Helping Hands America
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Helping Hands America (formally Helping Hands: Health and Human Services) is a humanitarian non-profit organisation founded by Lila K. Chamlagai, dedicated to providing free healthcare, mental health support, and humanitarian aid to refugees and underserved communities.
Overview
Helping Hands America (formally Helping Hands: Health and Human Services) is a humanitarian non-profit organisation founded by Lila K. Chamlagai, MPH, a Bhutanese-American scholar and Gates Millennium Scholar born in a refugee camp in Nepal. The organisation is dedicated to delivering free, high-quality healthcare and humanitarian aid to refugees and underserved communities worldwide.[1]
Mission
Founded on the principle that healthcare is a human right, not a privilege, Helping Hands advances humanitarian health through four pillars:[1]
- Direct medical support for refugees and marginalised groups
- Community empowerment through education and training
- Research-driven innovation that improves healthcare access
- Collaboration with local and global partners for sustainable impact
Founding
Chamlagai co-founded the organisation with Mr. Bahadur Chaudhary, a long-serving health assistant, drawing on their combined experience serving communities in need. Chamlagai's own background — growing up in a refugee camp and pursuing public health research at Brown University — informs the organisation's evidence-based approach to healthcare delivery.[1]
Programmes and Services
Helping Hands provides services including:[1]
- Free community health camps and medical consultations
- Medicine distribution to underserved families
- Mental health support and counselling services
- Health education and community training programmes
- Services for Bhutanese refugees, displaced families, migrant labourers, and rural communities
Geographic Focus
While headquartered in the United States, Helping Hands operates programmes in Nepal, providing healthcare to communities that include Bhutanese refugees remaining in camps, rural Nepali populations, and migrant workers. The organisation's work bridges the Bhutanese diaspora's resources with on-the-ground healthcare needs in South Asia.[1]
Connection to Bhutanese Diaspora
Helping Hands represents a growing trend of Bhutanese diaspora-led organisations channelling the community's professional expertise — particularly in healthcare, public health, and social work — back into service for vulnerable populations. Its founder's trajectory from refugee camp to Ivy League PhD researcher to humanitarian organisation leader exemplifies the impact of the Bhutanese resettlement programme's investment in human potential.[2]
References
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