Compassionate Help - the ROKPA charity

 

The ROKPA Organisation

ROKPA INTERNATIONAL is a relief organisation founded in 1980 by the Tibetan doctor and meditation master Dr. Akong Tulku Rinpoche, the Swiss actress Lea Wyler and her father, the lawyer Dr. Veit Wyler.

It is ROKPA's aim to assist people in need wherever necessary, regardless of religion or culture, with most of its work currently focused on Nepal, South Africa and Zimbabwe. Following its philosophy of enabling the disadvantaged to help themselves, so far it has supported over five hundred projects proposed by local people. The work of ROKPA is primarily concentrated upon education, medicine and food/living costs.

ROKPA attaches great importance to the self-help approach. Education has proven to be the most efficient way of assisting people in desperate need of escaping the poverty trap and to protect themselves against being exploited and abused. This is why ROKPA, through our education schemes, prepares disadvantaged children and adults for a self-determined life.

You will find more information about the ROKPA NGO here.

The ROKPA Guest House – a social business

In accordance with these values, in 2018 ROKPA started the ROKPA Hospitality Vocational Training, modelled on the Swiss apprenticeship style of education. With the help of our partners GATE College in Kathmandu and EHLsmile from the Ecole hôtelière de Lausanne in Switzerland, underprivileged youth have access to a high-quality on-the-job professional training at a reduced cost. These eager to learn and passionate youths will be the ones looking after you during your stay at the guest house. By staying with us, you provide the students with the opportunity to learn a trade, all while experiencing the best of Nepali hospitality in a western-standard setting.

With these objectives in mind, all the profits generated by the ROKPA Guest House go towards funding ROKPA’s charitable projects in Nepal. We act as an accountable social business.

The history of ROKPA Guest House

The original Guest House was bought and donated to ROKPA Nepal by Dr Christian Wenger in 2005. The condition for this donation was that the profits generated by the Guest House would be used to fund ROKPA’s projects. Over the many years that we have operated the Guest House we have kept our word. Since the very first day we received the Guest House, we have invested a lot of resources to refurbish the different facilities to offer all the modern comforts a traveller can expect.

The Akong Rinpoche Memorial Centre construction was initiated in 2015 and was completed in 2018. It was named after the late Dr Akong Tulku Rinpoche to honour His memory (more information about Dr Akong Tulku Rinpoche here). This modern, seismic resistant building was nominated for the Building Award 2019 in Switzerland (more information here). It houses a theatre room and 2 meeting rooms, all the kitchen facilities of our modern restaurant, the Women's Workshop (more information here), 9 new rooms and apartments and the Veit Wyler Sunset Terrace (rooftop bar).

Positioned in the heart of sacred lands

The ROKPA Guest House, Restaurant & Bakery are located just 3 minutes walking distance from the Boudha Stupa, the holiest Stupa for the Tibetan Buddhists and 20 minutes walking distance from Pashupatinath Temple, the holiest temple for Hindus. It is surrounded by many monasteries and offers a unique and peaceful atmosphere, sheltered away from the noisy and hectic streets of Kathmandu.