A FOOTPATH in Brecon has been restored and named the Gurkha Path after the volunteers who’ve now been nominated for a national award.
The previously unnamed path leads from Brecon Prom to Fenni Fach and was opened on Sunday at a ceremony attended by Brecon mayor Councillor Rose Evans and Mahadev Thapa, chair of the Brecon Nepalese Society.
The path has been named in recognition of the Nepalese community’s commitment to restoring it over a six month period. The society has now been nominated for a volunteers award.
The community was determined to respond to the extraordinary generosity shown by the people of Brecon after an earthquake devastated Nepal in 2015 and approached the Brecon Beacons National Park Authority to help them find a worthwhile local project to work on.
Guptaman Gurung, volunteer co-ordinator from the Brecon Nepalese Society, said: "Approximately 70 Gurkha families have made Brecon their home and the local authorities and the local communities have been really supportive both in helping us to settle down and in the aftermath of the Nepali earthquake.
"In return we wanted to give something back and this project absolutely fulfils this desire.
"We were looking for a local project as many of the volunteers didn’t have transport and we wanted something which veteran Gurkha soldiers who had settled in Brecon could get their teeth into.
"With that aim in mind and having approached the national park authority, we took up this challenge and never in my wildest dreams did I think it would gather so much attention and publicity. Awarding the name Gurkha Path has added an extra dimension of which all the families are very proud."
National park warden Richard Farquhar praised the volunteers. He said: "This path was an ideal candidate for the Gurkhas to adopt since it is popular but was in poor condition.
"The work parties were amazing – we met once a fortnight and they became a real family affair with the volunteer’s families coming out with food to have a meal together at the end of the day. We had an impressive turn out with 10 or 15 volunteers each time and over the course of the project 40 or 50 people have been involved in the work – we even put in a new bridge."
National Park Authority Chair Melanie Doel said: "We are so proud of the achievements on Gurkha Path that we are putting the Brecon Nepalese Society up for a national volunteers award from the Association of UK National Parks which will be judged next month."