CMAT Nepal Update #11
CMAT Nurse Rebecca Morante sits with the Community Health Workers in Takukot.
June 4, 2015 – Jill Allison, CMAT Team 3 Logistician in Takukot writes: “Meeting with the Female Community Health Volunteers today. These women are the backbone of the primary healthcare system in Nepal. They volunteer to be responsible for health promotion in their communities and they are knowledgeable, energetic and dedicated.
“Dressed in their emblematic blue saris, they came from all the wards to meet and share their knowledge about their communities. In a couple of hours we learned more about the situation in the wards in Takuakot than we could have in two weeks walking around.”
Dressed in their emblematic blue saris, they came from all the wards to meet and share their knowledge about their communities. In a couple of hours we learned more about the situation in the wards in Takuakot than we could have in two weeks walking around. When we spoke about how they could offer psychosocial support in their communities and talked about listening and encouraging people to talk they all shared their stories about where they were when the earthquake hit.
“When we spoke about how they could offer psychosocial support in their communities and talked about listening and encouraging people to talk they all shared their stories about where they were when the earthquake hit.”
They did this with laughter and and a sense of acceptance. They know more about cholera than most Canadian medical practitioners and have the health promotion messages well learned. We shared lunch and they visited in the the local shops before heading back down the path to their various wards. The clinic is a little less busy and we are focusing on needs assessment and opportunities for collaboration with other organizations now. Great day and lots of work ahead!”
