A Free Health Camp was organised in Nepal’s largest zone, KARNALI. Often considered deprived and being one of the most remote parts of the country, reaching Karnali can be a challenge in itself. With airfares to the region beyond the means of local residents and roadways being considered the world’s most dangerous, being a resident of Karnali does not come easy. The zone is also home to the pristine and Instagram-friendly Shey Phoksundo National Park and Rara Lake. Karnali was the location of Dr Thamma Shahi‘s free health camp which travelled to ten different locations in Karnali.
TEN LOCATIONS IN KARNALI
BHARTA HIGH SCHOOL (BALACHAUD) . RAJBADA VILLAGE . THANA VILLAGE . SUKATIYA . MUGRAHA . KUNI . ODA . CHILKHAYA . JUBITHA . FOI MAHADEV .
From dangerous highways to perilous mountain paths, Dr Shahi and his team consisting of few skilled professionals and many volunteers from the community endured the journey to reach the remote villages. With many experiencing such health events for the very first time, the excitement of the locals often meant the health camps were difficult to organise in a steady orderly fashion. With a strong support from village committees, police force, Dr Shahi and his team were able to serve more then 2,500 patients across the ten health camp events. With each village presenting a unique set of demographic, conducting the health camp gave an insight into the changing village community which consisted of many young children, women and the elderly. In some villages, the team realised the absence of young people was due to work commitment in India.
As many residents still rely on the trusted local shamans/dhaami/jhakri, conducting such health camps can often present an opportunity to tackle age old practices. Dr Thamma Shahi of BP Koirala Institute of Health Sciences says “The best part of doing this was seeing smiles on the faces of people after the treatment”.
