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Account of the trip to Nepal in November/December 2006...
... by Marie-Noëlle et
Elise Ertlen, Chantal Decock, Daniel Pfeiffer et Françoise Halbwachs (at their own expense).
Dear Friends
As you know, five members of the AFPN Association made a trip to Népal for 3 weeks at their own expense in November 2006. The trip was motivated by a love for the country and a wish to see “with their own eyes” what stage the aid programme was at, not only to show support to local partners, but also to be able to report back to the donors.
The programme consists of several elements :
- the main one being the allocation of grants for training in the health professions in Jiri and Gorkha; the request is usually made by our partners, but is sometimes directly made to us,
- the basis of aid for development through fair trade in Gorkha,
- peripheral support provided by the “Cop’s” branch of high school pupils in the Mulhouse area through aid to the school in Paudwar,
- finally, the association provides aid in the form of medicine for a female member of the association “Human Welfare”, one of our partners.
This meant a number of meetings and visits spread over the three weeks
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We land in Kathmandu at the end of the morning
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Sunday 19th november :
Our friend, the guide Ganesh Gurung, greets us with garlands of flowers.
In the afternoon we visit the Buddhist stupa in Bodnath, where we are happy to be in this very special atmosphere once again. It is tinged with the piety of the faithful as well as the commercial bustle of the various shops located around the stupa.
We return to the hotel on foot, via the small side streets.
While the main streets, particularly Ring Road, are full of traffic constantly sounding their car horns, the narrow side streets in the heart of residential areas seem calm and timeless.
Monday 20th november :
Early in the morning we leave for Gorkha.
It’s a large town, but it looks quite rural, suspended on a mountainside at an altitude of 1500m. We take a walk while Badri attends a meeting to organise the reception of the Japanese delegation who will shortly be coming to commemorate the first ascent of Manaslu.
In the evening, Badri invites us to an aperitif, where the rakshi that Badri’s sister had prepared that afternoon, is positively flowing.
Tuesday 21th november :
We visit the training school of the "Community Medical Assistants".
Since 1996 the AFPN has financed five training grants on an annual basis. Badri distributes them to between 5 and 10 students, according to requirements.
The school trains the "Community Medical Students" over 15 months. They are responsible for the "sub health posts", secondary dispensaries.
The main dispensaries are run by Health Assistants who have three years’ training.
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We meet the students of "promotion 11" who have just started their course.
There are about 15 students in the classroom, mostly girls.
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The grants have not yet been awarded and each student hopes to receive one. They all come from Gorkha, within a day and a half’s walking distance at the most.
We remind them of the association’s philosophy and the criteria of allocation: their commitment to set up in a remote area after the studies have finished, as well as an inability to pay for their training themselves.
After the school visit, we head for the craftsman’s cooperative.
The cooperative is made up of about 15 craftswomen who weave, knit and sew at home. There are no factories and it is precisely the authenticity of the craftwork which is also its drawback: each item is unique, and bags and hats differ in size, shape and colour from one order to another.
This programme began 5 years ago. Ideally, we need orders amounting to 500 euros per month, but despite our efforts to negotiate with fair trade outlets in Alsace, we have been unable to reach this target. Nevetheless, we persevere.
In the afternoon we meet 5 out of the 11 students of "promotion 10", who are currently taking their national exams. They all intend to work in secondary dispensaries. We congratulate and encourage them.
Badri drops by and informs us that Prakash Shah, the doctor whose training we financed, is working in a remote region.
Whilst watching Nepalese TV back at our friend’s house in the evening, we are surprised to see the “live” signing of a treaty between the Maoists and the various political parties. King Gyanendra does not attend the ceremony. It’s as if he no longer figures in the future of the country.
It seems that the country may now have a chance to evolve favourably...
Wednesday 22th november :
Ganesh has managed to get a « micro-bus » for us and the 5 of us head off for Pokhara with Badri, Ganesh and Padam, the porter who has brought along our trekking permits.
After about half an hour of driving, Badri’s mobile phone starts ringing ! I start cursing this horrible little thing to myself, and Badri’s excessive use of it. (Oh dear, Nepal isn’t what it used to be....)
But it’s to let us know that Ganesh and Padam’s bags have been left behind in Gorkha with our permits in them !
In the end, one of Badri’s employees brings them to Kairani by motorbike. We wait a good half an hour, during which time we drink tea and eat clementines whilst meditating on technological development which, while undoubtedly not enhancing life’s charm , does simplify it somewhat.
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The drive goes well and, in spite of the hitch, we reach Pokhara by the end of the morning.
During the afternoon we stroll around the lake : in fact, there are so many shops that we can barely catch a glimpse of the lake...
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As we wander along we come across a shop which sells crafts which are similar to those produced in Gorkha. There is a sign on it showing a red easel: “Stop child labour, buy craft made by women.” During the trip we notice several shops with the same logo and start to wonder if this ethical argument is not simply a publicity stunt...
Thursday 23th november :
Ganesh goes off to buy bus tickets and comes back with a vehicle. The driver agrees to take us to Beni, which is about 60 kms away. We manage to reach Beni, where the road has been temporarily closed.
We have to cross the Kali Gandaki, on a suspended foot bridge (which motorbikes somehow manage to cross!) and then take another vehicle to Galeshwar 3 kms away where we have to cross another foot bridge to reach the station where there are 4X4 s which do the shuttle to Tiplyang, located about 10 km away.
The roads in Beni are swept clean. However, the rubbish is thrown from the bridge directly into the Kali-Gandaki, right into the river, aluminium bags, plastic packaging and probably batteries ! In fact the official policy is to bury waste or burn it in the open air. Given the change in lifestyle and the rise in consumption of packaged products, the treatment of waste is becoming a real problem.
We reach Tiplyang at about 4pm where we meet up with Karma Raju, who has come from Jomssom with the horse which Marie-Noelle will be riding. It’s a beautiful white creature with a saddle covered over with a lovely Tibetan rug. We call him "Roulio".
We continue on foot until we reach Ratopani and night is starting to fall. The village has been partially destroyed by a mudslide and only one lodge remains, the "New Hot Spring Sujita Lodge", which is in fact the only one open between Tiplyang and Tatopani.
We are relieved and settle down to enjoy our aperitif of "suguti" (grilled dried meat) and Marpha apple brandy mixed with hot water.
Friday 24th november :
The weather is clear and we set off after a good breakfast of thick pancakes and tea.
Just before Tatopani we arrive at a checkpoint : we have to show our registration certificates to the association of Nepal trekking agencies. This is apparently a recent obligation due to the "great number of tourists disappearing".
I personally think that it is a way of giving work to the agencies, which have suffered greatly from the lack of tourists as a direct result of the political violence which has rocked the country.
We arrive at Tatopani and are delighted to meet up again with Basuda, who is still in charge of the Trekker’s Lodge.
After lunch, while Marie Noelle stays in Tatopani with Padam, Karma and Roulio, we head off for Paudwar ; it’s very steep and much of it is like a staircase, almost impossible for a horse to negotiate.
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...is located at about 1000m above Tatopani, it’s a village hanging off the side of a mountain, suspended somewhere between heaven and earth.
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We get there at the end of the afternoon and my friend Babu Ram puts us up. He has a grocery. For many years he was a mule-driver.
Then he worked abroad.
He had told me that he had gone off to Japan, but had been imprisoned for several weeks because he didn’t have a work permit. He still managed to get a small sum together to set up a business. He has also fited out his house so that he can put up a few people who are passing through.
His wife, Hasta Maya, serves tea, rakshi and meals in the room which serves as a kitchen and where about 10 people can sit around the table and on mats on the floor.
Saturday 25th november :
At about 10.30am Tham Maya, the school headmistress, comes to fetch us.
We visit the cheese dairy. It was founded by the headmaster at the time, Gyan Bahadur, to improve resources and at the same time provide work to farmers.
It was the source of considerable strife but now produces cow’s cheese of reputed quality. It takes 12 litres of milk to make a kilo of cheese ; 2 small rounds of cheese, which weigh between 2 and 3 kilos each, are produced every day.
The cheese dairy has one room containing copper vats and various instruments for monitoring the quality of the milk, as well as a room for maturing the cheese. The thermometer to check the heating of the milk is broken, unfortunately, and at Gyan Bahadur’s request we have brought a new professional electronic one with us which is sturdy and effective. It was bought in Strasbourg at a cost of 200 euros and offered by Chantal on behalf of the AFPN.
We then go on to visit the boarding school. The Paudwar school provides education up to class 10 and 65 % of pupils live several miles away.
In 2001 the school had built a 5-room building to accommodate about 20 pupils, but a second building was needed. A group of young high school children called the "Cop’s" from the Jean XXIII School in Mulhouse contributed to the financing of the construction of the building, by collecting the required 3000 euros ,
thanks to the support of their teacher Mr Philippe Pierrel.
The new building went up in 2004-2005. It’s about 20 metres long and 4 metres wide and comprises 5 rooms, each of which contains 4 students. The "Cop’s" have since taken their baccalaureat and left Mulhouse and yet they continue to support the school, along with Mr Pierrel, by organising a "bowl of rice" every year at the Jean XXIII school.
The school would like to build some new accommodation as the old school buildings collapsed in 2005 and are being rebuilt : in other words, all financial help is welcome !
Next we go on to the consultation centre of Shanti Tiliji and Til Kumari Purja, two women who did ANM (Assistant Nurse Midwife) studies at the Jiri school in 2001-2003. They decided to open only one consultation centre with a pharmacy and they worked there alternately. Til Kumari has now left ; Shanti is not sure if she will stay much longer either. Nevertherless, she continues to receive 30 to 40 patients a week.
We are then invited to a ceremony of thanks in the school yard.
On our way we meet Captain Allister, a British army officer. There are in fact 3000 Gurkhas enrolled in the British Army, with 300 recruited per year. Her Majesty’s Gurkhas can apply for funding of a development project for their home village. Some of the Gurkhas are from Paudwar and the Captain is here due to a request for the funding of the reconstruction of the school, more specifically the building which is destined for the 3 higher classes. After barely 3 months in Nepal, he speaks remarkably good Nepalese.
After a brief discussion with Tham Maya, he accompanies us to the ceremony.
We sit down at the table which has been set up in the school yard. Young pupils give each of us several garlands to wear. The speeches ensue : Tham Maya starts to speak, thanking us for our commitment to Paudwar.
A group of pupils, accompanied by the sound of a harmonium, break into a welcome chant, which seems to have been composed by the villagers. Traditional dances follow. Then Badri speaks ; he is very much at ease, you can tell he’s an important figure.
The Captain and I also improvise a short speech; I express my admiration for their efforts to develop their village. This is followed by more dancing and the ceremony comes to an end when Tham Maya presents me with a framed photograph of the Paudwar school, which we will hand over to Mr Pierrel.
Then, having said goodbye, we go back down to Tatopani.
Sunday 26th november :
After packing and having a morning bath in the hot springs we set off again, following the road along the Kali Gandaki. The road is easy for us and Roulio, but then after Dana the Kabre path is closed because of roadworks : dynamite explosions could cause avalanches. This means that the road from Tiplyang is dotted with roadworks and way into the distance groups of men armed with crowbars and buckets are cutting into the mountain for several hundred meters. In this spot, the Kali Gandaki flows through the narrow gorges and the building of the road is problematic.
We therefore have to take the Balabas path, once we have crossed the river via a wobbly bridge. The path is wide but very steep. We reach Balabas, which is a calm little hamlet, then we go back down to Kopchepani before climbing back up to Talbagar, which is on the border with "Lower Mustang".
On the other side of the gorges we can see the works stretching off into the distance. Young road workers hang on to vertiginous cliffs, scraped by rockslides caused by the roadworks while they carve out a path in the crumbling, unstable rock.
We then cross the Kali-Gandaki to a road which gently leads us to Ghasa.
From now on we stick to this road, much to Roulio’s pleasure.
We stop off at the first lodge in Ghasa, called the "Eagle Nest Lodge". We have an aperitif of « suguti » and brandy !
On leaving Ghasa, the lodges’ walls and menus are covered in instructive messages :
"Don’t buy water in plastic bottles, fill your drinking bottles with drinking water from the fountains"
and
"Your porter is brave and strong, yet fragile. Look after him" ;
"Behave properly, out of respect for the local population",
etc...
Monday 27th november :
The path is getting wider.
Right up to Lete, the workmen are busy widening, clearing and stabilising the road we are taking.
After the Lete bridge and the steep slope beyond it, the road becomes passable for motorised vehicles.
Just after Kalopani, the bottom of the valley is so wide and the slopes so gentle that it couldn’t have been difficult to build it. We run into motorbikes which have been brought to Jomssom by plane and which are gradually replacing the horses !! They are cheaper to run ( they cost 30,000 rp second-hand compared to 100,000 for a horse), and only cost money when used.
But what about the pollution ?
Anyway, for the moment there are very few vehicles and it’s still possible to have a delightful hike in what I consider to be one of the most beautiful landscapes in the world : the wide grey plain of the Kali-Gandaki with its many ramifications, the ochre slopes covered in pine forests and the silvery peaks of the Nilgiri, the ice falls of the Dhaulagiri glacier, the sharp and snowy crest of the Tukuche Peak, the villages with their white houses and flat roofs covered in sticks and logs and the smiling faces of the Thakalis inhabitants.
We stop off at Larjung. The lodge is very comfortable , there are even hot showers. It has to be said that the comfort of the lodges has greatly improved over the last 20 years.
On the other hand, I’m not so sure that the same can be said of the dwellings.
Tuesday 28th november :
When we wake up, a thick fog covers the valley. Luckily it lifts when the sun comes up.
We set off on the road again and have a break in Marpha. The houses are low with flat roofs ; they have interior courtyards as well as verandahs which provide protection from the cold winds and trap the heat.
They also serve as a place to dry out slices of apple.
Indeed, Marpha is reputed for its orchards, which were created several decades ago by a Nepalese man who had studied agriculture in Montpellier, France.
The apples are delicious; they may be consumed fresh or in dried slices, or distilled into a renowned brandy.
We also visit the newly-erected « gompa », which is an imposing construction, accessible via a monumental staircase, with an interior courtyard and a central building containing one large room. We have to take off our shoes before crossing the threshold.
At the back, at the end of the aisle which crosses the room, there are polychrome statues representing Padmasambava, Shakyamuni and Avalokitechvara.
To the right of the aisle, there is Rimpoche’s chair, a photo and his attributes :
the Vajra ( thunderbolt/diamond, symbol of the destruction of ignorance),
the bell (symbol of wisdom).
All along the aisle, on either side, holy books are kept in their respective lockers. The walls are decorated with brightly-coloured religious motifs.
After lunch we set off for Jomssom. This village has barely changed except for the main street with its big paving stones, which is now invaded with spluttering motorbikes.
Wednesday 29th november :
Our next stop is Muktinath, located at 3800 metres’ altitude, 1000m higher than Jomssom.
Once in Kindhar we are surprised to see solar cookers in all the courtyards. These are large metallic dishes made of aluminium strips which are mobile and adjustable, and have space for a saucepan in the middle. This means all the more wood saved to make tea !
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We reach Muktinath at the end of the afternoon and stay in "North Pole" where there is a magnificent view from the terrace
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Thursday 30th november :
After a particularly hard night for those of us who are most sensitive to the effects of altitude, we climb up to the monastery.
The monastery comes across as a park with several pavillions and temples as well as monuments (chörtens) and walls decorated with rows of prayer wheels.
Badri is very happy to have reached the temple of Muktinath, a very important pilgrimage site dedicated to Vishnu; he’ll be able to perform his "pujas".
We then visit the Buddhist temple which is dedicated to Avalokiteshvara. It is located on a rock from which flames of natural gas emanate as well as a spring. The room which constitutes the temple is decorated with polychrome statues and murals like the Marpha "gompa".
After this we start our descent towards Kag Beni. Once there, we visit the Jarkoth, temple which has an adjoining Tibetan medical centre created a few years ago with the help of an Austrian cooperation. A young Nepalese doctor, trained in medecine, has been practising there for a few years. The treatments are made from plants and powder from roots and rocks. The doctor picks his own plants and makes certain powders, while others are bought in Kathmandu.
Friday 1st december :
We leave early in order to reach Jomssom before the wind picks up. In the afternoon, while Ganesh picks up the plane tickets for the flight to Pokhara the next day, we visit the Tourist Office and the eco- museum, which are exhibiting ethnic objects from the area as well its flora and fauna.
Saturday 2nd december :
We rise at dawn to take the little 15-seater twin-engine to Pokhara.
On the left the window looks out over the Nilgiri, the Annapurna and the Macha Puchhare. On the right, you can see the Dhaulagiri a little further away, and the villages dotted along the Kali-Gandaki up to Tatopani, then Poon Hill.
As fate would have it, I’m on the right hand side and with much emotion I can pick out the thin strip of the path we followed in the other direction.
I say a final farewell to Tatopani and Paudwar, as well as all the villages I worked in 20 years ago.
We skim over Gorepani, and pass below Poon Hill, then cut across to Pokhara.
The micro-bus that Ganesh reserved by phone from Jomssom awaits us opposite the airport and we leave for Kathmandu. Badri leaves us where the Gorkha road branches off.
He is heavily loaded down with apples, brandy and gifts that he bought in Jomssom.
We reach Kathmandu at the end of the afternoon, and we are once again in a bustling city with its traffic jams, car horns and particular smells.
Sunday 3rd december :
A day of rest.
We take advantage of this by looking for Nepal Bank Limited where we can get bank details allowing us to safely send money that the "cop’s" and Mr Pierrel have collected for the Paudwar school.
An initial sum had arrived in 2004 without any problems, but the money went astray in 2005 and it took all Robert’s powers of persuasion to get the bank to take the necessary steps, thereby leading to a satisfactory outcome. This meant that in 2006 our bank refused to send money unless we had an IBAN (international bank details) from the Nepalese bank.
As we stroll around the main streets of Kathmandu, we notice a large building with a Nepal Bank Limited sign: it’s a branch of the bank. We enter a huge room lined with many counters, behind which the employers sit ten to a table, sorting papers and drinking tea. There are no computers, just piles of documents. Everything is done by hand. Nobody seems to know what an IBAN is, but we are given a swift code and assurances that this will be sufficient.
Before leaving Katmandu we pay a visit to the main branch: a real bank, complete with computers! Yet there is still no IBAN available, so we are given the swift code, which is luckily the same as the one we aleady have.
This code will indeed allow the sending of money.
We then go off to Patan on a visit. On arriving we go to a few bookshops which are like Ali Baba’s caves. We find a number of inexpensive Nepalese university books (in English), dealing with the resources and development of the country, as well as books on political analysis.
In the evening we have dinner at Ganesh’s house. He talks about his niece, Asha Gurung, who would like to study medicine. He assures us that she’s a good student, despite failing a very difficult entrance exam at the Kathmandu faculty. This is why she’s going to Dhaka in Bangladesh. The whole family is chipping in to pay for her studies. The cost is estimated to be around 1000 euros per year (campus accommodation, food, registration and university fees.) Later she would like to work in Laprak, near Gorkha, where the family is based.
Financial help, however small, would be most welcome. Strictly speaking, Asha’s project doesn’t correspond exactly to the AFPN’s. I doubt very much if she could really live from practising medicine in such a rural area. Nevertheless, this would mean training a "health professional" from a remote area, and Nepal is in need of such professionals. Our group decide to participate in the family’s project and Asha agrees to write to us on a regular basis.
Monday 4th december :
Today we are going to Kaldhar, as the association has been asked to finance the paramedical training of a young woman from the village, called Layul Lama, to enable her to create a small health centre.
It’s a Tamang village, located 65km to the east of Katmandu, beyond Dhulikel, on the road to Janakpur, above the village of Mangeltar.
After Dhulikel, the road winds along the mountain side, providing a magnificent view over the snowy peaks of the Lang Tang. It runs along the impressive precipices of these steep "hills".
We cross Khanalthok, a wide pass with extensive terraces, then descend the narrow valley of the Sun Koshi, arriving at Mangeltar just before midday.
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We leave the car here and cross the bridge which spans the Sun Koshi river and climb the steep path leading to Kaldhar, located barely 200m above
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Layul’s father, Dawa, has been informed of our arrival and is waiting for us when we enter the village. He takes us to his home.
We cross the village, passing a “stupa” under construction, then a school which looks new and freshly painted, and finally a vast “chautara” shaded by two beautiful trees where the villagers assemble to talk about local matters.
Dawa gives us a warm welcome, offering us tea and fresh papaya and then shows us around the village, which is clean and well-maintained. Each home consists of a house and garden. We see a number of goats and a few buffalos.
Most of the inhabitants are farmers and they make a living from the sale of buffalo milk to the Kathmandu dairy. About 20 youngsters work in the Emirates and send their wages to their families.
Two years ago, the inhabitants created an association called "Lama-ecovillage" , whose objective is the development of the village.
The president is Khadga, Dawa’s son and Layul’s brother.
The association requested help from the French association Solhimal (formerly "Tibet Libre"), which financed the construction of latrines for all of the 85 dwellings, the rebuilding of the school and which send voluntary teachers.
Layul and Khadga are in Kathmandu, but over the phone we arrange to meet Khadga in Dhulikel, where we plan to spend the night.
Regretfully, we have to leave this pleasant and dynamic village, but we are delighted to meet Khadga at the guest house we are staying in. He tells us about his village, the association and also about his sister.
Layul has passed the SLC (high school exams) and wants to do CMA (Community Medical Assistant) or ANM studies.
The question of the creation of a health centre in Kaldhar comes up, as well as Layul’s future income. It is, however, also possible that the Mangeltar dispensary would employ her.
Moreover, the closest hospital is in Dhulikel and the inhabitants of Khaldar have expressed a wish for an ambulance so that patients may be taken to hospital rapidly.
Tuesday 5th december :
After breakfast, Deepak picks us up with the Jiri school’s jeep.
We take the Lhassa road first of all, which plunges down towards Panchkal as we leave the valley. Our thoughts turn to the Hokse dispensary, which we used to support, but which had to close in February 2006.
Deepak explains to us that the Maoists threatened the dispensary, demanding the equivalent of about 1000 euros. The committee refused to pay and the dispensary had to close down, even though it provided healthcare to a particularly poor population. It’s upsetting and incomprehensible.
The road winds along the bottom of a narrow gorge to Dolalghat and climbs back up the Bhote Koshi to Lamosangu where we turn off; the thin tarmac strip climbs the mountain for over 1500m before arriving at a crest which overhangs the Gaurishankar massif: we have an extraordinary view.....the sky road…
We go back down to Charikot, plunging once again to the bottom of the valley, cross the Tamakoshi, then climb back up the mountain...
we reach Jiri at the beginning of the afternoon, our heads spinning from all the tiny bends in the road ... but there is no respite, we are immediately received by the deputy headmaster and the teachers.
The school was founded by the Swiss in 1980.
There are 3 sections: health, farming and technical and is composed over several buildings which resemble chalets. The Swiss pulled out of the project a few years ago, but despite the tribulations, the school has maintained its high level.
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After tea, we are shown around.
In the first building, the first-year pupils of the health section, wearing blue saris, are being taught how to give a bed bath. They are practising on a model called Sabrina, which the Swiss gave them several years ago.
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In the second building, 14 girls from both years who are grant holders, welcome us with tikkas and garlands.
Deepak makes a short speech to congratulate them for their results (Kalpana, notably, is first in her year.) He also tells them about our efforts to collect funds for their grants.
Kalpana, who is in the second year, starts to speak, she is very emotional. On behalf of her fellow students, she thanks us and lets us know that there are many others who need our help.
She then offers us tea and biscuits, and eats some too.
The students then go back to their studying as the second years have exams in two days.
We then go on to visit the farming and technical sections of the school before going to the infant consultation centre, which is part of the building adjoining the hospital, where the medical science students are doing part of their practical traineeships.
The organisation of the premises has barely changed: it consists of several rooms where children are weighed, measured, examined and vaccinated. The medical waste such as needles are put in special boxes and incinerated.
The centre also has the role of providing health information to mothers, including hygiene, nutrition, vaccinations and prevention.
We then visit the hospital which is currently being rebuilt. The premises of the old building are still in use and have 15 beds. There are two people on the medical team, we meet Dr Regma Shrestha. She has been in Jiri for 8 months and will be staying for at least another 4 months. She studied at the Katmandu faculty of medicine. She informs us that doctors who have graduated must do a compulsory period of “public service” in remote hospitals which lasts for between 1 and 3 years.
In practical terms, the doctors are available for consultation from 9am to 2pm non-stop. They are both in the same room, on either side of a table. There is a bed behind a curtain next to the consultation table where patients may be examined more thoroughly.
In total, they do between 20 and 30 consultations per day; in such conditions there isn’t much scope for one-to-one consultations.
My thoughts go to Professor Storck, who practised and taught medicine in the best way possible, by taking into account not only the organic reality of the patient who is exposed to a detailed clinical examination, but also his psychological and sociocultural environment.
The doctors also perform minor surgery, like phymosis operations and childbirth.
The hospital also consists of a blood and urine analysis laboratory where standard tests are performed such as blood tests, smears etc, but hormonal treatments are not available.
When a patient has to be transferred to Kathmandu, he leaves on the "super-express" at 7 o’clock in the morning. They have put two free seats at the disposal of the hospital.
Wednesday 6th december :
We return to Kathmandu with the school jeep.
The tank is empty and the pump in Charikot has run out of petrol. There is little else to do than nibble on mandarines and cashew nuts while the driver chats to the pump attendant. After a while, and much negotiation, he manages to buy 15 litres of petrol (50 rupees per litre), which is enough to get us to Kathmandu, and we’re away…
In the evening we go back to Kathmandu the Courtesan, all set for the tourists, with its flashy illuminations and its booming American music, while the forsaken, the poverty-stricken children and the beggars stay in the dark recesses.
Thursday 7th december :
As we have a little time ahead of us, we go to the French Embassy to greet our compatriots and representatives. The embassy had contacted the association about 2 years ago concerning its internet site which features all French associations with projects in Nepal. The summary of information that we had been given had been done very intelligently and I wanted to let them know.
Although we turn up unannounced, we are very quickly received by the Consul, Berthylde Costille. In the course of our conversation, Mrs Costille informs us that our activity is quite specific, while most associations are oriented towards teaching and children. She also talks about the Shechen clinic, located near Bodnath, where French-speaking expats are working voluntarily, and suggests we contact them.
When we get back to the hotel we chat with Deepak and his wife for a while : Mrs Pant thanks us for the medecine and says she’s fine.
After having lunch with Clotilde, who has lived in Nepal for 20 years, we decide to visit the clinic.
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It’s a building on one or two floors, built around a central courtyard decked with flowers.
We announce our arrival and are received by the founder, Mrs Dominique Marchal, a radiant woman in her early sixties. An impression of strength and precision emanates from her.
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She has been living in Nepal for 11 years; she’s not a doctor but she wanted to provide assistance to people dying in the streets, like a kind of Mother Theresa.
It turned out to be a medical and dental surgery, with outside consultations in allopathic, homeopathic and Tibetan medecine, acupuncture and a dental surgery with a number of dental chairs. The rooms are vast and the doctor is alone and practices in good conditions.
There are also a few bedrooms for more or less long-term hospitalisations, and if necessary, for the treatment of dying patients.
There are also meeting rooms where Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous can hold sessions.
The infirmary is equipped with needle-destroyers and the clinic will soon have an incinerator on 3 floors. There is an autoclave to sterilize instruments.
The very well-equipped laboratory can be used outside the clinic.
On top of this, the staff have a spick and span metallic canteen. It has to be said that the clinic is surprisingly clean and tidy. I never imagined that I would find such a clean place in Nepal. The fact that it is cleaned 3 times a day implies a great deal of staff.
The clinic employs about 50 people. The nurses have the grade of staff nurse and not ANM, the training of which corresponds more to work in a dispensary.
European and American doctors come here to work voluntarily for a period of 1 to 3 months. The clinic provides accommodation and food in exchange. They are all the more appreciated if they have special skills to impart to the Nepalese team. It is obviously preferable if the expat doctors are already trained and no longer students.
Donations provide 80% of the clinic’s funding. Its own resources come from consultations which are paid in proportion to the patient’s income.
The clinic receives Nepalese people and expats, including the staff of western embassies or those staying in the nearby monastery (where Mathieu Ricard lives.) The examinations performed by the laboratory also bring in some of the money.
Friday 8th december :
We have breakfast at Badri’s.
He has built a house between Balaju and Swayambunath, on the edge of Ring Road. We are happy to see him looking well.
This is our last engagement, and it is high time we made our last purchases and packed our bags, as the taxi picks us up at 5.30pm. We have to get to the airport early in order to be sure to get on the plane to Doha as it will be absolutely packed with Nepalese people flying to the Emirates to sell their labour.
Ganesh sees us off at the airport. We are full of emotion and gratitude when we say goodbye to him, hoping we’ll see him again in about 3 years’ time.
We are happy with our trip, it went very well. We have seen that our partners are still active and enthusiastic, that there is still a demand, and that the Nepalese are working very hard to improve their conditions.
We are also happy to see the prospect of peace, which augurs well for the smooth continuation of our little project, which we are, naturally, determined to carry on with.
Many thanks to you all for your support.
On behalf of the AFPN, Françoise Halbwachs
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