Tika Karki Memorial
Long-time PCN Assoc Country Director, Tika Karki, was diagnosed with Esopageal Cancer in the fall of 2007. On January 3, 2008 in the presence of his family, Tika passed away. He will be missed by all.
Donovan Russel wrote a very nice biography that is posted below.
Many people have a warm spot in their heart for Tika Karki who did so much over the years to make the Peace Corps in Nepal outstanding. He helped make the experiences of hundreds of Volunteers meaningful and fulfilling. Tika began his association with the Peace Corps in 1971 and worked in several capacities until 2002, serving as Language Teacher, Materials Developer, Language Coordinator, Assistant Training Officer, Program Officer, Program and Training Officer, Deputy Director, Senior Advisor and Security Officer. He worked in one way or another with some 3500 Volunteers. Tika was a founding father of the Peace Corps family. As he recently noted, “ I have come to realize the many real friends I have made over my long association with the Peace Corps. It has been a truly worthwhile journey for me.”
Tika was born in the small village of Baldhengadhi in western Palpa. After completing early grades in one and a half years, he was sent to Tansen where he was admitted into grade seven. This was the beginning of a life long love affair with learning through formal and informal means, including extensive travel in China, Mongolia, the Philippines, Thailand, Afghanistan, Turkey, Iran, Britain, the USA, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Sri Lanka, India, Malaysia, Ivory Coast, Senegal, Tunisia, Togo and Italy. Those who know him well realize he is an avid reader and student of philosophy and religion and is at home with the deepest of Hindu and Tibetan Buddhist thought. His intellectual explorations extend into several other fields and it is always a treat to sit for a time of reflection with him.
In addition to the more visible duties that go with the Peace Corps (e.g. visiting Volunteer work sites in 72 of the 75 districts and representing the organization at formal events), Tika slugged away for years, to insure that volunteer committees would be heard, project plans would be approved, funding proposals would be written to good standard, the country strategy would make sense, program and training plans would be acceptable, work plans would be kept up, volunteer support from host communities would be forthcoming, medical evacuations would go smoothly, overseas relatives would be answered, Embassy offices would be satisfied, government of Nepal regulations would be met, volunteer requests would be processed in Washington, and volunteer safety matters would be urgently attended to.
Tika lived with his family in Virginia. His wife Shanti is a language instructor at the Foreign Service Institute in Arlington. Son Saurav, with a graduate degree from Georgetown, works with an economics consulting firm in Washington. Daughter Srijana, with a degree from George Mason University, is a language instructor at the Foreign Service Institute. And son Biplav will complete his undergraduate degree at Virginia Tech in December.
Tika lived through historic times in Nepal, among them the 1990 movement for the restoration for democracy and the Maoist uprisings leading to the closing of the Peace Corps. In addition to his busy work duties, Tika Karki is known for co-authoring the Basic Course in Spoken Nepali. He also made an extremely valuable contribution through the vast Nepali- English Dictionary that he authored and which was published in 2005. Tika Karki has truly earned this tribute.
–Donovan Russell