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From Rights to Health |
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Nepal is considered one of the 10 poorest countries in the world. There don’t seem to be any “upper” classes who avoid the poverty and pollution. Certainly there must be a few people of wealth, but no one was visible to me during the entire trip. Kathmandu has over 1 million people and the worst pollution I’ve ever seen. Many people wear face masks to try to avoid some of the dust and exhaust that is impossible to avoid. The water in Kathmandu is so polluted that I was warned it could be “lethal”. There are beautiful fresh vegetables everywhere….but to eat them uncooked is a guaranty of illness.
Outside of Kathmandu the mountains pop up everywhere. Eight of the ten tallest mountains in the world are in Nepal. Even the “little” mountains are huge! There aren’t accessible roads between mountain towns. The people who live in the mountains are isolated much of the year from other people. The few roads that do exist are easily washed away. There are many old, unsafe cars in Kathmandu, but most people don’t own a vehicle of any kind….especially the mountain people. They live their whole lives in the villages they were born into….under the same circumstances that existed a hundred years ago.
Lack of health care is an obvious problem for every resident of Nepal. In Kathmandu there are a few western hospitals, but even for those who can afford to buy treatment, the standards are below anything we could imagine in the US or Europe. Most mountain villages have never had a doctor, or even anyone trained in basic emergency procedures. Eighty-five percent of all births are at home, with no one trained to assist.
During my seven days in Nepal we met with many aid groups already trying to provide help. Some are working to develop an attitude toward “eco tourism” that will foster positive impact on the environment at the same time as developing jobs for Nepalis. Another group works with the poorest families in Kathmandu to provide day care (and nutritious food and education) for some of the children. The parents are trained and assisted to find work while their children are cared for. And another group is trying to institute health centers with trained personnel in mountain villages by giving them internet connections to hospitals and doctors in Kathmandu.
We were inspired by the resilience of the Nepali people! It felt good to come home again, have a fresh salad and a glass of water. |