Reconstructing Lives
Access to health care makes a lifechanging difference in developing countries. Coralie Batchelor recently visited Nepal with a volunteer team.
It was the first day of our annual visit to Nepal, when 12-year-old Pinku hopped into the hospital room. He was supported by his older brother, Nageshar, who had helped him make the 12-hour walk and 12-hour bus ride from his village. He had a burn scar contracture on his right leg that meant he couldn’t walk.
I am part of a volunteer medical team, including support staff, which has traveled to Nepal for the past 14 years to provide two weeks of reconstructive surgery for those with cleft lips and palates. Since 2004, we have also treated people with burn scar contractures, such as the one Pinku had. Pinku had not walked for two years.
He had been playing near a fire when his clothes had caught alight. Pinku’s village is seven hours from the nearest health post and 15 hours from the district hospital, so his family tried to treat him. When his burns had still not healed six months later, the only medical treatment he received was one month of dressings—but no surgery.
Pinku’s story is not uncommon. Many families in Nepal live in one-room homes, with an open fire for cooking and warmth. Some children roll into the fire while they are asleep, resulting in severe burns. If they survive the burns, their situation is made worse by a lack of local medical facilities.
Without treatment, they can be left with severe contractures that can impede movement.
For Pinku, it meant that he was not getting an education because he could not hop the six kilometers to his nearest school.
Our team, a part of the Sydney Adventist Hospital’s Health Care Outreach program, works in partnership with the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) in Australia and Nepal.
Pinku’s family had heard of ADRA Nepal’s work, and had sent him and his brother on the long, difficult journey to see if we could help.
In assessing Pinku, our concern lay in how the nerves and ligaments behind his knee had shortened. While we could provide a skin graft, his treatment would only be successful if his leg could be straightened. We turned to the Nepalese medical staff who were working alongside us.
Our program utilises and supports the services of the Sheer Memorial Hospital in Banepa, one-hour’s drive from Kathmandu. As part of our program, we provide cross-training opportunities, so local staff can learn the techniques and skills needed to continue working after we have gone. In consultation with local doctors and the hospital’s orthopaedic surgeon, we planned Pinku’s surgery and the traction he would need afterward to gradually straighten his leg.
Pinku’s operation went well. By the time we left Nepal, he was in traction and happy at the prospect of walking again soon. He was most excited about his soon return to school because he had missed a lot and was upset at how far he was behind his friends.
Pinku’s treatment and the hundreds of operations we have performed over the years have been possible because of generous donations, both of time and money. The volunteers who participate give of their time and talents. We also receive donations from generous individuals who support our work.
During our two-week visits, we help as many people as we can. Working alongside local medical staff and providing opportunities for their learning is helping meet ongoing needs. But providing corrective surgery is only part of the solution. Year-round, ADRA works with communities in Nepal and other developing countries to combat the causes of poverty. Your support is needed so these types of accidents don’t occur and children like Pinku can access the health care they need.
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