A Road into Retirement: Building a School in Nepal

By Hans U Juttner

After a personal and professional life that led him across three continents – from Germany to Albert Schweitzer’s hospital in Africa, to medical training at the Mayo Clinic in the USA, Hans was on the verge of retirement from a satisfying but demanding career in radiology. He knew that he needed a new challenge to keep him as motivated and vibrant as his professional life had carried him. Being generally physically fit and always eager for adventure, the idea of mountain hiking began to pique his interest. Armed with his camera and renewed energy from a fitness program tailored for a near 60-year-old, Hans set off for Mt. Kilimanjaro, and a new love was born. Ten years later he aimed his feet and lens toward Nepal, and through his adventures there, developed a desire to plan his affairs and give something of himself to the people of this poor and complex country.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Aug 31, 2017
• ISBN: 9781546206828

Hans U Juttner

Hans-Udo Juttner is a retired radiologist whose enthusiasm for nature and hiking led him to some of the most spectacular mountains in the world – Mont Blanc, Mt. Kilimanjaro, and the Mt. Everest Base Camp. Hans was born in Germany in the 1930s. When he was a teenager he tragically lost his father but found inspiration from Nobel Peace Prize winning Doctor Albert Schweitzer, whom he met in Gunsbach, France. As a young physician, he worked with Doctor Schweitzer in his African jungle hospital, in Lambarene, Gabon. Thereafter, he trained as a radiologist in the United States at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota. He is a member of the Wilderness Medical Society. He went on several photography expeditions to the great outdoors with his mentor Tom Murphy. Joan, his loving American wife of 44 years, accompanied him on some of his adventures and travels and passed away peacefully in 2017. Hans lives in Montpellier, France.

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© 2017 Hans U Juttner. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system,

or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 08/31/2017

ISBN: 978-1-5462-0683-5 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5462-0684-2 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-5462-0682-8 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2017913484

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

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CONTENTS

In Memory

Dedication

Worth The Try

Preface

Key Facts

Chapter 1My Background And How It All Started

Chapter 2 Philanthropy And Getting Serious – Finding A Friend In Nepal

Chapter 3The School Inauguration

Chapter 4 Evaluation After Five Years Of School Operation And Two Earthquakes

Chapter 5 Conclusion

Addendum

Epilog

Acknowledgments

Photo Credits

IN MEMORY

Of my father who was my best friend

Who at age 48 was vehemently taken away in the year when

Sir Edmund Hillary was the first to

Reach the summit of Mt. Everest

And of Doctor Albert Schweitzer and

His Lambarene – a challenging school for me.

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DEDICATION

To Joan, my loving wife of 44 years –

Kind, tolerant, broad-minded and inspiring,

Who devoted her life to me,

Who followed me over continents and across oceans,

Who filled our homes and gardens with beauty and aesthetic pleasure,

Who was a physician, poet, writer, pianist, soprano Meistersinger,

Whose spirit was an outburst of creativity, originality and genius.

My dear Sweetie,

I am searching for words to express sufficiently what you have meant to me, and the impact you have had on my life and the world.

The space and depth you granted me made this Nepal venture possible. You did it by embracing my project with generous support and kindness. In all our life together, you made me feel that I was the man of the house and I probably mostly was, hopefully with an adequate dose of companionship.

We travelled many times together – to Alaska, Mexico, Hawaii, the Caribbean Sea, China, Africa, Nepal, and Europe. We lived in Minnesota, California, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Germany, and France.

Your personality incorporated so many qualities, gifts, and talents that this represents for me today a multifaceted gemstone I am discovering within you. Not only do I feel privileged to have been your husband, but many of your friends were touched by your gifts and have expressed this in their condolence letters.

Your life was steered by the calm, quiet, deep well of your soul. You were modest, considerate, thoughtful, and respectful with an open mind and an open heart. You possessed a brilliant intelligence, which you used at times to be reflective and gently advising, and at others to be quick-witted and humorous. You were able to see the beauty in nature and in people and disclosed and magnified that beauty in your poetry. Your drive for charm and elegance was reflected throughout our homes. You were always learning and enhancing your faculties according to the motto of PHI BETA KAPPA of which you were a member: Love of learning is the guide of life.

With love you were constantly thinking of me, your family, and your friends with special gifts, surprising us with your own creations – a poem, an artful piece of quilt work, one of your books, a photo collage. Inside your little ceramic earthenware vase engraved with the word JOY I found your poem Joy is everywhere! (Christmas 1983).

You were action-oriented, a doer. You had both your feet firmly placed on the ground – with a strict work ethic, never giving up. Our home on the East