Equal opportunities in the Himalaya-Karakorum are our responsibility.

The association supports people living under the harshest conditions in the mountains of the Himalaya and Karakoram. The aim is to make it easier for village residents to survive in their ancestral homeland – based on the principle of helping people to help themselves.

 

 

Equal opportunities in the Himalaya-Karakorum are our responsibility.

The association supports people living under the harshest conditions in the mountains of the Himalaya and Karakoram. The aim is to make it easier for village residents to survive in their ancestral homeland – based on the principle of helping people to help themselves.

 

 

Himalaya-Karakorum-Hilfe e.V. is a registered non-profit association working in the mountain regions of the Himalayas and Karakoram. Our activities are focused on Baltistan, an extremely remote region in the Karakoram mountains. The main emphasis of our work lies on education, particularly the education of girls. Our goal is for our assistance to become unnecessary in the foreseeable future.
Our associations's principles are:
  • Establishing foundations for self-help
  • Respect for local culture
  • Protection of nature
  • Preservation of ancient traditions
  • Maintenance of established and proven structures
  • Promotion of mutual tolerance

News

The 2025 annual report will be available here shortly.

The review of 25 years of Karakoram Aid will be available here shortly.

Benefit Lecture at Karlsgymnasium

Once again, the widely traveled geography teacher Eduard Spielbauer supported the Karakoram Aid Initiative with a benefit lecture. On November 26, 2025, he spoke about his experiences in sub-Saharan Africa.
Many thanks for his commitment.

Benefit Event with Filmmaker Stefan Erdmann

For the second time, development aid worker Antonie Lindner from Neuhofen was able to enlist Chiemgau filmmaker Stefan Erdmann for a benefit event. With his impressive documentary on Iceland, he took the audience on a journey through spectacular landscapes.
The proceeds from the evening at the Sparkasse Eggenfelden’s event hall will benefit the children in the mountain villages of the Braldo Valley—a heartfelt project that Antonie Lindner has been supporting with great dedication for several years.

Laura Dahlmeier

We deeply regret the death of Laura Dahlmeier, who lost her life due to rockfall while attempting to climb Leila Peak in the Karakoram. Her expedition was organized by Shipton Treks & Tours, an agency founded by us as a self-help project of the Karakoram Aid Initiative.
The photo was taken shortly before the group set off for the Baltoro Glacier. Laura is on the far left, Rasool in the center of the image.

Charity Run 2025

On July 14 and 15, this year’s charity run—now a firmly established part of the school year—took place at the Karlsgymnasium Bad Reichenhall. Around 730 members of the school community completed a total of 12,750 laps in Karlspark. We were supported by the companies Früchte Maier (Piding), who provided bananas, and Biotheaque (Bernau), who supplied tea for the runners.
Many thanks to everyone involved in this wonderful event.

Benefit Lecture by Alexander Huber

On March 8, Alexander Huber presented his multi-vision talk “Time to Breathe” at the Pfarrkirchen Town Hall.
The event was initiated and organized by development aid worker Antonie Lindner from Neuhofen.
Part of the proceeds will go to the Karakoram Aid Project.
We would like to thank everyone involved.

Charity Concert

February 7, 2025: The traditional charity concert at Karlsgymnasium Bad Reichenhall was a wonderful success and we thank all participants for their commitment.

Annual Report 2024

As always at the end of the year, we inform our friends and sponsors about our current projects.

Our Current Key Projects

In essence, all of our projects are more or less important, but the following are perhaps the four initiatives considered by the locals to have the most significant positive impact.

Girls´ Hostel

The hostel for girls from the mountain villages in the Braldo and Shigar Valleys is located in Skardu, the main town of Baltistan. The project is a wonderful success. It was opened in 2016 and provides accommodation and food for over 100 girls. They attend a nearby school where they can get higher education.

Boys´ Hostel

The boys' hostel was opened in 2012. Located in Skardu, it provides accommodation and food for boys from the mountain villages in the Braldo and Shigar Valleys. This gives them the chance to attend higher secondary school. The hostel can accommodate approximately 60 boys.

Braldo School

Since we can only accommodate a limited number of students in our two hostels in Skardu, we have constructed a school for boys and girls in the upper Braldo Valley. This school will give all children from the surrounding villages the opportunity for higher education.

Vehicles

The two jeeps owned by our organisation have been in continuous operation for over 20 years. They facilitate the transport of people, construction materials, food, and other essential goods from Skardu to the mountain villages. Most importantly, they serve as ambulances, transporting the sick to the hospital in Skardu. Many lives have been saved thanks to our jeeps.

We Rely on Support

We assure you that the misuse of donated funds is virtually impossible
Everyone involved in the association works on a voluntary basis.
Expenditure for advertising and administration amounts to less than 2% of the total expenses.
We deeply appreciate every form of support.

We Rely on Support

We assure you that the misuse of donated funds is virtually impossible
Everyone involved in the association works on a voluntary basis.
Expenditure for advertising and administration amounts to less than 2% of the total expenses.
We deeply appreciate every form of support.

Our Focus Areas

In the 24 years since the establishment of the registered association, we have implemented hundreds of projects, both large and small. Most of these projects can be categorized as follows:
Education
Water supply
Basic needs

Responsible for the content

Himalaya-Karakorum-Hilfe e.V.
Barbara Hirschbichler (President)
Grünsteinstraße 20
83471 Schönau am Königssee

Images:
Barbara Hirschbichler

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Himalaya-Karakorum-Hilfe e.V.
Sparkasse Berchtesgadener Land
IBAN: DE30 ‍7105 ‍0000‍ 0000 ‍1164 00
BIC: BYLADEM1BGL

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