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Greetings once again from rural Nepal!
I had a new partner in crime this week: Sonal, a doctor from Atlanta. We broke out our maps and attempted to hike various trails in our part of the Kathmandu Valley. There aren’t many roads…mostly a bunch of footpaths, so we made do with that. Sonal speaks one of the many languages from India, which is similar to Nepali, so she was able to ask for help when we were lost in random villages. Thank God for that, or I might still be wandering around looking for Bungamati!
After finishing up our respective activities at the health center (nothing terribly exciting to report this week), we’d tie on our hiking shoes, fill up our bottles with boiled water, buy a samosa or jelabi and head out with our two maps (that don’t exactly match up) and a vague idea of where we were going.
We decided to go to Godavari one afternoon, only there weren’t any roads on the map connecting our village with that one. We started asking for directions before we even left the main road of our village, and we were fortunate enough to find a guy who
lived about halfway to Godavari. He walked with us then drew us a pretty decent map for the rest of the way. It’s so strange how the road goes from dirt to mud and gravel to paved and back to dirt in a short stretch. It’s also interesting how the Nepali estimate time. They’ll say “Oh, it’s twenty minutes ahead,” yet you’re still hiking forty-five minutes later.
We didn’t make it all the way to Godavari because the sun was starting to set and we still had to get back. Instead, we checked out a fancy resort on the outskirts of the village. It’s in the middle of nowhere, yet they charge $170 a night for a single room. It was completely deserted (we’re in the middle of the off-season for tourism), and it was a bit creepy to be walking around an empty resort. There was no one in the pool, the gift shop, restaurant, and beauty parlor were closed, and the only employees were in the very front lobby.
I’ll head back the same way sometime in the near future because they supposedly have some nice botanical gardens and shrines in the village.
The next
day, we decided to hike to Bungamati. It looks close by, just a few kilometers to the west, but we decided to walk south first. We crossed a huge suspension bridge (that tips precariously when you stray from the center) that spanned a gorge. From there, we wandered through some great little villages, including one that was absolutely covered in Maoist graffiti. It seemed like the never-ending hike, but we had some great views. We walked around the entire mini-valley, and we eventually made it to the village and caught a bus into Patan. After a nourishing meal of Fanta and cheese paratha, we caught the last bus back into Chapagaun.
Sonal wanted to see the leprosy hospital, so I made my THIRD trip there. Pretty soon I’ll be able to start giving tours to all the volunteers and student nurses who want to go. We wanted to walk home instead of dealing with an awful, dusty, long bus ride. We got some sketchy directions from the doctor who showed us around and then set off into the heart of the Lele Valley. We walked down through the village of Tikabhairav, which was having a big Hare Krishna festival
for some reason. We somehow managed to find a path that led along the river and were able to follow it all the way to the suspension bridge. It was a gorgeous walk through the woods - it reminded me a lot of walking along the gorge at Penitentiary Glen. We didn’t realize how steep the hill at the end of the path was, so we were all sweaty and red-faced when we made it back home.
We also went to visit an orphanage on Wednesday in a village about forty minutes from ours. The main orphanage housed school-aged children, and it was actually quite nice. The children each had their own bed, a trunk full of belongings, and there were separate rooms for studying and eating.
We visited the other part of the orphanage where the small children live with a house-mother. About five babies and five toddlers and slightly older children live in one room. The babies all share a bed, and the older kids sleep on blankets on the floor. The children eat rice and lentils only twice a day, and that’s it. They occasionally get some potatoes and bread or biscuits. The babies get
two bottles of cow’s milk a day. They don’t think any of the children have been vaccinated, and there’s no running water in the building, so the dishes and clothes are washed in dirty water. The kids have rashes on their bodies, sores on their faces, blood coming out of their ears, and some of the children appear to have stunted growth.
Victoria, a British volunteer, had asked for us to come and look at the children. Unfortunately, this wasn’t communicated very well to Sonal and me, so she didn’t bring a stethoscope or anything, not to mention she does not normally work with children. She checked out some of the children, though, and I spoke with Victoria and the orphanage director about nutrition, sanitation, and hygiene. We’re hoping to get a doctor or nurse to head back out to the orphanage to do some vaccinations, and we’re working to get de-worming tablets, vitamin A supplements, and Super Flour for the children. I’m meeting up with Victoria this weekend to give her information on Nepali foods that contain vitamin A and C and iron, as well as information on how to make oral rehydration drinks for when the children
have diarrhea. Hopefully we can make the children’s lives a little less miserable.
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sarah florell
non-member comment
Coming to Chapagaun Health center soon
Katie, Hi, I came across your blog while searching about information of the health center. I am going to be heading to Nepal in July 6th for a three month internship with VSSN. I was so excited to read you blog, it was a great tasting into what I can expect when I arrive. How long will you be in Chapagaun? Any information you can share with me about the area or more of what to expect? Are you a health volunteer (health education or care)? what is your training in, or what previous training have you had? Did you set up your volunteering with Volunteer Service and Support Nepal? If you get a chance send me and email at seflorell@gmail.com Hopefully you'll still be around when I arrive.