Six Years In Bhutan (Shaken but not Broken) by John Stedman

Six Years In Bhutan (Shaken but not Broken) by John Stedman

“Six Years in Bhutan” is the title of a soon to be published book by John Stedman. John spoke to the Rotary Club of Senlac about his experiences and his life in the small Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan which has an estimated population of 770,000 people and is predominantly Buddhist.

John went to work in Bhutan in 1984 as a maths and drawing and design teacher in a technical college in the south of the country under the auspices of Voluntary Services Overseas on a three year placement. John was intrigued by the architecture of the buildings which were all built without use of nails or other fixings; the country’s carpenters were exceedingly talented. He was, however, surprised that no drawings existed for any of the buildings which had been constructed straight from the head. He therefore started to draw his own plans and designs. During his time in the area he made a number of friends, one of whom was a carpentry teacher who this year became a Minister in the Government. He was introduced to two Germans who ran a leprosy hospital in a remote (most places are remote) in Bhutan. Leprosy was at that time declining and the hospital was caring more for disabled who needed specialist equipment and the college were asked if they could build equipment for the hospital. Thus a link was established.

Soon after John returned home to the UK he was contacted by the Leprosy Society who asked if he would be prepared to return to Bhutan and draw up plans for a new hospital. John took up the challenge and, with his wife, went to live in an even more remote part of Bhutan than when he was teaching. Sitting at his desk with superb views of a Himalayan valley John went about the task of preparing drawings for a hospital to be built in the traditional Bhutanese style. John recounted the trials and tribulations of preparing the drawings and overseeing the building of the hospital. Much thought had to be given to the devastating effects of the earthquakes which frequently occur in the area. Pure concrete pillars will snap under pressure but reinforced with metal rods they will withstand multiple pressures so that is the way the hospital was built. When the work was completed John returned home but was then taken very ill and he has been unable to travel back since. He was very saddened by the recent earthquake in Nepal and the devastation caused and was concerned about “his” hospital. He has since looked at Google Earth and found that the street view shows the hospital standing as it was built. It had survived the quake – shaken but not broken.

The club was very pleased to make a donation on John’s behalf to the Nepal Earthquake disaster fund.