For over 23 years, the Ladakh-Hilfe e. V. association has been helping to improve therapies and living conditions for children with disabilities in the high-altitude region of Ladakh in the western Himalayas of northern India. The success of this work is based on teamwork, trust, and a willingness to adapt and collaborate with the Ladakhi people. This project came about through a series of coincidences involving different people. Ladakh had found a place in our hearts, and together we successfully developed the project year after year.

2001 - Medical student Johanna Klein (former: Komp) encounters the severely disabled child Rigzin during a project assignment (teaching English at a buddhistic nunnery) organized by the journalist Dieter Glogowski in the remote mountain village of Lingshed (Ladakh). Rigzin's mother asked her for help.

2002 - In July 2002, Johanna Klein publishes a request for help in a famous German physiotherapy magazine. Physiotherapist Karola Wood, who has been interested in Ladakh and its people for seven years, reads the article and contacts Johanna Klein. The first important connection is made, and plans begin to develop.

2003 – A long period of careful preparation begins. In June, Karola Wood founds the Ladakh-Hilfe e. V. association with the help of founding members from her circle of friends and Johanna Klein. Karola contacts several people from Ladakh and obtains information with the help of Dieter Glogowski, who gives her important tips for her mission.
In September, Karola Wood and her husband fly to Ladakh on their annual vacation. They brought many supplies for the residents: children's shoes, clothing, medicine, bandages, useful gifts, food, toys, and therapeutic tools for treating Rigzin. They met the friendliest people on earth, experienced Buddhism firsthand, and fell in love with the land of high passes, its culture, and its inhabitants. After a four-day trek, they reached the family: the mother Thugjay, the grandmother, the sister Lobzang, and little Rigzin, living under poor conditions. Thanks to the success of Rigzin's treatment, Karola was introduced to other children with disabilities and asked to organize help for them. She discovered that there were no therapies for children with disabilities in the entire Ladakh region. She contacted the King of Ladakh, His Royal Highness Gyalpo Jigmed Wangchuk Namgyal, who was the head of the Namgyal Institute at the time. Here, families and children with disabilities had a place to go to find information about government assistance and medical support. Mr. Namgyal promised to help.
Back home, she reflected on her experiences and made plans for the future: Karola wrote newspaper articles, gave slide presentations, and did radio interviews to spread the word about her cause and expand her circle of friends. She organized professionals who would continue her work in Ladakh as volunteers. Young, adventurous physical therapists were willing to go to Ladakh and help out.

2004 - Karola Wood travels to Ladakh again, where more children with disabilities are found in remote areas. She manages to establish contact with Mr. Gergan, the director of the Moravian Mission School, and to consider further aid strategies. In the following years, Mr. Gergan provided a great deal of start-up assistance for the growing work. The first volunteer, physiotherapist Dorit Schulz, traveled to Ladakh in August to treat children who were now being brought to the Namgyal Institute. Contacts with Mr. Gergan were intensified. He wanted to provide a small room in his Moravian Mission School for the children's therapy the following year.

2005 - The first website for Ladakh-Hilfe was created. In the future, it will be the hub for all daily information dissemination, as the work of the association members was and is exclusively voluntary. Another, more modern website was created in 2009.
Dorit Schulz's example was followed without interruption by many highly committed therapists who devoted all their energy to spreading the word about the work. In 2005, Mr. Gergan not only provided a room for therapy, he also rented us a teacher's apartment where the volunteers could live. Through Mr. Gergan, we met Mr. Sonam David, the owner of the Snowview Hotel, who immediately stepped in with his organizational talent and loyally supported us, later becoming president of the Rewa Society. Mr. David helped us organize the first “camps,” where we (Karola Wood and the volunteers) explained the problems of people with disabilities to parents and interested employees in the health care system and taught them the first therapeutic steps and aids in theory and practice. We learned a great deal about the culture and mindset of the people and tried to find a feasible way forward together with them. An incredible amount of pioneering work went into these early years; awareness of the problems faced by families and their children with disabilities first had to be created. We remained in the premises of the Moravian Mission School under the supervision of Mr. Gergan until 2009.

2005 to 2018 – A total of around 300 professional volunteer therapists spent weeks and months in Ladakh. They laid the foundation with therapy, ideas, motivation, and commitment, on which the REWA Society (Indian subsidiary association, see also 2011) was later built. Karola Wood organizes everything part-time from home. Once a year, she traveled to Ladakh to bring about improvements there. The volunteers transported many relief supplies/therapy materials to Ladakh. Johanna Klein is actively involved in the background, even though she is busy with her medical studies.

2006 - The first Ladakhi employees are hired and trained by the volunteers and Karola Wood. The volunteers brought all donations to Ladakh by hand, and we learned to trust each other and work as a team. Four of the first employees are sent to a physiotherapy school in Delhi to obtain a diploma (not a BA degree). We already had drivers, a cook, and assistants. Wages in Ladakh were so low at the time that we were able to finance this with the increasingly generous donations we were receiving.
Thugjay had meanwhile moved to Leh with her family and got a job at REWA Leh. She became the warm heart of the large REWA family. Rigzin was renamed Stanzin by the Dalai Lama. Lobzang's entire education up to 12th grade was financed by German sponsors at a good school.

2009 - Opening of the new RAC (Rewa Ability Center) therapy center by REWA (Rewa means “hope” in Ladakhi) at the Lions Club Leh. Mr. David made this possible; he was a member of the Lions Club. The opening ceremony was a fantastic celebration attended by many VIPs from Ladakh. Now we had a huge room and a few adjoining rooms, which we converted into a therapy center, office, and work camp. The idea arose to found a local subsidiary of Ladakh-Hilfe e. V. It took several attempts before REWA Society could be founded.

2010 – A large group of volunteers and Karola Wood were in Ladakh when, on August 6, a major flash flood with rockfalls struck large parts of Ladakh, claiming many lives among locals and trekking tourists and causing extensive damage to structures. The government hospital was completely destroyed and had to be evacuated. The monsoon had advanced unusually far north. Heavy humidity had caused clouds to gather over the mountains, which descended as “cloudbursts” at night, washing away the loose layers of rock and debris from the mountains and flooding half of Leh, all of Choklamsar, and many other areas in Ladakh with mudslides and boulders. The family of our therapist at the time, Kunzang, with two small children, narrowly escaped death. Nothing worked anymore, no electricity, no supplies, no planes were flying. The Indian army and many volunteers cleared away some of the mudslides, made the roads passable again, and built temporary bridges, as many bridges had been destroyed. 

2011 - Founding of the local non-governmental organization (NGO) REWA Society as a subsidiary association of Ladakh-Hilfe e. V.. Mr. David and Stanzin Chokla worked with local staff to draft the statutes and register the NGO with the government. Indian physiotherapist Chokla, who holds an MPT (Master of Physiotherapy) degree, served as the head of local operations for four years until he decided to go to Germany on a scholarship to continue his studies.

2011 – Opening of a simple therapy center in Kargil (Ladakh) under the direction of Gulzar Munshi. He built a new elementary school in Kargil and asked us to set up a therapy center in this school based on our concept. Our work expanded, as did our tasks.

2012 – The work expanded, Karola Wood asked for help, and professional support was needed. Barbara Forst, an experienced pediatric physiotherapist, had been following the work in Ladakh for years. She decided to help and contribute her professionalism and experience. She took over the professional training and qualification of the Ladakhi staff and steers the professional deployment of the volunteers in the desired professional direction. This allows Karola Wood to focus more on organizational matters. Our focus was on neurological disorders.

2013 – German development aid finances two school buses for the Ladakh-Hilfe association for its work in the therapy centers to transport children with disabilities to and from the centers. We had already financed a first vehicle for the work in 2006, and several more followed, in particular robust four-wheel drive jeeps. This made the teams mobile, the children could be transported safely, and the advertising on the buses helped raise awareness of the REWA Society.  Robust jeeps were also necessary for the therapists' many trips to remote areas. Since 2006, extensive field trips have been made to remote areas to care for the children there. The children were visited individually and provided with therapy, necessary materials, toys, and aids. Many volunteers accompanied these exciting trips as therapists and were thus able to gain a special insight into the culture and way of life of the Ladakhis that tourists will never see. These elaborately planned trips ensured that REWA Society became known throughout Ladakh for its professional and dedicated work.

2014 - Opening of the new therapy center and special school in Kargil: REWA NA KASKO. Mr. Gulzar provides the association with several therapy rooms in the brand-new elementary school and volunteer accommodation. Ladakh-Hilfe e. V. finances the personnel costs and therapeutic equipment.

Ladakh-Hilfe now employs and finances eight Ladakhi employees in each of the two therapy centers.

2015 - Ladakh-Hilfe's involvement in Nepal begins. In 2016, after the earthquake, Karola Wood travels to Nepal and, together with Nepali Sanze, organizes comprehensive aid for an entire village. This aid continues for about four years. Ladakh-Hilfe e. V. finances a huge plot of land for the residents of a village who lost their homes in the earthquake. They can now build a new home and live safely. Several aid projects to support orphans and the needy are successfully carried out.

2016 - With its new manager, physiotherapist Dorjay, REWA really takes off. Dorjay and builder Angchuk from Leh travel to Europe in the summer of 2016 to visit facilities for people with disabilities.

2017 - The vision of establishing a dedicated therapy center in Leh emerges. REWA successfully applies to the Indian government for a free land allocation for a new building. In addition to therapy, a special school is established for the REWA children in Leh. The parents requested this step because they want their children to receive a school education. Since the children were at the therapy center all day, they asked that the children also be given lessons. Dorjay, the manager of Rewa Society Leh by that time, recruited local volunteer special education teachers who teach over a longer period of time. The REWA special school was established, and the parents were satisfied. In addition, more and more Indian professional therapists came to Rewa in Leh and Kargil to contribute their knowledge. This was a positive experience for the local parents and children, as the professionals were now able to explain the issues more accurately in the local language. In the meantime, understanding of the problems faced by children with disabilities had grown throughout Ladakh. Fears of contact disappeared, and many charitable organizations and the Indian army came to help. Even the government and the government hospital initiated intensive aid efforts for people with disabilities, campaigns, medical camps, and training courses.
The two Ladakhi students Lobzang (Rigzin's sister) and Dechen were able to attend college in southern India in fall, financed by German sponsors. Lobzang will graduate with an MSc (Master of Rehabilitation Science) in 2023, and Dechen graduated with a B. ASLP (Bachelor of Audiology and Speech Language Pathology) in 2022. Lobzang is now proficient in all areas of rehabilitation, and Dechen is responsible for children with hearing, speech, and language problems.

2018 - The local REWA association takes on more responsibility. Efforts are made to recruit volunteer therapists from all over India. We stopped recruiting German volunteers at the end of 2018. The two local teams had now reached a very good level of education. Only highly specialized professionals with specific assignments were sent to Ladakh to promote quality.
This year, Johanna Klein traveled to Ladakh with Karola Wood. She wanted to get an idea of the situation on the ground and become more involved again. Together, they spent time at REWA Leh and REWA na Kasko Kargil.

2019 - The REWA team lays the foundation stone for the new therapy center in the Solar Colony in Choklamsar. Karola Wood and Barbara Forst spend valuable time in Ladakh conducting team training and seminars on site.

2016 & 2019 - In Germany, volunteers and friends collect high-quality therapy equipment. It was transported to Ladakh in two elaborate aid shipments. Stanzin Chokla was the competent manager on the Indian side for both deliveries, organizing customs clearance and onward transport to Leh.

2020/2021 - All activities come to an abrupt end due to the coronavirus pandemic. Therapies are now only available online, and home visits can only be made with protective clothing. Conferences for professional training, organization, and communication are held regularly via Zoom.

2022 – Dorjay helps set up a new center in Batalik in cooperation with the Indian Army. A year later, the center is handed over entirely to the Indian Army.
Construction of the Comprehensive Therapy Center (CTC) in Leh progresses rapidly. In July, the Leh team moves in with the children. Additional qualified and dynamic specialist staff are hired in Leh and Kargil.

2023 – REWA Leh receives non-profit status in the fall and takes its first steps toward independence. This summer, a very specific seminar takes place in Leh. The three highly qualified physiotherapists and pediatric Bobath specialists Barbara Forst, Rosemarie Geenen, and Heike Holz travel to Ladakh and teach both local teams in professional therapy.

Johanna Klein is accepted into the Ladakh-Hilfe e.V. association as 2nd chairwoman this year. Karola Wood needs more help because she has been caring for her mother, who has severe dementia, at home since 2021.

2024 - REWA Leh becomes independent and is now operating on its own. They want to organize their support independently and become self-sufficient. From now on, the focus of our work is in Kargil, where more and more children with disabilities are seeking admission to the therapy center. Our goals are slowly being achieved.

2024 - In June, a change of board and association headquarters is decided at the annual general meeting. Karola Wood and her team step down for reasons of age and health. A young team led by the new chairwoman Johanna Klein takes over the association's work and the association moves its headquarters to Freiburg im Breisgau.

“Give a hungry man a fish, and you save him from death today. Teach him how to fish, and he and his family will be provided for the rest of their lives” Acccording to Confucius

In March 2023, a young woman named Rinchen stood at the door of the manager at the Leh Therapy Center. She wanted to work as a volunteer at the special school. Rinchen is partially paralyzed and walks with a walking aid. As a child, she received many years of therapy at REWA, went to college, and earned her degrees. Now she is coming back to help her fellow countrymen, the children of Ladakh. This is a success story that continues indefinitely.

This whole story is one full of miracles and human dedication. Johanna Klein and Karola Wood were infected with a virus that had gripped many other travelers to Ladakh: an enthusiasm and affection for this country and its people that continues to fuel their motivation to support them. In 20 years, much has changed and improved in Ladakh, including for children with disabilities. The association has contributed greatly to this change, and its subsidiary, the REWA Society, is respected and held in high esteem throughout the country.

We want to encourage you to browse through the pages of this website and let yourself be transported to a world that is so foreign to ours. As you delve into this treasure trove of information, you will discover many surprising facts that may even seem unbelievable!