World Heart Day 2026: “Don’t Miss a Beat” awareness programme

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Activity date: 29 September 2026 · Hotel Royal Tulip, Gwarko, Lalitpur

The Rotary Club of Patan and the Nepal NCD Alliance marked World Heart Day 2026 with an awareness and prevention programme under the theme “Don’t Miss a Beat”. The programme brought together more than 100 participants, including Rotarians, Rotaractors, Inner Wheel members and representatives of health organisations. Rtn. Shikha Prasai served as master of ceremonies.

District Governor Rtn. Vishnu Bahadur Karkee was chief guest. Expert speakers were:

  • Rtn. Dr. Prakash Raj Regmi, President, Nepal NCD Alliance, who also coordinated the programme
  • Dr. Abhinav Baidhya, President, Southeast Asia Regional NCD Alliance
  • Dr. Abani Bhusan Upadhyaya, Senior Consultant Cardiologist
  • Dr. Bhagwan Koirala, Chair, Kathmandu Institute of Child Health
  • Dr. Chandra Mani Adhikari, Coordinator, Nepal Heart Net and President, Cardiac Society of Nepal

Heart-health awareness and prevention

The presentations explored developments in heart care, prevention and rheumatic heart disease in children, with a focus on Nepal. Speakers discussed the importance of healthier daily habits, awareness and access to screening and care. Rtn. Lalita Chitrakar Thapa delivered the vote of thanks.

Contribution to the District Disaster Relief Fund

During the programme on 29 September 2026, Rotary Club of Patan handed over a cheque for NPR 200,000 to District Governor Rtn. Vishnu Bahadur Karkee for the District Disaster Relief Fund. The contribution came from the club’s wider flood relief and rehabilitation appeal, supported by members and other well-wishers. We thank everyone who contributed.

Thank you to the speakers, partners, members and everyone who attended.

Read about our heart-health work →

Sources: club project report, World Heart Day 2026, Rotary District 3292 project register, 2026–27; Lalitdhara issue 1678, reporting the programme of 29 September 2026.

World Rabies Day 2026: community dog care in Mahalaxmi

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Activity date: 28 September 2026 · Mahalaxmi Municipality, Ward No. 1

Rotary Club of Patan and Mahalaxmi Municipality, Ward No. 1, jointly organised a free rabies vaccination and sterilisation programme for community dogs to mark World Rabies Day. The National Zoonosis and Food Hygiene Research Centre, Chagal, Kathmandu, coordinated the programme.

The club’s report to its meeting on 5 October recorded 53 community dogs covered by the programme, supporting animal welfare and community rabies prevention. The report does not give separate totals for vaccination and sterilisation.

We especially thank Rtn. Khadak S. Bisht, Coordinator of the Animal Welfare for Public Health Committee, for bringing the programme together, and committee members Rtn. Mukti N. Shrestha and Rtn. Bijaya Mallapaty. We also thank the veterinary team, Ward No. 1, volunteers, members and supporters.

Read about our One Health work →

Sources: club activity report in the Rotary District 3292 project register, World Rabies Day 2026; Lalitdhara issue 1679, reporting the meeting of 5 October 2026.

Rotaract blood donation programme at Mangal Bazar

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Activity date: 19 September 2026 · Mangal Bazar, Patan Durbar Square

Rotaract Club of Patan organised its Annual Blood, Eye, Skin and Organ Donation Programme with Rotary Club of Patan and Inner Wheel Club of Patan as supporting partners. The programme ran from 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM.

The completion report records 20 units of blood collected and seven registrations for eye, skin or organ donation. These registrations are pledges, rather than completed organ or tissue donations.

Medical support came from Red Cross Bhrikutimandap. Solution Samaj, Lagankhel, supported the eye, skin and organ donation component; Naturals Amrittulya provided refreshments and TShirt Nepal supported gifts and T-shirts.

We thank the Rotaract organising team led by President Rtr. Deepa Lamichhane, donors, medical personnel, volunteers, Interactors, Inner Wheel members and Rotarians for their contribution.

Partner with Rotary Club of Patan →

Source: Rotaract Club of Patan completion report received on 5 October 2026. Results above are the organiser’s reported totals.

STAR sixth batch: 12 participants complete mushroom-farming training

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Graduation date: 3 September 2026 · Banepa, Kavrepalanchok

Twelve participants completed ten days of practical mushroom-farming training in the sixth STAR batch. The group included women with physical disabilities and parents of women with intellectual disabilities. The graduation ceremony took place in Banepa on 3 September 2026.

Rotary Club of Patan supports STAR through its KPAD Fund, working with the Ability Development Society of Nepal (ADSoN) as implementing partner and The Rose International Fund for Children (TRIFC) as a supporter.

The training develops practical skills that participants and families can use towards self-employment. Completion figures describe training participation; income and livelihood outcomes require follow-up.

Explore KPAD and STAR →

Source: club report for the sixth STAR batch, Rotary District 3292 project register, 2026–27.

A medical team member examines a student during heart screening at Paathsala School, August 2026

Heart screening reaches 825 children at Paathsala School

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Activity date: 26 August 2026 · Paathsala Nepal Foundation School, Bagdol, Lalitpur

As part of the END RHD Campaign Nepal, the Rotary Club of Patan and the Nepal Heart Foundation held a heart-screening programme for schoolchildren at Paathsala Nepal Foundation School.

  • 825 children had a first check with a stethoscope for abnormal heart sounds and murmurs.
  • 34 students with suspected abnormal murmurs were then assessed with portable echocardiography by a medical team led by Prof. Dr. Prakash Raj Regmi.
  • According to the screening report, no definite cardiac cases were diagnosed at the event.

The programme aimed to bring early detection of rheumatic heart disease into the school setting and to raise awareness among children. It is part of the club’s long-running work with the Nepal Heart Foundation.

Thank you to the medical team, the school and everyone who supported the programme.

Read about our heart-health work →

Source: club project report, END RHD Campaign Nepal, Rotary District 3292 project register, 2026–27.

The programme cost NPR 30,000, according to the activity report submitted to GML on 1 September 2026.

STAR fifth batch opens mushroom-farming training in Banepa

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Activity date: 9 August 2026 · Banepa Municipality, Ward No. 8

The fifth STAR batch opened in Banepa with 15 Deaf and hard-of-hearing participants enrolled for ten days of practical mushroom-farming training. The course focused on livelihood skills and opportunities for self-employment.

Ability Development Society of Nepal (ADSoN) implemented the training, funded by The Rose International Fund for Children (TRIFC) and Rotary Club of Patan through KPAD. Kavre Deaf Association coordinated the venue and sign-language interpretation, with cooperation from Kavre Deaf School.

ADSoN subsequently confirmed on 11 September 2026 that the first seven STAR batches had completed.

Explore KPAD and STAR →

Sources: club report for the fifth STAR batch in the Rotary District 3292 project register; ADSoN project update dated 11 September 2026.

Participants and supporters at the fourth-batch STAR mushroom-cultivation training graduation

STAR: fourth batch of mushroom-cultivation training in Kushadevi, Panauti

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Activity dates: from 27 July 2026, graduation 5 August 2026 · Kushadevi, Panauti Municipality-2, Kavrepalanchowk

Fifteen persons with disabilities took part in the fourth batch of mushroom-cultivation training under the STAR Project, held at Shree Patikhoriya Agriculture Co-operative, Kushadevi. According to the club’s activity report, all 15 completed the ten-day course and graduated on 5 August 2026.

The training covered practical mushroom cultivation, livelihood skills, self-employment and entrepreneurship.

  • Implementing partner: Ability Development Society of Nepal (ADSoN)
  • Supporters: The Rose International Fund for Children (TRIFC) and the Rotary Club of Patan through its KPAD disability-inclusion fund

Completing training is an important first step. Lasting income depends on participants applying their skills, with continued support and follow-up. We will report follow-up results where they are available.

Read about KPAD and STAR →

Sources: STAR Project 4th batch entry, Rotary District 3292 project register, 2026–27; club activity report on the 4th batch graduation, August 2026.

The ten-day training cost NPR 41,875, according to the club’s GML activity report.

Rotarians and volunteers planting at Hattiban during the joint plantation in August 2026

Joint tree plantation at Hattiban, 2026

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Activity date: 1 August 2026 · Hattiban, Lalitpur

The Rotary Club of Patan joined nine other Rotary clubs for a Miyawaki plantation programme at Hattiban, Lalitpur, on 1 August 2026, working with forest authorities and local stakeholders. The continuing Urban Forest programme records 1,000 native tree saplings and 1,000 vetiver slips for the 2026–27 planting.

RCP contributed NPR 25,000 to the combined NPR 250,000 project and was represented by 14 participants: 12 Rotarians, one spouse and Rotaract Club of Patan President Deepa Lamichhane. District Governor Rtn. Vishnu Bahadur Karkee attended as Chief Guest. The club’s submitted activity report records more than 100 participants overall.

Participating clubs were Baneshwor, Bagmati Kathmandu, Godawari, Jawalakhel, Jawalakhel Manjushree, Kathmandu, Kopundol, Patan, Patan Durbar Square and Swoyambhu. The event worked with the Machchhindranath Sub-Division Forest Office and local stakeholders.

The partnership supports green cover, biodiversity and environmental conservation. Continued protection, maintenance and monitoring are essential to plant survival. Read about the continuing Urban Forest programme.

Source: Rotary Club of Patan report submitted to GML.

Students, teachers and Rotary participants outside Tri-Padma School during the heart-health essay competition

Students write on heart health: 2026 essay competition results

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On Friday, 10 July 2026, the Rotary Club of Patan and Heart Club Nepal held an essay competition on Heart Health and Community Service for students of the 24 public schools supported through the club’s PEEF scholarship programme. It aimed to help young people think about healthy lifestyles, preventing heart disease and the value of community service.

How it worked

  • Each school was invited to nominate two students from grades 9–10, preferably one girl and one boy. 37 students took part.
  • Five themes were shared in advance: Healthy Lifestyle, Healthy Heart; My Role in Preventing Heart Diseases; Junk Foods – Taste Good but Damage Your Health; Don’t Damage Your Heart with Vaping (E-cigarette); and Rotary Clubs and Community Services. Students drew their topic by lottery and had one hour to write.
  • Tri-Padma School, Pulchowk, Lalitpur hosted the competition. The club provided writing materials, refreshments and transport support.
  • Essays were marked anonymously by code number against a 100-mark rubric covering relevance, content, organisation, language and originality. Eight were shortlisted. Dr. Ganga Ram Gautam reviewed the shortlist and proposed the ranking, which a committee endorsed on 10 August 2026: Rtn. Mahendra S. Rawal, Rtn. Nirmal K. Pradhanang, Rtn. Lalita C. Thapa and Mr. Dev Bir Basnet of Heart Club Nepal.

Results

  1. First: Sushmita Syangtan, Shree Udayakharka Secondary School
  2. Second: Kyarol B.K., Shree Lubhu Secondary School
  3. Third: Chandra Sunar, Kitini Secondary School

Consolation awards: Prabin Tamang, Bishankhu Narayan Secondary School, and Prestroika Mahat, Lele Secondary School.

Student voices

These are students’ own essays, summarised here. They are student writing, not medical advice.

  • Sushmita Syangtan (first, in Nepali) wrote on Rotary clubs and their role in the community. The essay describes Rotary’s work in education, health, the environment and disaster relief, and how scholarship support helped the writer continue studying and aim higher.
  • Kyarol B.K. (second, in English) wrote “My Role in Preventing Heart Diseases”. The essay argues that heart disease is not only a problem of old age, warns young people about vaping, smoking, alcohol and junk food, and calls on families and communities to set healthy examples.
  • Chandra Sunar (third, in Nepali) wrote on junk food: tasty but harmful. The essay urges home-cooked food, limits on junk food in schools, and shared responsibility for healthy eating.

The three winning essays are reproduced in full in Lalitdhara Souvenir Vol. 41, pp. 70–73.

Thank you

Rtn. Mahendra S. Rawal coordinated with the participating and host schools. Rtn. Khadak S. Bisht, Dr. Ganga Ram Gautam, Rtn. Lalita C. Thapa, Rtn. Nirmal K. Pradhanang, Dr. Prakash R. Regmi and Rtn. Shiv Prakash Khemka also helped with planning, coordination, evaluation and programme support.

Read more about our heart-health work and our adopted schools.

Source: Essay Competition on Heart Health and Community Service, Lalitdhara Souvenir Vol. 41 (2026), pp. 70–73.

The original activity report budgeted NPR 71,400 for refreshments, transport reimbursement, banner, stationery, printing, documentation, evaluation, certificates and prizes. The competition took place on 10 July 2026; the results above include the subsequent committee endorsement on 10 August 2026.

STAR third batch: 15 graduates complete training in Devghat

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Activity dates: 29 June–8 July 2026 · Devghat Rural Municipality, Tanahun

Fifteen participants completed ten days of mushroom-cultivation training in the third batch of the STAR Project. Sessions combined classroom learning with practice in spawn preparation, growing bags, crop care, harvesting and marketing.

The Ability Development Society of Nepal (ADSoN) delivered the training with support from Rotary Club of Patan through KPAD, The Rose International Fund for Children (TRIFC) and Rtn. Santa Kumar Shrestha.

The course builds practical skills for self-employment. Training completion is a milestone; follow-up is needed to establish how participants use those skills and earn income.

The training took place in Devghat. The broader STAR initiative also includes development of a farming and skills centre in Bandipur.

Explore KPAD and STAR →

Source: club report for the third STAR batch, Rotary District 3292 project register, 2026–27.