned his Doctor of Science from Johns Hopkins, School of Hygiene and Public Health in 1985. He served as WHO Representative for over 15 years. Dr. Shrestha was a founding director of the School of Public Health in Nepal.

Pema Lama, B.S.E.
Woodside, New York

Support Staff

Connie States, Co-Founder
Everest Cafe & Bar
Saint Louis, MO

Tiffany Chang, Intern
Saint Louis University
Saint Louis, MO

Jessie Talbot, Intern
Saint Louis University School of Public Health
Saint Louis, MO

Website Design

Radiant Avenue Imaging

Please visit us again soon to learn about our programs to strengthen:

• medical care
• research and evaluation
• community empowerment

We are currently seeking to acquire land in order to construct a clinic in Manang.

We are currently seeking donations, in any amount, that will be applied to purchasing land and constructing a clinic building. Even a small donation from you could make a big difference in improving the health of children and families who are poor and suffering.

The Himalayan Family Healthcare Project(HFHCP) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.

Mail

Send your charitable donation to Himalayan Family Healthcare Project:

Himalayan Family Healthcare Project
4145 Manchester Ave
Saint Louis, MO 63110

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Volunteering

We are currently seeking volunteers who have fundraising skills. Please call or email us to inquire.

Thank you so much for your kind help.

For more information or to make a donation, please write or phone:

Devi Gurung States, MSW, MPH, DHSc
Himalayan Family Healthcare Project
4145 Manchester Avenue
Saint Louis, MO 63110

Tel.: (314) 531-4800

Email: summit@himalayanfamilyhealthcare.org