Helping Babies Breath (Neonatal Resuscitation) Nepal

The biggest project that we work on is the semi-annual Helping Babies Breathe. This is a program where LDS Charities brings in a team of medical professionals including doctors, nurses and respiratory therapists. They teach a course on how to administer resuscitation to a new born infant within a minute of birth. Many, if not most, births in Nepal are at home. The at-home births are attended by skilled birthing assistants. No doctor or nurse is present and often a clinic or hospital is not close. The people that we train are then able to provide training to others, like the skilled birthing assistants. The single largest cause of death for a newborn in Nepal is asphyxia or not breathing. Most of these lives can be saved using the simple skills and equipment provided in this training.

The training team arrived on April 6th. We welcomed them with silk scarves which is a Nepali custom.

The first session was held at the National Health Training Center in Kathmandu. There were 43 students from over 20 hospitals and health units. There were eleven training tables and most of the trainers were Nepali. The Americans trained 3 tables.

This is Dr. George Groberg, a pediatrician from Idaho Falls, Idaho. The team was led by Dr. Rob Clark from Salem, Utah. Rob is seen in the background.

This is Bonnie Groberg, a nurse, training a Nepali student.  

This is Dan Woodhead, a respiratory therapist with an extensive background in Neonatal Intensive Care. He would spend 10 days working and training the staff in the NICU at a local hospital. That is in another blog post.

This is Dr. Clark, Scott and the Director of the NHTC presenting certificates of completion.

Each participating institution was presented equipment to do training at their location. Scott, Lear and Dr. Clark are shown presenting equipment to a hospital representative.

One of the doctors at the training was from Sindhupalchowk. We had been to that district in January delivering emergency food and blankets. This doctor told us that her hospital had been destroyed during the earthquake and they were working out of tents and a temporary metal shed. She and three other physicians share a single room for their living quarters. She is from Kathmandu and was glad to be back with family, friends and a hot shower, at least for a few days.

After the two-day training in Kathmandu we flew to Biratnagar in far eastern Nepal. This is a picture of the baggage handling system in the Biratnagar airport.

The next training session was held in Dharan at a health institute. Again we had over 40 students. Most of the trainers came with us from Kathmandu.

The training involved some role playing. Yes, the male Nepali doctor is pretending to be a woman in labor. He asked for more drugs to help with the pain and got a big laugh from everybody.  

Dr. Groberg, Dr. Clark and the vice chancellor of the institute present certificates.

This group of students wanted a picture with Bonnie Groberg and Dr. Clark.

Visiting An Ancient Hindu Temple

We hosted a medical team from the USA. For one of their cultural experiences we went to the Pashupathinath Temple complex. The temple is also called Pashupati by locals. The temple is one of the most sacred Hindu sites in Nepal. The first temple built on this site is believed to have been constructed in 753 AD.

This Hindu priest is sitting in a small shrine. The shrine had the blood of sacrificial sheep in and around. Our guide said that the animals were sacrificed and then the priest conferred a blessing on those worshiping at the temple.

This animal is tied up next the small temple with the priest. It is waiting to be sacrificed.

One of the purposes of Pashupati is to provide funeral services for the Hindu faithful. They can either be cremated outdoors on the banks of the Bagmati river or indoors in a modern facility.  This picture shows a funeral pyre being prepared on the river.

While we were at the temple site a funeral was being conducted. The funeral appeared to be for a high ranking military person. There were a lot of military people present. There were a large number of people both military and civilian.

The two pictures above show sadhu or holy men. Sadhu have left behind all material possessions and live in forests, caves and at temples throughout Nepal and India. The Sadhu is dedicated to achieving moksa which is the fourth and final stage of life through meditation. Our guide told us that only people from India could be holy men. Because they are Indian and not Nepali some people are suspicious of them. These Sadhu did request that we pay an alm of 100 rupies (about a dollar) for taking a picture.  

Near the top of the temple complex hill is a line of small shrines. Our guide said that people come to the shrines seeking prosperity and fertility.

On each of the small shrines is carving of the goddess Manasa or Mansa Devi. She is worshiped for the cure and prevention of snake bite, fertility and prosperity.

Holi Day (no, this is not misspelled!)

Today is Holi, or color day, a big Hindu festival day here in Nepal.  The schools are out and the citizens of Kathmandu are having a great time if the sounds we hear outside our apartment are any indication!  The festival is based on a wonderful Hindu story about a wicked king, a righteous son, a Hindu god and a wicked aunt.  In the end, the righteous son triumphs (with the help of the Hindu god) and the wicked aunt ends up in ashes.  It was originally tradition to celebrate the festival by putting ash on your forehead.  Now, however, it is celebrated by putting powdered paint in vivid colors not only on your own forehead, but on anyone nearby.  This morning we were visiting with our companion senior missionary couple, the Oliphants, in their apartment, when the family of our landlord invited us to celebrate color day with them.  Elder Weaver was the first one to cave to pressure; Sis. Weaver soon followed suit.  What followed was a rousing water fight between five adults and three adorable children.  Sometimes the water bags were filled with plain water; sometimes they were filled with colored water.  Sometimes you got drenched with an entire bucket of water and sometimes the perpetrator simply smeared a handful of yellow, red or green paint somewhere on your person. 

This is what we looked like when we finally beat a hasty retreat!  There are parts of our gray hair that are still a bit on the pink side. 

Rebuilding Schools After The Earthquake

Many schools were destroyed in the 2015 earthquake. At this school they used this shed and some tents to provide classrooms to make up for the lost structures.

This building survived the quake.

But not without damage.

This is a picture of the new school that is being built. LDS Charities will provide the furniture for the new building.

Inside the tent classroom.

This is the toilet for this school of over 400 students. It is being rebuilt.

This is a number chart on the wall of the surviving building. Note the cracks from the earthquake.

This worker is digging a new foundation for a new building at a school.

Nepal, a small country surrounded by giants

Nepal is surrounded by the giant countries of India and China. India is on the south, east and west. China is on the North. During a recent trip we went to the Chinese border. Above is a picture of the port of entry to China. Below is a picture of the port of entry to Nepal.

Chickens and people in a Nepali mountain village.

The chickens in Nepal are very colorful. They are also everywhere. They are in the city, on the roads and there is even a wild version that lives in the jungle. This rooster was loud, proud and pompous. We have a rooster in our neighborhood in Kathmandu that starts crowing at 4 AM each morning. I love the beautiful colors on this guy.

A mother hen and her chicks.

This is a picture of Chandra Adhikari. Chandra is the president of our local LDS branch. He is shown here hosting us on an inspection of a water project that we are funding. A branch is a small congregation. There is only one LDS congregation (branch) in Nepal. Chandra is intelligent, humble and happy. I admire him a lot.

A mother getting her two-year-old ready for the day.

A little boy waiting for school to start.

The village laundry.

This is a water powered rice mill. It consists of a grinding stone that is powered by a water wheel below the shed.

Graduation From a Blind and Disabled Training Program

We do a lot of work with NRSD, an organization that helps disabled and disadvantaged people gain skills that make their lives better. Two of the programs that they run are sewing/knitting classes and computer classes. One of the computer classes teaches blind people how to use a computer. We were trained in this program prior to coming on our mission.  We attended a graduation ceremony for these programs here in Kathmandu last week. There are many touching and some heroic stories of people overcoming vast disadvantage and striving for a better future. Here are a few of them.

From 1996 to 2006, a revolution was fought in Nepal. The rebels were Maoists who were fighting to depose the monarchy. In the above picture you see a young woman in a yellow coat. She was a member of the Maoist army. At age 13, she was wounded by government forces in a battle. She has significant residual physical problems from those injuries. She is graduating from the sewing program. Behind her, in a blue blazer, is a member of Nepal's parliament.  The MP has just handed the graduation certificate to the young woman. The MP had a husband who was assassinated by the Maoist rebels. It has been ten years since the revolution was ended by the abdication of the king.  On this day, these two remarkable women put aside the past to celebrate the future. 

This picture shows a blind girl that has completed her computer training. This is a 6-month long course that teaches blind people to use their ears instead of their eyes to operate a computer. The program is called JAWS. The computer provides auditory feedback to the blind operator to do everything from compose a word document to access a web site.  This young woman has overcome obstacles that people in the United States can't even imagine. 

This young woman was our favorite. She has graduated from the sewing program. She suffered terrible burns from a kerosene explosion. Many Nepali households use kerosene for cooking and heating their homes. The fire did a lot of damage to her hands. In spite of these injuries she was able to pass the sewing curriculum and gain her certificate. When we asked her what she was planning on doing next she said she was working for an NGO (non-government organization) and enrolled in a fashion design school. She has completed her basic course and has started the advanced course.  Again, here is a young person who is overcoming problems that are much greater than almost anything that faces even the most disadvantaged American. She is a superhero!!