His is a journey from Thalassery to the Swiss Parliament and he still maintains his connection with the town where he grew up till he was four.

Nik Gugger was sworn in as member of Nationalrat (Swiss Parliament) in Bern around 7.30 p.m. Indian time on Monday. The 47-year-old father of three children has been elected to Swiss Parliament as a candidate of the EVP (Evangelical Party in Switzerland). An Indian by birth, he was adopted by a Swiss couple and he still cherishes his association with people and institutions at Thalassery. Though he was born at the Basel Mission Hospital at Udupi, he had grown up as an orphan in what is now the Nettur Technical Training Foundation (NTTF) campus at Illikkunnu at Thalassery till his adoption by his Swiss parents. The NTTF itself is a symbol of the Indo-Swiss cooperation aimed at promoting technical education among the youth of this country.

Likely to visit Thalassery

“I am proud to be in between the two cultures, the Swiss and Indian culture,” Mr. Gugger told The Hindu over the phone. Recalling his association with the late Murkot Ramunni and the Gundert Foundation School the latter had founded, he said he would probably visit Thalassery in March next year when the 70th anniversary of Indo-Swiss friendship would be celebrated. Mr. Gugger started his political career as a councillor in the town parliament of Winterthur, the sixth biggest town in Switzerland, and as a member in the Cantonal Council. He is one of the youngest members in Swiss Parliament. He recalls that his foster father was an experienced social worker who had played an important role in shaping him as a social worker. His social work had given him an opportunity to work in Colombia as a youth worker. He studied at the Center for Agogics in Basel, the University of Amsterdam and also at the Zurich University of Applied Sciences.

Helped in fund-raising

“I still keep in touch with Mr. Gugger,” said Raghunatha Kurup, a native of Thalassery, who had retired from the NTTF. Mr. Gugger was part of the delegates from the Volkart Foundation, Switzerland, who had visited the Gundert Foundation School at Thalalssery in 2006, he recalled. Mr. Gugger had also helped the school by collecting funds for it, he said.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Kerala / by Mohamed Nazeer / Kannur – November 27th, 2017