NEW: 
NEWSLETTER SPRING 2026

Shanti on ZDF: ‘Abenteuer Auswandern’ (Adventure Emigration)! The programme broadcast on 3 October 2025 will remain in the media library for one year.   

Have a look to our video of the celebration of the 25th anniversary of Shanti in Kathmandu!

By the way: We have an own channel at YouTube.
Come and find out! 

 

Dear friends – it really does feel so good to experience such solidarity, compassion and genuine concern for others! Thank you! Please do bear with me as I am unable to reply to each and every one of you individually. Our ward is – thank goodness! – not directly affected by the destruction, but we naturally feel called upon to help, as the plight of people in need is very close to our hearts.

Heiko, who is currently in Germany, is coordinating the relief efforts we are able to provide, working closely with Bijendra and Uttam Niraula. Uttam-Jee is a lecturer in human rights and our adviser. He also acts as an adviser to a number of government ministers, so he has good contacts with official bodies. This enables us to get directly involved in the necessary relief efforts. The most urgently needed items at present are sleeping bags, mosquito nets, clothing, hygiene products and food. We have already provided a few hundred sleeping bags and mosquito nets from our emergency stocks, but huge quantities are still needed, because: not only have many people lost their lives, but thousands have also lost their homes and, with them, everything they owned. Heiko has therefore ordered a further 1,000 sleeping bags for the time being and arranged for additional mosquito nets to be purchased.

Dear friends – when we are once again confronted in such a horrific way with the devastating consequences that climate change can have, I would at least like to draw the conclusion that is within my – and our – power, namely: not to give up, but to press ahead with our tree-planting schemes and our roof gardens with even greater vigour. And: to be ever more grateful for what gives us relative security and cause for joy in our country.

We are grateful for every donation that now helps us to provide better support for those in need. We guarantee that the money will go where it is needed most – to the homeless, the injured, children and those in distress! Many thanks to you all for your support and help! We remain yours, and may you all be kept safe!
Marianne Grosspietsch

Shanti is the Nepalese term for “peace” - and that is one of our most important goals. We want to help as many children and adults in need in Nepal – the disabled, the ill, and those neglected by society – regain their dignity. We achieve this by providing them with a roof over their heads, food, medical care and a meaningful place within human society that was previously denied them. Peace can only be attained in an environment of equality and cooperation.

Shanti Leprahilfe Dortmund e.V. is an organisation committed to realising this vision for leprosy sufferers and other handicapped people in Nepal. The Nepalese partner association in Kathmandu, Shanti Sewa Griha, is responsible for making this vision a reality in Nepal.

This work is done through a clinic that includes an integrated pharmacy and outpatient clinic, a food kitchen that uses products grown through its own organic cultivation and provides approximately 1,200 meals daily, a fountain with clean drinking water as well as various employment programmes for those who live at Shanti. It is also help to preserve and promote cultural techniques like Maitili painting and Dhaka weaving that are in danger of being lost.

Shanti was founded by Dortmund resident Marianne Grosspietsch and can now look back on a history stretching back nearly 30 years.

Shanti is currently active in three locations within Nepal: in Kathmandu-Tilganga, in Budhanilkhanta and in Sundarijal. Around 1,000 people here have been cared for or found a new home here.

Young people and adults in all age groups can donate their time and services as volunteers for several months.

The press archive provides a good overview of previous publications about Shanti.

Marianne Grosspietsch personally prepares a newsletter three to four times a year informing current and previous donors about Shanti developments.

Shanti is the largest private German aid organisation in Nepal. It is financed exclusively by donations and the sale of products Shanti produces.

Shanti has received various awards for its exemplary social and medical groundwork.