COUNTRY: Nepal
PROGRAM: UniBreak Groups
PROJECT: Nursing
WRITTEN BY: Tracie Attard, Central Queensland University
Sunday 17th November we spent the morning at Fishtail private hospital again working with various doctors in different wards. During our group discussions we have all agreed that even though the hospitals have a lack of resources the staff do the very best with what they have. Once finished at Fishtail we travelled to the local public hospital where everything from the running of the wards to the decor was a whole lot different to the private hospital. Wards were overcrowded with patients and family members. In Nepal it is quite common for numerous family members to stay all day with their sick loved one. As we walked through the maternity ward we handed assorted gifts to each mother for their newborn. These gifts consisted of the knitted woollen beanies and dolls the team had bought over from Australia that were made by family members, friends and some wonderful knitting groups. We ventured outside and walked across the grounds towards the methadone clinic, dodging a few grazing cows along the way. We spoke to the manager of the clinic about drug use in Nepal and spoke to some of the clients – it was so interesting to compare the differences to Australia.
Monday 18th we again worked at Fishtail Hospital in the morning. But the highlight of our day was visiting a Buddhist Nunnery. This place stole our hearts. There are 31 young girls from the ages of approx. 14months old to teens who are all in training to become Buddhist nuns. These girls come from different backgrounds, some were orphaned, some had parents who just cannot afford to raise them while others have been willingly handed over to the nuns because it is an honour to have a religious identity in the family. The children shared two rooms and slept only on mattresses on the floor but they were so happy. We learnt that the children were not only educated in Buddhism beliefs but also general subjects such as maths and English. We decided to donate a sum of money to this organization to assist with the raising of these children. We also met an Australian girl who was volunteering here who had travelled to Nepal with Antips two years ago.
Tuesday 19th - Election day. Due to the unrest in the country concerning these elections we were advised not to leave our hotel until 5pm so the majority of us took the opportunity to catch up on much needed sleep.
Wednesday 20th - Another morning at Fishtail then we went to Naulo Ghumti Nepal, this is a HIV / drug rehabilitation clinic. Clients check-in by choice and stay onsite to be involved in a 3 month rehabilitation program. We attended a lecture about the drug problems in Pokhara and then had the pleasure of meeting with approx 30 brave clients. We were free to ask questions which clients and staff openly and honestly answered. The youngest client was only 10 years old and the oldest was 69 years old. We donated to this organization a huge rice cooker and two urns. As a group we were so affected by our visit to the aged care facility last week that we returned and donated 15, 000 rupees to them. The founder was so appreciative and announced that this money would be enough for a new building. We also had the pleasure of meeting the oldest resident, a beautiful lady who is 105 years old. This day also saw the arrival to Pokhara of the second group of our peers – CQU Nursing Team B.
Thursday 21st - After our morning at the hospital we went next door to interact with students of Cosmos College. This college followed the curriculum of Cambridge University in the UK and the students came from families that were of wealth. Most of these students wish to graduate and move abroad to continue their education. They loved asking us questions about Australia and were happy to answer our questions about the Nepalese culture. The afternoon was dedicated to organising and packing for our weekend in the mountains.
Friday 22nd – We were up early ready for our trip to Gilung in preparation for the free health camp. We crammed into four 4wds and made a 5-hour trip up the mountain range, above the clouds to the most beautiful village. We were greeted by the villagers and adorned with flowered leis they had made from themselves. We walked up to a ridge where we were formally welcomed to Gilung and shown a small building that had been built with some of the funds this years students had raised. This building contained a kitchen that the whole community can use.
After the formalities we were divided into groups of two and introduced to our host families. We all found the language barrier quite challenging however we managed. Saturday after breakfast we made our way to the local school, it was quite a walk up and down, along rocky paths and dirt tracks to conduct the health camp. We were joined by 6 doctors (please check that number) and throughout the day assessed over 250 people. The smiles and laughter of these children and the families was worth the bumps ride and lack of sleep we had. It was fantastic to see the looks on individual faces when we gave them beanies, scarves and toothbrushes. These people have next to nothing yet they opened their homes and their hearts to us, it was a very humbling experience. After the health camp finished we made our way back to our host-families in time for dinner. Our families fed us well however it was interesting that as we were their guests they would not accept any help from us and they did not eat until we had finished our meals. This evening we were treated to a cultural show and official farewell. Sunday morning we farewelled our beautiful families and made our way back to Pokhara. This completes our second week
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