May 2010 - Village Work

Early this month I had the opportunity to accompany a Nepali and a Malayian to a remote village. This guy is working with a neplai organisation in holistic mission. He has been going regularily to this village where a small church has been planted and to help lead in its worship there and to do other work. I first cycled half an hour to meet the group, we then caught a bus at 6am and travelled about 2 and half hours. After this journey we walked 5 hrs up up up in to the hills in the searing heat. Fortunitaly i had 3 liters of water with me, which we were grateful for.

Eventually we arrived at the village and were given a tour, some people were surpried to see a foreigner as we were well of the beat track. That evening we met in a church with about 15 believers, and the following day also for communion.

Part of the work being done in this village, is to build bathrooms. A total of 3 sites were identified, and I understand now a month later these have been nearly completed. Will try to visit again, as the villagers are keen to meet Nicola and the children.

Me demostrating how to carry a 'douka'. The tool of choice for Nepalis

May 2010 - Field Trip

First Field Trip with INF’s Partnership For Rehabilitation (PFR)
Last week 18th May, I again was on the road with INF. This is new work which has been talked about for a long time. Now 15 months after arriving I did my 1st trip. I’m glad I hadn’t gone sooner as I had to do all my work and liaising in Neplai! I travelled with Krishna from PFR, he’d his work cut out for him looking after the foreign lady! I followed him around like a child.
We travelled to Beshishar, which is on the trekking trail and very pleasant, the morning we left we had good views of Lamjung Himalyan range. We linked up with a Local Partner Organisation (LPO) where there are 2 CBR workers and they are based in a church. The 1st patient, who had a stammer, his mother refused to believe I was actually speaking Neplai, which was quite comical. There were also many children with ear problems and I’m afraid after my advice there are probably a few Neplais who are very confused about the gospel message. The words for ‘sin’ and ‘pus’ in Nepali being very similar. So I did tell some patients that if SIN comes (from their ear), they must go immediately to the hospital!
One of the CBR workers is not receiving a salary, just living expenses which the church gives to her. The other starts work at 5a.m. every day, so that she can combine her church and CBR work. I was very inspired by their dedication.
On the Friday we travelled to a village Ghachowk. It was 2 hours by local bus and then we had to walk 1 hour by foot up a mountain side which had no path. It was mid day, and I was hot and completely knackered. Only the fact that I’ve turned 40 and therefore by definition am a fully fledged adult prevented me from sitting down and having a temper tantrum! Again many people attended. One family came and the child had a repaired cleft lip and palate. After assessing the child the father asked if I could assess his wife as her speech was also unclear. I was thinking she’s really too old to change her speech now, but was going through the motions of assessing. Well her speech had the characteristics of the speech of someone with a cleft palate. So I had a look inside her mouth, and sure enough it looks like she has a submucous cleft. My advice was she should attend hospital and she may benefit from surgery. It’s amazing to think this had never been identified or treated sooner!
Going to villages for me, was extremely tiring and I hate being away from the family, but there is such need The reality for many people is that they cannot afford the cost to travel or the time away from work in the fields to travel for 1-2 days to attend for therapy! I’m hoping that by going I will help to develop the CBR workers skills in assessing and providing a level of basic therapy to these children, so that they will have an opportunity to reach their full potential.

April 2010 Mid West Visit

Mid West Trip - Gorhai, Nepalgunj, Surkhet.
In March I went on a trip to look at INFs community work and link up with Community Based Rehabilitation Workers( CBR) The trip was hampered by bandhs(strikes). I travelled with a New Zealander, Jo, her husband wasn’t well enough to travel on the day we left so they had planned he would leave the next day and they would met up in Gorhai. Due to the bandh they didn’t get to meet up til 4days later when we finally made it to Nepalgunj. The bandh also meant we were unable to travel to more remote areas and had to go everywhere on foot.
We met a former leprosy patient, Sukhmaya, who developed leprosy at 16 and her family put her out of the house and she lived in a leper community in the jungle. This was not uncommon. She heard of the INF mission hospital in Gorhai and despite having no shoes and weeping sores on her feet walked for 6 days to the hospital for treatment. She is now in her 60’s and lives in a 1 room house, with a toilet, which INF built for her. We went to visit and she was so proud to have us in her home.

In Nepalgunj we visited a lady who had polio as a child which left her legs disabled. When young the family tolerated her and allowed her to stay but once she turned 16 and with no prospect of marriage they made her leave. With the help of INF she now runs a small shop from a wooden hut and they also built her a 1 room house. Unfortunately there wasn’t enough money to build a toilet.
We met many other people living in remote areas, or in difficult circumstances, but with help from INF they are being supported and are setting up business in order to become independent and earn a living.

April 2010

13/04/10 or 066/12/31
Today’s dates, depending on wether you’re in Western world calendar or Nepali calendar. Everyone in Nepal is wishing each other Happy New Year Wishes! Today was one of those days in Nepal when all that effort at learning the language and drinking tea to develop relationships is starting to pay off! Namrata the assistant at WRH has been on leave so I’ve been doing the SLT work there alone. This has really helped my relationships with the other staff. I’ve been chatting with Bishnu the audiology technician and he’s been telling me how he would love to get training in digital hearing aids-Great!
I went to a ‘leaving do’ at P.F.R where I’ve found it very slow to make progress with my work. I’m expecting an informal pop in! It’s meant to start at 3, so at 3:30 I think I’m late, but arrive and nothing’s happening! I’m told Nepali time’s like elasctic. Then someone remarks, ‘Oh are you invited?’ Well I spend a lot of time in Nepal uncertain of the protocol and so I then wonder if I’m meant to be there at all. As I’m dwelling on my insecurities, one of the facilitators, gives me a key ring marked with my name and the new year, and some ear-rings which he has made, as my new year gift.
The good bye, is a formal affair, should’ve known, how the Nepali’s LOVE a boring programme with plenty of speeches. Starting at 4, it’s only an hour late. So I hang in there following the gist until about 4:30, my brain is fried and gives up trying. Hom the man leaving is wearing flower garlands, and we all have to present him with a flower-so far out of my comfort zone now. Speeches ended I try to leave, but no, they insist I must have the compulsory snack, which is served at all do’s. So I try and eat knowing that a friend has cooked tea for us, how will I eat that? But despite not quite knowing what’s going on all the time and being the definite outsider, the reward, is that now they are making an effort to include me, they chat to me in Nepali, they discuss how I can be involved in their projects. I’ve worked with Hom enough to be sad that he’s leaving.
Then to top it all I arrive home and open 2 parcels form home, full of beef oxo cubes and various packets to help me cook N.I style. There are also news paper clippings from the local paper about how the Model primary school raised money for one of the H.I patients Sristi to receive a Cochlear Implant. We are very close to our target and I think at very positive that we will have been able to achieve by being here. To all the staff, pupils and friends and who got involved THANK-YOU.