Thanks to generous support from Barbara Forst's friends and acquaintances, as well as numerous donors, we were able to raise the funds needed for the project. Thank you very much to everyone!

With the help of Heike Holz and Rosemarie Geenen, our volunteer physiotherapists from Germany, who always support our team in Kargil with advice and assistance, a suitable program was put together for Farzana Akhtar from the wide range of options offered by the congress. The registration was completed and travel and accommodation were also organized. 
Barbara Forst explored and organized internship opportunities in Hamburg, and an internship at Heike Holz's practice in Erlangen was also arranged. In short, a wonderful program was put together.

Current status:
It has been a long time since I posted the last update on the project. The reason for the lack of news was that we ourselves were waiting for information about the visa application process.

In the week of the 10th of June 2025, we received the very sad news that Farzana Akhtar's visa application had been rejected. This was already the second rejection in the application process. After the first rejection, we had tried again to prove the purpose and reason for the trip with documents and letters of recommendation. Especially considering that in the past we had always been successful in bringing our staff from Ladakh to Germany, we remained optimistic until the very end. But times have changed, and this does not make international cooperation any easier.

We were lucky that we could secure Farzana's participation in the congress by converting the booked courses and seminars into online versions. Heike Holz will also participate in the same courses online, so that she can prepare and follow up on the topics together with Farzana. This enabled us to implement an important part of our project, participation in the world congress, and thus give Farzana the opportunity to learn about and experience the latest developments in the specialist areas.

Despite this setback and certain financial losses (expenses for the visa application process), we will continue to try to facilitate personal exchange in the future through professional experience trips to Germany with the opportunity for internships and professional training. 

The congress will take place in the next few days. I wish Farzana Akhtar and Heike Holz good luck!

Afterwards, we will post a short summary report about the congress participation online.

With many thanks for your loyal support,

Johanna Klein

(1st Chairwoman of Ladakh-Hilfe e. V.)