Hope for Gus supports Nepali families and their children with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy.
In 2015, the Hope for Gus Foundation traveled to Nepal for the first Everest to End Duchenne trek.
We had a team of 7 people, plus a filmmaker, and raised over $100,000 for research for DMD.
Prior to the trek, Tonya had begun to communicate online with some Nepali families whose boys had Duchenne. In Nepal, a very poor and developing country, there are no federal or state funds to help those with disabilities and life-threatening illnesses. There is also no universal or government-funded healthcare. These boys couldn’t even go to school, because there is no way to transport them. Villages have mostly rocky paths for roads and wheelchairs are expensive.
The 2015 Everest to End Duchenne team visited with these families and were able to ask many questions about life in Nepal for someone with muscular dystrophy and saw firsthand how they lived day-to-day.
Before we even began the trek to Everest Base Camp, the team decided to donate a portion of the funds raised to help improve the quality of life for these young men. Since that time, Hope for Gus has supported them through each of our 5 Everest treks and also provided Covid relief.
In 2023 we officially launched our program, Mission DMD: Nepal. Since then, HFG has given support in the following ways.
The Hope for Gus Impact
Initiated a collaboration between 7 DMD Foundations to complete a much-needed new building for families to gather.
Purchased wheelchairs, shower chairs, sling lifts.
Started a registry of DMD families in Nepal.
Funded the first-ever summer camp for boys.
Provided office supplies and a new computer for the center.
Currently looking into hiring a PT and finding a neurologist who can treat these boys who’ve had little to no medical care.
Hope for Gus is now working closely with the Muscular Dystrophy Foundation Nepal in hope of bridging the gaps to medical care and equipment for the families.
