This article was recently published in the Southampton Press and on 27east.com. You can find the article online here.

Building A Bridge In Nepal In Memory Of Late Sports Photographer

Publication: The Southampton Press

By Lisa Finn   Oct 18, 2011 3:41 PM 

Famed sports photographer Lou Capozzola, a Westhampton Beach resident who died on August 18 at the age of 61, spent a lifetime capturing images and telling the stories of a generation through the lens of his camera.

And it was a photograph that he observed in a newspaper while visiting his daughter, Eva Capozzola, in Nepal in June—an image that was forever seared into his mind and heart—that motivated him to pursue a passionate mission during what turned out to be the last two months of his life.

It was during Mr. Capozzola’s visit that he read about a tragic accident in the Dhading region in which five people—three adults and two children—died while attempting to navigate a cable crossing approximately 50 feet above the Trishuli River. The ropes snapped and all five plunged to their deaths in the water below.

The children who lost their lives were simply trying to get to school, and the makeshift cable crossing was the only way they could make the treacherous trip.

“He was shocked at how dangerous it is for children to get to school and how difficult people’s lives are,” said Pam Capozzola, Mr. Capozzola’s wife of 38 years, during a recent interview.

Though her husband, whom she described as a devout family man, was fueled by a burning desire to make a difference in Nepal, he died in August before a plan could take shape.

And now, to honor his memory, Mrs. Capozzola, their two children, Eva and Taj, the Rotary Club of Westhampton, and a legion of friends and supporters have set out to collect money to help build a new footbridge—to be called The Lou Capozzola Bridge to Education—in Nepal.

“He was such a compassionate man,” Mrs. Capozzola said of her late husband, who was a photographer for Sports Illustrated. “He was committed to his family and to the well-being of children everywhere. He really cared about people.”

Mr. Capozzola’s giving heart was reborn in his daughter, Eva, 26, who has been working in Nepal for more than a year, helping to raise awareness about women’s health and organic farming. His heart swelled with pride when the family visited Ms. Capozzola in Nepal this past June and he saw firsthand the life-altering work his daughter had embarked upon. Additionally, their daughter has inherited her father’s gift for photography, Mrs. Capozzola, a well-known local artist, pointed out.

Building a bridge in her father’s memory, Ms. Capozzola wrote in an e-mail from Nepal, is a fitting tribute to a man who spent his life helping others. Once the bridge is complete, she said: “I will sit in the middle of it and look down at the water flowing beneath and I will smile from the depths of my heart. It will feel like my father is giving a piggyback ride to every man, woman and child, bringing them safely from one side to the other. What could be more beautiful than that?”

This week, Ashok Kumar Shrestha, the president of the Rotary Club of Dhulikhel, Nepal, and Ms. Capozzola journeyed to Dhading to set plans in motion for construction of the bridge. Initially, they were contemplating building the bridge across the Trishuli River, near the fatal accident site. But with a projected cost of $250,000, such a project would have required an international effort.

Instead, the pair decided to focus their efforts on a lesser known site in the Jogimara Village, located in Dhading, Nepal. Their footbridge will eventually be built over a smaller tributary that feeds the Trishuli River; at the present time, villagers and their children must cross over stones on foot in order to reach the other side of the river, where the school and other facilities are located. During monsoon season, children cannot attend class because it is impossible to cross the swollen river. The village is located about five hours by vehicle from the site of the fatal bridge accident.

The new footbridge—which is expected to cost an estimated $21,500—will improve the lives of residents of four villages: Yebang, Robang, Jogimara and Jaypuri. Ms. Capozzola said she does not know when ground will be broken on the project, explaining that further assessment of the site is necessary.

“The village is deprived,” wrote Pramila Dallakoti, who is working on the project with Ms. Capozzola in Nepal, in an email this week. “Most villagers are illiterate. There is not enough agricultural production. Most of the people here have never seen vehicles, larger markets or cities.”

Ms. Capozzola and Mr. Kumar Shrestha decided that the site was perfect for their bridge. “We felt it made the most sense to do the work here, to help this community,” Ms. Capozzola said. “I thought Dad would greatly appreciate the idea of supporting the underdog, so to speak.”

The cost of the project will be shared by the Rotary Clubs in Westhampton and Nepal, as well as the Community Development and Relief Agency of Banepa, Nepal. Also, family and friends of the Capozzolas are chipping in to defray the cost of the work.

During a recent visit to the area, Ms. Capozzola said she asked village residents how a footbridge would change their lives. One woman, who never shared her name, told her: “Women here face many difficulties. They are deprived and weak in various ways. Most women are illiterate, but we are trying to educate our children. We cannot even write our own names.”

A bridge, the villager added, would change the lives of those who must now navigate slippery stones to get to school or the market. “It is very difficult to cross the river, especially for children and the elderly. This is even worse during the monsoon. When the bridge is built, it will benefit everyone,” she told Ms. Capozzola.

Lakshmi Magar, another villager who spoke with Ms. Capozzola, explained to her that crops are planted in the lower fields located across the river from their homes. During monsoon season, which runs from June to August, the river is sometimes impassable and crops are often destroyed. The loss of crops could be lessened, and there could be enough food to feed all the villagers, if farmers had access to the lower fields with the bridge.

“We could have a better income and more food for our own families,” the woman said, when asked about the benefits of a footbridge.

Moving forward, Ms. Capozzola said the next steps include a full needs assessment in December, as well as soil tests, data gathering and, of course, raising funds. “This is going to be a lengthy process—we will not be able to begin construction tomorrow,” she said.

So far, approximately $12,000 has been raised for the bridge, Ms. Capozzola said. She noted that the cost could escalate after she returns to the site in December with engineers. At that time, Ms. Capozzola said she hopes to have more concrete details, such as when work could begin and when the footbridge would be completed.

Paul Haines, a longtime member of the Rotary Club of Westhampton, said it took only one look at photos showing children navigating a dangerous rope crossing for Rotarians to decide to lend their support to the project.

Mr. Kumar Shrestha, who had the chance to meet Mr. Capozzola during his visit in June, is also eager to make her father’s dream a reality, according to Ms. Capozzola. “He looks at me in a way that pierces my heart and says, ‘We’ll get it done,’” she wrote. “For him, we’ll get it done. And we will. It may take years, but one day, we’ll walk across that bridge.”

Those interested in making a donation are asked to make their checks payable to the “WHR Charities Inc” and include “Lou Capozzola Bridge to Education” in the memo line. The organization is a 501 (c) (3) and donations are tax-deductible. Donations made out to “WHR Charities Inc” can also be mailed to Pam Capozzola, P.O. Box 604, Westhampton Beach, NY 11978.

Up from the main highway, which goes along the Trishuli River, we followed a dirt village road up a steep mountainside.
Our 4 wheel drive truck got stuck more than once and finally there was a roadblock to prevent us from getting the whole way to the actual proposed bridge site, as a large tree had fallen and needed to be cut up and removed before the road could be used again.

We made it to a point and it would have taken a few more hours to walk to the site, but time restrictions prevented us from making it the whole way for this visit.  Sanat Sapkota was with us today and is based in Dhading with his work for ADRA (A relief agency in Nepal). He will be able to return and do more analysis.  We still have a lot of information and data to collect before we can make a full projection of the actual costs.  Transportation is going to be a challenge, the road is narrow, very steep and is a series of hairpin turns.  Now is the driest time of the year, so it will be even more difficult to pass during monsoon.  There are larger trucks, which handle these roads better. We will be able to use them to transport the materials for the bridge construction.

On our way to Dhading, Ashok (President of the Rotary Club of Dhulikhel, Nepal and a close friend) and I were contemplating the building of a bridge across the Trishuli at the actual accident site from the June disaster.

Cost for a suspension bridge can be roughly calculated to be about $1000 USD per meter, so to build over the Trishuli would be about 250,000 USD.  It would truly need to be an international effort, we could try to appeal to the Nepali Government, other rotary clubs in the US, Nepal, Australia, New Zealand and Germany.  This would have a great impact and potentially a very large catchment in terms of the amount of people it could service.

A bright young woman from Jogimara, Pramila, joined us to guide us through the village this morning.  We asked her opinion and she agreed, a bridge over the Trishuli would affect many people, but as there is the highway along the Trishuli, there is a lot of traffic and a lot of awareness.  Especially because the last crossing accident got a lot of press, it will be easier to raise funds for a bridge there.

But in Kot Dumku Danda, a more remote village that is higher elevation and very difficult to access, there is a small river, only 15-20 meters wide that needs a safe crossing.  The villagers have been asking, but no one is responding.

Pramila said, “There is one small river which is a tributary to Trishuli.  It separates two villages.  The school and markets are across the river for one of the villages and the villagers cross the river in order to reach them.  During monsoon, those children cannot come to school, which interrupts their studies.  The most affected people are the children and the women.  The local villagers have made multiple requests for support to the government officials but the government and local officials have done nothing.  This is a more remote area and there is no access to donors or larger organizations that could offer support.  There are no educated people with the skills to request funds and support from the government.  The village road to this area was built one year ago with funds granted to the VDC (Village Development Committee), labor was provided for free by the locals.  The government and the funding agencies are not responding.”

Pramila continued, “There is a lack of solid leadership in the community.  There are leaders, but they are not skillful enough to request funds. This is a high altitude, remote place and most of the villagers here are illiterate. In this area there are mainly Dalit people (Nepali equivalent to untouchables) and Mogar and Chapang.  Both the Mogar and Chapang are highly marginalized in Nepal, as are Dalits. The Mogar and Chapang have more Mongolian features and follow Buddhist and Animistic traditions.  They grow millet, maize, and vegetables such as potato, peas, cucumber, and pumpkin. The Chepang are traditionally a tribal group that is now beginning to assimilate into the rapidly changing Nepali society.  Most of the people here have never seen vehicles, larger markets or cities.”

Ashok and I looked at each other and felt it made the most sense to do the work here, to help this community.  I thought dad would greatly appreciate the idea of “supporting the underdog” so to speak.  Even though we didn’t make it all the way to the actual site, we spoke to one woman on the way from the village on the way to the site, Phul Kumari D. said,  “I am an illiterate woman, I cannot say much, but I can say a few things about women’s situation and the impact of a bridge.  Women here face many difficulties.  They are deprived and weak in various ways.  Most women are illiterate, but we are trying to educate our children.  This is difficult, there are many challenges to educating them.  We cannot even write our own names, and the numbers of women like this in our area is very high.  There are no alternative options for income generation.  Agriculture is our only option.  The number of children is high, and it is difficult to provide them with education.  We are borrowing loans from the wealthier to send them to school.  We have recently built our own school to provide education up to 10th class, but it has not yet been authenticated by the government, so we have a building but no teachers and we don’t know if it will be fully established.  We are maintaining the costs for the school from local resources by collecting small amounts from the villagers.

In regards to the bridge, that is a very steep area.  It is very difficult to go up and down.  I have been there a few times and the way is not easy.  There are many leeches and dense shrubs.  It is very difficult to cross the river, especially for the children and for the elderly.

This is even worse during monsoon.  Compelled to go to the market, and more necessary when someone is sick.  When the bridge is built, it will benefit everyone.”

Finally, before leaving to head back down to the main highway, we met a woman from the village where the bridge would be.  Lakshmi Magar said, “We have agriculture in the lower fields which are located across the river from our homes.  We need to bring the products from the fields to our homes.  During the Monsoon months we cannot bring the crops home and they are wasted.  If there was a bridge, we would have enough food, our children could make it to school, we could bring our excess production to the market for income generation and we would be able to reach health services.  We would be able to plant more and grow more food and with easier access to the market, we could have a better income and more food for our own families.”

Ashok, Sanat and Pramila are fully on board. We are going to come again, hopefully in December to stay for 3-4 days to conduct a full needs assessment, soil tests and collect more information which will be necessary to move forward.  This is going to be a lengthy process, we will not be able to begin construction tomorrow, but I believe this is a deserving area and it is worth the time and investment to create a change for the lives of these villagers.

Ashok had the chance to meet my father and feels very strongly about this project.  He looks at me in a way that pierces my heart and says, “we’ll get it done.  For him, we’ll get it done.” And we will.  It may take years, but one day, we’ll walk across that bridge.  I will sit in the middle of it and look down at the water flowing beneath and I will smile from the depths of my heart.  It will feel like my father is giving a piggyback ride to every man, woman and child, bringing them safely from one side to the other.  What can be more beautiful than that?