Kathmandu: Consulate General of Nepal in San Francisco organized a formal program to celebrate the first International Wellness Day at the Nepali Community Center in Richmond, San Francisco Bay Area on April 12. The program was organized at the backdrop of the United Nations General Assembly’s resolution on March 10 which declared April 15 every year as International Wellness Day. Nepali Association of Northern California (NANC) and Jeevan Vigyan USA collaborated with the Consulate General to organize the program.
The event was graced by the Chief Guest Eduardo Martinez, Mayor of the Richmond City, and Special Guest Mr. Dili Bhattarai, a Nepali-American Council Member of Hercules City. The event was attended by more than 100 participants including Purna Baniya, Vice President of Non-Resident Nepali Association International Coordination Committee, KP Dhakal, President of Non-Resident Nepali Association-California Chapter, Pritesh Karki, President of NANC, senior officials of Jeevan Vigyan USA as well as heads and representatives of various Nepali organizations active in the Bay Area, professors, doctors, social workers, students, journalists, and people from various walks of life.
The program, which began with the national anthems of Nepal and the United States, included formal remarks, presentations by experts in the field of yoga and naturopathy, and yoga exercises, meditation, pranayama, and sound therapy sessions for the participants. The program was moderated by Ms. Vijaya Subedi of Jeevan Vigyan and featured formal remarks by Lakshuman Khanal, Consul General, Chief Guest Mayor Martinez, Special Guest Mr. Bhattarai, and NANC President Mr. Karki.
In his remarks, Consul General Khanal recalled the initiative taken by Nepal to have the United Nations General Assembly declare International Wellness Day and the contributions made by Jeevan Vigyan life and other organizations in this regard. He underscored health not as a mere absence of illness but as a state of complete physical, mental, social, spiritual and environmental well-being of an individual. He mentioned that it should be understood as a state of holistic well-being. As Nepal has been a land of yoga, meditation, Ayurveda and naturopathy since ancient times, Nepal can represent and nurture the concept of wellness in the right sense, he remarked. He added that this initiative will be important to develop and promote Nepal as a global wellness hub. He informed that the Government of Nepal has announced 2027 as Wellness Year with the aim of promoting wellness tourism in Nepal. He appealed to the participants to take all measures and efforts from their respective places in developing and promoting Nepal as a global wellness hub.
During the program, Chief Guest Martinez, read out a proclamation declaring that Richmond City would celebrate April 14 as Nepali New Year, in recognition of the contribution made by the Nepali community to the socio-economic and cultural development of Richmond City. Mayor Martinez handed over the Letter of Proclamation to NANC President Karki, as a representative of the Nepali community, in presence of Consul General Khanal.
Recently, the Consulate General has been advising Nepali diaspora living in the San Francisco Bay Area and surrounding areas, as well as the states under the jurisdiction of the Consulate General, to take necessary initiatives and lobby for the official recognition of the Nepali New Year by the city council of the city in which they reside. As a result, so far, San Francisco, Santa Clara and Richmond cities have officially declared April 14 as the Nepali New Year, while Hercules City had first declared April 14 as Nepal Day back in 2022.
