By Karin Reibel, Patrick Graney, Chanda Lama | Project Leaders
Today we would like to introduce you to an important member of our medical team, Health Assistant Geeta .
Geeta's duties at the hospital are to work under the doctor’s supervision in treating and counseling patients, visiting communities to hold ‘mini health camps’ and health awareness programs, and provide health and hygiene knowledge to villagers (especially women).
Geeta was born in the Taplejung district of eastern Nepal, an alpine region that stretches below Nepal’s Kanchenjunga (at 28,169 ft the third highest mountain in the world). She grew up with 4 sisters and 2 younger brothers. Like many children, she walked 3 hours from her home to school every day. By the time she completed grade 7 it looked like this would be the end of her schooling. It took some convincing her parents to allow her to move to Banepa in Kavrepalanchok where she rented a small room and continued her education from grade 8 to 10 at the local secondary school.
Geeta’s dream was to become a doctor. She would have liked to enroll in college to earn a MBB degree, however this was way beyond her parents’ means. Rather than give up on her dream she was determined to find another, more affordable path. That’s when she heard about a 3 year Health Assistant training program at Iwamura College of Health Sciences in Bhaktapur and soon enrolled in their program.
Her studies successfully completed she opted to gain practical experience by applying her new skills at an integrated community development health center for three years. Geeta had hoped to take her skills back to her village to benefit her community and also her family and younger siblings. However without a hospital in the area opportunities looked bleak. Through a friend she heard about an opening for a Health Assistant at the Rajbash Hospital and before long she joined their medical staff.
Geeta still dreams of one day earning a Bachelor of Public Health degree. In the meantime she will continue to use her skills in service to her community. Having recently married the school teacher at Rajbash elementary school we hope that Geeta will be attending to the health needs of this community for a long time to come.
Farming in the hilly country of Nepal is back breaking work. Tending to buffaloes, goats and chickens, carrying bundles of firewood for cooking and grass to feed animals take a toll on the body. Cuts, broken bones and joint pains in the elderly are conditions we face on a daily basis. We were therefore appreciative that in December of last year we were able to offer a free Chinese Acupuncture Health Camp, courtesy of the Chinese Care and Support Association. The camps were a huge success. We served 226 patients from villages close and far. As one of the volunteers commented at the end of the day: “They seem very happy with the treatment and got big smile on their faces”!
If you have been reading this report, you have been with us for a good part of our journey. The continuing access to medical and outreach services would not be possible without your ongoing support and generosity. For that we are deeply grateful.
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