COUNTRY: India, Palampur
PROGRAM: UniBreak
PROJECT: Nursing and Dentistry
WRITTEN BY: Cherie Yam & Gemma Burratto
This weekend proved to be challenging but life affirming for all of us. We were all really excited to begin the trek from Mcleod Ganji and once we got going there was a sudden realisation of what we were in for. Throwing ourselves into the 6800-foot climb we were ready to rest after the first 15 minutes. Knowing that we could go slowly was a bit of a blessing though and we enjoyed the views of the villages below, negotiating the narrow pathways and watching as we progressed further and further toward the mountain peak. Getting to the top was an amazing experience, with mountains towering above on one side, and villages sprawling on the other side. We rested our feet and lungs as we tried to capture the beauty through our camera lens.
Just as the sun sunk below the horizon we gathered the wood for the bonfire. Seeing the lights of the villages below was really beautiful as we sat by the bonfire, enjoying the company of other campers from Delhi. We were privileged to have the local traditional songs sung for us, and in return Kent sang a song from Adele’s collection for everyone to enjoy.
The next morning we woke up to the most amazing scenery, still not quite believing that we were there. We began descending on our journey, clinging to the wall and dodging the donkeys making their weary journey to the mountain top.
Back at the office we walked to view the temple and residence of the Dalai Lama. It's such a beautiful place! While we were there people were free to attend teachings. From here we saw the 'Magic View Point' in the mountains - one of the rest stops on our trek up to the top of Triund. It was amazing to see how high up we had actually climbed! Our plan was to then walk to another Buddhist temple and then onto a waterfall but unfortunately everyone was so exhausted that we did not make it to our final site.
To rest our feet we jumped into rickshaws and made our way to the markets to buy teapots and Indian pants. If one thing is true, it is that our bargaining skills need to improve drastically. After an amazing, painful and rewarding weekend in the mountains of Dharamsala, we hobbled back (literally) to Palampur for a not so conventional week of work experience.
Up until now, our role in the hospitals (for nursing) and the clinics (for dentistry) have been purely observational with a lot of learning from the health professionals we have been shadowing. This week, the responsibility shifts to us as we begin our community health week!
After a day’s rest on Monday (as most of us literally could not walk), we set off on Tuesday morning to some local tea farms to conduct oral health instruction with some of the families living there. Armed with little knowledge about who or what we would be seeing or doing, we were lost and very anxious for the week ahead!
The next day would be spent visiting the children at the Saliana School for the Mentally Challenged. Despite our nerves, the day proved to be successful! The four dental students showed off our ‘flawless’ brushing skills whilst Gemma taught the children how to wash their hands. After playing some soccer with the kids and a few quick photos, we were back home. Our last visit was to a local primary school with kids ranging from 4 to 12 years old. After getting over the initial excitement of the adorable younger children, we began to show our teeth brushing skills to all 160 children. After 3 hours of constant brushing, we were worried about the guaranteed abrasion on our teeth.
Time for another big rest before a huge final weekend of paragliding, white water rafting and Manali! Exciting!
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