General Information about the Area of Operation
In principle, we provide assistance in all remote mountain regions of the Himalayas and Karakoram. However, since 2004, the focus of our work has been on Baltistan in the Karakoram mountains, particularly the Braldo Valley. This mountain valley leads to the Baltoro Glacier and to some of the highest mountains in the world - K2, Broad Peak, Gasherbrum I, and II, all more than 8000m high.
Life there is extremely harsh due to the natural conditions, and it is characterized by poverty, malnutrition, and hard physical labour. The locals survive on what little grows on the barren land at an altitude of over 3000 metres. Winters are long and extremely cold, while summers are arid, requiring all fields to be irrigated. Natural disasters such as landslides, floods, and avalanches further complicate life. However, much has changed and improved over the past 20 years since we began to work there.
Thanks to our support, every one of the approximately 20 villages in the Braldo Valley now has access to clean drinking water. Beyond our specific projects, we have been highly successful in raising awareness for the prerequisites of development, so that today the importance of cleanliness, hygiene, and, above all, education – including that of girls – is firmly embedded in the general consciousness.
When we started to work in the Braldo Valley, the illiteracy rate among women and girls was almost 100%, as only a few girls in the area attended school. Similarly, a significant portion of men and boys had never set foot in a school. For most, working as porters was the only means of earning money. Now, almost all girls and boys in the Braldo Valley are learning to read, write and do arithmetic, and through our hostels, more and more obtain higher education and then attend college or university. The school in the upper Braldo Valley will finally give every child the chance to get a degree of one kind or another.
