Siddhi Memorial Foundation (SMF): BACKGROUND
On the 8th of October 1993, a jeep fatally struck down the four and a half year old Siddhi Sundar Dhaubhadel as he was returning home from school. His last words were, “Please save me, it is painful”. Due to inadequate emergency facilities in Bhaktapur, Siddhi was rushed to a hospital in Kathmandu, 15 km away. Siddhi did not survive the 45 minute journey, and died before he received any medical help. His tragic loss alerted his parents, Shyam and Ranjana Dhaubhadel to the need of a hospital in Bhaktapur, to prevent such a tragedy from occurring again.

As a result, the Siddhi Memorial Health Service Centre (SMHSC) was founded as a non-governmental, non-profit, charitable organization on October 22nd, 1993 with the aim of providing free primary healthcare to the women and children of Bhaktapur. The overwhelming popularity of this centre further inspired the founders, Mr. Shyam S. Dhaubhadel and Mrs. Ranjana Dhaubhadel, to pursue the idea of constructing a local hospital. In early 1994, initial commitments to establish the hospital were made a reality when the founders donated 4000 square meters of land, located in the mid-southern periphery of Bhaktapur city. By early 1997 the first phase of the hospital building construction was completed with the help of donations received from many local and overseas donors. In early 1998, Siddhi Memorial Hospital was established as a non-profit health institution, providing healthcare to underprivileged women and children within the Bhaktapur region.

Initially the hospital began its service by providing out-patient facilities to approximately 45 women and children per day, six hours daily and six days a week. The 10-bed oral re-hydration therapy department was established on July 1st 2000, offering free 24-hour care, seven days a week, to patients in need. The Out-Patient Department of Siddhi Memorial Hospital now serves an average of 70 patients per day, and the In-Patient Department will soon see an additional 10 beds.

Today, there is an ongoing Saturday morning clinic held at the SMHSC, situated at Barahisthan, Bhaktapur - 14, and is about 2 km away from the Siddhi Memorial Hospital. This clinic addresses the ever-increasing demand of Family Planning and Immunization scheduling in this region, as well as pre-natal and post-natal care and general checkups serving more than 40 patients a day.

In January, 2003, the decision was made to establish the wider Siddhi Memorial Foundation (SMF). The objectives of the SMHSC were only directed towards health issues, but it was still crucial to instill several changes within the general community: to serve senior citizens better, to educate the people, to restore art and culture in the land, and to improve sports activities all around. Achieving all these goals required a certain higher function. It became essential to create a foundation under which all other sectors could function. The wider Siddhi Memorial Foundation was thus formed. A flower forms the logo of the foundation, with five red petals stemming from a yellow body and Siddhi in the center. The five petals indicate the 5 core values - Health, Education, Old Age Home, Art-Culture and Sports. The petals of our logo also reflect our belief in the five essential elements - Water, Sky, Air, Sun and Earth.

The SMF has already started to realize its goals. In October, 2005 the Siddhi Shaligram Briddhashram (SSB) opened to serve the senior citizens of Bhaktapur. The SSB will provide residential care and daycare to the respected elderly people of the community.

The overwhelming moral and financial support received from national and foreign individuals and organizations are still the main driving force behind the establishment and success of the SMF.