maternity
TRANSPORT AND RECEPTION OF MEDICAL EQUIPMENT FOR A MATERNITY
• NOV 2023 • A request has been made to our coordinator and friend Karma Bhutia of the NGO Shankuwasabha Learning Grounds* for medical equipment for a birthing clinic at 2700m altitude. Additional funding was then requested to transport all the equipment.
During our stay in Nepal in November 2023, Karma and I jointly procured the materials.
The inhabitants of this 2,700-metre-high village built the building themselves, but further funding was lacking. A nurse and a midwife are already in place. Together we compiled a list of the most necessary equipment and contacted a reputable company in Kathmandu. Karma already received all the materials within two days, which is very fast for Nepal!
The handover ceremony in Kathmandu was filmed and broadcast on Nepali television.
• APRIL 2024 • Six men came to Kathmandu to collect the materials.
They spent three days in the bus, plus extra seats for all the fragile equipment. Due to unstable weather and landslides, the next stage by 4WD was postponed for a week and the journey, through the mud, could only be continued by tractor. After that, they can only continue on foot. With sometimes awkward packs on their backs, such as the maternity bed and large boxes, they had to walk for another 4 days through narrow paths before reaching this high-altitude village.
The medical equipment was festively handed over by mr Kija Bhote of SLG* to the nurse, midwife, construction team and other guests. Pregnant women now no longer have to be transported for days on stretchers to the nearest maternity hospital, but can give birth in safety and in their own environment.
We brought children’s clothes from France, which mr Kija Bhote distributed to a few mothers.
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• LIST OF ALL THE MATERIALS • maternity bed with step, oxygen cylinder, ultrasound doppler, steam sterilizer, portable suction machine, blood pressure gauge, catheter set, speculum, stethoscope, suture material, scale, stove, emergency light and various other items …
The cost of this kind of transport is comparatively extraordinarily high because it really involves very remote areas. All the more reason for us to step in financially to help the people in those particular places.
The team received the materials and prepares for the trip by bus, tractor and on foot. Mr Kija Bhote of SLG* hands over the materials to the nurse and midwife and the clinic construction team. Some mothers receive the children’s clothes
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