Healthcare & Education in the Hidden Himalayas

The Nepal Trust has pioneered health care and knowledge in the remote 'Hidden Himalayas' for over 20 years. We have seen tremendous improvements in not only health but also in the general lives of the villagers of this forgotten region. However, it is important to remember that we will not be there for ever and at some point the local population and the government must take over. It is important, and not practical, not to rush but to take time to ensure that the foundations laid will remain and continue to develop and prosper. Our clinics have been built and developed at the request of the local people through their village health committees. Not all are officially designated government clinics but it is hoped they will be through demand and pressure from the health committees. Where a clinic is officially classified as a government one the Trust has been asked to remain by the committee to run it to ensure efficiency. It is planned that, one day, all our clinics will become part of the government system.

Bargaun Birthing Centre is a good example of a government clinic, built and refurbished by the Trust, which remains under our management at the request of the local health committee. It is linked to the clinic at Torpa, our very first clinic, about an hours walk away. Sarkegad, in south Humla, is a similar example that ensures staff efficiency and broadens availibility to a wider public.

Our latest clinic, Yari Birthing Centre in north Humla, has completed building and equipment and furniture has been ordered for delivery very soon. Meanwhile Community Maternal Health training has begun for 68 women and mothers.

The Little Doctors programme - health education for students - goes from strength to strength. Funding is now in place to run four courses this year. Up to 100 young boys and girls will learn the essentials of good personal hygiene and cleanliness which they can pass on to their families.

Many of our other projects are health related. For example, renewable energy - clean energy - is healthy for the environment and reduces respitory diseases in the home. We have established many micro-hydro and solar energy schemes over the years. To support these schemes we are building a Renewable Energy Service Centre in the district - the first of its kind anywhere in Nepal. The project has yet to be fully funded and we would welcome further support.

We are working on a large water and sanitation project (WASH) at Kaskikot which will eventually provide clean water and sanitation to over 17000 people including many schools and public areas.

Our education portfolio includes Thehe school in the largest Hindu village in Humla. It is now completed and handed over to the education authorities. Our planned projects include schools at Kapilvastu (Lumbini), Bharatpur School for the Deaf (Chitwan) and Lipne (Humla). New schools will be built at Shree Ghorkonath and Shree Reshankyu in Sindalpulchowk as part of our Earthquake response. Work is due to start shortly once government administration has been dealt with.

Agriculture and food security are very important for good health. Our large project in Humla has been extended for another 3 years with our main funder. This will benefit 325 farmers.

As you can see, we are busy! However, I am proud to say that over 20 years every single project we have established is still there and operating - because we are there!

Of course nothing would happen without the support of our donors and volunteers for which we are eternally grateful. Many, many thanks to you all.

• Kaskikot WASH under construction. (PDF)
  

Simikot airport now has a black-topped landing strip! So what, you say. But this is a huge improvement over the short dirt strip previously that engendered so much trepidation and excitement on landing in the small Twin Otter after flying for almost an hour through deep valleys and cloud formations hoping the mountains would not get too close to the wing tips! This is progress! When you land you see young people going about with their smart phones  and Facebooking their friends in Kathmandu. Satellite dishes sprout everywhere and people watch their favourite television programmes. The economy is improving and smart hotels are springing up. There is even a yummy bakery. Of course, as you leave Simikot (walking that is, because there are no roads or public transport), you rapidly move back in time to a more relaxed and traditional lifestyle but a lifestyle still deeply embedded in the old beliefs and way of life.

But these ways are changing slowly but surely as education informs and improves the old ways. The Nepal Trust is at the forefront of these changes and our programmes in health, renewable energy, income generation, agriculture, etc, are changing lives for the better. This is real progress that is saving lives and improving life chances. Not easily spotted like mobile phones but, nevertheless, there!

Winter is a slow time in the Hidden Himalayas and limits movement as trails and high passes get snowed up. Our clinics continue to operate at all times. Our new Yari Birthing Centre and Health Clinic is now complete but support is still required to fully furnish and equip it. An Auxiliary Nurse Midwife (ANM) has been recruited from the local community and is now in the clinic and running Community Health Awareness programmes focussing on health and family planning issues. These programmes are also being promoted in our Sarkegad clinic in south Humla.

We now stock over 90 types of medicines in our clinics. These are purchased in Kathmandu where we have quality control, and driven for 14 hours to Nepalganj on the Indian border. From there they are flown to Simikot for distribution. This is no easy task and requires porters and pack animals that can take up to a week over 5000m mountain passes.

Our Little Doctor programme goes from strength to strength. We have been running this for 15 years and we are still the only organisation in Nepal running it. For the last few years we have managed three programmes throughout the district but in 2016 we plan to increase this to 4 classes. The main objectives are:

• Provide prevention health education to local school children through their local education system.
• Raise health awareness among local communities in an interactive and cost effective manner.
• Share knowledge about environmental issues regarding health and hygiene.

Put very simply, children pass on their new knowledge to their own families.

Thank you to our supporters and donors for all your help. We can do nothing without you and we hope you will stay with us and even pass on what you know to your friends and hopefully encourage them to come on board. Our health programme, in particular, requires regular funding so if you can come up with new ideas we are here to listen. Thank you once again.