Third Week in Kathmandu

Welcome from Jayne Fisher and Brad MacIver, also third year nursing students at NIC doing our practicum in Nepal. We are both really pleased to be here to expand both our knowledge, develop our cultural competence, and undoubtedly enhance our nursing practice through this incredible experience.

We are spending our time at the HIV/AIDS clinic run by the Friends of Needy Children; Manisha Singh Punarjeevean Niwash (MSPN) started the clinic in 2006 as part of a non government organization to provide care for children living with HIV/AIDS. MSPN is now a transitional home for 18 children and their caregivers that aims to provide treatment, care and support to enhance, prolong and fulfill lives. Their mission is to ‘add life to their days while adding days to their life’.

The centre provides care for children that are predominantly 10 yrs old and younger and are infected by HIV/AIDS. When clients come to the centre they are often malnourished and caregivers (parents/guardians) stay with them at the centre to assist in their care. The stay at the clinic can last up to six months. Emergency treatment, food and lodgings are provided to both children and their caregivers. Services include medical, nutritional, and educational support as well as extra activities such as teaching, crafts, and outings.

There is also a close connection with regular counseling sessions (in a near by centre) also run by Friends of Needy Children. Parents/guardians are provided with educational sessions on hygiene monitoring, family planning, nutrition, personal hygiene, tuberculosis, antiretroviral medications, childhood health hazards, malnutrition, pneumonia, chickenpox, sexually transmitted infections and opportunistic infections related to HIV/AIDS. Parents/guardians are also taught the importance of taking their children’s weights regularly and shown how to administer all antiretroviral and daily required medications in preparation for their transition back to their home community.

One of the main focuses of the centre, in addition to increasing health and wellbeing, is to facilitate empowerment to enable parents/guardians to increase their independence, enhance their resourcefulness, and strengthen their sense of identity and belonging.

The staff at MSPN includes four nurses who show dedication and empathy in providing unconditional support to both the children and parents/guardians. They provide care with a holistic approach and their work ethics are outstanding, covering back to back shifts without hesitation or complaints. We are amazed at their resourcefulness; for example, the nurses make their own cotton balls and gauze pads using an autoclave for sterilization, they re-use gloves out of necessity, and are very creative due to limited equipment and supplies. Their warmth, compassion, energy and love that they instinctively show to their clients touch us daily.

In addition to our rewarding experience at MSPN we have also had the opportunity to visit a famous Bouddhanath Stupa (the largest Buddhist temple), Pashupatinath Temples, and hike in the Shivapuri National Park.

Our last trip was to visit the village of Karvrepalanchowk (2.5 hrs East of Kathmandu) and stay in the home with a local family; it was interesting to experience such privilege as white foreigners but also overwhelming, challenging and somewhat uncomfortable to be the ‘minority’.

We were treated with utmost respect, the food was endless, and our evening was simply spent enjoying dressing up in Nepali clothing, hanging out with the locals, and falling asleep to the sound of crickets; a stark contrast to the consistent barking dogs in Kathmandu! The weekend ended with a fun top side bus ride enjoying incredible views over the cliffs, terraces, and farmland.

We are now looking forward to our next excursion with the Nutritional Rehabilitation Home (NRH) for children in Dhading, North West of Kathmandu. So please tune in for the next group members insights…until next time, Namaste from Jayne & Brad.