JRM Mission Debrief: Solukhumbu, Sindupalchowk & Kathmandu

That’s right. Dr. Rahim and the JRM Foundation are back in Nepal. They were on the ground for more than 4 weeks shortly after the earthquake, with a medical team and a strong groups of volunteers on the ground. And now they are in Nepal for a week of intense work.

Day 1

Team: Fahim, Gokul, Trent, Dave, Amy, Amrit.
Airport — pick up Fahim, Trent and Dave.
Stopped by and picked up Amy Munankarmi along the way.
Drive towards Dhulikhel Hospital, but stopped along the way at a tailor’s shop who is making school uniforms for us. Gokul dai is coordinating it’s distrubtion. How many made so far? How many more? The tailer is a couple from Sindupalchowk. They are working. They don’t want a hand out. They want to earn their way out of this natural disaster.
We met Baby Norbu Lama and her mother at the Dhulikhel Hospital. Norbu Lama is the adorable child that Dr. Rahim and the medical team saved shortly after the earthquake. She was only 2 weeks ond her kidneys were shutting down, and the doctors had to improvise the dialysis operation.
Trent and Dave showed Despicable Me in the pediatrics ward in Dhulikhel Hospital.

Day 2

Team: Fahim, Gokul, Trent, Dave, Amy, Amrit.
7am chopper to Solukhumbu through mostly cloudy skies.
Earthquake trauma counseling camp for children by Gokul dai.
Kids camp with music, dance, singing and thanks to Trent — a moonwalk and a fistbump too.
Health camp — 100+ patients — with a vast majority of HAP-related cases. Eyes, lungs, and skin irritation. HAP is household associated pollution.
The health camp lasted throughout the afternoon and into the evening.
Dr. Rahim and JRM Foundation pledged to rebuild the school buildings in this village, which have been badly damaged.
Heavy monsoon rains descended upon our village — and the rain was the least of our problems. LEECHES! LEECHES EVERYWHERE! Well, not exactly, everywhere. But, they were in everyone’s tents. Trent and Dave had at least 10 in their tent. I found one under my shirt as I was sleeping.
Dr. Rahim took a sleeping pill and slept through out the night. The rest of us barely got a couple hours of shut eye. I woke up around 3am, and the thunder and raindrops on our tents kept me up through up the night.

Day 3

Team: Fahim, Gokul, Trent, Dave, Amy, Amrit, Rusha, Khalid, Talha.
8:30am chopper to Kathmandu
Meeting with USAID — No straight answers. But it was interesting to see the Nepal earthquake relief efforts from their perspective. (Short answer: They don’t really care.)
10am: Stranded at TIA airport due to monsoon rains. Saergent Trent hung his police uniform, and transformed into DJ Kraken. He blared rock n roll through this Klipsch speakers.
12pm: The weather clears up. We fly to Manekharka in Sindupalchowk. We meet up with Talha, Khalid and Rusha who have already started the medical camp.
Afternoon: The medical camp is a huge success. The team saw over 200 patients, AND delivered a BABY. Trent and Dave hosted a movie for the kids. There were over 300–400 kids in there. It was packed, with no room to stand or sit anymore. They loved Despicable Me and Frozen.

Day 4

Team: Fahim, Gokul, Trent, Dave, Amy, Amrit, Rusha, Khalid, Talha.
8am — Hike from Manekharka to Yangri. This “90 minute took” took the team members somewhere between 57 minutes and 4.5 hours. Through difficult terrain, there were a number of injuries on the team including Dr. Rahim, Nurse Rusha, and Nurse Amy.
Kids camp — Amy and Rusha led a kids camp, including a movie.
Logistical conundrum as we coordinated delivery of the materials to build houses in Yangri. Several hours and many phone calls later — we had everything we need to start building. The nightfall didn’t faze the team — the team members, led by Dave Coffin, worked into the night. The kids (and I) enjoyed the sparks from the power tools that lit up the dark village.
The entire team got to spend a lot of quality time with the villagers today, because of some delays in the helicopter material drop-offs. But despite the delays, it was a successful day. Dr. Rahim and Nurse Amy treated several people in the village.

Day 5

Team: Fahim, Gokul, Trent, Dave, Amy, Amrit, Rusha, Khalid, Talha.
Continue construction on the house.
Fly back to Kathmandu.
Scholarship program at Ekta Academy in Lalitpur, on the outskirts of Kathmandu.
Visit Little Sister’s Fund in Kathmandu to visit and inspire students.